[noopster]

This is absolutely unacceptable and the fact that you even had to argue with the service centre to get it repaired under warranty is a sad reflection of Tata's much-maligned a.s.s.

Please talk to someone senior at Tata Motors a the earliest.

[getsurya]

Hi Mathranik,
Very sorry to hear about the unfortunate accident. Not to blame anything at this stage, but good to note that nothing happened to any of you traveling in it.
My earlier Scorpio was recalled to have the bonnet hinge and lock set replaced with a new model 4 years back(if I remember correctly) as they had some stray incidents similiar like yours.
Kindly check with TATA if this is human error or manufacturing one!

[souravc]

Originally Posted by mathranik

Here are the pictures that everyone's been waiting for.

I had a lengthy talk with the regional office and CSM based out of Surat. After a lot of argument, they have agreed to repair the car at their cost (without the interference of insurance). They find it very unnatural for the bonnet to unlock by itself. The lock seemed intact, but the locking mechanism was a bit stiff.

I would like your advice on how to proceed further against Tata?

It looks like the hinges have given way , isn't it ?
I find it most amazing when I see to what length individuals would go to jump in defence of the car they own even when they have pictures in front of them . If the hinges are broken , is that manthranik's or his driver's fault that they didn't check the hinges before going out on a drive ! I wonder how these people would try to rationalise if they were at the wheels with their family inside ! Would they remember then that in any manufacturing process 6 sigma is an utopia and attribute the incident to their luck or the stupid normal curve and move on ! Absolutely ridiculous !

On proceeding against Tata Motors :-
1. Start off by sending a letter to the dealer with copy to head honchos of Tata Motors - letters and not emails and please include photos. Send these through registered post with a demand to be adequately compensated.
It always makes sense to consult a lawyer when you draft this letter .

2. Sl ( please go to Gujarat, you will get the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ) ./ Once you get any response or no response , you would need to activate this channel

All the best ! I enjoyed your ANHV thread. Knowing how much you drive hope that this is the last adverse incident that you would ever have . I am fairly shocked !

[GTO]

Mathranik, sorry to hear about the damage & the shock, yet I'm glad to hear no one was injured.

Without doubt, Tata uses some truly lousy quality parts in its cars. Tell you of a high risk incident that my family (luckily) got away from. I'm waiting for them down a relative's place, and as the chauffeur pulls the Indigo in, I see a steady stream of liquid running along the car. Pop open the bonnet and guess what, the diesel feed line was leaking heavily. The material had worn out beyond repair, this on a 3 year old car. I didn't face the kind of issues I do with my Indigo, even on my 10 year old Esteem. We left the Indigo there and had Sunil Shanbag attend to it. His exact words "The pipes that are used in your Indigo are the cheapest quality available in the market. I wouldn't even use them on a taxi".

Just hoping that the Manza is better as the drivetrain (and allied parts) come from Fiat.

BTW, most modern cars are equipped with a safety latch. Even if the owner inadvertently pulls the bonnet lever, the hood won't fly open on the road. Atleast, it's not supposed to.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by souravc

It looks like the hinges have given way , isn't it ?
I find it most amazing when I see to what length individuals would go to jump in defence of the car they own even when they have pictures in front of them . If the hinges are broken , is that manthranik's or his driver's fault that they didn't check the hinges before going out on a drive !

From the pictures it looks like the hinges have not completely given way. Rather, it looks to have been bent upwards, and that should be due to the uprooting action resulting from the sudden forceful bending of the bonnet as it slammed against the windscreen. I'm almost certain most car's hinges would look the same as this in a similar situation.

[Latheesh]

Exactly, no point in checking the hinge. Bonnet lock is the part to check for any issues (It has 2 stage lock) to get an idea.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mathranik, sorry to hear about the damage & the shock, yet I'm glad to hear no one was injured.

Without doubt, Tata uses some truly lousy quality parts in its cars. Tell you of a high risk incident that my family (luckily) got away from. I'm waiting for them down a relative's place, and as the chauffeur pulls the Indigo in, I see a steady stream of liquid running along the car. Pop open the bonnet and guess what, the diesel feed line was leaking heavily. The material had worn out beyond repair, this on a 3 year old car. I didn't face the kind of issues I do with my Indigo, even on my 10 year old Esteem. We left the Indigo there and had Sunil Shanbag attend to it. His exact words "The pipes that are used in your Indigo are the cheapest quality available in the market. I wouldn't even use them on a taxi".

