[Mudhalaipatti]

So finally managed to get the Area Customer Care Manager and get things moving at Shiva Automobiles on the faulty cruise control. These guess really need a wedge (read aappu) to get their A$$ moving. The RM calls me on Monday and tells me that the steering wheel is ready. I ask him it was only a switch isn't it. He says Mahindra has agreed to replace the whole steering wheel under warranty. I'm in Trichy on Monday and so I tell him, let me come over. He then sheepishly says, not today. The Mechanic is on leave. I tell him I'll come on a Saturday and get it fixed.

On Saturday, I make it to SS and ask the mechanic to get this done before my eyes. He hesitantly says ok. I tell the RM and the Floor Manager that I better get to see this in person, after the escalation. They too agree. I ask them to plug the OBD scanner and show me the error codes that are logged.

Here is what the comp throws up. Three error codes each mentioning clearly the following.



P0575 - POWERTRAIN - Non Plausibility error for cruise control
P1575 - POWERTRAIN - Stuck key error for cruise control
P0577 - POWERTRAIN - Signal Range Check for Cruise Control switch above maximum limit

Check out the state of the errors, it's yellow which means it's not a permanent error that's written in to the system logs.

Everyone including me, then come to the conclusion that the switch is infact faulty as it's got stuck somewhere in between and replacing the steering wheel will rectify the problem.

And so a new steering wheel is mounted. Here is the part number. May-2012 manufactured one, taking a good 2 weeks to reach the center of TN.



These are the pictures of the old steering wheel. I must say it's a sturdy build. The leather stitching and the general mold, is top notch.





And oh yeah, here is where you plug in the OBD scanner that thee guys have. No unscrewing, nothing. A simple plug and play mechanism



The new steering wheel is fitted, the airbag amounted and the error codes reset. The steering wheel is a little faded as against the rest of the steering column. That's ok. One coat of trim restorer and it shouldn't look like a orphan child in this setup.





Now time for a test drive.
The vehicle performs as per expectation. I do the following.
Case 1 - Engage cruise control by pressing + button. Does it engage CC - Yes - Pass
Case 2 - Disengage CC by pressing clutch. Does CC disengage - Yes - Pass
Case 3 - Engage cruise control by pressing RES button. Does it engage CC - Yes - Pass
Case 4 - Disengage CC by pressing brake. Does CC disengage - Yes - Pass
Case 5 - Engage cruise control by pressing + button, at around 120kmph. Does it engage CC - Yes - Pass
Case 6 - Increase speed by pressing + button - Does speed go up - Yes - Pass
Case 7 - Decrease speed by pressing - button - Does speed come down - Yes - Pass

Now comes the bouncer and the most important finding.

Case 8 - Keep pressing the + button for a good 5 seconds. The vehicle accelerates like a bullet. Well wait, only up to a point. Then CC disengages itself. 'THE END'. And it's the sad demise of CC and doesn't come back again. It's dead. Back to square one.

I was half expecting this. Take the vehicle back to the SS and plug the OBD scanner and guess what, it shows the same three error codes. I then ask the technician to jump in to our discussion and explain him the situation. It may afterall be a software issue as against a hardware issue. I ask him to raise a SCR - Service Complaint Request and send it to Mahindra. It's already 3 p.m and I have been in the SS for a good 6 hours now and have got commitments back home. The RM mentions that the error codes have been erased and I should be fine. I reluctantly agree and take the vehicle back home. I try the CC during this morning trip from Trichy to Chennai. It doesn't work. Not even a bit. Infact my previous observations of CC buttons on vodka, surface again. Pressing the - engages the cruise control and sometime off button brings it up.

I then try to do some Jugad thing. Remove the battery terminals and connect again, hoping the XUV codebase is windows and a restart fixes it. No, It doesn't. So Mahindra it's not windows. It's a even worse code base. ( Someone has beaten MS on this)

And so gentlemen, fellow XUV owners, if you want to screwup your CC, all you have to do is press the + button for a little more than 5 seconds. So simple to screwup anything in life. Eh !

