[mbhalara]

Similar incident happened with me back in 2015 with my Alto k10. Small rattle sound was coming intermittently. Went to Maruti Service Station. They said to me to even change the front axle portion!

Went to a local mechanic. He drove it for a kilometer or so and found that left side hinge of bonnet had become lose and it required to be replaced. I did it immediately and rattle sound disappeared!

[pd_scorpio]

Originally Posted by puneetakhouri

A local mechanic solved my problem in 2 hours what Tata Service could not do in 10 days

It's not only the Strome, Tata that has given many of us a very bad after-sales service experience.

For you, it was the Strome. For me, it was the latest 2022 Safari.

[puneetakhouri]

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Could you please share the FNG's contact details here and in the directory for other BHPians' benedit. Thanks.

I am just waiting for a sufficient duration to ensure that the problem is solved completely before adding it to the TBhp directory. Once I have done a long 500km trip without problem or a month without any problems, will update the directory.

Originally Posted by zadoom

I remember you had used some other FNG as well in your earlier days of ownership. Do you still use that one or would shift to this newer one? In any case this FNG is it by any chance somewhere in Navi Mumbai? I can then try to visit them as well once.

Cheers,
Mayank

Naah they were primarily good with premium vehicles and learning on my truck which I don't want. They have been supportive but they are also helpless with Storme. Main thing I look out for is diagnosis which was missing in them.
My fuel line work was done by another mechanic (Mumbai Police Bolero local mechanic) and today got the EGR cleaning done by yet another mechanic, although this one was referred to by the second one. Since I stay in Chembur most of these are in Chembur only. Which shouldn't be far from Navi Mumbai anyways

[sand-dune96]

Originally Posted by puneetakhouri

There is actually a thread on team bhp around the same topic - here (Adding Engine oil with Diesel.). Even I had never heard of it earlier. Apparently, the new diesels have very low sulphur content which is a good lubricating agent. Adding engine oil gives some lubrication to the lines, pumps and injectors.

I can vouch for the same. Sulfur in fuel is a lubricant as well as producer of SOx content in the exhaust. The large marine 2S engines mostly still work on residual fuel which has a Sulfur cap of 3.5% with appropriate exhaust cleaning system. Such engines and plenty old school diesels are designed to be used with higher sulphur diesel. But since emission norms regulate emission of SOx either the fuel needs to be changed or an exhaust cleaning system needs to be added where the DEF comes in and diesel with lower sulphur.

[sarvesh4wd]

In 80's it was a practice to add 1 liter 2 stroke oil to a tank of diesel when out on long drives, it will smoothen the injector clatter. Post 2 stroke era and CRDI i think this practice is not popular.

In Pajero / Mahindra Major I drive we now use TQ to do the same job

[nettooran]

I had a similar experience with Hyundai. My steering had a small rattle on complete turn. Went to Popular motors Hyundai Trivandrum and they replaced the universal joint and then some other part when I returned with the complaint. Altogether I remember I spent like 6k on parts alone. I refused to pay labor charges on my second visit.

Any complaints raised to Hyundai are automatically redirected to the showroom itself and so it was useless.

Finally went to a garage that used to be a Hyundai A.S.C. earlier. The mechanic opened the bonnet, kept looking inside for 2 mins, brought a screwdriver and tightened screws on the power steering motor. And the sound just vanished like that.

I raised a lot of complaints to Hyundai and tried to get compensated for the parts they forced me to replace. But then every time, the ticket gets diverted to the same service center and they would keep offering me free wash for the next service.

[Freespirit27]

