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Old 19th October 2009, 16:05   #1
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Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem

Hi,

Last week my uncle had a unique experience driving his Tavera (less than a year old).
While crossing a normal speed breaker (road hump) in Bangalore he heard a loud 'clunk' after which the vehicle suddenly listed drastically to the left side.
He could still drive though it was like steering a listing ship. Luckily he had not driven far and was able to get home safely.
The next day the vehicle was driven in the same condition to the dealer.
After investigation they said that it was a problem of the 'torsion bar'.
The repair took quite a while. They returned a part which looks like a fastener(bolt). See attached picture
The explanation was that there seemed to have been an impact from below while crossing the road hump. It looks like the head of the fastener has sheared off(towards the right half of the screw in the pic).

It is impossible that the road hump was the problem since it is a fairly regular one and the vehicle has crossed it many times earlier.
My hunch is that for some reason this fastener had come loose and thereby extending vertically below the vehicle more than it should have.

My uncle after having returned from a great road trip all over Kerala is horrified at the thought of what could have happened if this incident took place at high speed.

The effect of something causing the vehicle to suddenly list to one side while driving smells of something unsafe. He has written to GM and got the automated reply.

Is this a known issue with the Tavera ? Is there an explanation of what could have happened and how it could be avoided.

Any light on this matter would be highly appreciated.

Best Regards
Vish
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Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-tavera_2_scaled.jpg  

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Old 23rd October 2009, 15:58   #2
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Tavera - Torsion bar retainer

I have been looking to see if there were any other reports of a similar problem.

Well I found one link
Suspension problems | Maintain Your Car | Car Forums - CarWale.com
Here's someone who had this problem 4 times in 2006.

It's not a solution but just gives a feeling that though it may not be a common problem it may be a serious one.

Well! hoping for some feedback on this issue from the learned ones.
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Old 24th October 2009, 20:31   #3
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Can you get a better snap of the bar where its positioned on the vehicle? Is this part protruding too low from the vehicle axle? Which axle sank? Front or Rear?

Also am not sure if its the scale of the picture or not, but such a thin torsion bar? They would be solid 3/4 to 1 inch bar usually.

I also had a quick check with one of my very close friend in Kerala, his Tavera has done 1 lakh plus and he conformed he never had such issues.

Are you sure its not the U clamp?

Unfortunately i dont think there are many Tavera owners on the forum.
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Old 24th October 2009, 20:39   #4
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Dear Vish,
I am not sure if it is the same problem. I shall anyway share this info with you.
We hired a tavera from delhi to travel till Leh and back. At Rumtse, we experienced this problem. Tavera went on a bad pot hole after which, the front right tyre started touching the wheel well. When we saw the vehicle from outside, we saw that the car has bent towards the right. Is this what your uncle also faced? If yes, this happened some four times on our entire trip inspite of he replacing this part.
Cheers,
Deepak
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Old 26th October 2009, 14:41   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
Can you get a better snap of the bar where its positioned on the vehicle? Is this part protruding too low from the vehicle axle? Which axle sank? Front or Rear?

Also am not sure if its the scale of the picture or not, but such a thin torsion bar? They would be solid 3/4 to 1 inch bar usually.

I also had a quick check with one of my very close friend in Kerala, his Tavera has done 1 lakh plus and he conformed he never had such issues.

Are you sure its not the U clamp?

Unfortunately i dont think there are many Tavera owners on the forum.
Jaggu,

Thanks for your reply. Actually this is the torsion bar retainer, not the torsion bar itself. Apologies I'm using words since I'm not too sure about the exact design and the technical terms.

The front axle left side sank. This retainer which is like a bolt (the head part in the photo is missing) is located one each behind the front wheels.
You could say almost one below the front passenger and one below the driver seat. That's just to give you an idea.
To see it one has to get on the knees , but it's closer to the vehicle side and it can be reached easily.

When fixed(tightened) correctly this part does not protrude at all.
The photo shows the part in the condition it was removed from the vehicle.
The screw should idealy be fully in on one side and not halfway out as in the photo.

My guess is that the screw part must have become loose, maybe with vibrations and started slipping out. I still don't understand why the head has sheared off.

Unfortunately as it is located below the vehicle it is not visible for a frequent inspection.

Thanks again for your time

Regards
Vish
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Old 26th October 2009, 15:19   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by starter View Post
Dear Vish,
I am not sure if it is the same problem. I shall anyway share this info with you.
We hired a tavera from delhi to travel till Leh and back. At Rumtse, we experienced this problem. Tavera went on a bad pot hole after which, the front right tyre started touching the wheel well. When we saw the vehicle from outside, we saw that the car has bent towards the right. Is this what your uncle also faced? If yes, this happened some four times on our entire trip inspite of he replacing this part.
Cheers,
Deepak
Deepak,

Yes this sounds very much like what happened. Except that it happened on the left side.
Your experience when it happened 4 times on the trip is very unnerving.
(The other link that I posted also states that this problem tends to repeat).
However it seems that a bad stretch of road is a common factor.

How did you managed to change the part 4 times on your trip?. were you carrying the spare or was it done at a mechanic.

The problem now is that driving is not very enjoyable since the situation can occur anytime.
No answer from GM on this so far.


Regards
Vish
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Old 26th October 2009, 17:08   #7
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I am really surprised to see this thread and the problem. My Tavera has done 80K kms. No problems whatsoever.

I have driven through the craters in Mangalore, the 'bumpy' roads in Karnataka and the 'swimming pools' in Kerala.

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-yes-nh.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-b-nh-kerala.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-c-nh-kerala.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-d-nh-kerala.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-e-nh-kerala_not-swimming-pool.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-f-nh-kerala_not-photo-mars.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-g-nh-kerala.jpg

Tavera - Torsion Bar Problem-i-nh-kerala.jpg

My vehicle is as sturdy as ever. I even flew over one unmarked bump near Yellapur @ 80 km/hr. Still No Issues.

The worst beating my Chevy took was when I landed on hard mud after my front tyre burst near Kankavli @ 90 km/hr. My vehicle skidded quite a bit and came to rest on mud. The under belly was hit quite hard.

The service centre in Vasco, Goa removed all the mud from the engine guard underneath. The engine guardplate was twisted, but there were no other damages.

So infact, I am shocked to see the pic. Tavera is a no-problem vehicle for me till this minute!
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Old 26th October 2009, 18:00   #8
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Torsion bar retainer

Even i had a problem with torsion bar retainer in my sierra. When traveling on the high way the right rod broke so whenever we braked the vehicle used to pull to the right.
When taken to TASS they told it was a common complaint with sierra's.
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Old 26th October 2009, 22:51   #9
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Thanks for clarifying, ok so its a retainer bolt. Most probably it was not fitted or tightened properly and would have resulted in scrapping and would have sheered off. But still its a bad design then, should have a lock pin to prevent it from coming off.
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Old 27th October 2009, 06:55   #10
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dad's tavera has had the same thing break twice after crashing over speed breakers at high speed. he was told that this is a frequent issue

Last edited by greenhorn : 27th October 2009 at 07:02.
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Old 27th October 2009, 10:20   #11
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So does that mean this part is protruding out that it gets scraped? Can someone kneel down and grab a shot please?
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Old 8th January 2010, 00:06   #12
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Had a first hand sighting of such a sight 2 days back, a call center cab lost the front LT side and was parked on the side, right in front of the office. The footpath was covering and didnt allow me to shove the camera in for some pictures
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