[asr_b500]

Tata Motors Toll Free number for Breakdown assistance: 1800 209 8282

This is definitely not kind of experience with my new harrier I wanted to post here in team-bhp. I was noting down all the good moments with the car since its delivery to make a detailed review. But I had to share this heartbreaking experience here first!

Took delivery of my Harrier XZA+ mid of September from Cauvery motors Bangalore and drove about 3500kms in about 2 months. Did my first service after crossing 1000kms from the same showroom/service center. Delivery and service were good and had no complaints. I was getting a feeling that we made the right decision getting Harrier.

Incident 1: Rear left door latch issue
After first service, accidentally figured out that the rear left door lock is not working. Issue was that the door will not get locked or unlocked with centralised lock system. Once it’s manually locked or unlocked it will not be unlocked or locked with the central lock system. Took it to Marina motors, Kozhikode to get it fixed as before travelling back to Bangalore as I wanted it fixed at the earliest. They thought latch has to be replaced but later found it was some connection issue within latch. It was fixed and covered under warranty. Pure QC issue and unfortunately I missed during PDI also.
One day gone getting it fixed, still kept calm hoping this would be the last issue I would face.

Incident 2: Breakdown at 3500Kms (15.11.2023)
Me, wife and our 4 year old son were travelling back to Bangalore from Coimbatore. Was driving mostly on cruise control keeping speed and not crossing 100kmph. After entering Salem, heard some noise (kind of something hitting in a fan). No warning lights and I was not sure if it was from car or from a nearby truck that passed by. Continued driving and in few minutes warning lamps (engine failure and low engine oil pressure) were on and soon I realised something is wrong. Luckily, it was just after a flyover and could safely park nearby. This is at about 5.30 in the evening. It took another 1.30 hour to get it towed to the service center. Response from service center (True Sai Works, Salem) was faster than I expected, thanks to Mr. Easwaran who also arranged a taxi for us to travel to Bangalore.

As expected there were only few people at the Service Center as it was already past 7 when we reached there. Didn’t get any feedback on what was the issue. They assured to get me the details at the earliest. Obviously had no other option than leaving car at Salem and travel back to Bangalore. I would have stayed back to see what is the actual issue if I was alone.

Heading back with a heavy heart and a thousand questions in mind.

- 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?

Sad, frustrated and disappointed with what happened today. Don’t even want to mention how sad my son was when we left the car at service center and came out.

16.11.2023:
Felt restless as the root cause was not clear. Got a call back from SA around 4pm and told that it was an issue with water pump assembly (broken) that its a manufacturing defect of that part. No issues found in the engine, oil was not fully dried off. Order for the parts for replacement is placed and expected to get the vehicle back in 4-5 days (parts have to come from Pune).
Slightly relieved to hear engine oil was not fully drained and no major issues noticed in the engine. However, I don't know if I should blindly believe that!

Parts to be replaced: Water pump assembly, idler, belt

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!

What next?
- Escalate incident: Not sure how to do this, contact numbers from TaMo website are not reachable. Will try sending email to the customer support.
- Compensation (extended warranty, financial losses due to breakdown):
1. Trauma my family had when our two months old car had a breakdown during mid of a long journey
2. Financial loss: Arranging taxi to continue journey, travelling back to Service center at Salem for checking the car once its ready
3. Loss of trust: If a 28L car from Tata can breakdown just in 3500Kms, how can I think that it will take us to places without such incidents?

Any suggestions, feedback would really help for my next steps.

Thanks you

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Tech Stuff. Thanks for sharing!

[Jaggu]

Sorry to hear this, any temperature warning had come up when you heard the sound? If not don't worry too much. Most likely it was just failed water pump and drive belts giving up.

Ask the workshop to ensure that 1) if the part failure has left some debris inside the water channel. If so 2) Ensure it's completed cleaned up somehow. Chances are failure might have happened at the part outside water channel.

