[smsrini]

Srini mentioned that he's done close to 35k kms on this car. It would be good to know how good the tyre treads are. The 1 rupee coin test ?

My experience with Bridgestone Potenzas on a lancer, close to 30k kms, the tyres tend to give in to even nails/stones.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by suman

And I wouldn't be surprised if they refuse to give any explanation & blame it on non-stock alloys & rubber

Originally Posted by prabhuav

I might get lynched here but here goes .
Were these aftermarket alloys the same spec as stock. If not TATA is well within their rights to refuse warranty for suspension failure.

From personal experience I can say that they do not nitpick on minor issues while considering the warranty - else my purse would be about 70-80k lighter by now instead of 6k from the last 'service experience'.

[suman]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

From personal experience I can say that they do not nitpick on minor issues while considering the warranty - else my purse would be about 70-80k lighter by now instead of 6k from the last 'service experience'.

It depends Steer - on the relationships etc; its just that the vehicle has done a fair bit of mileage, 35k & unless its a burst tyre which caused this.......as I said, I wouldn't be surprised

[dadu]

I read and read again and still believe it was a blowout because if the knuckle arm bolts are weak, cracked and broke due to stress, the tyre should have wobbled like crazy from the time it happenned before blowing out(atleast for a sec or two).

Srini would have heard a rubbing sound as the tyre would have rubbed against the inside walls(before blowing out) and the inside guards would have broken since they are made of plastic.

Now Srini has quoted that he was driving at 80-100 and he first heard a thud sound and immediately went down 1ft (blowout) then he tried controlling the steering to a straight line, I cannot see the inside walls broken, no plastic fragments on the road too(due to an inflated tyre rubbing against the body weight).

If the suspension had broken first, the steering would have felt the virbation first and immediately followed by all kind of noises due to rubbing etc.

But let the TATA engineers investigate this for a final cause.

[bglsrini]

sorry friends......Iam in mumbai.
I just got time to check my mails and this thread.
I thank everyone for your support.I am following with prerana and sent my driver with the pictures.Waiting for the feedback.

In a nutshell:
1.The road was a strait and new laid road.
2.The rubber is stock and tubeless.
3.The vechile was taken delivery last december.
4.I heared the sound.....by the time i realised all is over.I have not heared and hissing sound or so.
Iam intracting with customer relation manager of prerana.....and they have not touched my car yet.

Shall update you soon.......

[cypher]

Glad to know that you are ok. That's one scary incident.

Strange, I've seen quite a few Indicas with exactly the same breakdown. Though I'm sure there aren't any common part between an Indica and the safari.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Finally: My detailed analysis:
This does not seem to be a case of puncture / tyre failure.
As seen on pic 4 there is a fair amount of friction on the suspension component which was bolted on and the bolts sheared off. What could have happened is that the bolts might not have been fully tightened and there must have been a gap in the 2 components causing some play resulting in the shiny polished finish as seen in the picture 4. This surely must have generated some small play and over time the bolts have been unable to withstand the stress and sheared off. This seems to have been the cause for the suspension failure.
About the tyre:
If you notice the rim is almost at 80* to the road. When the suspension failed, the rim moved out of its straight trajectory and turned outward due to the forward movement of the vehicle. At 80-100kph the force generated by the 2 ton vehicle in acceleration at the time of suspension failure is sufficient to force the extreme outward angle of the rim. Also note that there is not sufficient space inside the mudguard/fender to accomodate the tyre at such an extreme angle. Coupled with the speed of the vehicle the tyre beading seems to have been forced out of the rim as the suspension failed and the rim turned outward to maximum angle.
There are no marks on the sidewall of the tyre to suspect that the sheared suspension bolts punctured the tyre. Note the rim drag marks on the tarmac in pics 2 and 5.

My final opinion is that there was a play in the suspension component that caused the bolts to shear off due to stress OR defective quality of bolts. But i feel its more likely the first case after looking at the polished surface of the sheared component in pic 4.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Srini,

Thank god you are safe.

I see it this way.

1) The tyre would have given way and due to stress on the knuckle arm of the suspension, it gave away .

2) The torn bolts indicate the amount of stress its been under( might also be a defect with the bolts used.

But to all its worth, the repair cost on these kind of damages are really minimal.

I shared these photographs with my mechanic, he says

" since safari has the engine guard and also due to the high ground clearance there would be no damage to the engine and other parts. There is nothing that would have hit the road. You only need to remove those 2 bolts, put in a new ones, get the stepney tyre in place and start driving, He confirms that there is no major damage and nothing to fret."


