[adityamunshi]

About 10 days ago, i was driving home from college (happily unaware of the troubles i was about to face ) when i noticed the clutch pedal gradually going down. By the time i reached home, it became impossible to change gears.

My mechanic told me the clutch pressure plate needs to be replaced. So i bought a genuine TATA branded set consisting of a clutch plate, pressure plate and release bearing. So far so good, i get the car the next day with everything done. However, i have problems shifting and get the clutch 'set' 3 times but still no respite.

The gears are super smooth when the car is at a standstill and once it gets moving shifting becomes rough and clunky.

I go back to the mechanic, get a 'gear lever kit' installed for 70rs but its still the same.

Two days later, the clutch cable breaks that too is changed but i still have problems changing gears. Its less frequent now but still not close to normal.

Another thing i noticed after the clutch plate was replaced was the tachometer needle comes down jerkily. Like the second hand of a clock but with larger steps and a bit faster. How this is related to the clutch ive no idea .

Experts, please advise.

[humyum]

This looks like a sign of clutch plate not completely disengaging with the flywheel when the clutch pedal is depressed, hence the hard gearshifts.

I think the best bet would be to go to a tata authorised service station and set things right.

[Sam.k]

I’m facing a nasty & nagging clutch problem with my vista Quadrajet drivetech-4 which is 21 months old and had clocked up to 26k kms. The problem is whenever the car is driven the the clutch pedal start getting harder and starts squeaking as i drive and gets very hard after driving more than 10-15 kms.Lately,whenever i engage the clutch during sudden/panic braking, the car sometimes shakes and engine turns off after which i start the car and continue to drive. Problem vanishes when the car cools off and reappears when i drive the next time.

The above mentioned hard clutch issue has been prevalent since 5000kms after replacing many parts under warranty by two TASC's(Chennai and Coimbatore),the issue still persists.Moreover i would like to know if anyone here has contact details of any senior person in TATA MOTORS to escalate this further.I have used their grievance cell and customer care but the issue hasn't been resolved permanently even after them intervening.

Wondering if i should approach the consumer court as this seems to be heading nowhere.

[gauravdgr8]

Here is the twitter account for Ratan Tata:

Ratan N. Tata@RNTata2000

Send him a tweet with all the details and a link to the T-BHP page. It will surely help. It has in the past for many people.

Also his email id that I found out is:

rntata@tata.com

Hope to see your issue resolved in the near future.

[ameaa]

I am not sure if vista has a hydraulically operated clutch. If so try changing the clutch fluid with fresh one. Please use the brand specified in your manual. You can try this in a normal garage. I too had similar problem in my safari and the same vanished when i changed my fluid with castrol DOT4 mentioned in the manual. Not sure if this helps.

[greenhorn]

to be honest, By tata standards thats a fairly ordinary complaint. I think going to the top at this point would be over the top. You still would have to waste time going through the normal escalation route -> dealer customer service manager, Feedback call, tata customer support website form, then the local TML customer support manager, THEN probably ping the man himself. Good luck!

[Sam.k]

Originally Posted by ameaa

I am not sure if vista has a hydraulically operated clutch. If so try changing the clutch fluid with fresh one. Please use the brand specified in your manual. You can try this in a normal garage. I too had similar problem in my safari and the same vanished when i changed my fluid with castrol DOT4 mentioned in the manual. Not sure if this helps.

ameaa - Considering that all the services has been done at TASC's so far,is it possible that they might have used a different grade oil?

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Here is the twitter account for Ratan Tata:

Ratan N. Tata@RNTata2000

Send him a tweet with all the details and a link to the T-BHP page. It will surely help. It has in the past for many people.

Also his email id that I found out is:

rntata@tata.com

Hope to see your issue resolved in the near future.

Thanks gauravdgr-Now that i have these details,will use them if i dont get it resolved this one last time.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

to be honest, By tata standards thats a fairly ordinary complaint. I think going to the top at this point would be over the top. You still would have to waste time going through the normal escalation route -> dealer customer service manager, Feedback call, tata customer support website form, then the local TML customer support manager, THEN probably ping the man himself. Good luck!

greenhorn-As you have mentioned this a fairly ordinary complaint,i too thought so.But not any more as the TASC has no clue what so ever needs to be done further.I wish they has escalated to their senior technical guys and got them involved to sort out the issue.When they called for a feedback,i told them that i may have to take it to another TASC as i dont see them capable of giving a solution for which they kind of accepted and let me off the hook.I have been through the above escalation matrix twice before and i doubt if its gonna make a difference for the 3rd time.However i am going to try a different TASC and also what ameaa has suggested.