Just when you think things have changed and are improving, you hear of these breakdowns

[TheCamShaft]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Parts to be replaced: Water pump assembly, idler, belt

What next?
- Escalate incident: Not sure how to do this, contact numbers from TaMo website are not reachable. Will try sending email to the customer support.
- Compensation (extended warranty, financial losses due to breakdown):
1. Trauma my family had when our two months old car had a breakdown during mid of a long journey
2. Financial loss: Arranging taxi to continue journey, travelling back to Service center at Salem for checking the car once its ready
3. Loss of trust: If a 28L car from Tata can breakdown just in 3500Kms, how can I think that it will take us to places without such incidents?

Sorry to hear about your pain. Typically water pump assembly has a life of upto 5 years, and definetely not normal to give up at 3500 kms. They would replace it under warranty.

How to Escalate: Assuming you bought the car from Bangalore , your first escalation contact is the Tata Motors Regional Customer Manager for Karnataka, apprise him on the matter.

Mr. Ramesh Kumar Varadarajan

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited,
2nd Floor, We Work,
9th Floor, RMZ latitude, Hebbal,
Bangalore – 560024

Contact: 080-66373400

https://cars.tatamotors.com/service/contact-us

Seek his feedback on all other concerns you have raised here, ask him for TML plant's feedback for your ongoing QC issues and request for a thorough assessment of your car with someone from plant. Ask him to keep you marked on all email correspondences with the plant

[asr_b500]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Ask the workshop to ensure that 1) if the part failure has left some debris inside the water channel. If so 2) Ensure it's completed cleaned up somehow. Chances are failure might have happened at the part outside water channel.

Thanks for the feedback!
I noticed AC fan speed increasing suddenly shortly after that sound. Just turned OFF AC and then turned it ON again and fan speed was back to normal. I couldn't relate the sound with to this sudden change. I didn't notice any warnings immediately after that sound. By the time we stopped the car it had engine failure, engine oil and engine temp warnings ON. Engine temperature had also touched red by then. All these happened in about 10 minutes.
Will check with SA regarding water channel cleanup.

Originally Posted by TheCamShaft

How to Escalate: Assuming you bought the car from Bangalore , your first escalation contact is the Tata Motors Regional Customer Manager for Karnataka, apprise him on the matter.
[indent]Mr. Ramesh Kumar Varadarajan
Contact: 080-66373400

Seek his feedback on all other concerns you have raised here, ask him for TML plant's feedback for your ongoing QC issues and request for a thorough assessment of your car with someone from plant. Ask him to keep you marked on all email correspondences with the plant

Thanks for the feedback!
I have already tried this number but was not reachable. Also there was no email ID in the website. I will try again to get actual number from showroom.

[TheCamShaft]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Thanks for the feedback!
I have already tried this number but was not reachable. Also there was no email ID in the website. I will try again to get actual number from showroom.

Have Directly Messaged you the number and email address of the RSM. Please follow up there.

Also keep customercare@tatamotors.com in CC in all your correspondence.

[Sam800]

What i don't understand is how can oil dry up if engine overheats? I've witnessed overheating in my 800, Omni and Tata indigo but never had any issues with engine oil drying up. I even had head gasket blown away in 800 but no issue with engine oil.
Can someone explain this to me please? There's no way 5ltrs engine oil can vapourise on its own in few minutes

[NavtejS]

For the engine oil, it depends on when the oil was checked. The oil should be checked when the engine is cooled down. If you are checking it while the engine is hot, you will not get an accurate reading and will feel like it is very less.

The correct way is to check when the engine is cold. At this point of time the oil is in the oil sump.
When the engine is hot, the oil is rotating in the engine to transfer heat and avoid premature ageing of parts. So the entire qty of oil won't be there and will not show on the dipstick.

[gauravdgr8]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Got a call back from SA around 4pm and told that it was an issue with water pump assembly (broken) that its a manufacturing defect of that part. No issues found in the engine, oil was not fully dried off.
Slightly relieved to hear engine oil was not fully drained and no major issues noticed in the engine.

Any suggestions, feedback would really help for my next steps.

