[centaur]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Those holes are to tie the rope used to strap down luggage on the roof. Little known to people, the rear part of the storme's roof has a rectangular depression with ribs to secure the luggage in that area.

Originally Posted by condor

It is not a nozzle. This looks to be holes to tie a rope ? ( possibly ).

This question has been asked long back, - before / at launch time. But I dont think we ever found the answer to this.

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

I figured that out after some hit and trial. Tata should mention this in their owners manual. This is quite useful though.

Thanks. This was one of the uses I too thought off but then dismissed it since I was not sure on how it can be used to tie up luggage. My intention of posting here was because I thought it would be mentioned in the owners manual

Would anyone have any pic of how those are used to tie luggage on top? Also is that fixture sturdy enough to hold luggage on top say at highway speeds? Sorry for more questions on this

[condor]

Originally Posted by centaur

This was one of the uses I too thought off but then dismissed it since I was not sure on how it can be used to tie up luggage.

Six reasons why I still have my doubts about this intended usage:

1) Hole is not too big. Not easy to pass a rope through it.
2) Holes are quite close to each other.
3) Not sure about the construction / sturdiness of that piece
4) No mention (that I know of) in any TML / Storme literature about it's intended use (for this)
5) Corrugate section of roof ( as mentioned in the last few posts) is in metal. No padding to help protect the roof, or to reduce sliding of anything kept there.
6). This section is also not deep enough.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by condor

Six reasons why I still have my doubts about this intended usage:

Precisely why I ruled it out myself when I thought of this but I guess like pointed out earlier in this thread, this question was asked before too but there were no convincing answers. Maybe TATA should include the details in the brochure or give the owners an addendum.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by condor

Six reasons why I still have my doubts about this intended usage:

Hey, good pointers. Here are my answers.

1. Yes. The holes used to be bigger in older models AFAIK. They are too small now but with hi-tech bungee cords, they are still usable.
2. The feature has now become more or less cosmetic hence the observation. How many of us tie luggage to our roofs anymore?
3. I can vouch for this. Make a couple of people sit on it and it just doesnt show any signs of fatigue or load. Been there, done that.
4. This is one of TML's greatest drawbacks. Incomplete marketing and information about their products and their features.
5. The metal corrugations were initially meant to act as anti-slip beds for luggage, but they are outdated and incomplete in today's scheme of things.
6. It used to be deeper than it currently is. Not a lot but significantly. Its disuse over time has made it a cosmetic addition now.

[doc_zeus]

UPDATE

Today my storme completes it's 1 year. 21st march 2016, the day i first got into the driver's seat of my storme. 1 year and 25530kms, most of which includes highway rides and more than 99.99% of that odo reading exclusively driven by me(the remaining 0.01% by the service centre guys and very few of my friends, which includes Devdath).
It's been a wonderful journey till now. Everyday i still try to find an excuse to take out the storme, let it be late night joy rides, groceries, etc apart from the regular daily drives. That's how much i love to drive the storme.
A special thanks to tbhp and few of it's members and few service centre guys, who have been greatly helpful with their support, pre and post the storme delivery. Here's a brief update.

1) The AC functioning still erratic. Luckily it isn't much of an issue because of the summer and the dial always stays at the coldest position.
Recently i observed a strange incident with regards to the AC. I turned the dial towards the heat, as we were in early morning drive from munnar. After we crossed the munnar and entered TN border we turned the dial to the coldest position. But the AC wasn't chilling enough. I initially thought it might be because of the TN summers. So put the AC in blue mode and the blower in highest setting. Even after half hour, it wasn't cold enough and i started to sweat. Some hunch and i turned the dial all the way back to the hottest end and turned it back to the coldest end. Immediately we felt the chilled air and in less than 2 mins, the AC was in econ mode and blower in 1st speed. So the erratic AC might be related something to the dial or some other things connected with it. Gurus might shed more light on this issue.

2) This happened while i was on my way to alleppey recently. Because the AC temp knob was useless, i practiced turning the AC vents up or closing them down completely, instead of using the temp control knob. Because it was late night and the insides were way too chilled, so i had to close all the vents except for driver RHS window side AC vent(storme AC vents throw a little air even when completely shut). Soon i observed the water dripping on my right foot. I stopped aside and checked, there was a minor water leakage from below the AC vent near to the Fuse box. I was shocked as leakage was way too near the fuse box. So opened up all the vents and started my AC control knob dance(changing the dial between hot and cold every 5 mins for the whole journey), as i used to do earlier and then the dripping stopped. Not sure what's the exact reason.

