[asr_b500]

Finally, I got the car back

20.11.2023
Got a call from Service center again that vehicle is ready and can be taken. They also did a test by just keep the engine running for about 30 minutes. By this time, I had already agreed to drive the car to Bangalore (though I was not fully convinced, my family didn't want me to go to Salem and drive back alone). However, this information was not passed to the Service center and they were basically expecting me. By evening, Service Manager at the Service Center called and explained about a clause which says while the car is on road for delivery from Service center the responsibility is fully with the customer. Seems that they had an issue with a new car being involved in a hit and run case (a truck rear ended while it was being moved to service center from showroom where customer dropped it for first service) and customer demanding new car. This triggered me again and decided to head Salem for bringing car back though they assured that it will be driven by a well experienced driver and its completely safe.

21.11.2023
Started early morning and reached service center by around 10.30. Service advisor explained that what have been done and which parts were replaced under warranty. Attaching the screenshots below.

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Assuming the 2.0L MJD and the 1.6 MJD have close to similar architecture, if I am not wrong, the Timing belt also drives the water pump. If true, hope TaMo has changed the belt too.

Timing belt is changed



As they had communicated earlier, engine oil top up was not required and only coolant is added. They also confirmed that engine will be turned off when overheating is detected and that's what would have happened bringing the car to halt. Before taking the car home, I also did a short test drive for about 20 minutes and didn't find any issue. The person who did the test drive last Saturday also joined me and he assured he didn't observe anything abnormal during the test drive on Saturday and after idling engine on Monday.

On requesting, they took me to the warranty section where all the damaged parts were packed and labelled to be sent to the Quality. I saw that the belt (forgot exactly which one) was damaged fully. Also, parts of the water pump that came out. They didn't let me take pictures stating company policy.



The black cover which I have marked in the picture above covers the water pump assembly. This cover was missing when I checked after car was stopped. I saw that part of the cover was melted due to overheating and I remember I got small piece of that melted part which I had handed over to mechanic who came to the spot.

Originally Posted by asr_b500

- What was that sound??
- Checking the engine oil dipstick, I felt it was completely dry. Didn’t see any sign of oil leakage though. Is it possible overheating dried complete oil?
- Any possible severe damage to the engine?

Now I know what was that sound

After finishing off formalities and writing down my feedback, headed back to Bangalore from The True Sai Works. Made sure the I check all modes during the drive and everything worked fine. I even tried driving the manual mode (which I had not done yet so far) and was fun on the highway. Made sure to have a look on the dashboard to see if any warning are popping up. Except the steering vibrations above 120 (which I have to check again when I could find some safe roads), all good and reached Bangalore by around 4pm. Service center and RSA Mr. Arun had suggested doing a checkup after reaching Bangalore, so I went directly to Cauvery Motors (from where I have taken delivery). They were already informed and Mr. Wilson and Mr. Thomas made sure that I they were ready to start check up as soon as I reach. It was surprising to see Mr. Thomas (I think he is the AGM) coming out to meet me and enquire about the issues. He informed that a 40-point checkup will be done to make sure all is well. I guess they took about an hour and gave the car back. I could see checkups done from the waiting lobby. Drove back home, relaxed and hoping that our beloved car will not give such shocks anymore

I'm yet to get an update on the extended warranty TaMo offered. Anyways, it was mentioned in the particulars list given to me that they have talked about extended warranty. Got feedback that taxi fare will be reimbursed, that request was approved.

Overall, I felt the response and actions from TaMo were way better than what I had anticipated. I just hope that something like this is not happening to other Harriers on roads.

22.11.2023
Didn't start car. Just wanted to check if there are any leakages. Didn't find anything till EOD.

23.11.2023
Checked again for any leakages, nothing spotted on ground and in the engine bay. Started and idled for few minutes, checked again and nothing found.

Thank you
A big thanks to all for your valuable feedbacks. Special thanks to @TheCamShaft for sharing contact details of Karnataka RSM. I felt things moved faster after I talked to Mr. Rameshkumar and felt they are taking this incident seriously.

After the breakdown, all the horror stories that I have read/heard about TaMo after sales service popped up in mind and I was really worried about taking my family safely back to Bangalore and about the car! We were lucky that it happened at a place not too far from nearby Service center. The response from The True Sai Works after I could connect with someone from there was promising. Thanks to Mr. Easwaran, Mr. Sukumar, Mr. Jawahar, Mr. Vijay, Service Center guys and the towing truck driver.

