[rajeevsulu]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Don't let this initial hiccup spoil your ownership of the Thar.

I have to absolutely agree with this. The pleasure the Thar gives you on the road and elsewhere is totally worth it. I have had the most fun filled 4 1/2 months of any car ownership to date. I am in Yercaud as I type this. Total delight this car has given me over 8000 kms
Cheers

[sgmuser]

Welcome to the club (of brand new Thar going back to workshop). This happened to me as well. Not exactly sure what happened but I was told a metal sleeve was wrongly fitted and the smoke leaked via that gap. Hard to believe but when you deal with someone like Mahindra we need to be ready to face these kinds of issues. We can't expect much. But apart from that one issue I haven't had much of niggles. I can't just blame DPF complications but this is typical of Mahindra. Otherwise the car is a head turner and rugged mechanically and you shouldn't be worried much. Try to patiently resolve the issue. Also pls try to escalate it as much as possible. If you PM me I can give you a person in MRV in Chennai and he might be of help.

[varunswnt]

Originally Posted by GTO

Took the Thar out for a week-long work & play road-trip . She was simply beautiful! Waterlogging & broken roads due to the heavy monsoons made the Thar the perfect companion. Sent the BMW 530d for its annual service visit at the same time.

Reading your blogs is always enjoyable, especially the ones on your cars. The way you talk about cars and your experiences with them is incredibly romantic.

How do you manage to keep Thar's canvas top so spotless? especially when there is muck being thrown by other vehicles and own rear wheels during monsoon season.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by varunswnt

..

How do you manage to keep Thar's canvas top so spotless? especially when there is muck being thrown by other vehicles and own rear wheels during monsoon season.

I think the Thar canvas, even the older one's was pretty easy to clean. Just wash and wipe.

[Mystic]

Wonderful review GTO. I just happened to see the review today as I am a new member. I am touched by your passion of automobiles and the zeal in articulation of your thoughts towards Thar. I am sure there will be a lot of people who will book Thar after reading your review.

This review brought back memories of my father’s official first vehicle in India in 1960s as an engineer in Roads and Buildings Dept. He had a soft top Willys Jeep Petrol with steering on the left . He had this Jeep for many years until he became a chief engineer when he was given an Ambassador car. I still remember travelling in deep jungles of Sileru with a trailer attached to the jeep with all our luggage. “Left hand drive. No hand signals” used to be written in bold letters behind the jeep. I miss those days. In those days, no humans dared to venture into the deep jungles of Sileru, Andhra Pradesh but fortunately, there were geological survey of India maps mapped by hard working Britishers who went on horse backs to map them. Still today, we heavily rely on those maps despite satellites.

I owned a top end model of Black Scorpio VLX and we thoroughly enjoyed with family for more than a decade. I wish that we get a 4 door version of Thar and I will be the first person to book the same. Pls advise if the 4 door version will kill the fun of Thar with your experience.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Akib Khan

Update- The Thar is back on the road. The sensors have been changed and after 30 km of testdrive the car was handed to me with a mini celebration planned by Sky Automobile service centre. The car is performing flawlessly now.

So happy to hear! Head out for a fun highway drive to put this behind you. Unfortunately, Mahindra cars have niggles from time to time. Mine has already had 3 in 5000 km (reversing camera not working, Android Auto disconnection, engine limp mode which magically disappeared after a restart).

Originally Posted by varunswnt

The way you talk about cars and your experiences with them is incredibly romantic.

Thanks man.

How do you manage to keep Thar's canvas top so spotless? especially when there is muck being thrown by other vehicles and own rear wheels during monsoon season.

Old-fashioned car wash guy. Deep wash once a week. Nothing else. It's very easy to maintain.

Originally Posted by Mystic

Wonderful review GTO.

Thanks Mystic.

Pls advise if the 4 door version will kill the fun of Thar with your experience.

Can't say, although I feel that the personality of a 2-door car and the fun of a soft-top is unbeatable.

4-doors will bring practicality. Birdie tells me Mahindra is trying hard to make a "removable" hard-top on the 4-door Thar.

[Akib Khan]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Don't let this initial hiccup spoil your ownership of the Thar. I had a niggle in the first month of ownership, and Mahindra came through - after they fixed it, it's been 54,000 KM and 45 months of excitement, non-stop. Hope it's the same with you, enjoy zillion memories in the years to come!

Thanks a lot for your help. I have driven the car 300 km in just 2 days. Have already ordered a lot of aftermarket parts. The itch to make it unique has started

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mine has already had 3 in 5000 km (reversing camera not working, Android Auto disconnection, engine limp mode which magically disappeared after a restart).