3) Both the front windows are creaking and struggling to wind up, whenever i use them.

4) The clutch play is extremely soft after the kerala trip. Even the gears. No more fiddling with the gear stick while slotting 1st and 2nd gears(reverse is still the same though). May be a God's own miracle. Driving is a lot more fun now.

5) After changing the air filter, i felt the engine response improved a lot. Even a slight hike in the FE too.

6) I got the headlight beam throw adjusted a bit high. Though it improved low beam lighting a lot, i'm yet to find the perfect adjustment for high beam. I'm constantly fiddling with the beam leveling dial when ever i'm on highways.

7) The driver seat height adjustment doesn't stay at the same level. It drops down slowly and weekly once i pump the seat up again. Not sure whether this is common to all stormes or only mine.

8) Remote key unlocking is a pain. Storme doesn't unlock even when i'm at the rear hatch on the LHS side. But i can unlock/lock it from the second floor. I observed the central locking works more effectively when i'm facing the vehicle's front rather than the rear, it works good especially anywhere on the RHS side.

9) Seat belt warning behaves on it's own. Some times it sounds the alarm when i'm turbo idling after a drive, sometimes it doesn't.

10) The turn indicators sometimes blink very fast for few seconds initially and then resume their normal speed.

10) I've installed the rearview mirror dashcam long back. One fine day, the car accesories guy and me fiddled with it and shorted it i guess. Even the 12v to 5v convertor had the burnt smell. So removed all the wiring and the dash cam. I was somehow not at all comfortable with all the wiring and 12v to 5v convertor stuffed near the fusebox since it's installation. But the dashcam and rear camera were extremely useful. So again, hunt begins for them both, but this time i'm planning the wiring and electricals differently. Will update.

11) I got the left fender mirror fixed up on storme about 3 months back. Got it painted from the service centre and fixed by them itself. Cost me about 2.5k INR. I definitely wouldn't recommend this, as many of the fender mirrors are of poor quality and for installing this, the service guys drilled two holes to the fender. Though looks wise it looks good, functioning wise it isn't much helpful. It vibrates all the time and recently the mirror broke halfway, may be due to the vibrations.



Recently had a short trip to kerala. Places visited were alleppey, thekkady, munnar. Route taken by me was from Hubli to Alleppey via mangalore. Extremely busy traffic all the way till kozhikode, even at midnight and road was full of repairs and constructions till mangalore. Took nearly 16 hours including breaks to reach alleppey. Nothing much to write about the whole trip as we were there only for 3 days. Did jeep safari offroadings at thekkady and munnar. Spotted some wildlife on a distant hill tops, may be more than 2 kms away(marked in red in one of the picture). Pics included below.
Return was from munnar-udumalpet-tiruppur-erode-salem-dharmapuri-bangalore and nh4 all the way till hubli. Return journey took about 13.5 hours with breaks. Excellent roads after entering TN border from munnar.



Cruise control and Reverse camera are the only two things i miss badly in storme.
I initially regretted a lot for not opting 4x4 VX, but now i realise that 2wd is more than enough for my drives and i'm very happy that i opted for 2wd.

Storme is a exceptional vehicle. But with the storme, comes the niggles and rattles. In this one year, i've visited the ASC for nearly 20 times, of which only 3 were regular services. But the minute i get on to the driver's seat of storme, i forget all these and race away.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

UPDATE

Today my storme completes it's 1 year. 21st march 2016,

Congratulations doc_zeus! Mine completed 10000 kms yesterday. I just love it when I get on the driver seat and smile invariably appear on my face. I will complete 6 months in a few days time.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

1) The AC functioning still erratic.

AC is biggest pain during winters. Thankfully summers are here and I will forget it for a while.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

3) Both the front windows are creaking and struggling to wind up, whenever i use them.

My front LHS window was erratic after Manali trip but now its is working fine.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

4) The clutch play is extremely soft after the kerala trip. Even the gears. No more fiddling with the gear stick while slotting 1st and 2nd gears(reverse is still the same though).

Thankfully I am having no issue till date.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

7) The driver seat height adjustment doesn't stay at the same level.Not sure whether this is common to all stormes or only mine.

