[Aarhot]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Then they took the wheels and checked the older tyre pressure sensors. Surprise, surprise - the front tyre pressure sensors were completely different from the ones which had been procured by Balaji ASC. A part number search showed that the older ones, fitted by Paramount's ASC at Jeypore, Odisha, belonged to the Bolero! The rear tyre pressure sensors were thankfully of the XUV700. The sensor in the spare (5th) tyre belongs to the Bolero.

Older one on the left belongs to the Bolero! The correct, newer one is on the right.
Attachment 2476257
Finally.
Attachment 2476262

Hello, TPMS!
Attachment 2476263

Is this 5th spare tyre TPMS option available already in AX7 model or needs to be fixed separately n configured by service center? I never saw it on my mid for the spare one...

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by Aarhot

Is this 5th spare tyre TPMS option available already in AX7 model or needs to be fixed separately n configured by service center? I never saw it on my mid for the spare one...

It's present. Invisible in the MID until it loses PSI or is being detached from the vehicle.

----------------------------------------------------------------

At today's prices, it's damn near impossible to find a worthy lateral update to the XUV700. One has to go either 1-2 segments below (Creta/Seltos/Carens/Ertiga, Grand Vitara/Hyryder or even Sonet/Venue/Brezza) and compromise on cabin space, engine specs and mechanicals, in it's pricing ranges.

Even staying in it's own segment means shelling out plenty of extra dough just to go one variant above in all the SUVs/MUVs in the D1 segment (Safari, Crysta/Hycross, even the XUV700 itself, etc). Forget the D2 segment - it's eye-wateringly expensive!

Just to put things into perspective, my AX5 7-seater variant is now over 2 lakh rupees dearer from when I bought it!

So I have decided to stick with Icarus for a while and with a new home loan's EMI starting from January 2024, I decided to dispose off the car loan. Paid off the 7,36,xxx remaining amount at my bank and freed him from the collar of hypothecation.

Balance = Nil. Loan account closed. Icarus is now completely mine.

[Aarhot]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

It's present. Invisible in the MID until it loses PSI or is being detached from the vehicle.

Thanks for sharing this , will get this enabled during my next service as it will let me know when to have its air refilled for any exigencies.

[abhijitrpatil]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

The procedure to enable Auto Headlamps via the OEM accessory kit is simple, as long as you find the two couplers (one for the feature, other for the power supply) behind the dashboard easily and quickly!

Hey, I was wondering if this kit can be installed in all other cars. Won’t be plug and play but should work right? Also, could you share the cost for the kit, thanks

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by abhijitrpatil

Hey, I was wondering if this kit can be installed in all other cars. Won’t be plug and play but should work right? Also, could you share the cost for the kit, thanks

Not sure about it's compatibility for ALL other cars since it's a Mahindra OEM accessory, but it should work with the XUV 7OO irrespective of the variant.

Printed price was Rs 2,500/- back in 2022. I don't remember how much they had charged me for it.

-------------------------------------

No updates from my side since there's been nothing extraordinary to report except for my heart's falling Ejection Fraction percentage and a bout of Dengue which kept me bedridden for the first 10 days of February. It's now 9 days shy of 4 months since Icarus had gone past the 7,000-km mark on the ODO (back in 15th December 2023) and ODO stands at 4 kms short of 8,000 kms.

Goes to show how less I have been driving the big M in recent times.

I have turned to our little Nios AMT for more convenience and less stress during city runs so Icarus spends at least 3 days parked in the garage every week, including all weekends.

Since my last report, I have faced issues such as dimmed screens (twice), loud scratchy bangs from the speakers (3-4 times) followed by MID defaulting to the Drive Info menu, blank screens (once) and DPF clogging solved by a 25-minute parked Regen (four times) - a given, since my driving is now limited to inside the city at low speeds for 4-5 days each week.


10th Jan.


01st Feb.


24th Feb.


20th March.



Thankfully, the USB drive resetting problem is gone. Used the Apple Carplay screen a few times but wasn't satisfied with it so went back to Android Auto which feels much better in overall usability.

There was also an issue in February regarding a foul, damp smell coming out from the AC vents as soon as the AC was switched on. Took it to the local ASC who gave all the vents (front, rear, 3rd row) a 3M cleaning session which somehow managed to stop this smell, although a strong smell of the 3M liquid used for cleaning stayed inside the cabin for a few days. All good now.




