[sany0023]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Gear oil change, as per the manual is every 5 years or 75,000 kms, whichever is earlier. For the reference, I have attached the manual of the Altroz with this post.

Hi
I will be giving my Altroz DCA for first service this weekend. Can you confirm if gear oil change for dct gearbox is needed only after 5 years/75k kms for Altroz?

I couldn't find any reference in the manual regarding dct gearbox oil change.

Also, could you please inform what are the main things to get checked/changed in the first service?

[W.A.G.7]

So, the Altroz crossed 5000 km today! It's a good milestone for us to achieve in the last 10 months. The monsoons have arrived here. Read that as an excuse to head out somewhere for a drive.

A few points, related to the car, before some pics of the drive -

1. The average fuel efficiency is hovering between ~11.5 km/l in the city to ~13.5 km/l on the highway. This is quite a decent figure considering that it is a heavy car with an underpowered petrol engine.
2. The strange thing is that this engine delivers a better fuel efficiency in environments where it's not supposed to be! We tend to get a fuel efficiencey of 13-14 km/l on the highways, but it's main area of expertise is the cityscape! We do not expect the fuel efficiency of the car to increase beyond these limits.
3. The DCA gearbox is a boon in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I have mentioned it enough times on the thread - the positives of the automatic gearbox outweigh all the cons combined. The shifts are seamless and you can realise the gear has changed only because of the engine noise.
4. For 90% of the time when the car would be used in the city, there is sufficient power available on tap. As an example, since our car is used in full traffic twice a day, where the average speed, does not cross 25km/h; the lack of power doesn't matter at all. There is always enough power and torque available and the gearbox never goes beyond 3 or 4 at the maximum.
5. If you are someone who does a lot of of highway driving then the power output of the engine and the gearbox combo may not be enough for you. There will be situations on the highway where you will be left wanting for power. Of course, the engine is powerful enough on the highway but it takes its own sweet time to get into the power band on the highway.
6. For highway driving, I would go for the diesel engine + manual gearbox combo. That would be the best one to regulate the power and have good fuel efficiency.
7. While climbing ghats, the gearbox tends to hold on to the second gear, but you can see the empty road ahead and you wish it would upshift to the third quickly. However, the ECU needs to hold it in the second gear just so the engine remains in the power band. This is where the lack of power output becomes evident.
8. The rear camera is situated just below the round Tata logo. One practical disadvantage is that when driven on the highway the mud that gets thrown up tends to soil it so much that there is almost no visibility. For example, today we had to stop and clean it thrice during the trip. Maybe a lower position would have helped!
9. The car has had its fair share of nicks and cuts in the daily traffic but the body has held on well. The piano black finish however is one thing I can crib about all day. Its a huge swirl magnet and will catch up swirls no matter how careful you are!

In conclusion, in the last 10 months, we have learnt that the best place for this car is in the city where it is supremely comfortable to drive in traffic. Its extremely useful for ladies as well - the convenience of a proper automatic in a premium feel hatchback. It's quite a head turner too. For everything else that falls under driving - we have our Ecosport!

The one year / third service (which is the actual service; the prior two ones were not services - they were only checkups and fluid top-ups) is approaching in August when we will complete one year with the car. I will report the details here once that is completed. It will be useful for everyone to know how the experience of the first "proper" service is.

Now for some pics!!

Here is how our Altroz looks after 10 months


I like this angle the best for front photos


The chrome is not overdone in the front of this car. However, the front overhang is huge. (not saying because of this photo, but a general observation)


The paint quality is top-notch and has held on nicely. We haven't done any kind of coating on the paint.


Here is the fuel efficiency when we realised we had missed to click a photo of 4999 or 5000 km! We just missed clicking a photo of the 5000 km mark by a whisker!


Here is the average fuel efficiency at the end of the trip. Pretty decent for a heavy hatchback.


A shot of how the car looks from the rear.


I think the rear three quarters is probably the best angle to click a photograph of this car. Notice that the camera is positioned below the Tata logo, so it gets soiled pretty quickly when all the muddy water gets thrown up.


The thick flat bottom steering wheel is a pleasure to hold. It's thick and the feedback is quite decent too, sufficiently weighted at all speeds.


When monsoon and road trips combine, you cannot miss having tea! The weather was just beautiful today for a long drive. We had to cut short because of personal commitments today.


That's all for now, I will post more pictures and updates in the coming weeks and when the car completes one year in August.

Originally Posted by sany0023

Hi
I will be giving my Altroz DCA for first service this weekend. Can you confirm if gear oil change for dct gearbox is needed only after 5 years/75k kms for Altroz?

