[sathya_nars]

I'm back after long time. Have many updates on issues resolution, my trips, etc etc.

Multiple rounds of discussions with Mahindra R & D and with few attempts to fix my laundry list of issues, these are what were done and current status:

'chuk chuk' noise in long calls via BT

At last, Mahindra team gave me a fix - I'm using it for past few days, didn't notice the issue so far.

False alerts 'Hill decent control couldn't be activated' and 'hill hold control couldn’t be activated', followed by engine abrupt stop - refusing to start for few seconds.

The most scary bug. After changing various wiring for sensors etc, Mahindra R & D team recommended the Sireesh team to replace engine harness wiring. It was done last Friday, I'm still testing if I hit this issue again.

1) Navigation screen blanks out 2) weak GPS signal error 3) stale red circle issue

Lot of things were done for this.

After few attempts by Mahindra R & D (and Sireesh team, under guidance of Mahindra), they sent Visteon team itself to Bangalore to debug it (they're the OEMs for GPS unit).

Complete HW unit for GPS ('Silver box') was replaced and also the display panel and related wiring too have been replaced.

Issues (2) and (3) are resolved. However, (1) is still occurring, but the number of instances have largely reduced. In city drives, even if I hit the blank out issue, within 2-5 mins it comes back to the navigation screen. However, during my trip to Ooty (2nd trip this year :-)) the blank out stayed for more than 2 hours. Mahindra R & D team said, they could repro this issue very less frequently (1 out of 1000 or something). We're keeping a watch on this.

USB key playback issues

They took the memory dump and logs from my car and they root caused all the issues - mainly they're due to the huge size of the USB key (mine is 64GB). The R & D team said, only 2 customers, including me, have complained about these issues as we use 64GB. The fix is still under testing in R & D. I've been insisting him give a trial fix for me, no solid response yet. I heard, TUV3OO has these fixes included already.

Until then, these are the issues I'm living with:
[1] USB doesn't resume playback from where it left off, most of the time (it starts playing from very first song)
[2] Not all folders are listed correctly in the browse menu, folder contents are shown wrongly too
[3] Glitch during skipping to prev/next tracks
[4] The photos in USB key aren't displayed in USB photos option
[5] Some video files don't play in USB videos option
[6] Back/return button, while within a folder, doesn’t take back to its parent folder correctly

Toll receipts holder (about the display) gets stuck at times and doesn't open

It's a niggle, happened few times (as per Murphy law, it happened whenever I needed it badly), while trying to open it up, it doesn't open. Sireesh team tried to fix it, I'm still testing it.

Last row left seat didn't close down fully - i.e., the levels of both seats aren't same after I fold them.

Sireesh team fixed it.

At times (occurred 4 times or more), the touch screen doesn't respond to touch inputs, other hard buttons work.

R & D team said they can repro the issue, happens when there're more processing to be done. Sometimes it starts recognizing the touches after few mins, sometimes restart is the only option. Still no fix yet.

Mobile charger unit in front row (below the AC controls) is very loose, the charging hub isn't fitting well

It's how it's designed as it looks, a technician at Sireesh helped me tightening it, looks ok for now - but I need to keep on getting it tightened every few months. Need a good design here, Mahindra!!

Mike volume isn't sufficient at times

Quite many times the people on the other end of my calls (via BT) are unable to hear me well. I asked R & D team to increase the mike volume but they said, it's already in optimum level. They're noticing it few times but it depends on various factors like signal strength of mine and other end, the type of phone others have, etc… They're continuing to test it.

How good is HDC (Hill Decent Control) working?

I've used it extensively during my trips to ooty, Wayanad, etc. There's a noticeable lag in detecting the decent conditions & turning it on, it keeps HDC active for some time even after I'm back to ground/flat roads, etc. So, even with HDC on, I try to take control.


What works well?


Enough of cribbing, let’s talk about what all work well.

So far, I've clocked 7.5K KMs. 1st service is done. These are the features/controls I've extensively used and I liked them:

[1] It's a fun to drive beast, no second thoughts. On highways, it's a breeze to drive the Cheetah. Fatigue is lot less. I did many long drives so far - 2 times Ooty, Wayanad, Hyderabad, 2 times Chennai. The engine noise is well controlled and it's solid to drive. The co-passengers enjoyed it well.

[2] Mileage: Getting anywhere between 12-14 Kmpl on highways (mixed with city drives). In the city, approx 10.5 Kmpl. So far, my Cheetah drank ~606 liters and ran (at the time of filling diesel last time) 7385 Kms. So total average mileage = 12.2 Kmpl

[3] AC is very effective, tried with full passenger packed till 3rd row, and all rows they felt it effective.

[4] Cruise control works like a breeze, used it a lot on highways.

[5] Purple is liked by ALL the people, without exceptions. I made the right choice choosing this color.

[6] Big thumbs up for the cabin insulation

[7] Auto lights and rain sensing wipers are a boon, using them almost always.

[8] Suspension is ultimate, everyone who travels with me says the same, they don't feel they're on indian roads.

[9] "Auto Engine On/Off" - I always keep it turned on and it's a habit already to not stop/start the engine "manually" in the lights, it's seamless for me.

[10] Voice recognition - using it extensively to make calls. Works 85% perfect.

[11] Hill hold is very helpful in places like exit from the malls (mostly it's an uphill). Hill decent control works well, except the inaccuracy I mentioned above.

[12] SMS read out option is another great feature, very handy while driving.

[13] Blue sense app works well, I switched to Android mobile.


What needs improvement (apart from bugs, above)?


(1) Navigation doesn’t show most spots like popular resorts/hotels/etc. So, need to keep mobile phone with Google maps always as a backup.

(2) Voice recognition - needs fine tuning for sure. Many times it doesn’t recognize simple commands like Yes, No, etc itself. Many more simpler commands can be added like redial, call back missed call, etc. R & D team said, they're working on enhancements.

(3) Need rain sensing wipers for rear too. Auto lights mode doesn’t allow high beam, but since it's not perfect, it should allow high beam.

(4) Keys to go to prev/next Folder during USB playback badly needs to be enabled

(5) Current time display is missing in navigation and other screens, awaited in future releases