Met the brawny Marksman during this visit.













AT2 tyres.



Sometimes I am forced to ask myself if I took the right decision for going for the diesel, given how drastically my increasing health issues have taken over my life since the past year or so. Whatever plans I had made when taking delivery back on 25th April 2022 to show the world to my little daughter through road trips - I feel bad to say that not one of them has materialised, except for a few short trips to Chitrakote waterfalls and Dantewada. But, back then, with improving health and a green signal from my docs, who would have predicted this future today 24 months ago?

With me mostly confined to my city and my steed getting it's legs chained, it looks like a bleak future for Icarus, running-wise.


Picking up my little one from her school back in February.


My little Princess.


Dropping her off at her school for Night Camp in the last week of February. Evening shot.



The 3rd service (2nd annual) is due in 2 weeks' time, and so is insurance renewal. Hope I am good enough, health-wise, to provide a timely update for those. Fingers crossed.

[SithDefender]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Sometimes I am forced to ask myself if I took the right decision for going for the diesel, given how drastically my increasing health issues have taken over my life since the past year or so.

Hope you get better and enjoy your steed, RavenAvi ! Your review of the first-gen Creta was instrumental in me selecting it as well. I hope you get to take your little princess all these places very soon !

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

There was also an issue in February regarding a foul, damp smell coming out from the AC vents as soon as the AC was switched on. Took it to the local ASC who gave all the vents (front, rear, 3rd row) a 3M cleaning session which somehow managed to stop this smell, although a strong smell of the 3M liquid used for cleaning stayed inside the cabin for a few days. All good now.

The 3rd service (2nd annual) is due in 2 weeks' time, and so is insurance renewal. Hope I am good enough, health-wise, to provide a timely update for those. Fingers crossed.

Wishing you a better health trajectory sir.

Regarding the foul smell, next time, replace the cabin air filter. Carbin air filter holds lot of dust and will be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria which cause the bad small. Since you have cleaned the AC vents, I suggest you check the condition of Cabin air filter and replace it if dirty or if not replaced in the last 12-18 months.

[RavenAvi]

Thank you so much for your wishes, guys.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Regarding the foul smell, next time, replace the cabin air filter. Carbin air filter holds lot of dust and will be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria which cause the bad small. Since you have cleaned the AC vents, I suggest you check the condition of Cabin air filter and replace it if dirty or if not replaced in the last 12-18 months.

That's the first thing they checked at the ASC, Sagar. All good there, since it was changed at the last free service. It was a bit dusty but otherwise as good as new.

After that they checked the engine bay thoroughly and even took the 7OO up the ramp to give the underbody a check as well. Finding nothing unusual, they suggested the 3M cleaning treatment for the AC vents which usually costs about 1,000 bucks but they did it in my XUV for free - another scoring point for BR Balaji LLC and their service team. I also came to know that the AC vents in the 7OO are not removable, unlike the 5OO, which makes cleaning their insides impossible.

I suspect it was a clogged drain channel from either the AC outlet or the sunroof which got cleared on it's own later. The smell was similar to a damp, musky-type stuff we usually smell in houses with insufficient waterproofing during rainy seasons. Whatever it was, it's gone now.

I have this habit of changing 3 items of my cars religiously every year during yearly services - Air Filter, AC Filter & front wipers - irrespective of running. Come April 25th (or earlier) when the next major service is due, all 3 will be changed again. And this time I am getting all the drainage channels checked thoroughly so that the above incident is not repeated.

[RavenAvi]

3rd Free Service @ 8069 kms (24 months into ownership)

Took a slot at BR Balaji ASC on Tuesday, 23rd April, to avail Icarus's 3rd Free Service. Running has come drastically down since the 2nd Free last year (less than 2,900 kms in almost 11 and half months, not flattering at all) which doesn't do any justice to the mighty M. Hopefully I can do something about this soon.

Reached the dealership at 11 AM that day. The dealership had re-hired their old CoTek as their new Service Manager and he was quite warm and cordial while receiving me. We have had huge thunderstorms and continuous rains last Saturday which had conked off the power lines for almost 36 hours, so they were jampacked with vehicles pending from Saturday and Monday. Still, they had given me a slot and were very prompt in attending to Icarus as soon as I reached there. Brownie points to BR Balaji ASC for this.

