Nightmares and Dreamscapes : A trip to remember : The new thread

Technocrat · 17th March 2009, 13:30

Awesome pics Tanveer

Sad to know about the Safari though.

SS-Traveller · 17th March 2009, 13:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

OTOH:

Er...

What does that abbreviation stand for? It doesn't seem to appear in T-BHP's commonly used abbreviations list.

PAVAN KADAM · 17th March 2009, 13:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Er...

What does that abbreviation stand for? It doesn't seem to appear in T-BHP's commonly used abbreviations list.

On The Other Hand

Thank you.

nithinnarayanan · 17th March 2009, 13:38

Tanveer,
Very good photographic skills.

I would love to visit the place again.
Had been to that part around 15years ago when i was a kid

.

BTW can you make the pics around 1024 x 768, so that we can use those a wallpaper (with your permission) ?

tsk1979 · 17th March 2009, 13:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Beautiful pictures Tanveer....

Thanks Sam

Quote:

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Let's all demand: Safari ke saath Satellite phone free... Tanveer, you deserve one anyway.

If wishes were horses... if wishes were horses. But I do intend to get BSNL soon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu

What was the time when this happened Tanveer? Hope you had some daylight to bank on!

It was still just around 5pm, I had couple of hours of daylight left

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

...and is that attached to a receiver on the windshield?

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Beautiful pics tanveer

now my next vehicle has to be a 4X4 no matter what.

what is that thing over Speedo\RPM console on windshield?

Thats an external antenna. In hills with just a receiver you will find yourself without a fix many times, but with external antenna, you always know where you are!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

Tanveer,

The thread is really coming up well,Wonderful to see such landscapes. Must commend on your photography

Keep it coming.

OTOH: I would beg you to stop making general statements, it really hurts to hear your problem, we are with you. But not all TATA vehicles. There are so many guys on the forum who swear by its reliability, myself (3yrs ownership) being one amongst a lot many others on this forum.

Thanks for giving unbiased reports of problems faced during the travelogue, this would help a lot of members to prepare for the worst during such a trip.

Well this is my second Tata vehicle personally, and 5th/6th Tata if I include my immediate family. My earlier indica had also left me stranded on the highway once thats why the generlized statement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nithinnarayanan

Tanveer,
Very good photographic skills.

I would love to visit the place again.
Had been to that part around 15years ago when i was a kid

.

BTW can you make the pics around 1024 x 768, so that we can use those a wallpaper (with your permission) ?

To get larger pics go to
Tanveer Singh (tanveer) : photos : Kalpa Sangla Chitkul- powered by SmugMug

tsk1979 · 17th March 2009, 13:58

Its just around 5pm now, and very soon the sun will set. In this part of the country you get one vehicle an hour, and after sunset you get no vehicles.
Stranded on the roadside, we started checking for possible causes.
First was the sedimenter filter near tank. There was no warning light, but then the sensor could have failed, and it could be fuel issue. Since problem was coming when temp was rising to near half mark, I thought maybe bad fuel was causing fuel pump to overheat or something.
Kind of like shot in the dark.
Sedimenter draining revealed no water. The fuel was good, from what I could guess. In the mountains, adulterated diesel is a rarity. Normally its water in diesel which is the culprit, or if you fill up just after the tanker has come to fill up the bunk, you can get lot of debris.
In our case it was a new pump, so no such case.
Deep down I knew it was not the fuel, but the vehicle.
As the vehicle cooled down, it started picking up speed, but as soon as temp guage approached half way mark, the service light would start blinking.
with no engine analyzer with me, I had no idea which sensor was acting up. MY wife was sure it was some sensor connection issue.
We drove on some more, since it was downhill, and stopped a Bolero Pickup. He told us we may get a mechanic near Sangla, but I knew no local mechanic will be able to do anything.
So it was time to scratch head some more, and I decided to try a shot in the dark. Maybe air filter had clogged up with all the dusty drive, and due this ECU was restricting the engine.
So I opened the toolkit, and started searching for a star screwdriver. there was none.
Sangla was nearby, and we started driving towards it, and reached a small market.
There we stopped and asked people for a star screwdriver. Nobody had one.
Stopped a Maruti 800 guy, and he graciously lent us his.
I must say that the humble 800 has a better equipped tool kit than the safari.

