[ramnaresh_2000]

The series of unfortunate events continues.

In Jun'24 had to change engines mounts, break pads, timing belt (66k)
In Jul'24 had to change battery under warranty (Free)
Again in Jul'24 had to change Tyres (44k)
Ajjas GPS tracker (4k) total waste of money
Front fender repair (5k)
Sensor wire damaged by Rat (9k)

On 11th Nov I started the vehicle, and suddenly the "Check Engine" light popped up. Driven straight to service centre and the SA said some sensor was cut by Rat and would approx cost would be around 14k+labor.

Check Engine light on MID



Scanning in progress



Damaged sensor. Notice the wire was cut exactly in a way that it cannot be soldered or repaired and had to be replaced.





Went ahead and claimed insurance, they then changed estimation to 26k.



After 16 days, the estimate changed to 9k.



Went ahead and withdrawn the insurance claim and paid amount myself





Total damage to pocket since Jun'24 is 1.28 lakhs

16 days waiting period for 1 sensor is ridiculous. The part was "Made in Bulgaria", and MRP was some 8k.

Only silver lining was that they cleaned the vehicle inside outside for free.

[ramnaresh_2000]

My 4 years Jeep Compass Ownership Experience

I’ve had my Jeep Compass for 4 years now, and it’s been quite a ride. I’ve covered a lot of ground with this vehicle, both in terms of road trips and everyday commuting. Here’s my honest breakdown of the ups and downs of owning the Phoenix.

The vehicle has aged really well, in the 4 years of ownership, I never had a break down issue. The battery was changed twice which is known issue in the Compass, once due to Covid lockdown I had done very few trips, the battery discharged, next instance it was replaced under warranty (so overall had to pay twice). The engine mounts and front break pads were changed last year.

Had 1 major accident, the bike hit my vehicle from back when it was parked on the road and one minor fender bender issue where the gate deformed the fender while I was reversing from a tight parking.

Other incidents include rat bite of engine sensor wire, which costed me 9.5k. Apart from these incidents, nothing major. No rattles, no other wear and tear issues. Changed all 4 tires last year which costed me 44k.

The only accessories purchased last year was JK Treel TPMS which costed me 4k.

I use Fuelio app to track my expenses, below is a report of last year expenses generated from the app.

2024 Records

No.of Gas Refills: 24
Service: 1
Maintenance: 22 (Includes accessories, tires etc)
Wash: 1 (I am so proud of this, I got it washed outside only once)
Tolls: 41
Tickets/Fines: 1 (Again so proud of myself, law abiding citizen )
Insurance: 1

Total costs in 2024: ₹2,44,236.20

Gas: ₹76,446.25
Service: ₹66,524.00
Maintenance: ₹65,735.00 (44k for tires, 4k for TPMS and other items)
Wash: ₹650.00
Tolls: ₹10,485.00
Tickets/Fines: ₹1,049.00
Insurance: ₹23,346.95 (Acko Zero Dep)

Total fuel consumed: 761.19 Liters

Total Distance Covered in 2024: 10,688 kms

Fuel consumption: 14.55 km/l

Average cost per kilometer: ₹22.61

Category wise cost breakdown



Bifurcation of Fuel and Other costs



Monthly breakdown of costs



Plans for 2025

• To get it fully detailed including interior cleaning
• Ceramic/Graphene Coating
• More long trips
• To find a reliable garage for regular servicing (No more Mody Jeep in Hyderabad)

Overall the experience has been good, availability of spares has been a concern. Had to wait 2 weeks for a sensor wire? Mody Jeep service center closed down in Hyderabad and we are back to square one of Pride Jeep monopoly in whole Telangana state?

If only Jeep could plan for more models and aggressively expand it's dealership network, else it is Ford's route for Jeep as well.

Signing off with some snaps which I took today

[rajathv8]

Any idea where the cabin air exhaust vent is located in the Compass?
This should be somewhere in the boot section. Looking for it to cover it up with mesh to prevent rat entry.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Met with a minor accident on 19th Jan'25 when I was on my way to Hyderabad from my hometown.

Near Yadadri bypass, a Brezza came and hit me from rear. Luckily no one was injured in both parties. As the highway was under repair for a small section, they diverted traffic on bypass road. The speed was a reasonable 40 kmph. The Brezza guy suddenly hit me from rear, I was a bit shocked and stopped the vehicle immediately side by to access the damage.

Then went to confront the driver, who to my surprise accused me of breaking suddenly. I really lost it, and called the cops, dialled 100 and it automatically sent my location to the cops. I got a call back from nearby police station within 5 mins and he assured me that the police will be in my location within 10 mins. I told them to hold for now and the police head constable asked me to call back again after sometime if we had compromised.

The Brezza owner called his mates who were in different vehicle, a total of 5 fully grown guys tried to confront me. I did not budge, and reminded them police is on their way and we can discuss in police station. I took some photos of both vehicles. I also informed them that I have dual dash cam and everything is recorded. They suddenly realised that their intimidation tactics are not going to work on me. They then toned down and started negotiating.

Sir we both have insurance, let's settle and why involve police and waste our time. I told them my insurance has 5k mandatory deduction and they agreed to pay 10k for me loss of NCB, claim, mandatory deduction etc. I was fine and took the 10k and the main driver apologised and confirmed that he dropped his glasses and panicked and did not break. He even apologised my family and left.