Did you say limp mode on Petrol Thar? That's a new one. What could be the plausible reason?

Asking as I am in two minds between a Petrol and Diesel and your thread and Shankar's posts are the main reasons for leaning towards Petrol. Actually I mentioned this in the other Thar Review thread as well.

My usage is similar to yours but Shankar's long term reviews do speak a lot about reliability of Petrol as a daily drive.

We did test drive both and I am still undecided but wife seems to lean towards Petrol. Both the engines felt incredibly refined with Petrol being silent. However, Diesel too was peppy enough and super responsive despite being lower powered. Definitely not very noisy (I am comparing with the Endeavour 3.2 roar which I have). However the arguments you made in favour of Petrol are very compelling. I have also been reading of the nightmarish experiences some of our BHpians have had on DPF Regen and clogging issues.

So the dilemma continues but have decided to put an end to it in the next couple of days. Decided on Colour, Some Mods etc. as well. Even the AVO suspension (thanks to Shankar's guidance). Still dithering on whether to go for 285 or 275 or 265. That's the net of it.

Thanks again for all the posts.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

Did you say limp mode on Petrol Thar? That's a new one. What could be the plausible reason?

No clue at all. Restarted the car and it's been all okay since. Even sent it to Mahindra for a quick checkup, and they gave her an all-clear.

Even the AVO suspension (thanks to Shankar's guidance)

Would suggest first living with the Thar. The 2023 Thars have a more compliant suspension than earlier builds.

[GTO]

We're loving the Thar & its driving pleasure is unmatched! The engine & transmission are also A+.

But the car sure is a niggle factory

- Yesterday, post a drive, I parked the Thar and pushed the driver door shut. Instead, I heard a loud clank! The driver's door lock is jammed and the door won't shut. Will be going to the workshop today.

- About 1 month back, there was excessive petrol smell in the cabin whenever the engine was running. After 15 - 20 days, it disappeared by itself.

- As I'd reported before, in June, the engine mysteriously went into limp mode and wouldn't revv over 2000 rpm. Pulled over & restarted the engine. Been okay since.

- Android Auto still has severe disconnection issues. I connect my phone via Bluetooth only.

- And of course, there was the reversing camera niggle on delivery - camera would activate just 50% of the time "R" gear was engaged. That was fixed via a software update at the 1st checkup service.

5 niggles in <5000 km is a bit too much in today's day & age. I understand these are all small issues when viewed individually and that mechanically, the car has no problems. But viewed collectively, these niggles are too frequent for 10 months of ownership.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by GTO

5 niggles in <5000 km is a bit too much in today's day & age; viewed collectively, these niggles are too frequent for 10 months of ownership.

Niggles in new cars in today's age seem to have become the new normal; I relate your experiences to this observation of mine. I wonder if auto manufacturers can't even get basics right. Such episodes aren't trust inspiring.

On the fuel smell issue that you reported, was the tank at full or full++ then?

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Yesterday, post a drive, I parked the Thar and pushed the driver door shut. Instead, I heard a loud clank! The driver's door lock is jammed and the door won't shut. Will be going to the workshop today.

This could be due to the inner mechanicals getting stuck but it shouldn't be happening on a 5 month old car.

My 12 year old Wagon R is showing something similar. If the door is opened from outside, the latch gets stuck in open position and when you sit inside and close the door, it would not close and a clank can be heard. Then you need to manually push the latch to normal position and it works. Have sprayed WD40 and now it is not getting stuck.

[Vinod_nair]

Like @BoneCollector suggested, keep a can of WD40, it's a wonder can, I use it extensively for my house, car, scooter etc.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Niggles in new cars in today's age seem to have become the new normal;

I frankly expected this with the Thar (and Mahindras in general), but it's still annoying & inconvenient.

On the fuel smell issue that you reported, was the tank at full or full++ then?

We always get a full tank and stop filling at the first auto-cutoff. I think the tank was full or near full when it was smelling of petrol. But the smell was only with the engine running.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

This could be due to the inner mechanicals getting stuck but it shouldn't be happening on a 5 month old car.

Bingo! Was stuck. My PA went early today to get it fixed. I told him to take a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntClUHLx0Zg

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by GTO

We always get a full tank and stop filling at the first auto-cutoff. I think the tank was full or near full when it was smelling of petrol. But the smell was only with the engine running.

If your Thar has an EVAP Canister, that might be the culprit, but again its just a hunch.