[AutoIndian]

Guys today the Orange Tank completed two months of its existence in my garage. On this very same day of November I brought it home. These two months of TUV ownership have seen their highs and lows (specifically mentioning the lows here because the TUV hasn't been absolutely niggle free, which I was expecting in any case). Only one highway trip in the last two months and that too a short one, nevertheless it was very eventful and showed the true potential on this Tough Utility Vehicle.

Fortunately the niggle has been a very minor one, rattling noise from driver side door and the workaround is already in place. Hope to get this sorted out during my first service. Incidentally just now got an sms from Mahindra to download the "With You Hamesha" app to book the service. I have started downloading it and hope to book my first service for 16th Jan through it.

Edit: After I installed the With You Hamesha app, it asked me to register with my e-mail id ans the chassis #. For the registration, it sent me a 4 digit activation code to my e-mail id, which I had to enter into the app. It then confirmed my registration. Post registration it then started updating the all India dealer details, took couple of minutes for that.

[AutoIndian]

Friends did an impromptu trip to a place called Nighoj near Shirur (off Pune-Ahmednagar highway). It has the world famous calcium rock formations and the Malaganga Devi temple on the banks of Kukdi river.

Since Orange Tank was hungry I stopped enroute o tank up at the Shell bunk near Hotel
Kalasagar. Diesel was @ Rs 51.05/- to a litre. Tank gulped 48.37 litres and the car had traveled 686 kms before this tankful, giving me a mileage of 14.18 kmpl (not that bad for a car that is yet to see it's first service). The lady attendant at the bunk spilled some diesel after the tank was full. I thought of giving her a good reprimand, but let her go. I continued my onward journey. Full travelogue with pictures can be found from message# 45 over here --->
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ar-ghal-3.html

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

(not that bad for a car that is yet to see it's first service).

Help me understand this Deepak. I have read it many times in various threads too.

Does it? and how much difference would it result in the FE after that first service?

In reality, a fresh oil would make the car run smooth due to that "feeling" of free revving and hence lesser gear changes and higher FE.

Apart from this, this whole thing about "engine breaking in" again makes no significant difference with FE at all. At least that is how it has been for both my cars till date.

The ASC doesn't do anything but wash and change oils and filters (air and fuel) unless they are updating the ECU maps for FE vs Performance during that service.

Most of the times, unknowingly, it is majorly because of the driver "adapting" to the vehicle fully and the resulting driving style that improvises on the FE is my opinion.

My WagonR at 228000 on the Odo returns the same FE as day 1 and the case is same with the Ertiga at 78000 kms.

In fact, I have a habit of tapping the Air filter clean of dust almost every 4 to 5k kms of driving around and replace it every 10k although the manual mentions 20k.

All in all, you should expect better FE only because you would master the art of taming your Tank and nothing else.

If FE improves after 1st Service, then it has to improve after every oil change. At the same time, it has to drop during the last stage before the oil is changed.

[Screwdriva]

The TUV is, by far, one of the ugliest car's on India's roads and is a large part of the reason I am really glad M&M has acquired Pininfarina.

That being said, I do drive a Yeti, so I get that looks are subjective.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Help me understand this Deepak. I have read it many times in various threads too.

Does it? and how much difference would it result in the FE after that first service?

Hey Parag, pardon me if my statement has confused you and given you the impression that the FE of my TUV would increase after the first service. I am repeating my statement again, "Tank gulped 48.37 litres and the car had traveled 686 kms before this tankful, giving me a mileage of 14.18 kmpl (not that bad for a car that is yet to see it's first service)". This statement was merely stating the fact my TUV has not reached its first service milestone and yet it is giving me a decent FE. Nowhere did I mention that I am expecting the FE to increase post first oil change service. If my statement has given you that impression then apologies once again.

In reality, a fresh oil would make the car run smooth due to that "feeling" of free revving and hence lesser gear changes and higher FE.

Apart from this, this whole thing about "engine breaking in" again makes no significant difference with FE at all. At least that is how it has been for both my cars till date.

Most of the times, unknowingly, it is majorly because of the driver "adapting" to the vehicle fully and the resulting driving style that improvises on the FE is my opinion.

All in all, you should expect better FE only because you would master the art of taming your Tank and nothing else.

I agree with your all statements above. Car feels fresh and smooth after every oil change and air filter cleaning/change service. As the engine, gearbox, clutch, brakes settle car becomes more smooth, engine opens up and the car adapts to your driving style and so do you with the car.