TaMo RSAs Mr. Arun and Mr. Rameshkumar for taking up the incident and giving prompt feedbacks. I hope they will make sure that the extended warranty and taxi fare reimbursements are also done without further follow ups from my side.

Mr. Thomas, Mr. Wilson for quickly arranging the checkup and assuring no issues after 230km drive.

Have a nice day everyone

[Kosfactor]

Good to have the car back home.

The 1.3 MJD had a timing chain, I am curious as to why the larger 2.0 MJD uses a timing belt, once you start to dismantle the engine bay to reach the belt , mechanics would prefer to replace so many things including other belts tensioners, water pump , seals , coolant etc it's going to increase the costs by a lot.

[asr_b500]

Just wanted to share the updates here!

Drive to Chennai
Did a Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore drive, to attend a colleagues wedding at Chennai. Started at around 6.30PM from Bangalore and reached Chennai by around 1.00AM. It took an hour for me to cover the first 8Kms due to the traffic in the evening, but ride from Hosur was smooth till Ambur. After Ambur, there were deviations at least at 15 places where over-bridges were being constructed. And last stretch towards the hotel where we stayed was too narrow (we just followed google maps), however we could manage it as it was already past 12.30AM and there were no vehicles on that route.

Headed back to Bangalore after the function. Started by around 1PM and reached home by about 8.30PM. Struggled a bit in Chennai as there were multiple deviations due to metro constructions.

I had changed both low and high beam lights from genuine accessories from TaMo earlier and I felt it was the right decision after this trip. Whole trip towards Chennai was night drive and the high beams really helped throughout the highways. Also figured out that the low beams alignment are not correct It was too bad that at some point I had to make sure that the left-side low beam is On or not. Foglamps slightly compensated misaligned low beam on the left side though. Lights were fixed in the morning and since the Service Center was full, they fixed it from the parking. I will be taking it to the center to get it fixed.

Data from iRA App: 14h52m, 709Kms, Avg FE 15Kmpl.

Follow-ups with TaMo
After a reminder to RSM, the taxi fare was reimbursed. The extended warranty is not yet registered. They told me that one year additional warranty will be registered and details will be shared, though I had demanded 2 year warranty. Further updates on this is yet to come. I don't know if a reminder mail would help here!

One hour mode???
Meanwhile, I observed something strange two days back with infotainment system. While we were driving to a relatives place the infotainment system just went blank after about an hour and Apple CarPlay stopped too. We were navigating using Google Maps and music was on with Spotify. It was not responding at all even after stopping the car and restarting. However, driver assist system which turns on the camera on mirrors while turning on indicators and the 360dg camera worked fine. It also showed messages when AC was turned OFF/ON. I don't know how but it was also showing 'One hour mode'. Couldn't find anything about it in the manual yet.
- Any idea what this 'One hour mode' could be?
- The fuel was low and DTE was about 80Kms. But I have driven till DTE showed about 50 or 60, and never faced it before. Even after refueling, it remained non-responsive.
It was working normal when we started the car after about 3 hours. Didn't face any issue during the drive back home and during two - three short drives around the city.

[Fastdriver]

So many problems after buying a TATA car which is unacceptable. Aftersales service is horrific to say the least (for many many owners). Other brand car owners face much fewer problems compared to Tata. TATA's USP is a safer car only with tons of problems for the customers to solve themselves and no remedy is in sight and probably will never be as the trend shows. People should rethink about buying TATA cars and if the sales take a hit they may think proactively. Tata is better at making HCVs/MCVs/LCVs/CVs. No offence to existing TATA car owners/lovers! Never considered buying a TATA and never will for myself. Their only jhunjhuna is the so called safe car with tons of niggles that come free invariably. How long will they ring the jhunjhuna of safer cars?

[M-Roc]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

I feel a lot relaxed with this support.

Very happy to know that you are relieved .

I can completely relate to you as my 3 months old Skoda Slavia is in service center because of a break down.(This is because of a manufacturing defect as confirmed by Skoda folks).

In your case you are fortunate enough to get the leadership contacts which could have led to speedy and quality service. For me as I don't have any such contacts I have to go through a delayed process.

Service centre people seems to be having a laid back attitude. I am going through a mental trauma and feeling stressed.