Thanks you

It's good to hear that you were able to stop the car safely on the highway. While you should surely write about it to Tata and escalate via social media handles, keep a watch for the cars performance after you get it back. If the car runs well, you should be good.

As the service centre mentioned about the faulty part and it's coverage under warranty, it will be mentioned in your car service history. This will be taken care in future too.

Harrier is a good machine. Enjoy it. Wishing you many more happy miles

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

After entering Salem, heard some noise (kind of something hitting in a fan). No warning lights and I was not sure if it was from car or from a nearby truck that passed by. Continued driving and in few minutes warning lamps (engine failure and low engine oil pressure) were on and soon I realised something is wrong.

Are you sure it was the Engine oil pressure warning, that would be a critical failure. Please get all the error codes from the day of the breakdown to confirm what faults were stored. Also demand for all the repair details like pictures and what components were replaced. It is your car and you have the right to know.

[asr_b500]

Originally Posted by TheCamShaft

Have Directly Messaged you the number and email address of the RSM. Please follow up there.

Also keep customercare@tatamotors.com in CC in all your correspondence.

Thanks a lot for the contact details I talked to Mr. Rameshkumar yesterday (17.11.2023) and explained all issues. Shared details of car and incident and he assured to get back to me before EOD.

17.11.2023
Got a call from Mr. Rameshkumar along with another RSM (Mr. Arun) from Salem. They explained current status and next steps from their side,
- Incident has been escalated to the quality check team for further investigation from TaMo.
- Promised to deliver the car within a week after replacing the parts and thorough check up of the vehicle (test drive + checkups at Salem and Bangalore service centers).
- Will revert back on reimbursing taxi fare by EOD 18.11.2023 (Salem to Bangalore on the day of incident)
- Car will be delivered to be from Cauvery motors after final second round of check-ups
- Backup car from Cauvery motors till my car is delivered, I haven't received any updates on this so far from Cauvery motors though they told it will be arranged before noon.

They told me that car will be driven from Salem to Bangalore by authorised driver from The True Sai Works, which I have not agreed to. I asked them to bring it on flatbed towing. When I raised this demand, they said it will be good if its driven by their driver so that it will be also test drive and identify if there are any issues.

18.11.2023 1.30PM
Got a call from Mr. Arun with further updates
- Vehicle is ready, only a protective cover in the engine bay which was damaged is yet to come and fixed. They will do a short test drive near service center already. The cover is expected by evening and will also be fixed.
- As I requested flatbed towing, Mr. Arun is arranging the same. Since tomorrow (Sunday) is a holiday, car will be first brought to Cauvery Motors Service Center on Monday (20.11.2023). After another round of check up, mostly it will be delivered EOD Monday.
Question to seniors:- Should I ask them to drive the car instead of flatbed towing to ensure no issues in long drives? Salem to Bangalore (Cauvery Motors Avalahalli) is about 230Kms. I will not be happy someone else driving this long though
- Backup car (a nexon) is arranged at Cauvery motors. He shared showroom GrM number and told me that I can take the car whenever needed. Since its only two days, I probably will not take it.
- Taxi fare reimbursement is also requested by Mr. Arun. He needs approval from higher authority.

I see all these initiatives from TaMo slightly on the positive side. I'm happy that they are keeping me updated on each steps as its done. But it will take real good time and some long trips without any troubles to regain the trust I lost

Originally Posted by Sam800

Can someone explain this to me please? There's no way 5ltrs engine oil can vapourise on its own in few minutes

I checked the oil dipstick like about 10-15minutes after breakdown. Could be that it just was dry as it didn't cool down yet. However service center told that oil was not drained completely.

Originally Posted by NavtejS

The correct way is to check when the engine is cold. At this point of time the oil is in the oil sump.
When the engine is hot, the oil is rotating in the engine to transfer heat and avoid premature ageing of parts. So the entire qty of oil won't be there and will not show on the dipstick.

Thanks for the clarification I assume this was the case that I checked before it really cool down.