Dont get into too much of botheration, this in turn will increase your chances of fat bill.

You any ways have warranty on the Safari since its just 10 months old.

[suman]

Originally Posted by dadu

I read and read again and still believe it was a blowout because if the knuckle arm bolts are weak, cracked and broke due to stress, the tyre should have wobbled like crazy from the time it happenned before blowing out(atleast for a sec or two).

Hmmm....let me share an experience with you.

Quite a few months back, returning home from a dinner with the family. A long straight stretch about a km & a half from my house. Was at around 80 kmph, took a small gradient & a gentle curve & suddenly felt the steering behaving funny! In the next 5 seconds or so, realized that my left front tyre had suffered a puncture & was losing air real quick.

However, being a dark & deserted patch of road, with wife & kids in the car, decided to push my luck & not to stop. Two perpendicular right turns & up the slope from the gate at my apartment & back halfway into my stilt parking before it gave up completely.

The tube was in tatters (as I saw next morning when I took it to the puncture repair shop) but alloy wasn't damaged nor any visible damage to the suspension. Mind you, my vehicle has tubed tyres which loose air almost instantly with a puncture.

So, in Srini's case - that kind of suspension damage arising out of a TUBELESS tyre puncture or blowout at speeds of 80-100? Dunno, maybe, maybe not.

I would say maybe some previously undetected damage causing wear & tear & subsequent breakage, who knows? Srini & perhaps Prerna would be able to tell.

[hrag]

I may be completely off the mark but a case of an unnoticed suspension component damaged and eventually giving way? Question for the experts - what happens if a broken bush on the tie-rod is left unattended?

[getsurya]

Srini,

Good to note that you are safe.

3 months back I was driving my Ikon from Hyd to Blr in the night. After crossing Kurnool(about 15km or so) at speeds of 90-100kmph my car went on a bad patch of road and within 2 seconds both the front tyres(with tubes) are flat. I steered the car safely(luckily) to the left and got down to see the damage. The car is completely on the rims with both tyres ripped open like a can of sardines!! I walked back to see what caused that kind of damage-the road had a cut wide enough to fit both the ikon tyres at one shot and slice them through(knife through butter!!). my ikon is on aura alloys and nothing happened to the alloys nor the suspensions etc.(I got the car checked thoroughly the next day at METRO ford).
Looking at the pics i definitely feel the problem is with the car's front arms and housings.Sorry to say and to agree with Raj: I would never trust TATA for their quality!! There is no way a car can damage its arms with a sudden flat tyre.
Please get the TATA quality team involved too.

[Jaggu]

Thank god you are safe! and i wouldnt go with the service guys making remark that you were saved coz of 2 ton truck! The damage could have been more since its a heavier and higher vehicle! Advising rubbish, they should be fired from job.

This is complete suspension failure, was the car subjected to any major impacts on suspension front recently or otherwise? Did you have any other suspension problem symptoms, which were repaired.

Really dont think its the alloys or tyres, tyres seems to be well within upsize limit (if any). My take, the suspension failed, tire might have taken impact from the car mudguard or the road and deflated and while it got dragged got badly deformed (as seen in the pic) OR wheels were pointing sideways with suspension/steering failure, got dragged and damaged.

Strongly suggest to get Tata customer care involved so that real reasons identified atleast and hope you get your car repaired ideally under warranty itself.

[bglsrini]

Thanx for all your support.
Yes the quality of TATA may be bad and this problem may be one of its kind.But,I surely want to find out what went wrong and how to rectify it and see that this kinda problem dose not come for anyone.

Also,there is some quality issues with tata cars,But it has lot of advantage too.For such and accident with the median close by.....thank god,I am saved. And lot of other good things about TATA cars too.

Let me update when i get complete details.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by suman

So, in Srini's case - that kind of suspension damage arising out of a TUBELESS tyre puncture or blowout at speeds of 80-100? Dunno, maybe, maybe not.

I am no mechanical expert but the basis of my theory is on the aspect that Srini didnt feel anything on the steering before the "thud". He felt it only after the "thud". I could be wrong.

[bglsrini]

I feel its not a tyre blowout.In fact while i was in hosur road,twice the car pulled towards the right when i braked. Then i braked hard and saw for 2 to 3 times and felt it was ok and then i started driving through the chandapura-sarjapura road and came to sarjapura road towards bangalore where it happened.