[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

There maybe a case for insurance fraud here - at worse the AC pipe may have needed replacement but other than that everything else seems intact.

Thank you. My thought too

The most important information missing is the list of errors/warnings that came up. For most (European) cars, it is perfectly okay to drive with warning. On top, one could look up the user manual for the directions of what to do.

Anyway, happy to know that the issue is sorted.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by akg7091

I am surprised the insurance agreed to pay 100% easily !

I am surprised that the insurance even covered it since offroad damage generally isn't covered.

[howler]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Thank you. My thought too

The most important information missing is the list of errors/warnings that came up. For most (European) cars, it is perfectly okay to drive with warning. On top, one could look up the user manual for the directions of what to do.

Anyway, happy to know that the issue is sorted.

My thoughts exactly, with the exception of the AC damage none of the other parts would have contributed to warning lights. Blatant rip off confirmed by wiper blade replacement 🤣

[Omkar]

Jeep Meridian got damaged while driving in Leh - Posts moved to a new thread

[ruzbehxyz]

Apparently the Meridian has a small hard plastic underbody protection plate and it is plain insufficient to protect anything.
Imagine if the Compass went over the same stones (fairly small so much that the under carriage was not hit) and the Meridian scraped the underbody, ripped the underbody and many parts were damaged, makes one wonder how and why. To think of it the size of the stones was small - small enough that a Compass passed over them with no issues. The speeds were between
25-30 kmph.

No two cars are same or perform same on a similar set of obstacles. Driver input is what counts and this is what exactly happened here. The driver of the Meridian would have probably taken a different line causing the damage.

Coming to the after stuff.

1. Most of the damage seems to be mechanical and this should not bring the engine check light on.
2. How can an estimate of 10 lakhs come down 4 lakhs and then finally to 1.1 lakhs? Something not right here.
3. Mechanical parts repaired or replaced are parts with which you can still drive.

There is something behind the scene which we do not know of. Don’t want to speculate but this could be a rip off where other parties are also involved.

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by howler

My thoughts exactly, with the exception of the AC damage none of the other parts would have contributed to warning lights. Blatant rip off confirmed by wiper blade replacement 🤣

The service people said park it because the engine can pack up. In that remote area that was the best option. Yes I also felt a rip off when we heard a Rs 12 lakh initial estimate.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

No two cars are same or perform same on a similar set of obstacles. Driver input is what counts and this is what exactly happened here. The driver of the Meridian would have probably taken a different line causing the damage.

This could well have been the case. And all things being equal - imagine a Meridian not having a strong engine protection plate and the damage being enough to damage many parts, stall the trip and require the vehicle to go back on a flat bed truck.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Coming to the after stuff.

1. Most of the damage seems to be mechanical and this should not bring the engine check light on.
2. How can an estimate of 10 lakhs come down 4 lakhs and then finally to 1.1 lakhs? Something not right here.
3. Mechanical parts repaired or replaced are parts with which you can still drive.

There is something behind the scene which we do not know of. Don’t want to speculate but this could be a rip off where other parties are also involved.

1. I agree the parts do not seem to be heavy duty electrical stuff. The mechanical also should not be hard enough to bring up so many lights - especially when the engine protection plate is there. (at least some degree of protection is there)

2. Not just 10 lakhs - the original estimate was Rs 12 lakhs - and that came down to Rs 1.10 lakhs!! As I mentioned in a previous post - looks like the insurance guys really pushed back the workshop who were really trying to replace 25% of the vehicle!!

Overall, we have really questioned the sturdiness of the vehicle, its inability to navigate dirt roads and above all sheer callousness by the engineers at Jeep not to have a solid engine protection plate. I mean a thin sheet of plastic does nothing when you are not driving on tarmac.

Yes - there is lots the workshop did not tell us. Like when the parts were requisitioned, they said the parts arrived within a few days but there was some issue and they had to return all the parts. I bet the issue was they placed am incorrect requisition and had to send them back. For any parts to reach Srinagar (lets say from Delhi) is about the same time lets say from Delhi to Ahmedavad (trucking time I mean) - it is apprx 20 hrs (give or take a couple). The highway was open on each of the days they said parts have been shipped.

