Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what?

honeybee · 4th September 2011, 12:44

I don't see where it couldn't be a mistake from Tata. I appreciate the gesture they have made of repairing the damage at their own cost and also trying to find the root cause of the same. However, it doesn't mean they aren't responsible. Only we don't know it yet. So I would still not call them clean unless evidence to the contrary emerged.

Just like an airplane which skids off a runway, the rains are NOT to be blamed. The airplanes are expected to land in much worse situations (I have seen youtube videos of planes literally veering off their path due to strong crosswinds, swaying about so much that their wing tips are barely feet above the ground), and the pilots are expected to know how (that's why they undergo training and certification, right?). So if there were no extra ordinary circumstances, such an incident can only be blamed on humans. Maybe it wasn't the pilots but the air traffic controllers, but it's still human error and lapses. And what would have happened if there had been casualties?

cyberwhizs · 4th September 2011, 12:54

@mathranik, I dont think the consensus states that there is no mistake of tata. The only observation is that this type of event is not a one off case, it has happened to a wide range of vehicles, not just limited to tata, and many have lived through a similar harrowing experience.
Like I said before, if they have owned up to faulty lock, get it documented in some form, letter/email, and i guess, all of us will be happy to support you in going after tata hammer and tongs. Like you said it is not about monetory consolation but it is to ensure that others dont go through a similar harrowing experience due to incorrect design/workmanship from tata.

chinkara · 4th September 2011, 20:35

Even if both the bonnet locks fail, is the bonnet hitting the windscreen natural? I thought hinges did not have so much play that the bonnet can hit the w/s? Here I can see that the hinges failed as well -- but won't it be reasonable to expect that the hinges hold for enough for the car to slow down at least?

rajess_in · 5th September 2011, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinkara

Even if both the bonnet locks fail, is the bonnet hitting the windscreen natural? I thought hinges did not have so much play that the bonnet can hit the w/s? Here I can see that the hinges failed as well -- but won't it be reasonable to expect that the hinges hold for enough for the car to slow down at least?

There are stoppers provided on the bonnet hinges (small tabs on the part of the hinge that does not rotate and fixed to the fender side) that avoid such opening. But they are meant for stopping the hinges while opening the bonnet by service / users during accessing the engine compartment.

The wind load on the bonnets is so huge that the stoppers will eventually fail after certain limit.

akravindran · 5th September 2011, 11:43

This is shocking. I suggest you don't settle for a situation where Tata just repairs your vehicle. Do approach the consumer court - might involve a few visits to the consumer court, but you deserve big compensation for this, if indeed there was no error from your side (like the bonnet being unlocked prior to the journey, for eg). Also, the consumer courts are fairly friendly, so visiting them isn't as daunting as visiting a 'regular' court.

honeybee · 5th September 2011, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinkara

... Here I can see that the hinges failed as well --

The possibility is that the bonnet flew open because of the force of the winds, and this force twisted the hinges into the shape they are in, so the hinges losing shape would be the effect, not the cause.

Someone probably mentioned this earlier, that a bonnet fitted like that on the 118 NE (where it opens from the windscreen side), would probably better at avoiding such incidents.

sgiitk · 5th September 2011, 15:55

@honeybee; not only the 118 but many other cars use front hinger bonnets. Only these are more of a pain when you try and work under the hood.

akj53 · 5th September 2011, 22:19

I had a similar experience in our Ambassador in late 60s. We were coming from Dehradun and going to Ballabgarh (near Faridabad). When we crossed Delhi, it was past mid-night and my Papa felt sleepy. So I started driving. Mathura Road was practically deserted that time. One old Amby was ahead of me and I started accelerating to overtake and must be about 30 feet behind that car. Suddenly the bonnet of car-in-front flew open, detached and came flying towards us. Somehow I swerved to the left to avoid the bonnet which crashed on the road with a great bang and lot of sparks, narrowly missing my driver's door. Immediately then I had to again swerve to the right to avoid crashing into the front car which had stopped on the left hand side. At the same time my Papa woke up and started shouting 'what happened, what happened'. I had to calm him down also.

All this happened within few seconds and due to grace of God without any injury to us. Had that bonnet struck our car, it might have crashed into our wind screen with tragic consequences to say the least. God saved us that night and it was indeed a traumatic experience.

FJhustler · 7th September 2011, 23:59

A little precaution i took for my baleno. Hood Pins!! I feard of a similar problem when i did some high speed runs. So went ahead and got hood pins installed.

chinkara · 8th September 2011, 09:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeybee

The possibility is that the bonnet flew open because of the force of the winds, and this force twisted the hinges into the shape they are in, so the hinges losing shape would be the effect, not the cause.

My point was that shouldn't the hinge be strong enough to withstand the force of wind for at least some time? Isn't that a contingency engineering failure?

mathranik · 8th September 2011, 10:45

A minor update from my end.

The bonnet remains slightly open even now (around 1.5 inches). The windscreen is leaking from around IRVM Rain-Gods have been very happy with Surat, and I have had a wet experience inside the Indigo yesterday. The service manager at Shreeji Auto (Tata) told me that this is happening because they repaired it 'in a haste'. The sealant did not 'sit in' properly.

What utter BS is this?!

honeybee · 8th September 2011, 10:56

mathranik, escalate the issue to the higher ups in Tata Motors. Whatever the ASC people do, they are not supposed to do it 'in haste' and make a shoddy job of it. Take photographs and send them to the higher authorities, along with the service manager's reply. Whether paid or free, they shouldn't be botching it up like this.