[greyhound82]

Originally Posted by M-Roc

Service centre people seem to be having a laid-back attitude. I am going through a mental trauma and feeling stressed.

It will be very helpful if you can create a separate thread of the entire ordeal. A new thread will surely give your problem a lot of visibility and it helped me to deal with TATA on my Harrier issue

[DroopyGarfield]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Just wanted to share the updates here!

Drive to Chennai


One hour mode???
Meanwhile, I observed something strange two days back with infotainment system. While we were driving to a relatives place the infotainment system just went blank after about an hour and Apple CarPlay stopped too. We were navigating using Google Maps and music was on with Spotify. It was not responding at all even after stopping the car and restarting. However, driver assist system which turns on the camera on mirrors while turning on indicators and the 360dg camera worked fine. It also showed messages when AC was turned OFF/ON. I don't know how but it was also showing 'One hour mode'. Couldn't find anything about it in the manual yet.
- Any idea what this 'One hour mode' could be?

It was working normal when we started the car after about 3 hours. Didn't face any issue during the drive back home and during two - three short drives around the city.

The 1 hour mode is the standby mode which kicks in when you shut down the engine and Android Auto/Apple Carplay is playing on battery. This means your display detected engine was off and not running.

I faced something similar, but my 360 degree camera went blank completely and won't work at all while songs etc played. Since this happened late at night and reverse cam is super critical at times, I conducted a forced reset of software and things were back to normal. Look for software factory reset video on YouTube, you need to be precise.

[SidTheChamp]

Ah..traumatic experience. I guess a few unlucky owners will get this issue of defective car and real world problem. While all manufacturers are vulnerable, it seems TATA cars are hit most by defects.

Similar experience with a colleague of mine who had issues in his new Nexon. He had to escalate to TATA top mgmt through Twitter to get his gearbox replaced. The service centre guy was not that supportive.

[asr_b500]

I was always a Harrier fanboy ever since its concept H5X was revealed few years back. The old Safari always caught my eyes and loved the Hexa when I started seeing it in my apartment regularly. So clearly, I was looking at bigger cars and I knew it will be a Tata.

Originally Posted by Fastdriver

. Aftersales service is horrific to say the least (for many many owners). TATA's USP is a safer car only with tons of problems for the customers to solve themselves and no remedy is in sight and probably will never be as the trend shows.

Luckily, after sales service was not an issue at least for me. The response from show room or service centres were way better than I had anticipated. And yes, I didn’t want to compromise on safety. Though the breakdown put a big question mark on it, I still trust my car (fan boy issues!!!).

Originally Posted by M-Roc

I can completely relate to you as my 3 months old Skoda Slavia is in service center because of a break down.(This is because of a manufacturing defect as confirmed by Skoda folks).

Really sorry to hear this, I can fully understand what you are going through now. Did you already create a separate thread on this topic? If not yet, please do so with all possible details. I’m sure there are people in our TBhp community who could help you. I’m not a technical guy but I learned a lot and all thanks to the amazing people here.

Originally Posted by DroopyGarfield

The 1 hour mode is the standby mode which kicks in when you shut down the engine and Android Auto/Apple Carplay is playing on battery. This means your display detected engine was off and not running.

Thanks for the feedback, but for me this happened while I was driving. And stopping and starting the car again didn’t solve it. And all cameras were working and 360 view. I didn’t do any reset, but it started working normal after about 3hours. I assume it was a sw glitch. Haven’t faced this issue during the last 2k plus drive.

Originally Posted by SidTheChamp

Ah..traumatic experience. I guess a few unlucky owners will get this issue of defective car and real world problem. While all manufacturers are vulnerable, it seems TATA cars are hit most by defects.

That was indeed a traumatic experience. Lucky that the time and spot were not odd. My 4y old son still asks if everything okay when he notices a sudden breaking, jumps over a bad pothole, or even when I honk bit long. And yes, I was one among those unlucky owners to face such a breakdown so early. Anyways, I have driven close to 3k after this incident so far and have not noticed any issues.

TaMo still has a lot to do with the QC. Door latch issue I mentioned in the very first post in this thread was clearly a miss from Quality checks. I still don't know what went wrong with the failed parts that lead to breakdown. As SC guys said, I hope it was a part manufacturing defect. Just hope no one else had to go through similar experience.

[Fastdriver]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Luckily, after sales service was not an issue at least for me. The response from show room or service centres were way better than I had anticipated. And yes, I didn’t want to compromise on safety. Though the breakdown put a big question mark on it, I still trust my car (fan boy issues!!!).