So, overall not so well engineered product, pathetic service and total lack of transparency. Going by the experience on Jeep Compass (which had already done Kargil a few times, Nepal besides many trips to HP/RJ/GJ/PB etc the family decided for Meridian. That faith on the brand is shaken and I doubt if a Rubicon will come. I think the next could be a Fortuner.

Cheers
Rajain

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Rajain

...within 2-3 kms warning lights came up...
...
...many parts would be replaced. The list they gave was

1. Rear Cross Member.
2. ...
24. All AC Pipes.

This sounds like some sort of fraudulent activity. So you got warning lights, and you have no idea what they were, apart from a DPF indicator (don't you have a picture of those lights?). Wasn't the car running at all once the warning lights came on?

As many have said, the parts list does not include anything for which one can have a check engine light or DPF light turned on.

You have certainly been scammed.

[NomadSK]

I didn’t read anywhere the OBD scanner was plugged-in to retrieve the fault codes, any reason ? This would have been the first step to find out the reason. The mechanical part list and the error codes are somehow not adding up. It seems the troubleshooting of faults was done on hit and trial method or to syphon off the money either from you or insurance.

Good to know that vehicle is back where it should be.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I am surprised that the insurance even covered it since offroad damage generally isn't covered.

I think offroad competition events or hobby events are a strict no no. If the RSA had to have entered some jungle to pick up the car, there would have been questions.

In this case they were traveling in a part of India where the government has not been able to provide the mandated civil and public infrastructure. That is not my problem. Insurance should cover this.

Companies like Mahindra and even Jeep run marketing events and tours for customers and journalists in these places. If it wasn’t covered by insurance, no auto company would even dare to hold such programs without a signed undertaking from the participants that insurance is null and void for the entire duration.

[Rajain]

Insurance covered the full amount (full 100%). It is a bumper to bumper zero dep policy. So, at least that part worked.

There are thousands of roads that do not have tarmac. And on the other hand even National Highways have potholes or diversions. I was once driving on a rainy night from Bangalore to Pune and somewhere after Kohlapur with lots of water on the road (a road for which toll had been collected) and at speeds of under 40 kmph (given torrential rain). I could sense that the water puddles on the road could be covering a pothole and further came down to 25 or so kmph as I approached some waterlogged parts of the highway. It happened exactly as I thought it could - the car went into a massive pothole and the rim bent. In that rain I changed the tire (I was even carrying a raincoat and still soaked. If there was more damage the insurance would cover it.

Back to the point of insurance coverage. In remote areas also they should absolutely cover it per the terms of contract. After all it is a service and two parties have agreed to it with whatever conditions. In a bumper to bumper zero dep comprehensive in less than 4-5 months of ownership the insurance needed to have covered it exactly as the policy said - zero dep bumper to bumper comprehensive.

I am aware that there are rally events, TSD and other extreme aspects where vehicles are bound to be thrown around and not just driven over kutcha tracks - which insurance companies do not cover. Think of events like Mahindra Adventure or Audi events or Gurkha events or trips by various adventure companies - insurance covers them all. And it is best to take comprehensive, bumper to bumper, zero dep.

In this case - it is a matter of being on a kutcha track. Road construction work had not yet reached though BRO vehicles are there and work is in progress. And that said, this was a family drive - 3 generations were in the 2 vehicles and naturally being driven carefully.

Over the almost 3 month period hundreds of mails copying everyone with hundreds of images, estimates and escalations etc went back and forth.

Cheers
Rajain

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by Rajain

[b]The parts arrived 2 weeks later and then they informed these were not the parts and there was some mix up. We are certain the goof up was incorrect part numbers were ordered and incorrect parts arrived at the workshop. These parts then had to be returned to where ever they came from and new set of parts were requisitioned. Another 2-3 weeks go by. Parts are yet to arrive. Some time in end of Aug the parts arrived.

