[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

A quick update.
My Nano Twist is coming up to it's first birthday so I decided to do the second free service.
As of now I have completed 5500 Kms in 11 months.
Issues faced so far :
Reverse light switch failed - replaced under warranty - running repair.
Windscreen washer motor failed - replaced under warranty at 2nd. service.
Brake pedal and brakes making squeaking/screeching noise - repaired at 2nd.service.
They also did an engine oil change, oil filter change, air filter change, fuel filter change and wheel alignment.
Total cost : Rs. 0.00 (I got a free 2 year AMC when I bought the car).
Great feeling!!

The above jobs were done in 4 hours as I had to leave in a hurry - before the service station lunch break.

I still have an issue with the clutch pedal which I feel is a little stiff halfway through it's travel - when it engages.
The service guys were ready to change the clutch plates under warranty but I rather not have them touch a factory fitted part.

All in all, happy with the car though not very happy with the average which is between 15 and 16 Kmpl with 100% A/C. In Goa with fairly open roads and no real traffic jams to speak of this is a dismal figure. Incidentally the consumption figure was identical on my last Nano.

Another major goof up on the part of the design team is the dashboard. It is almost impossible to read any of the digital figures on the dash when the sun is sort of overhead. Increasing the brightness of the display has not helped. The beige coloured dashboard also reflects badly in the windscreen adding to one's woes.

Regards,
SS

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

Have had some unwanted developments on the Nano Twist.

A couple of weeks after doing the last service - on 1st. September - I was filling nitrogen and checking the tyres and noticed there was slight wear on the outermost treads. Could not make out for sure and the tyre guy said it's nothing. Got busy with other things and a month later noticed that there was definitely tyre wear and the outer tread had almost worn away.
Reported this by email with pics to Tata Motors who suggested I visit an authorised MRF dealer to check the alignment and find out the reason for the tyre wear.
The MRF guy took one look at the tyres and said it's due to wrong alignment.
He put the car on the ramp and we found the alignment was way out. I mean really way out!! He also found that both front wheel bearings had "play" in them and would need to be renewed.
I took a print out of the alignment report and on confirming that they had the necessary spares, visited the Tata garage yesterday.
I have made an official complaint blaming them for the tyre wear due to the wheel alignment done at their workshop (which I never asked for) and also for the failed wheel bearings which could be a possible cause.
They have replaced the bearings and done the alignment again.
They have given me a letter to submit to MRF claiming defective tyres.
They fully expect MRF to reject the claim after which my claim will be submitted to Tata who should give me a set of two new tyres on a pro rata costing basis.
How long this is all going to take is anyone's guess!

They have also replaced the clutch cable which was wrongly routed from the time of delivery and hence was causing the "hard" pedal feel.
Even though I mentioned this at both the first and second service, no one found anything wrong with the cable whereas yesterday the senior mechanic found the problem in 2 minutes flat.
Checked all the gears before leaving the workshop and all seemed OK.
Drove out of the garage onto the highway and after about 8 kms when I had to slow down for a speed breaker, I found that I could not put the car in first gear at all. Managed to put it in second gear with great difficulty (and with a Volvo bus sitting on my tail with horns blaring) and went to the side of the road.
First gear & Reverse gear were not engaging at all. Second with great difficulty.
Anyway, managed to limp back to the workshop where they reset the cable setting and now all seems OK. In fact, the clutch is now as smooth as silk.

Just a word of caution to other owners. Keep a regular check on the tyre wear on the front tyres. The response of the mechanic with regard to the bearing failure was : "What do you expect? These are two wheeler bearings and are not expected to last very long"!!!! (I have done only 7000 Kms on relatively good roads).

Regards,
SS

[knaveen]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,

Have had some unwanted developments on the Nano Twist.

A couple of weeks after doing the last service - on 1st. September - I was filling nitrogen and checking the tyres and noticed there was slight wear on the outermost treads. Could not make out for sure and the tyre guy said it's nothing. Got busy with other things and a month later noticed that there was definitely tyre wear and the outer tread had almost worn away.
Reported this by email with pics to Tata Motors who suggested I visit an authorised MRF dealer to check the alignment and find out the reason for the tyre wear.
The MRF guy took one look at the tyres and said it's due to wrong alignment.
He put the car on the ramp and we found the alignment was way out. I mean really way out!!

My Nano Twist had the same issue with the front outer edge completely worn out. I had pointed it to them during the first service, then they said they corrected the alignment, then after 5k kms the issue was continuing to happen and the tyres got much worse. Took it to a local tyre shop and found alignment to be way off, infact he can point it out before even connecting to the alignment machine. When i had left the car for service at 10k kms, asked for a warranty replacement. These were JK tyres, they had charged me 800/- per tyre and got the front tyres replaced. Post this change, headed straight to the alignment shop, this time he checked the alignment for free and corrected it again.

Now i check it every 3k kms or so, as per the tyre shop guy, Nano's front suspension/steering setup is fragile and alignment gets off when the wheel encounters even small bumps/pot-holes. This damage is minimum when the car goes straight in these rough stretches. Now practicing to take on pot holes/speed breakers only in a straight line, the alignment is good so far.

