[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

Ahh well... he did have a forgettable experience with his car. I'm sure he's a happy man though i doubt he would be happy with the amount he must have received for his car. Wonder how the resale is because i haven't found any takers for it here.

My friend got himself a Isuzu V-Cross, and he is a happy man now.

[rugsrags]

99300 kms update.

The car is now nearing the lac kilometre mark. The usual niggles remain such as the rear seat bench noise and the vacuum modulator noise. Apart from that no fresh issues. The only other highlight now has been the mrf wandered that i had got replaced. As has been mentioned in my previous posts one of the tyres had developed a cut which was replaced by MRF. Now surprisingly two more tyres developed the similar cuts on the inner sidewall. This time round i wrote a mail to MRF and though i didn't get a reply immediately they gave me a call after around 10 days asking me to visit their outlet as a technical person had come for a visit from the company and wanted to see the issue first hand. Ofcourse it took even MRF 15-20 days to procure the size and tyre as the company i don't think manufactures this size anymore and they thus sent tyres which were available with a dealer somewhere.

So all in all it qualified as a manufacturing defect and two more tyres have been replaced. I'm back to having 3 new tyres in the car. The first tyre replacement cost me Rs.1800 and now these two tyres have been replaced for Rs.3700 based on the tread depth calculation.

Since the car is still driving fine and i'm sure the minor niggles will for a time go away post the upcoming service i'm planning on using it as much as i can especially since i find no takers at all even on team-bhp classifieds and thus if i change it it'll go through a broker and never manage finding a car enthusiast who values what a capable machine it really is, so i'll go the whole hog and see this car through atleast till the time its warranty is valid.

[rugsrags]

99600 kms update
The car has just gone for its 1lac kilometre service. The general manager for service being out the car was given to the usual run of the mill SA who i think are trained to exploit. Got a call from the SA saying that front brake discs and pads need to be replaced, Air filter clips are broken (as if i would be playing with the air filter and broke them while doing so) and apart from that everything else is fine. I calmly called the general manager up who apologised for not being there and said he's just reaching the workshop and will call back. Now he's been dealing with me for a while now and knows i know about my car. He calls back and says he's checked the discs are fine only the pads need to be replaced and please forget about the air filter clips and that it was a mistake on their part that instructions weren't given on who would be taking charge of my car for service. Incase he had not called i already had a mail written and waiting to be sent to the customer care but then refrained since my issues were addressed. I just wonder what they do to unsuspecting customers who dont know about cars. Replacing discs as if they are brake pads!!! It is completely criminal!

Anyway they've again replaced the vacuum modulator. Iv lost count of how many times that's happened. Lets see how long it holds out this time and they've sorted out the rear seat noise. 1 lac kilometres service bill including change of front brake pads is Rs.18500 inclusive taxes.

[rugsrags]

100300 kms update
The Vacumn modulator noise which was replaced and wasn't acting up has resurfaced again!!! Wow!!
In other news went for a 200 kms drive yesterday and realised that the turbo charger is sounding way louder than before. One can hear it spooling really loudly. Guess will take the car personally to the workshop to get checked whether they've done any service to the turbocharger yet or is it even required because frankly last time i'd complained about an increase in engine noise nobody at the workshop could understand it since all day they're anyway working mostly on Boleros!!

[rugsrags]

102000kms update.
The car visited its second home again regarding the vacuum and engine noise. Vacuum modulator replaced again and sound returned after 2 days again. The only silver lining is the fact that this time the workshop on its own informed me that mahindra has issued a recall and modified the modulator which has been ordered from the company already and once in will be replaced. In the meanwhile they replaced it which lasted only 2 days!
Apparently the engine noise is there because of the vacuum modulator being kaput. Once it will be sorted it is expected that the engine noise will go down too. Apart from that just got back from a 1200 km trip to delhi via the new lucknow expressway which connects to the yamuna expressway and all i can say is that it didn't feel like driving in india anymore. The car performed flawlessly inspite of being driven continuously with the cruise control set. Since i was travelling with family (My mother expressly likes the rexton due to its high seating, ample space and good view all around and always prefers her highway trips in the rexton over my skoda or bmw!) and with a trunk full of luggage i decided to take it easy and go at the speed limit even though at 100km/hr it felt like we were crawling through the vast empty stretches of tarmac!

