[debuda]

43,500 km -- Suspension overhaul

A faint abnormal noise (khat-khat) was coming from the front suspension while going over potholes and I decided to get the complete suspension system (front and rear) fully overhauled as I like my car to be in perfect condition always.

The work was carried out at Royal Motors, Kolkata (M&M Service Center) over a period of two days. The complete suspension system was dismantled and all parts showing any sign of wear or tear were changed. Some parts (like shock absorbers) were covered under extended warranty but I had to pay for other parts (having rubber components) such as bushes, ball joints and kits.

My total bill came to Rs 7,500 (parts - Rs 4,600; labour - Rs 1,400; machine shop charges - Rs 1,500). I do not know the cost for the parts that were covered under warranty.

After the overhaul the abnormal noise was gone and the suspension felt like brand new.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by debuda

43,500 km -- Suspension overhaul..

My total bill came to Rs 7,500 (parts - Rs 4,600; labour - Rs 1,400; machine shop charges - Rs 1,500). I do not know the cost for the parts that were covered under warranty.

After the overhaul the abnormal noise was gone and the suspension felt like brand new.

Thanks Debuda for that update . Off late did you take up any Leh-Laddakh trip or driven over bad patches of road consistently? Asking this because 43.5K kms does not seem to be that big a mileage figure to warrant for suspension overhaul. Was it a manufacturing defect, which made the suspension go bust in such a short duration?

[debuda]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Thanks Debuda for that update . Off late did you take up any Leh-Laddakh trip or driven over bad patches of road consistently? Asking this because 43.5K kms does not seem to be that big a mileage figure to warrant for suspension overhaul. Was it a manufacturing defect, which made the suspension go bust in such a short duration?

I have driven in my XUV to Ladakh, North Sikkim, etc, but not in the recent past. I wouldn't say that my suspension "went bust", it was only making a slight abnormal sound. The recommendation to fully overhaul the suspension system came from the authorized service center and I did not contest it.

[debuda]

ODO : 50,500 km / 06 March 2018 : Final goodbye and long term ownership report

However excited I may be at the time of buying a new car and however satisfied I may be during its use, the novelty usually tends to wear off after a few years and the 'itch' for a new set of wheels starts after 4-5 years. The XUV was no exception and I sold it off after 5 years and 4 months, having driven it only 50,500 km.

My ownership was mostly trouble-free and niggle-free. When I bought my XUV-500 W6 in 2012, the XUV niggles thread on Team-BHP was arguably the hottest thread! I used to go through the posts and used to wonder how come my XUV doesn't have any niggles! Some problems did come later, but let me talk about the good things first :

The XUV never stranded me anywhere. Once, at Kargil en route to Ladakh it refused to start and had to be towed to a nearby Mahindra service center. It was found that water had entered the fuse box. This was not the car's fault but my fault because I allowed my engine compartment to be washed with copious amounts of water by an overenthusiastic man. The car was quickly back to normal after the fuse box was dried out.

After 4 years of use the power steering hydraulic fluid leaked but luckily I observed it in time and could drive to a Mahindra service centre before the entire fluid leaked out.

The original Amaron battery is still going strong. No battery has ever lasted this long in any of my earlier cars.

The Bridgestone Dueler tyres have enough tread left for another 25,000 km at least.

I have been getting incredible fuel economy of 12-14 kmpl in city and 16-18 kmpl on highway.

Service costs have been quite low and quality of service pretty good.

Quality of paint is very good and there is no rust-through anywhere in the car.

Other than power steering hydraulic fluid, not even one drop of any other oil or coolant ever leaked.

Except for minor body noises (biggest culprit being the instrument cluster cover) and suspension bushes, no abnormal noise was ever heard from the car.

Not even one bulb got fused.

Now the problem areas :

Silver box (Nippon make electronic module controlling music system, HVAC, etc.) packed up after 8 months and was replaced twice in quick succession under warranty.

One window glass winding motor packed up after 4 years and another after 5 years.

Power steering hydraulic oil leaked out twice - once after 4 years and once again a year later. IMHO, this is a serious design flaw directly affecting safety and reliability of the car.

One front axle CV joint rubber boot leaked after 5 years.

Suspension needed major overhaul after 43,500 km though the car is sedately self-driven mostly on good roads and extra cautiously on bad stretches.

Flimsy engine bottom guard (stone guard) made of plastic, broke twice.

Suspension unable to absorb craters, bumps, speed breakers, etc. Uncomfortable for even the driver - things much worse for second row passengers.

Front brake pads wear sensor wires are badly designed and kept snapping.

Hazard horn connecting wires broke multiple times.

To summarise, my XUV ownership was mostly trouble free but some failures took place rather prematurely which shook my confidence in long-term reliability of the car. So much so, that after my extended warranty expired after 5 years, I became increasingly paranoid about major failures. One month after expiry of extended warranty one more of the window winding motors failed.

My paranoia was proved to be not unfounded when on my last day of ownership, when its sale was already finalized, power steering oil started leaking again and I had to rush to a M&M service center to get it fixed. To add insult to injury, while repairing the oil leak, one front axle rubber boot started leaking grease. M&M were about to change the whole axle assembly till I intervened and discovered that they had one CV Joint kit (includes the rubber boot) in stock and the problem was solved economically by replacing the CV Joint and not the whole axle assy.

Some people may consider it a bit uncharitable on my part to highlight a handful of failures over 5 years (which, in all fairness, were almost niggle-free) but I am ruthlessly unforgiving when it comes to reliability issues. Why should any key component fail in 4-5 years in a car meticulously maintained and sedately driven personally by a 66 year old car lover who also happens to be a hands-on mechanical engineer? That too clocked only 50,000 km in 5 years!

In conclusion I would like to say that though my desire to acquire a replacement for my XUV was primarily due to the '5-year itch' factor mentioned earlier, a certain urgency crept into the process due to reliability issues.



Two weeks prior to sale





Two weeks prior to sale





Two weeks prior to sale





Leaving Kolkata on a foggy morning for Jamshedpur (I allowed the buyer to take a 300 KM test drive!)





Power steering hydraulic fluid leak being fixed on my last day of ownership





CV joint of front left axle being changed on my last day of ownership

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by debuda

ODO : 50,500 km / 06 March 2018 : Final goodbye and long term ownership report

Your ownership report was one of best reports which helped me to a greater extent when I bought my XUV. Hard to see the beast being sold.

However, a good bye to your XUV.

Now the important question, what is replacing this beauty?

[debuda]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Your ownership report was one of best reports which helped me to a greater extent when I bought my XUV. Hard to see the beast being sold.

However, a good bye to your XUV.

Now the important question, what is replacing this beauty?

Thanks a ton.

I just booked a Ford Endeavour 2.2 Titanium (2018 model with sun roof).

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by debuda

I just booked a Ford Endeavour 2.2 Titanium (2018 model with sun roof).

Congratulations Sir Endeavour is a good upgrade and one hell of a beast it is.

Wish you Happy Miles with Smiles!!

[tirthankard77]

Originally Posted by debuda

ODO : 50,500 km / 06 March 2018 : Final goodbye and long term ownership report

Hello Debu Da

Thank you for this ownership thread, loved ever letter of it. This played a major part for me to buy my first W4 and later change it to the W6 Automatic. I am sure once you have a thread on Endeavour, I might upgrade mine to one.