Atleast now, I'm not overly bothered, as this is a definite software issue and can be corrected anytime. I have already explained this issue the SS guys and hopefully the would consult Mahindra on this. However how do I get this escalated to Mahindra to get them work on this software patch immediately. This is something quite serious, isn't it.

PS - While I was there at the SS, the lighting was just perfect for some belated photos of a Cheetah which was all covered in dust for 3 days.

[debuda]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

The RM calls me on Monday and tells me that the steering wheel is ready. I ask him it was only a switch isn't it. He says Mahindra has agreed to replace the whole steering wheel under warranty.

Thanks for a most informative post. It seems clear that your A.S.C. guys have been barking up the wrong tree and changing the steering wheel was entirely unnecessary. I hope the problem gets rectified soon through a software fix. Do keep us posted.

One scary thought -- if any of the steering mounted switches does go kaput, would it be necessary to change the entire steering wheel? Can't the switch panels be individually changed?

Last question -- does the price of the steering wheel shown on the carton include the driver airbag assembly?

[Mudhalaipatti]

Originally Posted by debuda

One scary thought -- if any of the steering mounted switches does go kaput, would it be necessary to change the entire steering wheel? Can't the switch panels be individually changed?

Last question -- does the price of the steering wheel shown on the carton include the driver airbag assembly?

Yes, unfortunately yes. If one switch goes for a toss, the entire assembly has to be changed. I asked them this specific question and the reply was that it was one single piece and changing the switch is next to impossible. However, I doubt their declaration.

The price shown is only for the steering assembly. The air bag is a separate unit. Not sure of the price of the airbag though. Will inquire next time.

[Mudhalaipatti]

One year. Phew. What a journey it's been. Relatively niggle free. Peaceful.
The odd second looks the car get from kids and girls, even after a year - Priceless.
Here goes a detailed ownership update.

Some vital statistic of Sita







I maintain all expenses in aCAR (Android App). It’s quite a handy app and serves my purpose. I also maintain an excel sheet as a backup in my comp. This is how it looks.



The Cheetah can sprint away, without bothering to visit a watering hole, quite often. It's tank gobbles up a mammoth 75 liters in one go. Also it has some of the best FE figures, among it's peers. And so I tried to figure out the parameters that might possible influence it's thirst and came up with the following items.

Loading
Tyre Pressure
Outside Temperature
Inside Temperature
Air Con Mode (Recirculation or Fresh Air)
KM Run

This is how my data capture sheet looks like.



And following are my findings
• I find that the FE data shown on the infotainment system and the one calculated by tank fill method, to be more or less the same. I get an average difference of 0.5 kmpl
between these two methods. Not a showstopper anyway.
• The foremost influencer of FE figures is loading, apart from driving style. With 1 person on board and driving at around 100kmph on a highway gives you anything beyond
18kmpl. As the load increases, the FE drops and under full load or overload it drops to around 16 kmpl.
• Aggressive driving on a highway can bring down the FE to under 10kmpl.
• And if it’s bumper to bumper traffic and you are stuck for ages, the FE figure may drop below 9kmpl.
• However, my suspicion on the AC/outside temperatures, tyre pressure having significant influence on FE, proved to be unfounded.

The average occupancy in my car through out the year hovers around 5. Yeah it's become a people mover. Most of the times it's humans. Sometimes it's 20kg of Briyani. And in some cases, 20 kg goats, that ultimately became the briyani.

Some of the practices that I follow, while filling fuel.
I make it a point to fill fuel only from COCO. My weekly run is roughly around 1000km and almost-always on the same roads. The Cheetah has been roaming around its own territory and never really ventured out at large.
The first point before I choose to fill diesel from a new bunk, is to ask for quantity and quality measurement. If there are not ready or not willing to get the test does, I skip the bunk. Unless otherwise, there isn’t another bunk within the next 20 odd kms.
When I’m satisfied with the quantity test and quality test, I mark it as a my regular filling station. Mahalakshmi Agencies near MIT hostel, Chrompet is now Cheetah’s favorite and regular watering hole.
When I need to fill fuel, I pull up next to the pump, switch off the AC, lights, if it’s on and then the engine. Open up the fuel lid and then walk to the filling guy. It’s always tank fill, with auto cutoff on. I firmly tell them that, I shall pay by card and so no rounding off. I then check the zero in both the price and quantity meters and give him a go ahead. I also tell them, not to touch the gun in between. I sometimes get the ‘goiyaala diesel vaanga vandhiya, ille bunk-ai vaanga vandhiya’ look. But I pretend to keep my eyes on the meter. No subversions/diversions work here.