[greenhorn]

unless you find a TASC that has good reviews ( I am yet to find one in chennai myself), It would be better to try a local workshop which specializes in tata cars - I have had a great experience with one in kerala, yet to find one here. Since your car is in warranty, Ask them to test drive it, and armed with their diagnosis, ask a TASC to try doing that.

[Sam.k]

Below are the list of spares that have been replaced for the same complaint 3 months ago under warranty

Clutch master cylinder-Rs.1869.87
Clutch cylinder-Rs.1061.13
Rane power rap with dust seal-Rs.12,419

I dont have the previous list of spares replaced back in dec'11 righ now.Will look into that as well.

[ameaa]

Originally Posted by Sam.k

ameaa - Considering that all the services has been done at TASC's so far,is it possible that they might have used a different grade oil?

Try your luck since this is a very cheap troubleshooting. Since you have the heavy clutch after some running, it indicates that the system becomes harder after the engine bay reaches the operating temperatures. Though all oils are made to same spec, performance might differ with different conditions. Good example is different engine oils though made to same spec, still people prefer specific brands. Since your master and slave cylinders were changed, you can try once. I have seen TASS draining the filling the same fluid again in many cases. As greenhorn said, knocking TATA higher ups may not give you good results and time consuming too.
In case if you are changing the fluid make sure they do the correct bleeding procedure, otherwise you will again end up with heavy clutch. Good luck..

[Sam.k]

This is an experience of mine and an example of why TATA's sales are dwindling by the day due to their horrendous A**.

My vista Drivetech-4 has completed 30k kms service today and is running on the 3rd set of clutch assy,sleeve,cylinder replaced under warranty after three repeated escalations since the 5000km mark and my clutch is still rough & hard...as in it is gritty/has a grinding/too much friction feel and squeaks while depressing and releasing(video attached).This happens particularly once the engine warms up after 2-4 kms and the roughness/squeak persists until the engine cools down.Similarly a gritty noise can be heard outside under the engine bay after the engine is switched off.Once it is cool,its soft and light.Just to cross check i had a couple of friends drive my car and they too felt the same,so i am sure its not in my head.

Before taking delivery today,i requested that i check out atleast 3 more vista's in the workshop and figured out that each vista is different when it comes to clutch behavior.The irony is the staff themselves agree that quality is very inconsistent and its a matter of luck to get a soft clutch vista .And when i question about the DDIS engines being more or less 100% issueless,the SA had the audacity to say "Sir,that's a Maruthi and this is TATA,lets not even compare the both even though they have the same engine".This shows how even their own staff perceive their own products

Each time i escalated the particular isuue,thought that some senior technical person from Tata will get involved due to the pattern of the complaint. But on the contrary the issue has never gotten past the concerned TASC and hence no solution so far.Is going to the consumer court a good idea at all or do i have to accept that my car is a lemon/ defective after 2 years and 4 services

Any ideas on how to go about this issue henceforth would be truly appreciated as i am at my wits end contemplating selling the car off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkI13...ature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZPvG...ature=youtu.be

[pganapathy]

@sam.k - see if you can get the issue escalated beyond the A$$. It is pretty obvious that they are unwilling or unable to resolve said problems. Therefore if you want to have any hope of getting the vehicle to run well, Tata themselves need to get involved.

From your description of the noises it sounds like there is no lubrication.

Please let us know if things get resolved what the problem actually is

[Lukeskywalker]

Any ideas on how to go about this issue henceforth would be truly appreciated as i am at my wits end contemplating selling the car off.

For a start you could get the car checked at another TASC if you have already not done it. Like their cars, the service centres are also inconsistent when it comes to fault analysis.

P.S. The title of the thread is a bit misleading IMHO, you could possibly state the problem at hand rather than a generic statement.

[bharatbs]

I completely agree with the title of the thread. This is clearly reflected in their current sales/revenue.

Reliability and quality is a major issue with Tata cars, and very little has changed over the years. (My experiences with Indica and Nano)

Unless Tata approaches quality with a war footing like the Japanese companies do, they are likely to be reduced to the taxi segment in India.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Sam.k - please PM me your mobile number immediately.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar