[unni.ak]

This is bad news. From what you say, it looks more like the Accessory Belt or the Fan Belt (as regular mechanics refer to), that seems to have broken. A timing belt failure is usually catastrophic with damage to valves and piston. Even then, this is not something that should have happened even once, in the life of your vehicle till now. I hope TASS will investigate and repair for free, even though the vehicle is out of warranty now.

[richie4u]

Well just to give you guys an update, the S.A. at the TASS told me that have made a detailed report on he problem form their side and have opted for a claim, I have asked them to ask Tata to send an engineer down here to actually find out what is the actual problem itself, Simply replacing parts and using try-your-luck attitude wont work this time ans the problem is reoccurring after every 15-20K kms and can re happen if the issue is not pin pointed to.

P.S. Tata guys if your reading this, your local TASS have not even offered me a loaner vehicle, according to them they have just 2 loaners, 1 car is with another customer (who must have had it since the time my timing belt broke the first time as I got the same answer that time too) and the second a Safari which itself had worse engine problems then mine.

[floyd]

Seems like a pretty serious case. Tata is not known for high quality, but this is a basic issue. Why dont you publicise this on their social media pages, to get more attention, for e.g. go ahead and post it on their FB page.

[phkr19]

To escalate matters, I'd suggest, you tweet to Karl Slym, Tata Motors MD. He is pretty active on twitter and I'm sure he would take it up seriously.

[richie4u]

@phkr19,@floyd I have done both the suggestions. Tweeted to Mr. Karl Slym but have not received any reply from him as of yet, but from Tata Safari's FB page just received the standard reply i.e. escalated to concerned department. I mailed to customercare@tatamotors.com too but no reply from them as of yet. Seems to me that Tata's grievance dept. works worse that even our Govt. department.

Tata if you're reading this: No amount of horizonnxt programs will lead to better sales if loyal customers who've been with your brand since long are not catered to. Your are just putting loyalty to the test and this time you're pushing your luck too far.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by richie4u

I mailed to customercare@tatamotors.com too but no reply from them as of yet. Seems to me that Tata's grievance dept. works worse that even our Govt. department.

I believe they would revert only after doing the due diligence with your service advisor and evaluating their claim with the technical folks. They would know its not just an escalation.

[richie4u]

Got a call from the Area service manager(probably connected to the Regional office) today, he said that he'd get me a loaner car in the mean time my car is being repaired but the second thing he said that he ain't covering for the repairs, according to him the car repairs will run somewhere upto 25K and he needs me to pay part for it,secondly he flatly refused from paying for the towing charges. I told him exactly how he'd need to think again considering the car has got timing belt issues not just once but twice,left me stranded twice before and this time recently in a different state altogether just due to something faulty and wrong with the Dicor engine. I assured him that solving my issue FOC would be a better option rather then facing PR cleanup issues. Later he said he'd talk and get back to me again.

I spoke to the S.A. and the technicians regarding my vehicle and saw my vehicle too. They have made a report and have sent to the Tata HQ to find out what's the problem. They have right now disassembled the complete timing belt region. According to the technicians themselves they say there was something very wrong with the Safari and the Xenon 2.2 Dicor engines during my period and they had a lot of cases like this. When my Safari's belt broke the first time they did a retrofit with something called as a "d" kit, the second time just after 400-500kms after repair the belt conked off and they changed the HLA's along with the belt. Now just as i covered 20K from the second belt this happens.

Guys please pour in your suggestions as to what should I do next. I definitely am getting my towing charges from them and also want my repair done. I aint in a position to bear charges for no fault of mine. Please help.

[jacs]

Good to hear you started getting response from TATA. Do not make any hasty decisions, Stand on your statements until you get the detailed report from TATA.

I do not think they could just ignore a valid grievance. As far as seen in various cases of fighting out with manufacturers, you need ample patience to ensure the issue reaches right levels and they realize the helplessness of a customer who invested his hard earned money in thier product. This is true with even Audi, hope you would have read the thread.