I usually pay by Credit Card, as it helps me keep track of my expenses electronically and also gives me some benefits. I, all along had a HP-ICICI card. But was filling fuel from a BP bunk. How stupid of me. Now looking back, the surcharge and service tax for the Rs.1,02626 worth of fuel stands at Rs.1216. That’s roughly 1.2% of the fuel expense. I could have avoided it by using a trusted HP bunk. Now for the last few months, I’m using a HP bunk and I have saved Rs.1110 on fuel worth Rs.29,382. That’s roughly 3.8% money saved. Some of the features of the card are, Rs.100 cash back every month, fuel surcharge and service tax waiver. However these calculations don’t hold good, if you pay by cash.

And every time I fill fuel, I top up air on all 5 tyres, including the spare tyre. Front is always 32 PSI and rear is always 30 PSI. Earlier I experimented with different pressures and now kinda settled down with the recommended PSI.

Dislikes
Braking Efficiency – This has been discussed enough and my take on braking – ‘Pathetic’. However I have found workarounds to that.
I have figured out that the brake dust is one of the many reasons for the inefficient bite. And so I have learnt to adopt my driving style accordingly. No hard braking during the first 20 km of run. (Even if you do, it wouldn’t stop ) The brakes work very well on long drives, especially after the 100th km, the bite is just perfect. However driving to Himalayas and back to get your braking right is not on everyone’s morning agenda. Also I have figured out that cleaning the brake rotors and pads with plain water helps to some extent. Since I have a pressure washer, I make it a practice to clean the wheels once every week or so. I do find noticeable improvement, after the water wash. Don’t intend to wash the wheels every day. If you want to own the Cheetah, it’s advisable to have owned/driven a bullock cart. Your stop alertness remains unchanged.

Suspension – Now, this is a weird one. This is both good and bad. The suspension setup for the XUV, is adaptive . If you have a full house and driving on highways, you are the king. High speed cornering is piece of cake for the XUV. You should see the poise of this thing, while doing so. It’s elegance personified. No other vehicle, I have seen, handles corner, the XUV way. The pose and manners is just drool material.
However, if you are in city traffic and if someone dropped a coin and you run over it, you are likely to be tossed. Inside the vehicle ofcourse. The suspension setup for XUV is tuned for high speed maneuvers and not really for city traffic conditions.

Gear Shift – This again is interesting. You’ll need a lot of ‘getting-used-to’ the gear shift. Otherwise, 1st and 2nd gear shift would need @keerthi arms. However if you get the speed just right, you can glide the gears effortlessly. The first gear engages, only in standstill or absolute crawling. The 2nd gear engages, somewhere around 20kmph. Anything below and above, you’ll end up drumming. The rest of the gears is effortless. However I wish Mahindra smoothens it’s gear shifts.

Likes
Highway manners
High Speed Cornering
Fit & Finish
General Pose and Stance
The small, but significant things
Light for vanity mirror
Light in the parcel tray
Auto Wiper
Follow me home/Lead me home lights

Tyres – I get surprise looks from my friends, when I tell them it’s my stock tyres still on, after 1 year and 25k odd KMs. They exclaim that the tyres almost brand new. Yes, they do indeed look new, with no unusual wear and tear. Primarily because, most of driving is on 4 laned highways. I occasionally take it to bad roads and that is once in 2 months or so. When I do take her offroad, it’s some serious stress on the tyres and suspension. The bridgestone duelers have kept up well.

Electricals - The often reported niggle or trouble is about fused bulbs. I have all my bulbs, stock. Nothing’s fused till now. Don’t really know if my habits help. I never use ‘Start/Stop’ function. I never use ‘Auto Lamp’ function. And I never ever switch off or switch on the ignition, with the lights on. The only auto thing I use is the ‘Auto Wiper’.

