[Prafful_Rathod]

I think more than anything else, it is the lack of competence level in India in general when it comes to servicing an electric car is the problem. To be honest there are very few experts in India who can service electric cars. So the root cause analysis it self takes time. May be only OEM technicians or experts can best resolve known problems. We still have some distance to go in this field.

[zulfi hansi]

As GTO rightly said, it is not the car but the people handling it. I own a Reva i since last 7 years, which my better half uses it. The mileage so far is only 16K kms but by and large the Reva i is known to be the more reliable as compared to E2O. One of my friend uses the E2O and has the same resentment against the service while praising the car. Its not the car I am sure, the bad reputation of low reliability against E2O is because of the service goof ups. M&M has offered me exchange offers on my Revai to E2O several times, but I am not going to bite that for sure.

That being said, any electric car coming from M&M or any manufacturer with relatively low experience in EVs these issues will crop up. Honestly I am waiting for Tesla to launch in India or any other manufacturer who is willing to offer a reliable product, with trained service back up (which I am sure will never happen with M&M), and most importantly who offers a whole (practical) car at a sane price.

M&M should prioritize their resources in EVs, instead of chopping and welding their junk for short term numbers.

Personally I don't trust the products developed by them. So far only 2 vehicles developed by them have made a mark for their times (Scorpio & XUV5OO) which are past now and already outdated. Even the E2O is developed under Chetan Maini before M&M took over, that is why it is so advanced and un-serviceable by the M&M mechanics. And I don't see anybody buying a Verito EV. Big deal for them that the GOI is giving them (and TATA) a chance by agreeing to be the guinea pig (by spending our TAX money off-course), mainly for their low cost of purchase and service.

IMO M&M is not a serious player in the EV automobile market. The problem with M&M (and may be TATA) is that they are focused on making cheap EVs, not practical EVs. When the whole worlds' auto industry is burning the mid night oil to develop practical EVs, it's simply not their priority, still!

[herculesksp]

Update:

Hi all, thanks for your comments, advice, and empathy.

So I got my car back after 4-5 days in the service center and I have used the car for about a week now. The day after I gave my car away for service was when I was traveling to Singapore on vacation. I know it was bad timing, but there was no point leaving a car dead by the side of the road for a week until I got back.

I ended up doing all the coordination internationally. Luckily the time difference is just 2.5 hours, so I managed to take all the call without hiccups.

The Resolution:
1) They again refilled the A/C gas and said that it is now working fine. The weather in Bangalore is way past summer now, so I'll know if they fixed it only next year as the cooling is quite sufficient for this weather.
2) The door locking issue seems to have been fixed as well. They said they just checked and it is working and don't seem to have done anything. I have been using it for a week and I didn't notice anything wrong.

3) Finally the biggie - the battery. They claimed that the battery had to be recalibrated as it was 3+ years old and the range had to be reduced. Mr Karthik gave me a lengthly explanation of why this had to be done and why it was normal to do so and all that. I asked him to go ahead with whatever it was that they were doing. I'd rather have reduced range than the car die out in the middle of the road when the meter shows that it still has the juice.

Funnily, when they gave the car back (delivered to my parking lot and keys handed over to my mom - since I was out of station) they didn't give the charging cable. So I couldn't drive it when I got back and had to again visit India Garage and retrieve my charging cable before I could fully charge the car again.

So now I have a E2O with a 20km shorter range. This now runs 100kms on 100% charge. I have previously, recently, done a couple of airport runs with the full 120kms range. I don't think I'll risk the same with a 100km range.

Nevertheless, the car has been running smooth the last week. Pick up and drivability has not been effected. The car is still sprightly and fun to drive and great in the city. So that's one good thing.

What I'm not happy with though is the interior workmanship. They probably had to pull a few carpets sections out to check the battery, but they have not inserted it back into the plastic properly. There are many sections where they edges of the carpet are hanging out uglily (is that a word?).

So this means that I have to again make a trip to India Garage and ask to get this fixed. Phew!!! Will woes never cease? I am seriously considering just living with an ugly interior than having to go back there yet another time.

I also realized that I paid for the Roadside Assistance for 3 years ( I had just run out of it during this incident and I had to pay Rs 2000 for towing on that fateful day) and they have not given me any bill or confirmation of RSA. They waived off the service and labor charges, so I understand that there wasn't a bill, but I did pay Rs. 3000+ for the RSA. They'd better have registered me for it and I require a proof in return.

Which means l have to anyway go back to IG to get my proof / receipt.
May as well get them to fix my carpets.

This is the current status of the escalation and repair. I am quite frustrated with this whole experience and with E2O. As many of you have said, it is not the car, but it is the technicians. However this is one single user experience package. An electric car is even more worthless without qualified A.S.S. At least an ICE car can be serviced as a local garage.

Incidentally an apartment-mate who had the original Reva for 3 years, and then the E2O for 3 years, gave away his E2O as he couldn't bear the Mahindra service too. He was happy as long as Reva Electric was handling things, but it turned downhill since Mahindra took over.

It is giving me all the more incentive to give away the car. The only thing is the size, convenience and in-city convenience. If there is another thing that goes wrong with the car, I might have to very well just part with it.

[noopster]

Good to hear that everything seems ok now but you need to learn from your experience and move on from India Garage. The missing charger cable, scuff marks in the interior and the overall inability to provide a satisfactory root cause to your original problems is a good enough indicator that these guys are clueless and need to get no more of your business.

I don’t know if you have an independent garage option for EVs but if you could find a renowned one, it would be a good idea to run the car through a quick check just to make sure the ASS guys didn’t miss anything.

[herculesksp]

Well, looks like I spoke too soon.
When I gave it for the service a month back, one of the complaints that I had was a loud mechanical sound each time I let go the accelerator. No matter whether I took my foot off abruptly or gradually, a loud clicking noise will be heard from the back.