Hi Sany0023 - My bad, I didn't check the thread in some time, hence didn't see your reply. Sorry about that. Did you complete your service? How did it go?

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by sany0023

Can you confirm if gear oil change for dct gearbox is needed only after 5 years/75k kms for Altroz?

I couldn't find any reference in the manual regarding dct gearbox oil change.

I checked this point in the manual just now. It is indeed mentioned as 5 years or 75k kilometres for changing for the transaxle oil. I assume transaxle oil is the gearbox oil in lay man’s term. It’s mentioned in the maintenance and service details.



The edit window expired while I was searching for the manual. Hence the new reply. Trust things to get misplaced, when you want them the most!!

[jessie007]

Nice update! Just curious to know if you have used the manual made on the gearbox whenever you felt like downshifting or up-shifting as per your requirement, rather than waiting for the DCT gearbox to do the needful? This feature in automatics gives shift control to the driver whenever required - like holding onto a gear for a quick overtake; or like in your case up-shifting to third after climbing a ghat, when the engine holds onto second gear for longer??

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by jessie007

Nice update!

Oh yes! We tried that feature too. But somehow the hand-leg-brain coordination in the manual mode is something both of us couldn’t get right. For example, we kept stamping on the dead pedal before realising that this one doesn’t have a clutch. Or we forgot to shift forwards (+) or backwards (-) until the car complained in the MID about shifting gears!

Ultimately we gave up and now just keep driving in the automatic mode. Maybe we need to get the hang of the manual side of the gearbox!

[W.A.G.7]

A few quick updates and observations

Monsoons have arrived, read that as "dirty cars" that need frequent cleaning. A daily drive compounds this problem even more. We will mostly get it cleaned up during the service scheduled next week. Here in the pic, you can see that the rear wiper has a good sweep & cleanup area; and is being put to good use.


The car has started throwing up the "Service Due" reminder frequently. We have a scheduled appointment for the 1-year/15,000 km service on 5th Aug 2023. This is the real "true" service in that sense, the prior two ones were more or less check-up and top-up services. I will update the experience once we get back the car from the service centre. Nitpick - The infographic showing the fuel level in the meter blind spots the actual information! Just wish there was a separate place for the fuel level infographic but it is a minor inconvenience!


The replacement valve for the front tyre has gone kaput once again. The TPMS is throwing up audible and visual warnings once again in the MID. We will need to get it replaced during the service this time. The tyre is good for sure - checked twice and found no punctures at all. it's only the leaking valve thats causing the low pressure. The second point to note here is the average fuel efficiency. Monsoons = traffic jams, which is equal to stop and go traffic; which in turn means a drop in the average fuel efficiency. It keeps hovering between 11-11.5 km/l in the city. The odometer stands at ~5400 kms.

[W.A.G.7]

We got all the tyres and valves checked some time back, at Lokmanya Tyres, off Karve Road. None of them have a leak. Even the replacement valve is fine, contrary to what we had thought earlier. A monetary setback by INR 200/- for checking all 4 tyres, but at least we know for sure that the tyres are good.

Fingers crossed, hoping that the gremlin doesn't show up again. We reset the TPMS and continued. The crazy discovery in the tyre fiasco was that we now know the rims have rust in them! Check out the pictures for yourself! Is this something to check for in the upcoming service?







Trivia once again - What do you find inside disc brakes and pads, when you open up the wheels? Stickers!! There's no dearth of stickers on this car, at-least on ours!

[Shanksta]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

The crazy discovery in the tyre fiasco was that we now know the rims have rust in them! Check out the pictures for yourself! Is this something to check for in the upcoming service?

Hey W.A.G.7,

This is absolutely normal, just plain old surface rust as the hub is a cast iron part I guess. You can just leave it as it is.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

.....
Someone at Tata has gone overboard with the stickers. Once you notice it - there are a plethora of stickers and bar codes stuck across each part in the engine bay. I mean, what gives? Either they have a lot of free time on their hand or a lot of stickers. Or possibly both, to splurge away on every engine bay!
.......
And if you notice it the mouth of the container is neatly hidden under the plastic lid. Once again, what gives?! 5 stickers more on a metal part. They did not spare the green sticker either - someone stuck a white bar code across that one as well!!
....