In fact, I have a habit of tapping the Air filter clean of dust almost every 4 to 5k kms of driving around and replace it every 10k although the manual mentions 20k.

That is a very good practice and surely helps performance of the car and engine life in the long run.

If FE improves after 1st Service, then it has to improve after every oil change. At the same time, it has to drop during the last stage before the oil is changed.

I already cleared it above. Hence these statements, "FE improves after 1st Service" etc are not valid

Originally Posted by Screwdriva

The TUV is, by far, one of the ugliest car's on India's roads and is a large part of the reason I am really glad M&M has acquired Pininfarina.

That being said, I do drive a Yeti, so I get that looks are subjective.

Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder. TUV is not going to win any beauty contests, there are far more capable cars. But then, do they offer the same kind of space, the same kind of ruggedness, the same kind of go anywhere attitude at a very competitive price? The answer would be a big "NO". Hence the choice. Sometimes the beauty is only skin deep and we have to look far beyond that. Just my opinion and you or anyone else may not necessarily have to agree with it.

[@Chaand]

Its been more than 2 months since you acquired the tank Deepak, but I stumbled across this thread only 5 days back. Since then I have been taking time out and reading your review and the comments by rest. I don't think I do this for many other thread (with due respects to the others).

As already mentioned by others this is indeed a marvelous initial ownership review and i wish you prolonged miles and smiles ahead with this tank. I also read about your Innova and feel sorry about that considering that you are very passionate about your vehicles. I used to read your posts long ago in the TIUG yahoogroup as well and needless to say, your passion for your vehicles and attention to detail has blown everyone away. Pls keep it up!

I hope this review helps and inspires potential owners as well in making a decision.

I must also add that you have set me thinking about considering the tank as the next car as I was looking for a sturdy vehicle but I would consider an AT more than a MT considering the painful bumper to bumper traffic in suburban Mumbai.

A query on the service intervals, 3K seems to be way too short and odd a service interval for a Mahindra vehicle. Is it because its newly launched or what? When is the second service due? After the second service, are the intervals at 10K or longer?

[TaurusAl]

Originally Posted by @Chaand

A query on the service intervals, 3K seems to be way too short and odd a service interval for a Mahindra vehicle. Is it because its newly launched or what? When is the second service due? After the second service, are the intervals at 10K or longer?

3k is only for the first service which is the case with most of the cars. The 2nd is at 10,000 and then at the gap of every 10,000 kilometers.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by @Chaand

As already mentioned by others this is indeed a marvelous initial ownership review and i wish you prolonged miles and smiles ahead with this tank. I also read about your Innova and feel sorry about that considering that you are very passionate about your vehicles. I used to read your posts long ago in the TIUG yahoogroup as well and needless to say, your passion for your vehicles and attention to detail has blown everyone away. Pls keep it up!

Thank you for your wishes Chaand. Innova was a dark sport in my automobile ownerships so far, but that was a good learning lesson. Had I not been passionate about my cars, it wouldn't have been easy for me to move over from the Innova episode. What else I can say, everything that happens is for the good or better.

I hope this review helps and inspires potential owners as well in making a decision.

That is the whole purpose of this review. Since I am one of the early adopters of the TUV, my intention is to share here about TUV as much as possible so that future/ potential TUV owners can learn from my experience.

I must also add that you have set me thinking about considering the tank as the next car as I was looking for a sturdy vehicle but I would consider an AT more than a MT considering the painful bumper to bumper traffic in suburban Mumbai.

The TUV AMT is also a very good option. Test drive it to believe it. We have many TUV AMT owners now here on TBHP, you can post your queries to them so that they can answer those.

A query on the service intervals, 3K seems to be way too short and odd a service interval for a Mahindra vehicle. Is it because its newly launched or what? When is the second service due? After the second service, are the intervals at 10K or longer?

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

3k is only for the first service which is the case with most of the cars. The 2nd is at 10,000 and then at the gap of every 10,000 kilometers.

Thanks TaurusAl for the clarification. It is better to have the first service at a short interval. As the engine is settling at 3K kms, changing oil would be good from long term perspective. Except the first one, all the other oil change intervals are after 10K kms only.

[AutoIndian]

Friends, yesterday crossed the 3000 km mark on my odo. Felt sad that I could not click a picture. It only dawned upon me when I reached home from office and the odo stood at 3006 km. Hoping the 3K service on Saturday would be a smooth affair and the most important issue of rattling/ buzzing sound from right door gets fixed.