I believe Behram sir moved from M&M to TATA for your good too. Wish if he reads this thread and could guide.

[neel385]

I would suggest that get as much written correspondence from them as possible. Ask them to e mail everything they say on phone. Keep a record of all your communication with TATA and build up a case portfolio. I hope you have the paperwork from the earlier repairs.

Now, continue to pile up the pressure and if all fails, you can go to the Consumer Court. Of late they have given good compensation to aggrieved parties in valid cases.

[richie4u]

@neel I have all the documents to prove my case, I have every job-sheets,invoices and even photos of the car when taken for belt repairs,towing etc. The funny thing is the file containing my Safari documents has grown fatter then the document file for my 8+ year old commercial vehicles.

Another strange amusing coincidence I missed out on my first post: The day when I was stranded with my Safari on the ranebennur-goa NH4 strech in the afternoon, just before 15 mins or so before the tow truck would show up a black Tata Manza stops exactly diagonally opposite from me on the other side of the highway a couple of meters ahead. I thought he might have stopped to help me or something. Go to see both the occupants get down of the vehicle,open the hood and I see the driver of the vehicle frantically calling someone on the phone after. Guess it was a bad day for Tata cars.

[sandeepmohan]

I am not sure if it worth holding on to this car any more. Good luck with TATA fixing your ride at their expense.

Going by the mechanics, if there was a serious defect, this should have affected a lot of Safari's, Grande's, Xenon's and whatever else that uses the same engine. It should have affected Mahindra too as the 2.2l engine is a design from AVL that is shared by both TATA and Mahindra.

[Dry Ice]

Just tweeted this to Tata Safari official account.

Like others have said, the timing belt failing this early (and this frequently) is suspicious. Plus the area manager (??) being aware of the repair charges indicates he might have seen this premature failure on other vehicles too.

What is the replacement schedule as per the manual?

[richie4u]

Now for some updates:

I visited the TASS today and everybody from the CRO to the SA was in a "customer is king" attitude dont know why,did my problem have this effect or the escalation reached to the right spot,God only knows.

So anyhow,the TASS CRO gave me a Tata Manza as a loaner till my Safari is repaired. The second pleasant news was, Just as I reached the TASS,Mr. Sijjin (Area Service Manager) had called the CRO just at that moment to inquire whether I got the loaner vehicle or not. The CRO gave the phone to me and Mr. Sijjin told me that Tata will take care of my vehicle and the entire timing belt kit will be replaced under goodwill warranty.

I guess escalation helped after all. Now to see how good Tata keeps to its word and how soon I get my vehicle. Will keep you guys updated. Would love to hear your views too.

I had posted a couple of links to this thread on various FB & twitter pages related to Tata and finally someone,somewhere got fed up of me:

Dear Marlon,
Sincerely request your co-operation while the support team helps you resolve your case. As per the latest update from the team, a loaner vehicle has been arranged for you. Trust our team to ensure utmost satisfaction. Thank You.

@Dry Ice thank you for the support.

@sandeepmohan Well as per the mechanics this was an issue not with every vehicle but some (unfortunatley mine too) Xenon and Safari's which suffered the same fate as mine, but as per them Tata corrected this with now something called the "f" kit which changes the complete timing kit .As per them no Safari has come back for a long time after this change. How true this is only time will tell.

[jacs]

Originally Posted by richie4u

The CRO gave the phone to me and Mr. Sijjin told me that Tata will take care of my vehicle and the entire timing belt kit will be replaced under goodwill warranty.

Congrats. Thats indeed a good news but is timing belt kit the actual culprit? You cannot be revisiting them after couple of months with same problem. So some assurance that the "F" kit will just do fine and you are fine till the next scheduled replacement as per the handbook would be worth insisting.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by richie4u

.... Tata will take care of my vehicle and the entire timing belt kit will be replaced under goodwill warranty..

That's great news. Something they should have done on their own - without you having to resort to all these escalations. But I guess it ended well for you, and that's what's important.