A kind of 'deja vu' post for me, because I faced a ditto situation with my , now turning 9, XUV 5OO 2014! The culprit though not yet convicted,is Vayalat MAHINDRA at Maradu KOCHI. In the last service there in 2022 Jul I was conned into a underbody coating. Now I don't say it was not due for renewal, but the original was from a 3M Shop. Well all seemed well till the next day after delivery, the car failed to start. I called the SA who was keenly canvassing for 5 star rating the previous evening. He responded promptly and the mobile service came with jumper cables and vehicle was started. It was surprising for me that a battery check was not done in a claimed 40k service. Anyways I gave them a mouthful and agreed for a battery change also, as normally my batteries other than original have been lasting 4 yrs. Now few days later on an evening run I noticed a Engine warning without any loss of pickup or rpm drop. I stopped the vehicle (snapped it for the SA) and restarted the vehicle and now the warning had gone. I still reported the matter and I was told to get the vehicle to the center. Now as I see this is the only mistake I made because I didn't have a day to waste and since the warning was not on continuously, I couldn't as it is show it at the garage and so I skipped the trip. There were no further problems on that account and i guessed some wiring must have got disturbed during the underbody coating or some such trivial reason.
Fast forward to 1 yr later Jul 23 and on a full family( in-laws!) run I tried switching on the Rear AC and it wouldn't come on! Also few days later suddenly the Engine warning also started coming on intermittently with first start of the day but would reset on restart. Since my running is less, I follow yearly service and I set up an appointment on the WYH app, narrated the history and asked for both issues to be checked with a possible clunking noise in the rear when going over the new fangled composite speed breakers. I was pitched a 60k service which without choice I agreed on a 40k driven 9 yr old vehicle!
Now one thing I recollect in retrospect, the fuel was down to last two blocks at the time. Also unlike the usual response on Mahindra app, this time I was not getting updates or work invoice and so each time I had to call the SA. I was told the tank is being removed, filter has to be cleaned(some photos- not very alarming were sent) and I gave a go ahead. Work on rear AC will be done thereafter, I was told with a worrying process of full system needing dismantling as the lines till the rear will have to be checked etc. I was not worried as i anticipated more of a wiring issue than system issue as the AC per se was functioning fine. No updates later, I called again and SA promised to call back as work was in progress. 2nd evening I get a call that Trials were taken but the warning is still coming so..probably, the high pressure fuel pump needs to be changed- cost 60k upwards Now my simple query was, I was not facing any pickup issues, or RPM drop or Mileage issues so please share with me the OBD reports and what is the suspect issue/ issues as per that. The SA had no answer and was now acting weird. Since I had the vehicle requirement over the weekend I asked for the suspension related issues (they claimed a need to change bushes which I gave a go ahead earlier) to be sorted and box up the vehicle and have it returned next morning. I collected the vehicle the following Mon as the delivery on Fri was getting delayed and I had my wife's car available.
With a 25k plus bill and a unsatisfied soul I drove the vehicle out - promptly the warning appeared. Now I noticed the fuel was down to last block and so something clicked and I decided to fill a full tank. I ran the vehicle at low gear high RPM and lo behold! No warning. Now nearly a month later while the warning comes rarely on first start- it resets on restart!


The things I find surprising and relate to the posts above are:-
i) For a supposedly modern vehicle with more than 26 warning lamps the service advisors are generally lost for explanation and we are afraid to go to a FNG.
ii)With multiple models and updates running on vehicles, I have serious doubts on the Service centers' ability to maintain multiple software versions for the OBD. In fact a friend mentioned that another garage was complaining of only one laptop available with them!
iii) So my guess is that they are following a hit and trial method of part replacement based on past precedence and not using the diagnostics!
iv) I raised a customer complaint and specifically requested for diagnostics report to be shared, quote on change of part to be given (because, like I mentioned earlier I was not getting any work invoice updates which again leads me to suspect there software to be down). After a tele follow up, I got a direct email reply from the SA quoting costs " High pressure Pump – 52,500/-; Labour - 15,000/-" & "We will support 5% discount of parts and 10% discount on Labour. We expect your work approval at the earliest."

Further queries have been left unanswered and meanwhile, I am running the vehicle without issues ensuring Fuel is always 3/4 full and more pleasant surprise as the Rear A/c seems to have rectified itself I am right now in a dilemma, as to whether to lookout for a alternate service center or continue taking Vayalat Mahindra head on in next service or 'fingers crossed' till a persistent warning, with supporting symptoms on engine or performance.

Note: Mods may move the thread but I feel this is not a brand issue but more of a software version management and lack of support for older vehicles from dealers due to inconvenience to them!

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by puneetakhouri

Even I had never heard of it earlier. Apparently, the new diesels have very low sulphur content which is a good lubricating agent. Adding engine oil gives some lubrication to the lines, pumps and injectors. Taxi guys do it all the time and apparently all the police Bolero and vans add engine oil in diesel from time to time.