Just hoping that the Manza is better as the drivetrain (and allied parts) come from Fiat.

BTW, most modern cars are equipped with a safety latch. Even if the owner inadvertently pulls the bonnet lever, the hood won't fly open on the road. Atleast, it's not supposed to.

Thanks Rush for your objective analysis. Would like to add that even my 1955 Landmaster has a brass (Made in England) OE safety latch to secure the bonnet in case.....! After the bonnet lever is pulled, the latch needs to be also freed to open the bonnet.
So disgusting to read about the quality of the fuel pipe in the Indigo.
mathranik: If you decide to file a suit in a competent consumer forum, it can be done at the following places.The cause of action ( a legal term) arises either where the car was sold/bought or even serviced or where the incident happened or even at the destination you were headed for.Any Consumer Forum within this area , whichever is convenient to you will entertain the suit.

[Sutripta]

Hi,
To clear up a few things:-

The safety latch is the second line of defense to the bonnet flying open, as in this case. Ever wondered why it is there? So whether the bonnet was properly latched or not is immaterial. The safety latch failed to do its duty. Whether through poor design, poor material, bad adjustment etc. I do not know. Needs investigation. Bonnet flying open is not the users fault, until and unless he has somehow disabled the safety latch. It is a statistical certainty that some cars will be driven with the bonnet not properly latched. Cannot be construed as operator error.

Eg. of the Ambassador was to show how common it was, and how ineffective the safety latch was.

Hinges: - Far more important. And nothing to do with this incident.
In a frontal collision, it is the rear attachment of the bonnet (ie the hinges) which prevent the bonnet from entering the passenger compartment. A very important safety issue. One looks askance at this function when one sees the state of the hinges after the bonnet has flown open. Was not saying the bonnet flew open because the hinges were bent/ deformed.

I wonder whether this type of incident (safety latch not working) is tracked by some agency.

Regards
Sutripta

[mathranik]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mathranik, sorry to hear about the damage & the shock, yet I'm glad to hear no one was injured.

Without doubt, Tata uses some truly lousy quality parts in its cars. Tell you of a high risk incident that my family (luckily) got away from. I'm waiting for them down a relative's place, and as the chauffeur pulls the Indigo in, I see a steady stream of liquid running along the car. Pop open the bonnet and guess what, the diesel feed line was leaking heavily. The material had worn out beyond repair, this on a 3 year old car. I didn't face the kind of issues I do with my Indigo, even on my 10 year old Esteem. We left the Indigo there and had Sunil Shanbag attend to it. His exact words "The pipes that are used in your Indigo are the cheapest quality available in the market. I wouldn't even use them on a taxi".

Just hoping that the Manza is better as the drivetrain (and allied parts) come from Fiat.

BTW, most modern cars are equipped with a safety latch. Even if the owner inadvertently pulls the bonnet lever, the hood won't fly open on the road. Atleast, it's not supposed to.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Thanks Rush for your objective analysis. Would like to add that even my 1955 Landmaster has a brass (Made in England) OE safety latch to secure the bonnet in case.....! After the bonnet lever is pulled, the latch needs to be also freed to open the bonnet.
So disgusting to read about the quality of the fuel pipe in the Indigo.
mathranik: If you decide to file a suit in a competent consumer forum, it can be done at the following places.The cause of action ( a legal term) arises either where the car was sold/bought or even serviced or where the incident happened or even at the destination you were headed for.Any Consumer Forum within this area , whichever is convenient to you will entertain the suit.

Thank you all.

@ GTO - The first time I bought a Tata was way back in 1999, and I had some horrible quality niggles. Between then and now, I have had over 11 different cars, and was very happy with everything I bought, mostly. I finally took a plunge and bought two cars for regular family use and to run errands, Indigo and Manza. This was after I bought the ANHV. It is incredible that the wheel rims on both the Indigo and Manza have bent very awkwardly, and believe me when I say this - I have had four punctures on the Indigo and two on Manza, all in the last 20 days. I will soon post the pictures of the bent rims. We boast of the best roads in the country in Gujarat, and my ANHV and Innova GX(steel rims) have been driven on the same roads without any damage to the wheels. What can be said about the Tatas now?