Totally crowded service area floor.


An SA came over and noted down my list of jobs (other than the usual 3rd Free Service routine) - Wipers, AC & air filters to be changed, DEF top-up with 6 liters, underbody & tyres check, brakes cleaning and lifespan check, battery health check and engine oil to be changed to Ultra v4. Icarus was up on the ASC's dedicated 7OO service ramp in no time.

On the dedicated ramp.


I asked the dealership's insurance team to meet me, because the online renewal quote from TATA AIG this year (for an IDV of 13.72 lakhs with Zero Dep, Return to Invoice, Engine Protection & Consummables) was nearing a staggering 42,000 bucks!

TATA AIG's online quote received via Whatsapp.


The dealership is dealing with just 2 companies this year - Universal Sompo (24,800-odd) and Iffco Tokio (31,200-odd) for the same IDV of 13.72 lakhs.

Universal Sompo's quotation.


Since I have no experience with the former, and the Balaji dealership vouched for Iffco Tokio as their most trusted company in terms of claim settlements, I went with the latter. They raised the IDV to a smidge under 14L (on my demand) for almost the same premium (31,303/-), with Return to Invoice, Zero Dep & Consumables as add-ons. Not sure which quotient for 2nd year renewal has increased this year - I am guessing that the Own Damage premium & Zero Dep add-on has seen a significant hike.

Iffco Tokio finalised via dealership.


Last year, they had poured the regular Ultra engine oil (in the yellow can) into Icarus since v4 wasn't available. I wasn't told about this until after they had started pouring it into the engine back then. So, this year, I was adamant that they showed me the Ultra v4 engine oil before anything.

Their inventory showed plenty of stock but the team managing their parts store couldn't find it! I was shown a can of 4 liters manufactured in August 2023 (Shell) as the only available Ultra v4 with them. They initially said they had 1L cans as well, which they couldn't find even after 2 whole hours of searching!

Older stock of Ultra v4 shown initially to me.


It took a strong call from the new Service Manager to make them search frantically through their stocked cartons, and finally by 2:30 PM, they located a whole lot of Ultra v4s (Shell again) in 6L cans in some sealed carton stashed away somewhere where they themselves could not find it!

New stock finally found!


Wipers and filters were changed by then, and brake cleaning was on while the new Ultra v4 can (manufactured in March 2024) reached Icarus. The brakes were given a huge thumbs up by the service guy attending to my 7OO, and the battery health check showed "Good". Overall, all good.

Brakes cleaning in progress.


State of the front rotor.


Engine Oil Filter details.


Carbon (AC) Filter.


Air Filter.


DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid).


The rest of the jobs went by smoothly, and they took my 7OO to the washing area by 4:30 PM. They had placed the older wipers, Air/AC filters, the now-empty v4 can & the DEF fluid canister in the boot. I politely asked them to remove everything except the 2 cans, which they obliged.

Nothing like a long, cold shower on a 42-degree afternoon!


Shined, polished and ready to return home.



Final bill came up to 6,994/-, and I was out of the dealership by 5:40 PM.


Gave "Happy" & "Satisfied" replies on Whatsapp to the overall service experience, which made the feedback team extremely happy. Why not? They thoroughly deserved it, although their spare parts store team needs plenty of tightening up regarding inventory management.

I feel that the mHawk has become a bit more silent and the engine response has improved slightly since then. Haven't yet tested the Zip mode so it's too early to comment if the v4 engine oil will change any characteristic of the city-exclusive mode yet. If you remember, the Zip mode had become sluggish since they poured the normal Ultra last year. I had been driving in the default Zap mode since then. Will test out the Zip mode extensively and come back to report. Hopefully, the DPF/Regen frequency also comes down after this engine oil change and the v4 lives up to it's glowing recommendations.

BTW, there's a new software update for the AdrenoX system - version 10.32.81 for the AX7L. For all other variants, it will be 10.32.82. I am told it has new map updates and several bug fixes and is a recommended patch. My ASC didn't have it in their system on that day so I haven't updated yet. Shall head in for this most probably next week, then report back.

ODO reading is now at 8,102 kms.