After that I opened the airfilter, going step by step from the service book, and took it out.
It was dirty, but I have seen dirtier ones.
anyways cleaned it the best I could without compressed air, and put it back in.
After that started and proceeded towards Kalpa, we had to get to our hotel somehow.

But soon the service light started blinking again, and we were in idle mode.
There was no mechanic on the way, but somehow I reached Karcham where they have these huge Volvo trucks. I figured maybe somebody will be there who is aquanted with modern diesel engines with ECU.

But nobody was ready to help us.
It was almost dark now and traffic was thinning. There was no STD booth nearby too.
We stopped for some time on the highway NH22, and then decided to somehow reach till the base of climb to Reckong Peo.

At 15kmph in first gear we ambled along. Stopping on the way again and again.
Finally few kms before the climb we stopped again, since the road was now ascending.
No way we could potter around in idle.

Stopped a couple of jeeps, but understandably nobody was ready to tow the two ton hulk up the mountain.

Finally we started and reached an army camp. We decided to park there, but the guys won't let us, and asked us to proceed a couple of kms further, as there was a checkpost or something there.

By now it was dark. We stopped a sumo, and he asked for 500rs to just drop us both to Kalpa. But we declined, and we did not want to leave the vehicle in middle of nowhere.

The clock was ticking by, and now there was no traffic. We stopped by the roadside again, and I again opened the bonnet and did a customary check of the coolant etc.,
Everything seemed normal, but was not.
The service light continuously blinked, as the engine limped on.

Finally we had to stop again due to a climb, and it was there I spotted the lights of a vehicle.
It was a "private" taxi scorpio CRDE, and that guy suggested that maybe some sensor is at fault. Since he was going till reckong anyways, he will give us lift to Kalpa for 300, and from Reckong Peo we can make phone calls to customer care or whatever.

But before that he asked us to go for 2kms more and park our car at check post as it would be safe there.
For 15 minutes we idled along, with him following us closely. The other passengers of scorpio also said no problem, and did not mind driving at 10kmph and reaching their destination late.
This is the beauty of himachal. you will not find such nice people anywhere else.
Finally after couple of more stops, we were at the checkpost.
there we locked the car, and sat in the scorpio, and finally reached a STD booth at Reckong Peo.
A lot of phonecalls, had to be made, and a lot of people had to be abused. We were frustrated angry and cursing ourself for not buying a scorpio or a Toyota
Suddenly Innova seemed like such a nice vehicle, and the scorpio looked like the most beautiful SUV ever made.
And the safari looked like some diseased white elephant, manufactured by a useless company to suck happiness out of the lives of customers

star_is_here · 17th March 2009, 13:59

Amazing pictures and fantastic travelogue. You have me glued dude

SS-Traveller · 17th March 2009, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

...like some diseased white elephant

@Tanveer: Wow! Fully understand how you felt. Diseased horse promoted to diseased white elephant! Marking territory like a dog in between... Apart from making snide comments about your "bad luck kharaab ho gaya", can we do ANYTHING to help?

suman · 17th March 2009, 14:16

This is better than any blog I've read in recent times; fantastic narrative though it would have been a terrible experience at that point in time!

Time to shoot the horse & put it out of its misery?

tsk1979 · 17th March 2009, 14:58

the first phone call is to the service advisor at Autolinks Gurgaon.
He lives in a shared flat with three other service advisors, and I was hoping he gives me some solution.
However things like sedimenter, air filter etc., have already been tried, and without a laptop its impossible to tell whats going wrong.
He says he will contact customer care himself. I tell him I have no mobile, so I am going to contact Tata customer care at periodic intervals.

Next call is to the 1800 toll free number. MY complaint is registered, and I tell them that I will keep calling them since I do not have a mobile phone. As usual they are apologetic and promise to provide a solution soon.