During the service, they said that some spider gear needs to be replaced and they did that. However now after the last repair, this problem has cropped up again. Even if I am moving at 1kmph and I take my foot off the gas, the car makes the noise.

Looks like its time to move away from India Garage, if not from Mahindra Electric in its entirety. :-(

[sunil.nv]

Oh Man! I was seriously looking at this car as an alternative to my Nano once its lease gets over next June but after reading your thread I am now very skeptical. For some reason India Garage hasn't helped me much on my XUV buying experience and I don't think I will go there for servicing it, but have you tried going to any other dealer/service station like Anand Cars?

[hkollar]

I have been driving an E2O for 4yrs now, and thankfully haven't had any major issue. Minor niggles are par for course with Mahindra I guess...

But, one major irritant for me. My roof cover plastic has cracked. Don't know how it happened! And I was told by the service station guys that the roof alone may not be replaceable, as the whole body cladding comes as a set! They told me the cost would be about 75K!!

I am planning to use a high strength sticker on top of the roof to cover it up now. This is like mobile phone screen protector!!! ugh...

Would I buy another E2O? No. But, I am sold on Electric drive. I am hoping to only buy Electrics from now on. And for city drive, I hope some manufacturer brings a car that is even smaller than E2O... It is fun to drive/park a small car in city.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by hkollar

Would I buy another E2O? No. But, I am sold on Electric drive. I am hoping to only buy Electrics from now on. And for city drive, I hope some manufacturer brings a car that is even smaller than E2O... It is fun to drive/park a small car in city.

Tigor EV has been launched a couple of days ago. It is for personal buyers as well and you may have a good replacement for the E2O.

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Tigor EV has been launched a couple of days ago. It is for personal buyers as well and you may have a good replacement for the E2O.

One of the main reasons I like E2O is that it is super small. Even the E2O plus was bigger.

E2O is the two wheeler alternative to older folks who are afraid to take a bike ride in city traffic!

So, Tigor EV may be good, but certainly not a replacement for E2O.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by hkollar

One of the main reasons I like E2O is that it is super small. Even the E2O plus was bigger.

E2O is the two wheeler alternative to older folks who are afraid to take a bike ride in city traffic!

So, Tigor EV may be good, but certainly not a replacement for E2O.

That is very true. Are they still selling the E2O? And do you suggest anyone to buy if they are still selling and supporting?

You last post was in 2018 and I believe there has been tremendous effort and improvement in this segment in the last couple of months.

[condor]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

That is very true. Are they still selling the E2O? And do you suggest anyone to buy if they are still selling and supporting?

I think they have stopped selling the E2O now. Support would be there, though.

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

That is very true. Are they still selling the E2O? And do you suggest anyone to buy if they are still selling and supporting?

You last post was in 2018 and I believe there has been tremendous effort and improvement in this segment in the last couple of months.

Mahindra Electric stopped selling E2O or E2O plus from March 2019. They are focusing on e-Verito for Fleets. But, 2020 may see new cars from them.

I have decided to keep E2O for as long as I can. It is a wonderful city car.

But, servicing it with Mahindra is difficult. They can't fix silly little things like the left side door gets jammed if it is parked in sun. Clearly some mechanism gets heated up and lock-release mechanism gets jammed. They couldn't figure it, and I told them to replace the whole lock system, but they told me they don't know what to change, as at their end it works fine!

[Lightning2]

HI Hercules
How much they charged for "Re calibrating Battery" ??

There is a saying that "Its more difficult to catch a Digital fraud while its easier to do one" Basically this is a fraud where in you knowingly reduce the battery capacity / Vehicle range to coax the Customer to buy new Battery earlier

In coming times I see a electric vehicle OEM and ASCs making significant money out of Replacing Inverter modules, Charge control modules, motor drives and Batteries at least. Apart, recharging of motor permanent magnets, brushes ( If DC motor ) and whatever they Design so that vehicle can be Diagnosed and serviced at their ASC only.

Originally Posted by herculesksp

3) Finally the biggie - the battery. They claimed that the battery had to be recalibrated as it was 3+ years old and the range had to be reduced.

So now I have a E2O with a 20km shorter range. If there is another thing that goes wrong with the car, I might have to very well just part with it.

[herculesksp]

Originally Posted by Lightning2

HI Hercules
How much they charged for "Re calibrating Battery" ??

There is a saying that "Its more difficult to catch a Digital fraud while its easier to do one" Basically this is a fraud where in you knowingly reduce the battery capacity / Vehicle range to coax the Customer to buy new Battery earlier.

Hmmmm... I don’t think I was charged particularly for the re-calibration. At least I don’t remember anything standing out in the charges excepting for towing and labour.

Also if they messed it up too much and reduced the range considerably on multiple occasions then according to the 5 year battery warranty they’d have to fix the batteries at their cost - that’s the theory at least.

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by Lightning2

HI Hercules
How much they charged for "Re calibrating Battery" ??

There is a saying that "Its more difficult to catch a Digital fraud while its easier to do one" Basically this is a fraud where in you knowingly reduce the battery capacity / Vehicle range to coax the Customer to buy new Battery earlier
.

Entering the newly calibrated value is quite easy for them to do. All they have to do is to connect the diagnostic tool, enter the new max capacity of the battery and the MID will start displaying the new range.
However, finding out the real/updated capacity is difficult as they have to do a manual charging and discharging a couple of times and measure the capacity of each module.
Since e2o has 16 cells connected in series, if the capacity of any single cell has gone down, that reduced capacity will be updated as the new capacity for all the 16 cells. For example, if you have 14 cells at 100% and 2 cells at 80%, then all 16 cells will be set to 80% capacity reducing your range by 20%.