Chinkara, I get your point, however we do not know how long the hinges did hold onto the bonnet. As per the OP's description of the incident, I would say they did a decent job before they gave in.

4th September 2011, 12:44	#61
honeybee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Dombivli Posts: 3,056 Thanked: 2,139 Times View My Garage	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what I don't see where it couldn't be a mistake from Tata. I appreciate the gesture they have made of repairing the damage at their own cost and also trying to find the root cause of the same. However, it doesn't mean they aren't responsible. Only we don't know it yet. So I would still not call them clean unless evidence to the contrary emerged. Just like an airplane which skids off a runway, the rains are NOT to be blamed. The airplanes are expected to land in much worse situations (I have seen youtube videos of planes literally veering off their path due to strong crosswinds, swaying about so much that their wing tips are barely feet above the ground), and the pilots are expected to know how (that's why they undergo training and certification, right?). So if there were no extra ordinary circumstances, such an incident can only be blamed on humans. Maybe it wasn't the pilots but the air traffic controllers, but it's still human error and lapses. And what would have happened if there had been casualties?
	() Thanks

4th September 2011, 12:54	#62
cyberwhizs BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 255 Thanked: 175 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what @mathranik, I dont think the consensus states that there is no mistake of tata. The only observation is that this type of event is not a one off case, it has happened to a wide range of vehicles, not just limited to tata, and many have lived through a similar harrowing experience. Like I said before, if they have owned up to faulty lock, get it documented in some form, letter/email, and i guess, all of us will be happy to support you in going after tata hammer and tongs. Like you said it is not about monetory consolation but it is to ensure that others dont go through a similar harrowing experience due to incorrect design/workmanship from tata.
	() Thanks

4th September 2011, 20:35	#63
chinkara BHPian Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 425 Thanked: 730 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what Even if both the bonnet locks fail, is the bonnet hitting the windscreen natural? I thought hinges did not have so much play that the bonnet can hit the w/s? Here I can see that the hinges failed as well -- but won't it be reasonable to expect that the hinges hold for enough for the car to slow down at least?
	() Thanks

5th September 2011, 11:43	#65
akravindran Newbie Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Delhi Posts: 1 Thanked: 0 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what This is shocking. I suggest you don't settle for a situation where Tata just repairs your vehicle. Do approach the consumer court - might involve a few visits to the consumer court, but you deserve big compensation for this, if indeed there was no error from your side (like the bonnet being unlocked prior to the journey, for eg). Also, the consumer courts are fairly friendly, so visiting them isn't as daunting as visiting a 'regular' court.
	() Thanks

5th September 2011, 15:55	#67
sgiitk BANNED Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Gurugram Posts: 7,969 Thanked: 4,788 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what @honeybee; not only the 118 but many other cars use front hinger bonnets. Only these are more of a pain when you try and work under the hood.
	() Thanks

5th September 2011, 22:19	#68
akj53 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: NOIDA, Manchester & Cardiff Posts: 585 Thanked: 92 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what I had a similar experience in our Ambassador in late 60s. We were coming from Dehradun and going to Ballabgarh (near Faridabad). When we crossed Delhi, it was past mid-night and my Papa felt sleepy. So I started driving. Mathura Road was practically deserted that time. One old Amby was ahead of me and I started accelerating to overtake and must be about 30 feet behind that car. Suddenly the bonnet of car-in-front flew open, detached and came flying towards us. Somehow I swerved to the left to avoid the bonnet which crashed on the road with a great bang and lot of sparks, narrowly missing my driver's door. Immediately then I had to again swerve to the right to avoid crashing into the front car which had stopped on the left hand side. At the same time my Papa woke up and started shouting 'what happened, what happened'. I had to calm him down also. All this happened within few seconds and due to grace of God without any injury to us. Had that bonnet struck our car, it might have crashed into our wind screen with tragic consequences to say the least. God saved us that night and it was indeed a traumatic experience.
	() Thanks

7th September 2011, 23:59	#69
FJhustler BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 34 Thanked: 7 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what A little precaution i took for my baleno. Hood Pins!! I feard of a similar problem when i did some high speed runs. So went ahead and got hood pins installed.
	() Thanks

8th September 2011, 10:45	#71
mathranik BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ahmedabad, GJ Posts: 197 Thanked: 572 Times	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what A minor update from my end. The bonnet remains slightly open even now (around 1.5 inches). The windscreen is leaking from around IRVM Rain-Gods have been very happy with Surat, and I have had a wet experience inside the Indigo yesterday. The service manager at Shreeji Auto (Tata) told me that this is happening because they repaired it 'in a haste'. The sealant did not 'sit in' properly. What utter BS is this?!
	() Thanks

8th September 2011, 10:56	#72
honeybee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Dombivli Posts: 3,056 Thanked: 2,139 Times View My Garage	Re: Bonnet flies open in my new Tata Indigo CS and shatters the windscreen - now what mathranik, escalate the issue to the higher ups in Tata Motors. Whatever the ASC people do, they are not supposed to do it 'in haste' and make a shoddy job of it. Take photographs and send them to the higher authorities, along with the service manager's reply. Whether paid or free, they shouldn't be botching it up like this. Chinkara, I get your point, however we do not know how long the hinges did hold onto the bonnet. As per the OP's description of the incident, I would say they did a decent job before they gave in.
	() Thanks