[Sirvoicar]

[quote=AutoIndian;3848058]The Interiors

Lord Ganesha from a distance
Attachment 1439756

Nice review Autoindian , My dealer also gave me a Ganesh Idol for the dash, However I found it bulky and it would hinder cleaning the area of dust.Secondly, I like my windshield area totally free of any objects, hanging or otherwise. I did this >>


I have picked these cutouts from marriage cards I have received in the past. These are 3D wooden cutouts with a Gold foil. I have stuck it to the dash with a double sided tape (removable if needed)

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Hoping the 3K service on Saturday would be a smooth affair and the most important issue of rattling/ buzzing sound from right door gets fixed.

It was a very long day for me today. Since I had the first (3K service appointment) at Kundan Motors, Chinchwad, scheduled time 09:15am, I reached at the MASS gate dot on time. No sooner I got down from my car, prompt came the service advisor. I told him that I had come for my TUV's first service and I had taken an appointment for it. He mentioned that customers who come early morning to the MASS are taken in even without any appointment. While he was noting down the things in his job card, he asked me if there are any issues. Since I had kept a print out of the issues handy I listed out all of them. He noted all of them in the job card. I insisted on him taking a test drive so that he can himself experience.

He then took the car for a longish test drive (5 km). The below listed issues were acknowledged by him.

1. Both front doors minor rattling/buzzing noise.
2. Vehicle not getting started sometimes even if key turned on completely.
3. Minor "grmmm" noise when releasing clutch pedal.
4. When car is running, pressing the handbrake lever causes "grmmm" sound.

The SA checked in their DMS system and informed me that my car is from the batch wherein two parts have to be replaced (recall).

• Vacuum Modulator and
• Fuel Delivery Module (FDM)

For FDM replacement, he said that they will have to open the fuel tank, which will take time. Hence committed delivery time is 05:30pm. I was not expecting this long a time for the very first service, which involved just changing the engine oil and oil filter. However since there was a recall for the two parts and my car was from the affected batch, I agreed for the replacement

He gave the consumables' estimate as below:

• Engine oil
• Oil filter
• Drain plug washer
• + Taxes
• Totalling Rs2200/- approx.

This is the job card prepared. Strangely no delivery time mentioned on it


I met the Service Head at the MASS and had a lengthy discussion with him for almost half an hour. He is a very nice, gentle speaking young lad. The first question I threw at him was why Mahindra is not doing a voluntary recall to replace these faulty parts. Got some interesting piece of info from him. He told that there are three types of recall:

1. Red recall
2. Blue recall and
3. Green recall.

As the name indicates the Red Recall is for serious issues/parts which would jeopardize the safety of occupants. The example he gave was that of the XUV's power steering hose failure. This would result in leakage of PS fluid, jamming the steering and ultimately loss of control. Hence there was a mandatory recall for XUV's PS hose replacement.

Green Recalls are for those items, which don't jeopardize safety but result in below par performance of the car. These parts are replaced during the regular scheduled services, there is no need for a separate recall. The current TUV parts being replaced are a part of such green recall.

Blue Recall is for parts, which don't jeopardize safety or performance, but have to be replaced nevertheless as they are faulty. However these are replaced only upon failure.

Another important bit of info I got was on the RSA. Mahindra has tied up with Bajaj Allianz and one more insurance provider for RSA. XUV and TUV customers don't have to pay a dime for availing the RSA service as Mahindra directly settles the payment of these service providers.

The guy also gave me a print out of the RO (Repair Order), which is an internal Mahindra document. It has the details of Demanded Repairs, Labor/Part Details, Maintenance Schedule/Checklist etc. He mentioned that he will call me when the FDM is being replaced so that I can see it by myself. If I cannot come he will take the pictures and share with me.

Below is the copy of Repair Order:


Second page of the Repair Order:


Since it was 03:00pm in the afternoon and I did not get a call from my SA, I sent him a text message. Immediately he called me up and informed me that I can come to see the FDM replacement. Reached there @ 03:30pm. However on reaching there I was informed that the part was out of stock and he had sent a person to another MASS to source the part from there. Even after 1.5 hours the person did not turn up, I asked the SA if there was any issue, he hesitatingly told me that the person who was carrying the cash to source the part misplaced it. My SA again gave him some cash and sent him back to bring the part. The guy turned up @ 06:00pm. It costed approx Rs 700/-(obviously I didn't have to pay for it). Here are some pictures of the FDM.