Driving and maintaining a Nano makes you understand more about alignment and suspension components . Small irritant though.

Has anyone experienced issues with the Bluetooth audio?. After the 2nd service, Bluetooth connection in my HU crackles and most of the times i cant hear anything. Guess there is a loose connection somewhere, if i tap or apply pressure near the accept/reject keys it works for a little while. Apart from this the HU works absolutely fine (USB, RADIO, CD works), i'm worried about the SA messing up the dashboard/HU in attempting to repair it.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

So the latest developments are as follows :

The MRF showroom agreed to change one tyre (RHS) not because it was defective but because they wanted to maintain good customer relations. I had to pay Rs. 700.00 for the same.
I then used the spare tyre which was brand new on the LHS and have kept the used LHS tyre as a spare.
Total cost for the new tyre, changing the tyres, balancing and nitrogen was Rs. 1400.00.

After changing the tyres around I asked MRF to check the alignment again and again it was slightly out though not as much as before.
This leads me to believe that there is an issue with the wheel alignment machine at the Tata workshop because it had been checked just two days earlier.

Needless to say, Tata are now saying that because MRF changed one tyre it is a tyre issue and not due to wheel alignment or failed front wheel bearings.
I really don't know whether it's worth continuing this battle with them.
Once again, the consumer is made to pay for no fault of his.

Regards,
SS

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by knaveen

Has anyone tried fitting the rear fog lamps on Nano Twist? I enquired this at the SA, they informed that the light control stalk needs to be changed for this. Is this true?


As an alternative, any thoughts on sticking reflective tape on this spot. I am a little worried as it gets pretty hot when the car is running.
I would like to fit something like this, but not sure if there is enough space to fit this.
http://www.ebay.in/itm/Brand-New-12-...item33a3762f4c

Hi Naveen,
In answer to your question above, I have just fitted an additional brake light in the blank space provided with a plastic cover.
The "fog" light from the old Nano fits perfectly.
I purchased the same from a Tata dealer for Rs. 300 and got it fitted with them for Rs. 190.00.
It is now connected to my brake lights so I now have 4 brake lights when I press the brake pedal.
Looks good and no cutting required. The light comes with wiring and a socket and took 10 minutes to fit. Another 20 minutes for the wiring job.

Regards,
SS

[pyrodrive]

Contrary to what most people believe, the nano is actually a good car for long drives. The space, upright seating and firm seats are a boon. The only grouse is a lack of safety..no airbags to make you feel safer, and weaker brakes. It loses out on expressways but rules on state highways.
I am just back from a 4 day 2500km drive in my wife's nano twist from guwahati to kolkata and back. Driven through really bad roads in bihar. The nano performed flawlessly and impressed me. When I had told my colleagues that I intended to take the nano, there were comments like.. " it will overheat and catch fire" , "parts will all fall off and you will have to push it home" and things like that. In reality,even while doing doing upto 18 hrs driving a day, the temperature gauge never crossed the halfway mark. The big craters were tackled with ease thanks to the short wheelbase. It was a boon to be in a small car in places like bhagalpur where there were narrow roads and chaotic traffic jams. In expressways it held a steady 90kmph without a wobble.
The nano has earned a new respect among my colleagues now.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Contrary to what most people believe, the nano is actually a good car for long drives. The space, upright seating and firm seats are a boon. The only grouse is a lack of safety..no airbags to make you feel safer, and weaker brakes. It loses out on expressways but rules on state highways. When I had told my colleagues that I intended to take the nano, there were comments like.. " it will overheat and catch fire" , "parts will all fall off and you will have to push it home" and things like that. In reality,even while doing doing upto 18 hrs driving a day, the temperature gauge never crossed the halfway mark.
The nano has earned a new respect among my colleagues now.

Exactly. In Fact, one of my best times to Angamaly from Bangalore, has been in the nano. Mostly due to the fact that overtaking is easy,due to driveability and small size, which made squeezing through smaller gaps easier. The bad roads then was handled with aplomb by the nano. Hmm, looks like I'll take it this time for the Diwali trip home. Been some time, since I've taken her for a long trip. Till now, was using the zest.

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Contrary to what most people believe, the nano is actually a good car for long drives. The space, upright seating and firm seats are a boon. The only grouse is a lack of safety..no airbags to make you feel safer, and weaker brakes. It loses out on expressways but rules on state highways.
I am just back from a 4 day 2500km drive in my wife's nano twist from guwahati to kolkata and back.

Though I love the Nano, in many scenarios, it fairs better than an Alto, I don't understand why would you chhose to take your wife's car on a 2500km over any other car you had. By the way which is this other car that you own? Also, upright position is never considered good for expressways.

Originally Posted by nijelj

Been some time, since I've taken her for a long trip. Till now, was using the zest.

Why would you choose Nano over the Zest for an expressway trip? Or, in other words, do you not want to cruise well over a ton? Or is it that your home is too near to Bangalore/the way has bad roads to restrict top speeds?