ICE
Let’s face it. Letting the stock ICE to play your fav music is like listening to TR singing his own tune and lyrics. I was told that part of the lousy sound is because of the placement of the speakers in the front. However, I’m getting a totally different acoustic experience, with every passing device, that’s paired to the XUV. Before that, some basics. I don’t use a CD/DVD to play anything in the ICE. It just takes ages to load. Second is these disks are so passe. I use a USB drive instead. However the real pain with these USB devices, is that, XUV can’t map/play the full 16 GB of songs and it’s shuffle algorithm is next best to ‘Play Repeat’. And so I try to pair my phones via Bluetooth and let the phone’s music player, play the music. This way the shuffle works better and even better is the sound quality. I have used the following phones. iPhone 4s, Nexus 4, Xperia E, Xperia X8, Lumia 5 something, iPOD nano, iPAD. It was quite interesting to feel the real difference in sound quality from each of these devices. The Lumia and Nexus competed with each other, in being the best. The best in reproducing the worst sound. Apple devices fared well. But the Xperia, especially the Sony Ericson was top notch. The sound reproduction was exceptional. However I’m no ICE expert, not even close. My ear buds are not really tuned too well, I must admit. This has been my person taste. And so my advice, is to use your phone/mp3 players to play music on the XUV.

To be Continued...

[krishnaraja]

If you are getting average of 13 with both city and highway, that is great.

I have done 19k kms so far and I have 9.8 as the economy. Of course, in highway I cruise more than 100. Guess that is what you can expect with such high speeds.

Next time, I am going to make sure I don't cross 100 and see the FE I get in highway.

Nevertheless, in city, I hardly get to cross 50 and that too only for 10 seconds at most. Otherwise it is relatively a bumper-to-bumper traffic that I go through. It takes 50 minutes to cross 15kms from home to work place. The one thing I have not tried is to put the AC in Econ mode, I have been running it without the Econ mode. The other thing, I have all 4 tiers at 32 and have never taken the 5th out of its place. I guess when you say you check all 5, you would bring the 5th one down while filling air and bring it up. Right? The guys in the bunk are really patient guys to wait and do this. Also the other guys waiting for air fill are to be appreciated too for waiting without honking.

Our guys (in India), are used to honk as soon as they think their time has come and you are eating up their time. Even in signals, as soon as it turns green, the guy a good 40 meters away from the first guy will honk and not give even a second or two for the guy in the front to start. I have even seen the guy in the front honking as soon as it turns green. Anyway, guys have patience as well.

The best I have gotten so far in FE is 14 in highway.

Let me ask you few questions to see if I can do the same and get good FE.

• At what speed or at what RPM do you change gears? I change at 2.2k RPM and if I am sure in the higher gear I will run at least 10 to 15 seconds. Otherwise I don't change gear, continue to run same gear and probably go to 2.5k RPM too
• Do you run at bumper-to-bumper traffic?
• What distance from home to workplace? Mine is 15kms
• What is the time taken to cover this distance? Mine is 50 minutes
• What is the max kmph you touch in this stretch and how long you are at that? I touch 50 and am in 3rd by this time

[Mudhalaipatti]

Originally Posted by krishnaraja

[*]At what speed or at what RPM do you change gears? I change at 2.2k RPM and if I am sure in the higher gear I will run at least 10 to 15 seconds. Otherwise I don't change gear, continue to run same gear and probably go to 2.5k RPM too

I usually change my gears at around 2k rpm. In city traffic, sometime at around 2.5k and on rare cases 3k.

Originally Posted by krishnaraja

[*]Do you run at bumper-to-bumper traffic?

Sometimes yes.

Originally Posted by krishnaraja

[*]What distance from home to workplace? Mine is 15kms

One way is 32 km and it's relatively free. I do get to touch 100kmph for a brief km or so.

Originally Posted by krishnaraja

[*]What is the time taken to cover this distance? Mine is 50 minutes

Door to door, it takes me 50 mins to cover this 32 km.