I then called back the police station and confirmed that we settled and their involvement is not required and thanked them.

Went to Jeep service centre and they straight away said to replace the door and claim insurance. Repair is possible but it would only be 80% and would not be 100% effective. I went with replacement, raised claim in Acko and today morning surveyor was assigned and he uploaded all pictures. Waiting for approval from Acko.

The damage





The culprit





My wife said, it is time to change the vehicle, too much bad luck involved. I just brushed it aside and did not want to encourage any negative thinking. I want to drive this vehicle until the engine falls out.

Dash cam comes to our rescue, the call from police was really helpful to de-escalate the situation. It is just bad luck after bad luck, first the fender got damaged, then rat bite of sensor and now this. I sometimes even myself contemplate should I sell it off? Now I need to live for another 2 weeks without my vehicle.

[HycroBiteVFire]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

My wife said, it is time to change the vehicle, too much bad luck involved. I just brushed it aside and did not want to encourage any negative thinking. I want to drive this vehicle until the engine falls out.

Hi Ramnaresh! I can completely understand why your wife said that and honestly, it's not about luck here trust me. The Indian roads are just getting worse and riskier day by day. Our 2023 Honda City was majorly hit 10 times in a year. Tail light, head light, front bumper, ORVMs, rear bumper, our rear carbon fibre finish and a major accident (also wrote an article on that) all of this in just a matter of 12 months can you imagine? Compass is a fantastic car and going by your ownership experience and the fact that it's still a relatively new addition to your family I feel like you should definitely continue with this red beast. Compass has anyway proven itself with a superb build too so shouldn't be an issue. Trust me, it shall be a lucky one for you.
Eventually, the decision is up to you, wish you all the best, keep sharing.

Thank You!
HycroBiteVFire

[ramnaresh_2000]

Finally after 2 weeks SA called and informed that vehicle is ready for delivery. I then asked him if the cold start noise issue was resolved, he was clueless.

He referred me to his manager, his manager assigned new SA. They took another 1 day to diagnose the issue. Some part which was replaced during timing belt change was the issue, they replaced under warranty. I did not bother to get any details as I was not paying. The cold start noise issue is now resolved. The SA asked to monitor couple of days, and if the issue pops up again, they will replace some parts under warranty.

Took the delivery and was 95% satisfied with the work. Colour matching was good, but I could see some tiny dust particles stuck under the paint, even though this was done in a paint booth.

Total breakdown of the cost below. I had to pay 7k plus 958 for water wash.



Some before and after pictures.







I am going to get pooja done today again at Tadbund hanuman temple, for some peace of mind. Hopefully some devine blessings would calm my nerves.

[vivekgk]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

The Key cover is damaged again, this is the 2nd time. This time went ahead with a metal key case. It is hilariously heavy.

It is bulky, it is heavy, the tactile of buttons is not good (maybe it will get better with usage). Not recommended, however, if you have a habit of dropping your keys or work in harsh environments, then yeah go ahead with it. For me, a simple silicon case is enough, maybe will stop using it after few months.

Hi,

I just wanted to check something. I have got a similar metal case for my Scorpio's key fob. I am experiencing a severe drop in the range after fitting this cover. Are you facing similar issues. Others who are using similar key fob covers, also please share your experience please.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

Hi,

I just wanted to check something. I have got a similar metal case for my Scorpio's key fob. I am experiencing a severe drop in the range after fitting this cover. Are you facing similar issues.

I have not noticed any range drop using this.

Finally caught the bandicoot which was having a party in my engine bay. This bugger costed me 9.5k for engine sensor cable, 2k for this cage trap and 200 bucks for rat poison and mats. Bought this cage on Amazon. If anyone in Hyderabad wants to use this bandicoot cage, then DM me. I can lend it for free until you catch them as my purpose is completed.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Weekend trip to Gandikota (The Indian Grand Canyon).

Planned for a weekend trip from Hyderabad to Gandikota. I had seen some instagram reels and liked the scenic views of Gandikota.

We started on Saturday morning at 08:00 AM, we took the below route

ORR-Shadnagar-Kurnool-Gandikota

ORR speed limit of 120 kmph, and then NH44 and NH40, all fantastic roads. I was easily doing 100 to 120 without effort. Reached Gandikota view point at 4:00 PM.

What a fantastic scenic view. You have to see it to feel it, words cannot describe it. I will let the photos do the talking. Next day went to Belum Caves.



























Other places to visit nearby, Yaganti temple and on way back you can visit Gadwal Jogulamba temple (5th Shakthi peet). You can stay at the view point by renting tent houses and have nice bonfire at night, do some star gazing. We did not opt for it as the condition of the tents was not good and many others were drinking there. Something the government officials should look i to. Overall we didn't feel safe to stay at night.

You can stay at resorts nearby, many available there. We stayed at Royal County which was decent place, but expensive.

Overall 1000+ kms of drive in 2 days. Asusual Compass is a joy to drive in empty roads, even in higher speeds and it has enough juice to go even more. Compass was stable like an eagle. Only issue I faced was I ran out of windshield water fluid (Compass has a 4 liters washer fluid tank ).

Accommodation was some 4,700 bucks booked via Agoda. Tolls around 1500, food was 3,800 and 6,500 for diesel and other miscellaneous shopping. Overall we enjoyed a lot, highly recommended trip if you stay in nearby states.