[pyrodrive]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Though I love the Nano, in many scenarios, it fairs better than an Alto, I don't understand why would you chhose to take your wife's car on a 2500km over any other car you had. By the way which is this other car that you own? Also, upright position is never considered good for expressways.

Other cars in the equation were my 2013 honda city ivtec, premier rio( taken this to tawang, sikkim etc), getz. Expressways were a small proportion of the journey and given a choice, while driving for 15-18 hrs a day I always prefer the upright position rather than a low slung comfort type position. It is good for the back.
Having said so, if I were to do the delhi- kolkata road I definitely would have picked the city.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Why would you choose Nano over the Zest for an expressway trip? Or, in other words, do you not want to cruise well over a ton? Or is it that your home is too near to Bangalore/the way has bad roads to restrict top speeds?

I'm traveling without family(less stops), so can maintain the average speed that I'd get using the zest. And it's much lighter on the pocket. I don't usually drive at more than 100 anyway.

[john doe]

I have always thought that the nano punches well above it's class on the highway. It's seating is the main plus point.
I've overtaken Honda CR-v 's where I felt that I'm sitting at a higher level than the other driver :-)

I am writing this a day after I drove from pune to Mangalore. 822 kms , 26 kmpl mileage.

[knaveen]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Naveen,
In answer to your question above, I have just fitted an additional brake light in the blank space provided with a plastic cover.
The "fog" light from the old Nano fits perfectly.
I purchased the same from a Tata dealer for Rs. 300 and got it fitted with them for Rs. 190.00.
It is now connected to my brake lights so I now have 4 brake lights when I press the brake pedal.
Looks good and no cutting required. The light comes with wiring and a socket and took 10 minutes to fit. Another 20 minutes for the wiring job.

Regards,
SS

Thank you. When i inquired with the Tata A.S.S, i wanted to make this work as a rear fog light, hence he told me that the control stalk and the wiring needs to be changed and is a tedious task. Hence have parked this idea aside. If this light is just 300rs, then will think about connecting it with the brake lights or along with the front fog light switch.
How is this light being held in the slot? In the Twist XT, i see an empty slot with no visible mounting points.

[suzuki san]

Hi Naveen,
The dummy plastic plate which you have presently is secured with two screws. Once you undo the screws the new light can be fitted in the same slot using the existing screw holes and the same two screws. I did not trust the Tata electrician to connect it to the fog lamp switch and hence connected it to the brake light.
Regards,
SS

[knaveen]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Naveen,
The dummy plastic plate which you have presently is secured with two screws. Once you undo the screws the new light can be fitted in the same slot using the existing screw holes and the same two screws. I did not trust the Tata electrician to connect it to the fog lamp switch and hence connected it to the brake light.
Regards,
SS

Thanks Suzuki san. Will do it in the next service visit.

Tata service visits continue to be a gamble. Found out that the front left wheel camber setting is off during a routine alignment check, also had certain minor issues like replacing the 12v charger plastic cap, minor squeaks in the rear suspension etc.
Left the car for service and due to various reasons the car was left at the service center for almost 3 weeks (parts were unavailable and i was on travel).
My gosh this was a big mistake!. When i got the car delivered,
- The driver side floor mat was full of oil stains
- Minor scratches/smear marks on right side door and panels
- The metal under the running board got buckled due to incorrect use of jack
- Interiors were dirty, seats and panels etc.
- Scribbling on the driver side sun visor!

Had it complained to TATA customer care, they were prompt and i got various calls from multiple folks and finally got these resolved. Lesson learned, never leave the car in the service center for more than a week.

After a couple of weeks of this incident, had a minor mishap and bumper, AC condenser got damaged. AC gas leaked out. Car was drivable though.
Got the car to the service center and it took a little more than a weeks time to get this fixed due to insurance formalities. Total damage was a little above 12K.

Going through the invoice, noticed that the folks have replaced the condenser with BEHR make. I was under the impression that the AC components from 2013+ Nanos were from Subros. The service center folks assured that the condenser is interchangeable and also gave it in writing that if there were any issues with AC, they will take care of it free of cost.
So far the AC is working fine. Any tried this?

[X_T_A Rose]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Contrary to what most people believe, the nano is actually a good car for long drives. The space, upright seating and firm seats are a boon. The only grouse is a lack of safety..no airbags to make you feel safer, and weaker brakes. It loses out on expressways but rules on state highways.

Originally Posted by nijelj

In Fact, one of my best times to Angamaly from Bangalore, has been in the nano.

Originally Posted by john doe

I have always thought that the nano punches well above it's class on the highway. It's seating is the main plus point.
I've overtaken Honda CR-v 's where I felt that I'm sitting at a higher level than the other driver :-)

+1 to all this. The Nano with its high seating is a very commendable performer on the highways. But the lack of safety (Better brakes / no Airbags or ABS) means it is good for short stints in good weather and would be risky to try ones luck during rains / low light conditions.