Looks like Tata's Indica era tagline has now changed to:
'More stickar per car'

[W.A.G.7]

To share the update on servicing here: We went to the Garve Tata service centre today sharp at 9.30 AM, but there was already a horde of people waiting to get a service advisor assigned. The counter lady told us to fill out a form and wait for at least 40-45 mins!! We figured out that if there are so many people on the weekend, it's most likely they will just wash the car and return it, so we rescheduled the appointment to Tuesday 8th Aug 2023. Hopefully, the rush will be somewhat less on a working Tuesday.

It was complete chaos outside the service centre with a sea of Nexons, Tiagos and Altrozs! Even more chaos inside the service centre with all the advisors running around frantically.

I will update the details here once we service the car this coming Tuesday.

Originally Posted by srvm

'More stickar per car'

That's true indeed! This car has a lot more stickers than any other car sold in India!

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

so we rescheduled the appointment to Tuesday 8th Aug 2023. Hopefully, the rush will be somewhat less on a working Tuesday.

So, we got the car back yesterday. To summarize it shortly here, it felt much better after an oil change. It feels a lot more smoother than before and gear shifting seems to have been improved (maybe psychologically!). There were the usual hiccups at the ASC and they say that history repeats itself! A few angry concerns raised by the missus post servicing meant that 2 service advisors and around 5-6 cleaner folks were running helter-skelter around the car. We will come to that soon...

I will put some more pictures and a report by the coming Saturday on how the third and final "free" service was, as both of us are occupied with office work in the week.

[W.A.G.7]

So, around a week and a half ago on 5th Aug 2023 (to be precise on 8th Aug) we had our third and final free service done with Garve Tata. I refer to this as a "true" service because it involves an oil change. The prior two services were general checkups and involved only "top-ups" of certain fluids.

On 5th Aug 2023, we reached the service centre in Narhe and it was a "haaaawww" moment for us. There were so many cars coming in for servicing, that it was impossible to even get the car inside the premises. The watchman told us to park the car right there and leave the keys in the car. When we went inside, it was another story. The whole area was choc-a-bloc with customers waiting to be assigned a service advisor. When we approached the reception, the overworked lady told us to take a seat and wait for at least 45 minutes! This was the story at 9.30 AM in the morning. We waited for 15 mins and figured out that we were surrounded by overworked receptionists and flustered service advisors who were just running around in circles with job cards and a different set of customers every time!

Long story short, both of us instantly figured out that due to the overload on the particular Saturday, these unfortunate headless "chimkens" would hoodwink both of us like a couple of kids and possibly just wash and hand over the car to us. Actually, they did hoodwink us and we realized it today while we were penning down this report! How? Read on...

Coming back to the main story, we approached the reception lady and asked to reschedule the appointment to 8th Aug (Tuesday) - she quickly assigned a Tuesday slot and almost stood up and thanked us both for getting ourselves and her out of the mess! Oh, the irony of selling too many cars and having the same "sized" service centres and dealers as yesteryears!!

Tuesday turned out to be a blessing in disguise - there were hardly 4 or 5 more cars for servicing. Lesson learnt - never ever go to a service centre on a Saturday. While we were waiting, we were offered a mandatory coffee which we gulped (and instantly burned our soft palates once again; though the taste was really good!) while they assigned a service advisor. And guess what??

Horror of horrors - he had a bad case of conjunctivitis and looked straight at us like this:

My wife told him with a deadpan expression to get some rest and asked him to get hold of someone else. Someone else came and another "haaaawww" moment for us. The person coolly took over the pen and job card from him! We realized that we had to use Dettol Hand Sanitizer liberally when we got home, or else the same pen and job card would make us sitting ducks for conjunctivitis after we had signed the job card.

But the other person was quite cool with the situation. He accompanied us to the car and wrote down the mandatory things. We asked him to check the TPMS warning once again and also check the seat height adjustment. Apart from this, there was really no other complaint about the car. He explained that this service will have the oil and oil filter changed along with the general checkup. He also offered us to change the front wipers to "frameless" ones - which we obliged because the original ones were making some noise. Usually, we make it a point to change the wipers once a year, no matter the condition. While we were leaving my wife told him to ensure that the car was washed properly when we would come to collect it in the evening because it was horribly muddy when we left it at the service centre.

4 pm and they call us - saying the car is washed and ready and we can pick it up. We agreed to a time of 5 pm because we assumed that we would be back by 6-6.15 pm, as we both had meetings around 6.30 pm onwards. Classic case of assumptions gone bad. We reached there at sharp 5 pm and they assigned a person to us after 10 minutes or so. He said let's check out the car before we get on with the paperwork - not a very good idea on his part!