[harikrishnansp]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

I checked the oil dipstick like about 10-15minutes after breakdown. Could be that it just was dry as it didn't cool down yet. However service center told that oil was not drained completely.

Since you were driving around most of the oil would be in different parts of the engine. It would take atleast an hour if not more for all of it to trickle back into the sump. Also, whether you were parked in an incline while checking the level plays a part. The parking surface should be flat. Just check for leakages while driving around after receiving the car. It is completely normal for an engine to consume some oil before the first oil change. Try checking oil levels after parking on a level surface overnight, top up if required (I don't think it will come to that).

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Heading back with a heavy heart and a thousand questions in mind.

- 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?

Sad, frustrated and disappointed with what happened today.

Don't worry. With current technology it is almost impossible to damage the engine. There are plenty of failsafes, engine checks, sensors and software to shut the engine incase of any damage to the cooling system. 2 years back travelling the same route as you did from Coimbatore to Bangalore, my 90,000 kilometre driven i20 broke down because of coolant pump failure. Replaced the pump. Now currently the ODO stands at 108000. No engine issues at all. Smooth as the day it broke down.

Cheers!

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by asr_b500

Continued driving and in few minutes warning lamps (engine failure and low engine oil pressure) were on and soon I realised something is wrong.

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.

[asr_b500]

Thanks a lot everyone for your comments and suggestions. I feel a lot relaxed with this support.

From iRA Connect app, I could see that the car was taken for a test drive yesterday (18.11.2023). They have driven it for about an hour and close to 35Kms. Haven't received any feedback yet based on the test drive. Will ask for the same on Monday. I have attached screenshot from iRA app below.

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

It's good to hear that you were able to stop the car safely on the highway. While you should surely write about it to Tata and escalate via social media handles, keep a watch for the cars performance after you get it back. If the car runs well, you should be good.
Harrier is a good machine. Enjoy it. Wishing you many more happy miles

Thanks a lot, I will definitely keep an eye out for any issues that might pop up. I have already send a detailed mail to the RSM's and tata support. Will also share this experience in other social media platforms once I have my car back. So far the support from TaMo is good

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Are you sure it was the Engine oil pressure warning, that would be a critical failure. Please get all the error codes from the day of the breakdown to confirm what faults were stored. Also demand for all the repair details like pictures and what components were replaced. It is your car and you have the right to know.

Yes, I checked again with the manual. It was the engine oil pressure warning. As you have suggested, I have asked for logged error codes, details on replaced components. In the iRA app, it was showing drive train failure till yesterday. Seems they have cleared it before the test drive. I will update their response.

Originally Posted by harikrishnansp

It would take atleast an hour if not more for all of it to trickle back into the sump. Also, whether you were parked in an incline while checking the level plays a part. The parking surface should be flat. Try checking oil levels after parking on a level surface overnight, top up if required (I don't think it will come to that).

The car was parked in ramp to the NH44 from service road, it was not fully on a flat surface for sure. Also I checked dip stick like 10 minutes after we stopped. Will check for the oil level and for any leakage as you suggested once I receive car. Thanks a lot for the suggestions

Originally Posted by true_sedan

Don't worry. With current technology it is almost impossible to damage the engine. There are plenty of failsafes, engine checks, sensors and software to shut the engine incase of any damage to the cooling system. 2 years back travelling the same route as you did from Coimbatore to Bangalore, my 90,000 kilometre driven i20 broke down because of coolant pump failure. Replaced the pump. Now currently the ODO stands at 108000. No engine issues at all. Smooth as the day it broke down

Thank you, that gives me a good feeling about the future drives. Happy to know that your car runs smooth after fix and no engine issues. In fact the engine was not responding when I pressed accelerator pedal just before final stop. I also assumed this could be kind of safe state to not damage the engine any further, but was not sure. Like the over temperature error triggered and would trigger shutting down the engine. I will check this also with TaMo.

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.

Yes, they had mentioned drive belts also will be replaced. I have asked for the details of components replaced. Will confirm once I get this.