For future reference, anything pump and injector related, head straight to your nearby Pump mechanic or Lucas TVS dealer. THey are the OEM and will have the equipment needed to service your pump and injectors
http://servicedealer.lucastvs-catalo...id=Maharashtra
TASC's will quote 2X and take 2X as long because they are essentially sending it to them for repair and charging their own margin on top

[puneetakhouri]

The Storme goes to the Garage for 6 months, brings me to my knees

Yes you read it right, that was also the reason this thread was super silent for over 6 months because I did not have the car with me.

TLDR - The car required ECU replacement but diagnosis and finding the right mechanic took a long long time.

What Happened
After getting the fuel lines cleaned, diesel filters replaced and getting EGR cleaned, I took the truck to office the next day as the drive to office was very smooth, but the moment I turned on the vehicle during my return journey, the Check Engine Light came on again. I knew where this was headed with injectors knocking, Check Engine Light, ABS Light, EMS Light coming on and staying that way, misfiring and what not, I still drove the car back somehow for 22 kms to my home.
For reference, this is one of the videos of how and what used to happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxW29N12KNA

Also note that engine is louder than it should be.

The mechanics were advising me that this would require, injectors and pump service but this time the engineer in me decided that will tackle it methodically, so found a mechanic near my house. He scanned the vehicle and we had the exact same error codes as earlier.


So I decided to tackle them one at a time, found a local mechanic and got the following done
Mechanic #1 - July End to August Mid

• it showed Rail Pressure Sensor Error, so got the sensor replaced, tried, no change.
• It showed Metering Valve Issues, so got the metering valve placed in front of the High Pressure Pump cleaned out. No effect.

Basically I thought of working on the error codes before going for the main pump injector service. Now seeing that nothing else is working, gave the truck to my old mechanic for the same. Do note that they are not a Tata expert and deal primarily with premium cars, they just handle my Safari as a gesture of friendship. My safari is the cheapest car that they service .

Mechanic #2 - August Mid - September End
Car goes to my mechanic, he gets the pumps and injectors removed and sent for service. They find issue in two injectors but the pump seems ok. The pump injector come back, they are fitted. Car runs fine but the error comes back again. After giving ample time to mechanic #2, I decided to take the truck to some other mechanic. Mechanic #2 was also very happy that I was taking the vehicle away as he was clueless.

Mechanic #3 - October
The car goes to another mechanic, again pump injector are opened, went to service, put back, same issue comes back. They are also clueless. I was very unhappy with these folks and then desperately was looking for another mechanic.
I also booked the Scorpio N Z8 D AT 7 Str in the end of October assuming that Safari is not going to get repaired and no other car comes close to it in road presence, comfort in that price range.

Mechanic #4 - The Expert - November to December End
This was the guy who fixed my car. Somehow found him and he said that if I am not going to shy from spending some money then he will guarantee that he will fix the car. I was sceptical as to what he meant but he said in the ballpark of 30-40k as most owners shy away from spending so he didn't want to waste labour. Now calculating the EMIs of new car, this one time expense made a lot of sense to me. So I gave him a go ahead and gave some advance as an assurance as well.
The work done is listed below.

• The car had wire mesh wrapped over all wires in the engine bay, he took all of it out and checked the connections and found the first fault. Wrongly connected wire taking power from some other source creating a higher voltage in the circuit. This mechanic was an ex-Tata guy and he knew of the older Tatas well. He even had the Service manual of a Safari Storme with the complete wiring diagram which he referred to and rebuilt the entire wiring harness of the ECU.
• The Pump and Injector were again sent for service, they said the pump was ok but two of the four injectors were choked creating back pressure and causing rail pressure sensor high errors.

After both of these was done, the error still did not go away and as per the Service Manual there was only one thing left to do - Replace ECU.
Now Storme is not a Maruti with everything readily available, sourcing the ECU became a pain with nobody having the same ECU as we wanted. This delayed the work by lot of time and finally the ECU was sourced from Delhi and settings from my ECU copied onto it.

The mechanic tried the vehicle and it seemed to be working fine now. But having faced problems during drives, I had totally lost faith and confidence in the vehicle. I asked him to do a test drive of at least 500 kms before handing over to me. He happily took the vehicle for his personal trip to Pune and did a round trip of 450kms following which he handed over the truck to me.