I do not have this issue in my Storme.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

8) Remote key unlocking is a pain. Storme doesn't unlock even when i'm at the rear hatch on the LHS side.

The range is undoubtedly an issue but nothing more in my case. Try taking the key fob near your temple and operate. This might work.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

9) Seat belt warning behaves on it's own. Some times it sounds the alarm when i'm turbo idling after a drive, sometimes it doesn't.

I got my buzzer changed in warranty. Just let the SA know that the buzzer is the same ehich is used in Aria.

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

Recently had a short trip to kerala.

Cruise control and Reverse camera are the only two things i miss badly in storme.

Storme is a exceptional vehicle. But with the storme, comes the niggles and rattles. In this one year, i've visited the ASC for nearly 20 times, of which only 3 were regular services. But the minute i get on to the driver's seat of storme, i forget all these and race away.

Amazing pictures doc!

I have visited ASC thrice in six months, twice for buzzer issue and once for service. I hope I do not have to visit them other than regular service. Though I know from others experience that some unscheduled visits will happen.

[avinash_m]

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

Today my storme completes it's 1 year. 21st march 2016, the day i first got into the driver's seat of my storme.

Congratulations Doc; wishing you many thousand miles of bug free ownership!! I've always loved your travelogues; gives me hope that someday I'll also be able to do with mine. I'll be completing an year this May, will post an update with my experience so far.

The AC functioning still erratic.

I guess you didn't get the temp. control knob changed after all, post our discussion?! Irrespective of that, it still wouldn't be 100%. Although I got mine changed I am still not convinced it's behaving as expected. As it is summers now, will park it until it gets worse.

Both the front windows are creaking and struggling to wind up, whenever i use them.

So far, it hasn't been the case in mine; touchwood! However, the creaking sound (i'd posted earlier) crops up intermittently on the driver's side whenever the roads are less than perfect.

The clutch play is extremely soft after the kerala trip. Even the gears.

I may have to compare clutch action with another Storme now as mine is a daily city driver with a mix of B2B traffic and open roads; will report back when I get a chance.

I got the headlight beam throw adjusted a bit high.

Had the same issue in my first few months; reported it in first service and it was fixed by the TASS folks. Can't say if they fixed it altogether but the low beam throw was definitely much improved after that. I was deliberating on getting an extra pair of lights before that since I was to make the Chattisgarh trip in Oct last year, but the fix worked like a charm. I remember I was pushing 120+ even during night time (thanks to some awesome roads and minimal traffic), only because the headlight throw gave me confidence.

The driver seat height adjustment doesn't stay at the same level.

This is a new one. Although I don't fiddle much with the height, just yesterday I've increased it (2 notches) to try a different driving position, to try and get some thigh support.

8) Remote key unlocking is a pain. Storme doesn't unlock even when i'm at the rear hatch on the LHS side. But i can unlock/lock it from the second floor. I observed the central locking works more effectively when i'm facing the vehicle's front rather than the rear, it works good especially anywhere on the RHS side.

9) Seat belt warning behaves on it's own. Some times it sounds the alarm when i'm turbo idling after a drive, sometimes it doesn't.

10) The turn indicators sometimes blink very fast for few seconds initially and then resume their normal speed.

Except the key which sometimes does refuse to unlock (haven't tried many positions), I haven't seen such issues in mine so far, touchwood!

So again, hunt begins for them both, but this time i'm planning the wiring and electricals differently. Will update.

If you're not so particular about the model, you could try the one @Seek has; I got the same one installed from the dealer. It is Tata branded but has been working well.

All the best and drive safe!

[n.devdath]

Here's wishing your V-400 a Very Happy 1st Birthday Doc...!!!

Waiting for your detailed ownership and trip report.

Would like to your FE and maintenance costs so far along with your wishlist for improvements.

[doc_zeus]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

Congratulations doc_zeus! Mine completed 10000 kms yesterday. I just love it when I get on the driver seat and smile invariably appear on my face.

The range is undoubtedly an issue but nothing more in my case. Try taking the key fob near your temple and operate. This might work.

I got my buzzer changed in warranty. Just let the SA know that the buzzer is the same ehich is used in Aria.

Thank you sourabhzen
Did the buzzer replacement solve the issue completely? If so then I'll get that replaced ASAP.