Owning a Fiat for last 15 year, I have heard this excuse/reason regularly whenever I had to order parts from them. Half the time they will get the wrong parts and then they have to order again. FCA is still at it!

Another excuse you might get in future that their warehouse is moving location, I have heard this at least 3 times.

But glad to know that you have the car with you now and insurance paid for the same.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by Rajain

In this case - it is a matter of being on a kutcha track. Road construction work had not yet reached though BRO vehicles are there and work is in progress.

Insurance has done the right thing and covered the damage.

When it comes to Ladakh, many people think it’s a dirt track or off road everywhere in Ladakh. This is mainly due to social media posts. Most of the main roads in Ladakh are now tarred and very easy to drive in the dry season. Besides this the road from Srinagar to Leh is a National highway and now even the Kargil Padum road is a National highway. So driving on these roads where there is a dirt track should not lead to rejection of warranty.

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Insurance has done the right thing and covered the damage.

Yes and full marks to the insurance company for that.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

When it comes to Ladakh, many people think it’s a dirt track or off road everywhere in Ladakh. This is mainly due to social media posts. Most of the main roads in Ladakh are now tarred and very easy to drive in the dry season. Besides this the road from Srinagar to Leh is a National highway and now even the Kargil Padum road is a National highway. So driving on these roads where there is a dirt track should not lead to rejection of warranty.

Well the main tourist places - Leh - Pangong Tso - Nubra - Padum are almost good for any car (I mean most people could do it in Alto or a Nano or certainly a Santro as well). Then there are the less visited areas Tso Moriri, Tso Kar, Hanle, Nyoma, Umling La, Chushul, Demchok, Turtuk, Wari la etc - these are ok and just about fine for high GC cars and SUVs. Very few sections (or if a landslide is being cleared/recently took place) then a 4x4 would be needed. Of the three major roads - Manali - Leh (good for pretty much any car); Srinagar - Leh (good for pretty much any car), Manali - Darcha - Shinku La - Padum - Srinagar (a SUV would be better).

A SUV is always better in these kind of places because of more power, better handling, more space, better GC and above all larger fuel tanks. Ladakh is a large area and it is useful to have a good well maintained SUV with powerful engine and large fuel tank to take you to places which are away from the main tourist circuit.

Cheers
Rajain

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by Rajain

A SUV is always better in these kind of places because of more power, better handling, more space, better GC and above all larger fuel tanks. Ladakh is a large area and it is useful to have a good well maintained SUV with powerful engine and large fuel tank to take you to places which are away from the main tourist circuit.

Yes I am aware of this and that’s precisely why I have a Ford Endeavour 3.2 L 4x4 for such drives.

Have visited Ladakh and various parts of the Himalayas several times since early 2000’s.
These are my blogs of my last two visits in case you missed them.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...avour-4x4.html (Zanskar and Pangi Valley | Drive to the unknown in my Endeavour 4x4)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...avour-4x4.html (Zanskar, Sham and Aryan Valley | Drive to the unknown in my Endeavour 4x4)

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Yes I am aware of this and that’s precisely why I have a Ford Endeavour 3.2 L 4x4 for such drives.

Have visited Ladakh and various parts of the Himalayas several times since early 2000’s.
These are my blogs of my last two visits in case you missed them.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...avour-4x4.html (Zanskar and Pangi Valley | Drive to the unknown in my Endeavour 4x4)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...avour-4x4.html (Zanskar, Sham and Aryan Valley | Drive to the unknown in my Endeavour 4x4)

The Endeavour (esp) 3.2 is like the vehicle for these terrains. I too have driven extensively in my 3.2. It is built like a tank, gives such a sturdy feeling and has an engine of a locomotive.

The Jeep Meridian, on the other hand, is not really up there with the price bracket it is presently retailing at. And the Fortuner is competing with BSE Sensex - there are days in which the rise in the price of a Fortuner is more than that of Sensex.

This season at Ladakh has been a washout given the issues in HP. Hopefully next year will be different.

And congrats to you for having driven to some wonderful roads and full marks to you for maintaining your 3.2 in top condition. Keep it close to heart.

Cheers
Rajain