I sincerely hope that all TATA car owners get the very same experience as you have luckily found and the reported horrific experiences remain a thing of the past.

[asr_b500]

Update on extended warranty
I had asked for extended warranty along with financial compensation (taxi fare) during the initial discussions with Tata RSM. Though I tried for 2 year extended warranty, they said they can only manage one year. Finally, I paid Rs.7000/- and registered for 2yr extended warranty (they said it actually costs 30k).

I just reminded RSM about this over a message on 29th of November, and extended warranty was registered within a weeks time.

Meanwhile, 12V socket in the car stopped working while trying to fill air using Bergmann Typhoon tyre inflator (filled 3 tyres and it stopped while filling the last one). Later I checked the specification and found that it fuse rating for 12V socket was 10Amps and the inflator was of 150W. Since all other USB ports were working fine, assumed fuse would have gone and proceeded with my travel. After returning to Bangalore, took car to the service center and got fuse replaced and DEF refueling done.
- Was the fuse blown due to over current? I had used this inflator for my previous car and never faced this issue. I think the fuse rating was 15A in SCross (just checked the manual now).

[asr_b500]

Follow-up by Tata Motors, perhaps recall???

I haven't checked till date whether any action was taken by TaMo on the failed water pump assembly on a brand new car and here is an update! I got a call from dealership and they informed that Tata Motors is replacing the water pump assembly on all Harrier/Safari vehicles. This replacement is covered under warranty. The lady who contacted me told that all new models (mine is pre-facelift 2023 Sept) will undergo this replacement. They couldn't confirm which batch is affected. Also she said that the vehicle needs to be observed for one day, I hope they will leave engine running for about an hour and might take long test drive after work is done. They also informed that they are planning to take only one car/day for this work.

I'm planning to take mine to the SC tomorrow, they asked if I could bring the vehicle this week itself. I personally see this as a positive move as I was directly affected by faulty part and here I see a recall perhaps, to change the exact part. Will try to get more details from the service center tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I have done second service two weeks back. Odo was reading 7.1K, and currently reading 8.2K. I haven't faced any issues so far except the random glitches in the infotainment. As I see lot of swirl marks (all thanks the guys in the apartment cleaning the car) and two big scratches (thanks to the door guards in the nearby car in apartment parking), I'm again seriously thinking of getting a ceramic coating. Might do it once odo reaches 10K.

[Thyag]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

I asked for pictures of vehicle/parts damaged but they denied stating company policy. Missed taking pictures after breakdown as this whole thing was completely new and I was totally lost!

Originally Posted by asr_b500

On requesting, they took me to the warranty section where all the damaged parts were packed and labelled to be sent to the Quality. I saw that the belt (forgot exactly which one) was damaged fully. Also, parts of the water pump that came out. They didn't let me take pictures stating company policy.

Assume the owner of the car is a total noob and he wants to ask a relative or a friend or some known mechanic advice on the damage, parts change - so that person will not be able to get picture or video of the issue

They want us to trust & believe 100% blindfolded on TAMO & Dealers

[asr_b500]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Follow-up by Tata Motors, perhaps recall???

I'm planning to take mine to the SC tomorrow, they asked if I could bring the vehicle this week itself. I personally see this as a positive move as I was directly affected by faulty part and here I see a recall perhaps, to change the exact part. Will try to get more details from the service center tomorrow.

I can confirm that it was a recall after the SC visit.

I took the car to Service Centre, being a weekday there were not too many cars. Talked to SA, left the service center in 15 minutes. I explained shortly about the breakdown and part replacement done back in November. She told that they will check, replace the part and observe for sometime and I can take the car back by evening. She was not sure if the drive belts also will be replaced but I couldn't talk to the mechanic since I had to login for work, she assured to call me after checking the parts.

By noon, got a message from SA that Tata confirmed not to replace water pump assembly in my Harrier. She shared the screenshot of message that they received from Tata after checking the part numbers. Details from the screenshot are,

• Description: Harrier Safari Water Pump Updation
• Water pump assembly part number (the number mentioned here was matching with the part number that was replaced in November
• Failed part Decision: Call Back

She further explained that Tata provided list of only 10 cars (Harrier/Safari) from their Dealership that needs this part updation. I assume they are recalling cars from a particular batch (in and around September 2023).