When we approached the car - we instantly saw was not washed completely - quite a lot of places still had muddy traces and swirls For some strange reason we realized that the car was completely fogged up from inside. My wife told him in no uncertain terms that if she doesn't see the clean car in the next 10 minutes, he can very well go home with 0 out of 10 stars in his rating. Not a good start I told my Ecosport and we both agreed remotely. The conjunctivitis guy and his non-conjunctivitis friend (who got the job card signed by us) were nowhere to be seen. The new person got on the phone in a double and after a shouting session to someone on the other end of the line, we saw some 4 or 5 cleaner guys running towards the car. To cut the long story short (again!) they had the car exterior cleaned up in no time. That's when part 2 of the cleaning saga unfolded!

The new person confidently opened the door and another "haaaawww" moment for us. The driver-side doormat was dripping wet! Someone at the centre absent-mindedly had put the wet mat in the car after cleaning and closed it. With the wet mat and the car standing under the partly sunny, partly cloudy weather - the interiors got fogged up. This time, we both raised our voices and said we want the car cleaned up nice and proper else we are calling the TaMo customer care right now and escalating it to them. After some frantic shouting matches and around 4-5 service advisors running helter-skelter, they got the wet mat partially dried and the car cleaned up from the inside in the next 30-40 minutes. Again realisation dawned on us that neither of us was going to make it to our respective meetings - so a couple of frantic phone calls to colleagues excusing ourselves and we were back in the middle of this fiasco.

In the meanwhile, they got the mat partially dried up and apologised to us saying it was an oversight. All said and done, we dried the mat at home but the wet water stench has remained in the car for 5-6 more days. Overall this time, the service experience at Garve Tata Service Centre in Narhe was underwhelming as compared to the prior two ones. Now, enough of the whole chimichanga and side stories - let's get to the basics.

• The whole bill came to INR 6365.49/- Screenshot below somewhere. While posting the screenshot below, we both realized that they did manage to tack on A/C cleaning and some 3M care charge. Yikes! There's no such thing as A/C disinfection/cleaning and all the A/C cleaning threads on team-bhp came flooding back to my memory.
• In hindsight, I realized that the above fiasco cost us 2 hours of precious time and by the end of it, we were so exhausted that we just wanted to get out of the mess quickly and we overlooked this charge. Next time, we will be more careful. Experience is the best teacher they say, we learnt it the hard way.
• The oil change seems to have made the engine a lot more smoother to drive. Naysayers will call it a psychological effect but then it really feels so.
• The engine has opened up nicely and feels a lot more eager to drive when we mash the accelerator. The loud raspy note is still there though. It becomes all the more apparent when the gearbox drops down two gears during a manoeuvre such as overtaking. But we have gotten used to it.
• They checked the problem where the TPMS sign keeps coming on but were unable to determine any problem in the system. They advised us to fill in the air once every two weeks and keep a watch. Additionally, they suggested switching over to nitrogen instead of plain air.
• They also said that they had sorted out the seat height adjustment issue and tightened some of the gears in the mechanism. The problem seems to have diminished but I can say that this isn't fully resolved as yet. The seat keeps slipping down to the lowest setting; albeit at a bit slower rate as compared to before the service.
• The gearbox is as smooth as ever, and we are loving it. Never found a cause for complaint, and it has made us total converts to automatics.
• The DCA gearbox has won over the hearts - to the point that we are pondering, whether it would be advisable to get rid of a 5-year-old Ecosport with 25k kilometres and replace it with a Skoda Slavia or VW Virtus 1.5 DSG. Then the brain kicks in and reminds us that this would be foolhardy. It's stupid to replace a fine-running Ford Ecosport with another Dual Clutch Gearboxed car (They don't make cars like the Ecosport anymore and personally I have a soft corner for it). Two Dual Clutch Gearbox"ed" cars - that's a potential financial headache for sure in the future!
• The car feels planted and stable at speeds of 80-90 kmph. Heck, we even touched 100-110 kmph without a sweat. We haven't gone beyond 110 km per hour anytime for two reasons - one is that the car is not meant for spirited driving and two is that the Indian roads are not mature enough to drive at high speeds.
• The suspension is tuned nicely - we found that it absorbs all the bumps and potholes efficiently. We never felt any unsettled or bouncy behaviour so far in our ownership.
• Rain sensing wipers and automatic headlamps - two more nice features that we have got in this car and which work okay. The rain-sensing wipers work pretty well in all types of rain that we have experienced so far. The automatic headlamps work decently - they are quick to switch on at the slightest hint of darkness. Conversely, they take their own sweet time to switch off. For example, coming out of a tunnel.
• The back seat comfort is okayish. I mean you have enough legroom in the front even with the front seat extended fully back, but under-thigh support is lacking. What I mean is that the rear seat height is quite low, so for a 5'10" person like me, my legs and knees become angled upwards. For short rides, this is okay but will be a pain for long rides. Back and lumbar support is okay, however, I felt that the seat back angle is a tad too upright. It could have been more relaxed.
• Disc + drum brake combo never gave us any cause for concern, but if I compare it to my Ecosport; then the response time could be a bit better. We have now learnt to use them in the right way in order to have the least stopping distance.
• Good Year ATM2 tyres are nice - have minimal road noise as compared to the default OEM Tyres - the ubiquitous MRF ZVTVs or ZV2Ks. They also offer quite a good grip for OEM tyres. Hence no upgrade is planned as of today on the tyre front.
• The odometer stands at 5909 km as of today, while writing the report. The car is working flawlessly in the "office" traffic i.e. office commutes. With speeds never exceeding 40kmph, the gearbox is always in the right gear - mostly third or fourth. It does have a tendency to upshift quickly and remain there.
• The manual mode is the one which we have used the least. Somehow since day one of the ownership both of us never got our Hand <-> Eye <-> Leg <-> Gear <-> Brake combination right.
• Ultimately we thought to ourselves that we got an automatic car to get rid of the hassle of changing gears and then decided to skip the manual mode altogether - a classic case of grapes being sour!!