Originally Posted by avinash_m

Congratulations Doc; wishing you many thousand miles of bug free ownership!! I've always loved your travelogues; gives me hope that someday I'll also be able to do with mine. I'll be completing an year this May, will post an update with my experience so far.

I guess you didn't get the temp. control knob changed after all, post our discussion?! Irrespective of that, it still wouldn't be 100%. Although I got mine changed I am still not convinced it's behaving as expected. As it is summers now, will park it until it gets worse.

If you're not so particular about the model, you could try the one @Seek has; I got the same one installed from the dealer. It is Tata branded but has been working well.

Thanks a lot Avinash.

After our chat, I discussed the whole issue with the service manager. He was sure it's not a knob issue and replaced the refrigerant. It worked for about 5 mins and as soon as I was out of the service station the problem repeated. Also I'm not at all confident in the service Centre guys to let them open the whole dashboard and replace the switch. I'm sure they'll screw up something or this whole refitting might lead to new rattles. So I planned to get the job replaced the next time I visit Hyderabad, may be in mid April.

Regarding the reverse camera, I'm planning for the dash cam and reverse camera within a single display, which serves both purposes, and without touching the factory wiring. It's a difficult task, especially with the aliexpress poor quality. I planned for the TML authorized reverse camera before delivery, but the dealership had no clue regarding that. Hence dropped the idea at that time.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Here's wishing your V-400 a Very Happy 1st Birthday Doc...!!!

Waiting for your detailed ownership and trip report.

Would like to your FE and maintenance costs so far along with your wishlist for improvements.

Thanks a lot Dev.

I'll post the maintenance costs shortly as I didn't get a chance to look into it. But I've documented everything till date including the fuel, accessories, service charges etc.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

Thank you sourabhzen
Did the buzzer replacement solve the issue completely? If so then I'll get that replaced ASAP.

The buzzer was replaced 2 weeks ago and till now there is no issue. The technicians and SA took the truck for multiple test drives after interchanging both the buzzers to ensure that there was no other issue. The older/original buzzer behaved in erratic manner each time they drove it above bumps.

Having said that, 2 weeks is too less a time period to be sure.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

Storme is a exceptional vehicle. But with the storme, comes the niggles and rattles. In this one year, i've visited the ASC for nearly 20 times, of which only 3 were regular services. But the minute i get on to the driver's seat of storme, i forget all these and race away.

This sums it up perfectly Doc. The Safari has always been a love it or loathe it vehicle.

Having said that, here is the all encompassing question - "Would you buy the Storme today if you were to buy a new vehicle and you didnt have a Storme?"

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

This sums it up perfectly Doc. The Safari has always been a love it or loathe it vehicle.

Having said that, here is the all encompassing question - "Would you buy the Storme today if you were to buy a new vehicle and you didnt have a Storme?"

Sorry to butt in, but owning both the Storme Vx and now the Hexa Xta, in my opinion,as of today I wouldnt pay 16 odd lacs for a Storme which doesnt offer anything. The platform is simply too old in 2017. Also the build quality (in terms of interior fit and finish) simply doesnt cut it. Hexa from the same stable has left the Storme for dead. But will I sell off my Storme? NO.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Sorry to butt in, but owning both the Storme Vx and now the Hexa Xta, in my opinion,as of today I wouldnt pay 16 odd lacs for a Storme which doesnt offer anything.

Now that is interesting. But if one wanted a BOF SUV with 4L, what options does one have apart from the Safari and the Scorpio in that segment?

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Now that is interesting. But if one wanted a BOF SUV with 4L, what options does one have apart from the Safari and the Scorpio in that segment?

None as of now. Else buy a preowned Pajero or Fortuner. Or wait until 2018 when the new landrover derived platform is expected to arrive. As you rightly pointed out there is gap in the 15 lac bof 4×4 segment.

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

The AC functioning still erratic.

First of all congratulations for completion of first year! Those pictures are really nice. For the A/C issue, I would suggest to have the company customer support involved. Dealership staff mostly is good enough only for servicing, they are unable to diagnose complex issues. Same problem on my car was successfully resolved only when people from A/C supplier Subros were called in by the Tata CSM. They opened up lower part of dash and identified that HVAC blend door was not moving properly when temp-control knob was rotated. Hope this helps.

Wish you many more "happy" years with your Storme