I have absolutely nothing in personal against them, but with such a horrid experience, I would rather steer clear of any Tata car in the future, even if an Aria were to be offered at 8 lacs! This is where quality and A.S.S. comes into picture. Not that they gave me the Indigo for free, but to cut costs at places like this is unacceptable.

@Anjan_c: Thank you for your valuable advice. I am definitely looking into approaching consumer forum over this. Can you, and GTO, please advice me upon how to approach with this case, and would it be too much of a headache pursuing it? What are the appropriate damages that I can claim, having gone through this pain first-hand?

Thank you, all.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by mathranik

@Anjan_c: Thank you for your valuable advice. I am definitely looking into approaching consumer forum over this. Can you, and GTO, please advice me upon how to approach with this case, and would it be too much of a headache pursuing it? What are the appropriate damages that I can claim, having gone through this pain first-hand?
Thank you, all.

Firstly, please decide the place where it is convenient for you to file the civil suit in a Consumer Court.You will have to then decide a competent lawyer by merits, who practices in such a court and deals with such cases. Consult people who have engaged the lawyer to know more. Once you meet the lawyer, he will understand the case and then issue a notice to the company listing the event, causative factors and the loss suffered that includes human trauma, agony, stress, lowering of self esteem and the material damage (to the car). He will calculate the amount of damages to be claimed, based on many factors and each occupant in the car is entitled to sue the company for personal damages in the single suit.The case is not filed till the time for receiving a reply from the company lapses. Thereafter, if no positive reply and action is forthcoming from the Respondent company, the suit can be filed.
Since it is a civil case in the forum, appearance by the petitioner (you and other occupants in the car) is not mandatory in every hearing. But once the case is filed do monitor the progress first hand at your lawyer's office and also make court visits at times on dates of hearing.
The case needs to be monitored right from the service of notice to the company, receipt of reply from them, admission of the case and then hearings, further written statements received from the Respondent company and so on.

[mathranik]

The service manager from Tata service center called me up, informing me that I would be getting the car back by tonight. They have repaired the bonnet and replaced the windscreen. Also, because in less than a month, three of the wheel rims were bent and gone shapeless beyond comprehension, they have replaced those rims.

What remains to be seen is how many problems would I have to face in the coming months of ownership of this car. The behavior from Tata CSM team and dealership, save for one person, has been shoddy and irresponsible at best. Their language doesn't follow their actions. I am still being treated like it was my fault from the onset! Also, after the lock inspection, it has been found that the lock gave away and resulted in the bonnet flying open.

Today being Mahavir Jayanti, the consumer court operations are closed. I would be approaching an able lawyer tomorrow for further actions. I would, though, be keeping more than an eye all of you seniors' advice here.

Thanks a lot for all the support until now!

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by mathranik

Also, because in less than a month, three of the wheel rims were bent and gone shapeless beyond comprehension, they have replaced those rims.

and where is the guarantee that these rims won't go shapeless again?

Sad that all this has to happen in a "tough" brand ; think Tata and you'd first think of heavy duty trucks.

I am getting convinced that all "pure" Indian manufacturers are symbolic of poor quality ;my view is an extension of my experiences with my scooter,a 7 year old Kinetic Nova135,which is crap on every front save the paint finish.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by mathranik

Today being Mahavir Jayanti, the consumer court operations are closed. I would be approaching an able lawyer tomorrow for further actions. I would, though, be keeping more than an eye all of you seniors' advice here.

Probably needless, but I do hope you have retained photographs and all other relevant documents regarding the purchase of the car, its servicing history, photographs after the accident and any other correspondence you have had with Tata Motors, and I do also hope and suggest that you carry out all your correspondence with Tata Motors in writing.

Even if the workshop promises to fix things at their own costs, it would help if you can get it in writing. If they are not willing to give it to you in writing, you could write down the details of the discussion and the proposed course of action and then send it to them by registered post. This way if they are not ready to create documentary evidence, you will be doing the same. It will come in handy in a court of law.

[mooza]

Glad no one was hurt.

Flip front hoods are the safest way to go now, I guess :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hood_(vehicle)

[MA5K]

^ Link fixed... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hood_(vehicle)