Originally Posted by krishnaraja

[*]What is the max kmph you touch in this stretch and how long you are at that? I touch 50 and am in 3rd by this time

I do get to touch 100kmph for a brief km or so. And some days beyond that. Again for a few kms. So I'm on 5th and sometimes on 6th as well.

[Mudhalaipatti]

How to care for your 3D KAGU Mats
The best floor mats, I have ever had, are these ones. Especially the fit on the XUV is just perfect. The Velcro bottom ensures that the mat stays put and doesn’t travel inside the car, as you travel with the car. However, a little bit f caution and some regular maintenance, goes a long way in ensuring longevity of this expensive piece of ‘foot-ware’.

Daily routine – Unless you have wings and touch down only to feed or mate, you’ll end up bringing some dirt inside your car. The tiny sand balls, are the real culprits behind some premature wear and tear of the mats. All you need is a good brush, that can effectively remove these dirt, with the least amount of time and effort. I find the Daytona Wheel Brush to be my perfect all-in-one item. This helps you avoid the use of a car vacuum. Completely.

Most of the 3D mats that showed premature tear, were on the driver side and on these spots. This being the most actively used areas, any sand and hard particles constantly rubbing the surface, would surely harm the surface. Clean the dirt off, atleast from the driver side every day.





Monthly Routine – No matter, how well you clean the mats, some dust particles does gets in to the groves of the mat and over time, they don’t look ‘black’ enough. The mats that hadn’t tasted water, should now be given a full wash. Any shampoo or mild APC would do good. Here again, the Daytona Wheel Brush comes in very handy Talk about versatility. Scrub one side of the mats.



Wash them thoroughly.



Let it dry. Now you have almost brand new looking 3D mats.



If you wish to pursue further and make it really look like a new one, you may need to use a trim restorer. I use the very trusted Megs



Here is a the effect of Megs on the 3D mats.





The next day, when new foot falls, your mats will look like these. Disappointment guaranteed. But then these are floor mats and not wigs to remain neat and dry.



Enjoy the clean surface till it lasts.

[Mudhalaipatti]

I knew this was coming. I thought I was prepared for it. But when it's time, I realize, I'm not.
It's just a little over a year, since I had Sita - The roaring beauty. It's hard to imagine, to tell her go.
She's been one my best acquisitions and continues to do so. Letting go one such is indeed a hard decision. But it has to be.

In about 6-8 weeks time, the Cheetah will have to find a new owner, a new care taker. I'll have to fly out, seeking newer pastures.

I wish it's another owner who takes her home, care for her, more than I did.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

I knew this was coming. I thought I was prepared for it. But when it's time, I realize, I'm not.
It's just a little over a year, since I had Sita - The roaring beauty. It's hard to imagine, to tell her go.
She's been one my best acquisitions and continues to do so. Letting go one such is indeed a hard decision. But it has to be.

Oh no. Sita must be very disappointed.

I wish it's another owner who takes her home, care for her, more than I did.

That, I think is very difficult. Your standards of care taking are almost impossible to be adhered to

[Mudhalaipatti]

The car is now sold.
This thread is to be closed.

[SDP]

Feel sad! A car in so caring hands is going to someone else.

All the best for your next adventure!

[getsurya]

I'll have to fly out, seeking newer pastures.

Hi Mudhalaipatti,

I wish you all the very best for your future and hope to see you procuring a much better car where ever you are!

The car for sure, will miss your pampering and care! Nobody else can match it!

[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

The car is now sold.
This thread is to be closed.

Oh. Sad. A sudden end to a very beautiful thread (Like the Tamil TV Serials end ). Your narrations and the way you shared smaller things with the current and prospective owners of XUV were so nice to say the least. All the best for your new venture. Hope to see you soon with a new buy...

[debuda]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

In about 6-8 weeks time, the Cheetah will have to find a new owner, a new care taker. I'll have to fly out, seeking newer pastures. I wish it's another owner who takes her home, care for her, more than I did.

Many of us who have been regularly following your wonderful thread are dismayed. At the same time, we are happy about your move to new pastures which certainly would be greener. Here's wishing you the very best of grazing in your new pasture.

In my opinion it would be next to impossible for Sita to find a new owner who would shower more tender love and care (plus elbow grease!) than you.