The overall conclusion once again is that this car is very much suited to the cityscape and the occasional highway escapades. It will work pretty well as a secondary family car, especially for the ladies. One year (actually 11 days short of completing 1 year of ownership) down the line, I would wholeheartedly recommend this car as a secondary/city drive. I will continue to keep updating our experiences as we get into the second year of ownership starting 29th Aug 2023.

A couple of pictures now - not much but will do it for now.

The saviour! We liberally splattered Dettol to all the touch points in the car and our hands. Thankfully a week later neither of us has conjunctivitis, so you can say for sure that the Dettol idea worked!


An important milestone in the life of the car - 5555 km


The water beading effect is great. We haven't applied any coating.


The piano black finish looks good but is still a swirl magnet. Notice the shade difference where there is a reverse lamp and the other side where there is none.


We love the wet look finish of the grey colour. A good wash and polish and it really shines out nicely.


Page 1 of the invoice.


And here's page 2. Notice the unnecessary charges added on both pages.


At the in-law's place with their 2021 Honda City.


The rainy season means lots of muddy roads and mossy houses.


Side profile of the car. Although I hate cars with a huge front overhand and a minimal rear overhand, I have come to love the shape of this car from the rear three-quarters. It is one of the decently proportioned vehicles sold here.

[Burgman_tales]

Your thread was the biggest motivation for me to buy Altroz dca even after hearing so many issues of Tata in other places. Waiting for mine to arrive any day now.

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by Burgman_tales

Your thread was the biggest motivation for me to buy Altroz dca even after hearing so many issues of Tata in other places. Waiting for mine to arrive any day now.

That’s great, and congratulations on your new Altroz! I would suggest that you do the pre delivery inspection very thoroughly and not skip any step; when the dealership tells you that the car has arrived at the stockyard. I am sure you wouldn’t regret the decision at all. It’s a fantastic city car.

[sany0023]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Hi Sany0023 - My bad, I didn't check the thread in some time, hence didn't see your reply. Sorry about that. Did you complete your service? How did it go?

Hi,

Sorry, i got stuck around with other work, couldn't reply back. To be frank, it was bit bad I would say. I gave it at Kropex auto, Bangalore.
They took 2 days (infact 3 days, counting Sunday, as earlier they promised to give it back on Sunday, but didn't keep the promise). I received it on Monday evening. Some issues were not attended. I am not sure whether they changed even the engine oil or not. Next time I am hoping to get all things done at another service center after 5 months (my usage is low, and not bothering much).
Btw, I am facing issue with indicator, which is very sensitive. A slight turn in opposite direction will make it stop, and you need to turn it again. Somewhere I read that this issue is present with Harrier too. Not sure if any other Altroz owners are facing simiar issue. Also tpms is not working I guess. Even if tyre has air very much below the normal figures, it won't give any warning in cluster.
Also I need to consider changing Air filter at next service, as they didn't change in 1st year service.Any idea aroud this? When air filter needs to be changed and what would be the frequency? My odo reading is around 3200 kms.