The plastic fuel tank dismantled and kept aside. The central white plastic part is the FDM


A closer look at the FDM


The new FDM being taken out from the box packing


The whole assembly looks like this. Only the cap remains above the tank (90% sits inside the fuel tank)


The technician fitting the FDM inside the fuel tank


One good thing about this replacement was that they didn't have to empty out the diesel from the tank. The tank was removed along with diesel, FDM assembly replaced and tank fitted back in position.

Since the other tasks were completed on my car the SA assigned another technician to test drive the car along with me. The rattling noise was reduced to a large extent, however when the car was on higher gear at low rpm, then there was a feeble rattling still coming from right side, left side there was none. The test driver also acknowledged the fact. When we returned back to the MASS, my SA informed me that the beading surrounding the glass will have to be replaced. However since it was out of stock he informed me that he will let me know once it is in stock (which is expected in the next 2-3 The car was washed and handed over to me by 07:30pm. Below is the list of parts replaced and the invoice.

The part and labor cost break-up


The invoice


In Summary:

I had a lot of apprehensions about my first service experience with Mahindra. Though I am overall satisfied with the service, there is definitely scope for improvements:

• The dealership had two FDMs in stock, however mine being the third TUV being serviced today, they ran out of stock. Assuming that the other two TUVs also had prior appointments like me, the dealership should have kept enough stocks especially for the parts that are a part of recall.
• The MASS could not meet the committed delivery time of 05:30pm. Obviously some proper inventory planning needs to be in place, especially for parts in demand.

Overall I liked the attitude of the SA, the Service Head and the whole staff in general. They were very co-operative and did not mind me wandering on the shop floor or asking them various questions.

This is the beginning of a long term relationship with Mahindra and sincerely hoping it would turn out to be a good one in the long run.

[AutoIndian]

Today the Orange Tank completed 2 months and 2 weeks of its existence and what a coincidence, while returning from office got the magical figure on the odo - 3333 km.



Also today got a feedback call from Mahindra Customer Care, asking me feedback about my service. Since my Service Advisor had called me in the morning and intimated me in advance about this call, I was prepared. Overall gave a good feedback in most of the areas 9/10. The lady at the other end was too monotonous and mechanical .

When the SA had called me in the morning I informed him that I was disappointed on two counts:

• Car was delivered back to me late by two hours, due to the FDM running out of stock. However he told me that he didn't want me to make another round to the service centre just to fit the FDM and he went out of the way to procure it from another dealer's service station in the town (which I appreciated). In feedback I told him that Mahindra should have done better planning to stock the recall parts in sufficient quantities, to which he agreed.
• Second grouse was that the buzzing sound of right side window/door was not fixed even after putting packing material inside the door trim. Now the solution is to replace the glass beading for which I will have to make another trip to the service centre. Not sure though if this at least will fix the problem.

[AutoIndian]

Since the fuel gauge was showing just two bars (each bar approximately corresponds to 100-112 kms range) and car had run 650+ kms since last tankful, I decided to tank up today morning from the usual Shell bunk near KSB pump chowk. The Orange tank gulped 45.19 litres of diesel and it had run 653.8 kms since last tankful, giving a mileage of 14.45 kmpl. Out of these 650 kms, 150 kms was highway running and the balance 500 was within city, mostly home-office-home runs. During the morning trips from home to office I didn't use the AC (rather didn't switch on the blower most of the times) due to pretty cold weather. For the return trips the AC was ON.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by Sirvoicar

Lord Ganesha from a distance
Attachment 1439756

Nice review Autoindian , My dealer also gave me a Ganesh Idol for the dash, However I found it bulky and it would hinder cleaning the area of dust.Secondly, I like my windshield area totally free of any objects, hanging or otherwise. I did this >>


I have picked these cutouts from marriage cards I have received in the past. These are 3D wooden cutouts with a Gold foil. I have stuck it to the dash with a double sided tape (removable if needed)

Actually, this is not recommended. You have stuck it on the passenger airbag module which may result in additional injuries if the airbag deploys.

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Actually, this is not recommended. You have stuck it on the passenger airbag module which may result in additional injuries if the airbag deploys.

If the dashboard part touches your face in case of an impact then whats the use of airbag?
Technically, if one is belted up and in case of airbag deployment, it should be just the airbag and your face in contact and no dashboard plastic part in the middle.

Hope I'm correct. Experts kindly shed some light on it.

Thanks.