[rugsrags]

107000 kms update
The car has had an unscheduled stopover at the workshop this time round. There was a slight creaking sound coming from the engine bay. The car is in the workshop for the same along with tightening of bolts and seats etc. Also the key battery has gone dead and i have misplaced my duplicate key so ordered a duplicate key from the company too. Its been 2 days now and apparently some wear and tear component which is anyway supposed to be replaced between 90k-110k was the culprit.
Apart from that i don't think there is any other issue. The vacuum modulator is working fine since the last change where a modified one was put in place.
The only thing now is that an itch to replace the car is growing only because of a mental blockade of being in a car which has covered the 1 lac milestone. The heart says to pick a new car the mind says that even with so many kms driven why go for a new car especially since warranty is still available and there has been no issue at all regarding the reliability of the car. The fact that there have been no queries or takers even on being listed on team-bhp classifieds is another damper though seeing the on road price its a bargain to pick this one up at around 60% off the new car price. Went to check out the new Fortuner and Innova yesterday and surprisingly preferred the interiors of the Innova over the Fortuner and the Rexton feels way more spacious than the Fortuner! It is also easier to get in and out from the Rexton rather than climbing in and out of the Fortuner and Endeavour. Inspite of which the rexton still claims to have the maximum ground clearance!

Mods: I think we should rename this thread now, since i seem to have hijacked it in any case with a longish long term review of the Rexton

[rugsrags]

108000 kms update.
The sound from the engine bay was attributed to the belt tensioner and was changed. The workshop mentioned that it is a wear and tear part which needs to be checked at normal service intervals and is usually due for replacement if found faulty between 90k kms-110k kms.
The car is back to running like before though maybe my ears are so attuned to the vacuum modulator noise that i think i hear the sound sometimes again though it sounds very muted now. Everything else is holding out pretty well except for a little wear at the door pads of the leather that too only post the last trip to the service centre where i think the door pads were scrubbed a little too aggressively.

[rugsrags]

110000 kms update
The car has completed the 110k kms milestone and just returned from its routine service. Nothing new to report as it was a normal periodic service and was charged around Rs.8600 for the same. All filters Oil etc were changed. There is no new niggle or issue as of now except of course I'm still waiting for the duplicate key.
Had a minor accident in which one of the notorious rickshaws except that this side they are called tempos rolled back and hit the front of the car. Pushed the fog lamp in though the fog lamp didn't break its housing clips did break and now its a little pushed inside the bumper. The workshop has said that since the clips are broken they will only be able to replace the entire fog lamp housing to solve the issue It doesn't even look accidental hence i can't even claim insurance and one has to look closely to even see the fog lamp not being in its original place! So i think i might just let it be the way it is for the time being or maybe get it repaired by an independent garage!

[rugsrags]

110500 kms update

The notorious vacuum modulator noise rears its head again!!!! Iv a mind to really let it be now maybe I'm playing into mahindra's hands with this...have a single issue crop up so many times that a person just learns to live with it...lol...Spoke to the dealership GM who now is like a friend and for some strange reason calls me bro... (Trying to break the ice so that no mails go to the customer care maybe because everytime iv dropped in a mail iv heard him tell me it takes him a good part of 3-4 hours on mail to respond to the queries/response/action taken report to the company). Good on mahindra but you're taking a dealer to task for something they have no control over in case of the modulator maybe a badly engineered design.

The duplicate key is expected today though the GM did complain that this is the first case of them having called for a duplicate key and otherwise they always change the entire lock set since the new key always will create problems as the wear and tear of original key holes makes the new key get stuck! Seems logical let's see what happens in my case.

Will update soon. (I sometimes wonder whether these posts are even needed since nobody seems to have purchased the rexton but this being team-bhp its known for providing info on every car and that's the reason iv kept myself active with the rexton updates...there are enough updates/niggles/reports on all the rest of my cars so i don't bother so much about the status of my other prized possessions unless its something important).

[castiel]

this vacuum modulator only present in rx7 right? I have a 3.5 year 16k km run rx5, so far only issue came up was the clutch failed once

[rugsrags]

Originally Posted by castiel

this vacuum modulator only present in rx7 right? I have a 3.5 year 16k km run rx5, so far only issue came up was the clutch failed once

I think the vacuum modulator is there in all cars. The job is something to do with controlling the noise and has to do something with the turbo too. I am not clear and everytime i ask at the dealer i get different replies hence am not aware of its actual use. Your running is pretty low so maybe that's the reason it's going strong though a clutch fail in just 16k kms is as bad as it gets. My running though not very very high has a lot of mileage on the highway where the turbo is happily spinning away for long durations and some portions are very very dusty too so maybe that's why i keep getting this issue.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

Will update soon. (I sometimes wonder whether these posts are even needed since nobody seems to have purchased the rexton but this being team-bhp its known for providing info on every car and that's the reason iv kept myself active with the rexton updates...there are enough updates/niggles/reports on all the rest of my cars so i don't bother so much about the status of my other prized possessions unless its something important).

Sir these updates are very important especially for a rare car like the Rexton. Recently met someone who had a RX5 and was pretty disappointed with the product. His major complaints were about the overall reliability and Mahindra's after sales service. Do you plan to retain your car or sell it off soon?

Asit

[castiel]

Originally Posted by rugsrags

I think the vacuum modulator is there in all cars. The job is something to do with controlling the noise and has to do something with the turbo too. I am not clear and everytime i ask at the dealer i get different replies hence am not aware of its actual use. Your running is pretty low so maybe that's the reason it's going strong though a clutch fail in just 16k kms is as bad as it gets. My.

Is it possible to get a higher rated/performance grade part replacement for the frequent failing parts. My background is electronics and in our field a part fails when its ratings are exceeded ,reasons can be anything from bad design to not anticipated /extremely rare conditions. so if the design cannot be changed then solution is to replace original part with a higher rated part. So can such an approach works in for these frequent failers like clutch and your case vacuum modulator. I don't think selling off is an option for this car so I plan to keep it as long as possible

[rugsrags]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Sir these updates are very important especially for a rare car like the Rexton. Recently met someone who had a RX5 and was pretty disappointed with the product. His major complaints were about the overall reliability and Mahindra's after sales service. Do you plan to retain your car or sell it off soon?

Asit

Well on the contrary i'm very satisfied with the product and even the aftersales response. The car has been reliable and the niggles i report are mostly really small. My octavia has left me stranded twice in 60k kms. I feel its a very VFM product and hence that must be taken into consideration when analysing it. That's the reason iv still retained it though its been listed now for sale on team-bhp itself but has found no takers. I'll not sell it to anyone except a fellow enthusiast since iv maintained and cared for it so much else i'll retain it for as long as i perceive its value and its been doing really good as of now.

Originally Posted by castiel

Is it possible to get a higher rated/performance grade part replacement for the frequent failing parts. My background is electronics and in our field a part fails when its ratings are exceeded ,reasons can be anything from bad design to not anticipated /extremely rare conditions. so if the design cannot be changed then solution is to replace original part with a higher rated part. So can such an approach works in for these frequent failers like clutch and your case vacuum modulator. I don't think selling off is an option for this car so I plan to keep it as long as possible

Well I'm not technically qualified to answer your question. The maximum i can do is send the car to the ASS to solve a issue and I'm limited to that only. I don't think they could have an upgraded part in the aftermarket for a modulator and that too for a rare car like the rexton and i think its a faulty engineered part because the company itself informed me last time that they have sent a modified modulator this time round but surprisingly it failed too.

[castiel]

I also got a "modified" clutch after I told Mahindra about this being a common issue ,now based on your experience I am not so confident on their ability to take effective corrective actions. So the solution according to them is to just keep on replacing