The Ending
Finally the truck was given back to me in first week of January and so far I have done over 2000 kms with it with no problem whatsoever. Slowly I am also regaining my confidence back with the vehicle.
The last 6 months have been so difficult with having to use cab for everyday office travels, having no car in monsoons, weekend travels with family restricted to cabs. But during the entire duration, I remember what vigsom sir used to tell me over the phone - Do not give up. Go to the root of it and get it fixed, its a car afterall. And here I am enjoying the vehicle thoroughly again.

Ohh btw, cancelled my Scorpio N booking

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by puneetakhouri

Mechanic #4 - the guy who fixed my car; so far I have done over 2000 kms - regaining confidence in the vehicle

That's the reward that perseverance gives you - in the form of Mechanic#4, and your loving steed back on the road. Kudos for hanging in there. Easy to state this now, but let me be honest (as always) - I knew all along that this was an electrical issue, but everytime you seemed to have gotten out of the issue, I'd tell myself, "Oh, new learning". You've also done another good deed - in helping someone on the ScorpioN wait list realise his/her dream.

[PrasannaDhana]

Damn, this thread kind of scares me to have a storme in my garage. Glad everything worked out fine at the end.

Key takeaway from this thread-

Dont ever buy an used, last gen Tata SUV/MPV


To the OP, I would suggest you to go ahead with the Scorpio-N booking and part ways with the storme.

[puneetakhouri]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Kudos for hanging in there. Easy to state this now, but let me be honest (as always) - I knew all along that this was an electrical issue, but everytime you seemed to have gotten out of the issue, I'd tell myself, "Oh, new learning". You've also done another good deed - in helping someone on the ScorpioN wait list realise his/her dream.

Thanks sir, yeah you were always pointing to the electricals being faulty. Now in the end, it all seems to be behind me now. Over 50 days since I got the vehicle and around 2600kms and the truck is going on strong.

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Damn, this thread kind of scares me to have a storme in my garage. Glad everything worked out fine at the end.

Key takeaway from this thread-
Dont ever buy an used, last gen Tata SUV/MPV

To the OP, I would suggest you to go ahead with the Scorpio-N booking and part ways with the storme.

My takeaway is never to buy a used SUV, be it from any manufacturer. SUVs in general are an abused lot and it takes a lot of patience and money to bring them back to top shape.

One of the main reasons I bought the Storme was it was a VFM deal, I do not want to go the route of spending over 25 lacs for a car. That was an unplanned expense coming my way. Also nothing comes close to the Storme, and I am serious when I say it. When the truck was in the garage I used to feel pretty frustrated with it. But I test drove the Scorpio N, and to be honest I could not connect with it. It definitely feels as good as sitting in the Safari but that is where the similarity ends. I somehow did not enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

Also the main problem that I suffered from was that I did not have a good mechanic, now I found an excellent one and he has worked very well on the vehicle. As per him, there is nothing else left to do on the vehicle now, and just running repairs should be enough to keep it going for the next few years. Plan is to hold onto it for as long as I can or as long as spares are available.

[zadoom]

Glad that you are able to finally enjoy the beast.
As usual please do share the details of this ex-TATA guy who was able to work wonders with your car. Though for now, I am managing okay with my current FNG at Kharghar, you never really know when you might need help. Since you also have experienced parts procurement by multiple garages, is this person any better than the others at procuring the rarely available Storme parts?
I have been unable to source the dashboard storage lid lock for almost a year now and so would gladly go to him if he can procure.

[puneetakhouri]

Originally Posted by zadoom

Glad that you are able to finally enjoy the beast.
As usual please do share the details of this ex-TATA guy who was able to work wonders with your car. Though for now, I am managing okay with my current FNG at Kharghar, you never really know when you might need help. Since you also have experienced parts procurement by multiple garages, is this person any better than the others at procuring the rarely available Storme parts?
I have been unable to source the dashboard storage lid lock for almost a year now and so would gladly go to him if he can procure.

Thanks.
I did add his name in the directory. Sharing here for reference. Located near mysore colony Chembur. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/mumba...h-chembur.html (Expert Tata Mechanic for new & old Tata Cars | Matin Shaikh, Chembur).
I can share his contact number or if you send me a pic, can check with him.