After that we proceed to our hotel. Its past nine PM. Its dark and lonely, and we are tired hungry and frustrated.
But sometimes, at the worst of moments you meet people who are like angels.
The hotel staff at Kinner Kailash Kalpa are like that.
Even though kitchen is closed, they tell me not to worry, they will prepare whatever we want.
A hotel employee in the kitchen has an airtel mobile which he graciously decides to lend us. I promise him full currency, and finally we have a mobile phone.
The wondeful thing is that all such courtesies are being offered. I did not have to ask. They told me that they will do whatever they can to assist me, and we should just go to our room and enjoy our meal.
This is called service. HPTDC hats of to you. And hats of to the hotel staff!

I call up the customer care line again and give them this number.
Phone calls are coming and going. I get call from Pune, Mumbai etc., as the entire tata juggernaut wakes up from slumber.
For all their lousy engineering, I must say the customer care guys are pretty efficient.
Finally it emerges that the nearest Tata workshop is 250+ kms away at Solan, and its s 14 hour bus journey.

So in steps TVS, tata's helpline drones. They have some tie up with Maruti guys and unsurprisingly there is a MASS at Reckong Peo. So if you want to tour remote places, buy a Maruti, even if its a 800. You will not get stuck for the want of service!

The MASS guys in the morning will clean filters and see if they can do anything. Right now there is nothing to do.
I get another phone call, this time from customer care chd, and he assures me that I will get assistance from solan if MASS does not work out.

So with nothing to do, and tired from the ordeal, we go to sleep, hoping that Friday the 13th will not be a Halloween experience

esteem_lover · 17th March 2009, 15:04

Nice place & nice pictures.

akshay4587 · 17th March 2009, 15:07

I am hooked to this

and a break down in middle of nowhere especially in himalayas is a big nightmare for me.

travelwriter · 17th March 2009, 15:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

....So if you want to tour remote places, buy a Maruti, even if its a 800. You will not get stuck for the want of service!
....Halloween experience

That is comforting. I am planning a trip to UP Hills on my Alto and was wondering if my car to take that. This is reassuring.

ravibhat · 17th March 2009, 15:15

Nice report and location and not so nice experience, Its very disappointing and unfortunate that vehicle you received has come with glitches. Only few like you explain and highlight the issue it properly so others can aware of it so they can learn how handle such situation

Good writeup.

Its very clear TATA scores less marks when it comes to quality and even after many many years they are not improving. I found 2.2 has more problems than 3.0 DICOR ?

But on the other hand it depends on % of 2.2 users using internet against 3.0 users. Also please note that professionals (techies, people who work in office which is exposed to internet/mnc, service oriented) started buying more Safari after 2.2 launch thinking its more advanced and bugs are sorted out. So most of the issues are getting exposed more in internet.

TATA has to come with actual % of Safaris having issues. Then only we will know.

Regards,

Ravi.

Sideways · 17th March 2009, 15:21

Beautiful pictures Tanveer. Brings back some very fond memories. Sorry to hear about the mechanical issues. I hope all is sorted out soon.

17th March 2009, 13:30	#16
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	Awesome pics Tanveer Sad to know about the Safari though.
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 13:38	#19
nithinnarayanan BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Kannur Manipal Posts: 237 Thanked: 10 Times View My Garage	Tanveer, Very good photographic skills. I would love to visit the place again. Had been to that part around 15years ago when i was a kid . BTW can you make the pics around 1024 x 768, so that we can use those a wallpaper (with your permission) ?
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 13:58	#21
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	The nighmare continues...... Its just around 5pm now, and very soon the sun will set. In this part of the country you get one vehicle an hour, and after sunset you get no vehicles. Stranded on the roadside, we started checking for possible causes. First was the sedimenter filter near tank. There was no warning light, but then the sensor could have failed, and it could be fuel issue. Since problem was coming when temp was rising to near half mark, I thought maybe bad fuel was causing fuel pump to overheat or something. Kind of like shot in the dark. Sedimenter draining revealed no water. The fuel was good, from what I could guess. In the mountains, adulterated diesel is a rarity. Normally its water in diesel which is the culprit, or if you fill up just after the tanker has come to fill up the bunk, you can get lot of debris. In our case it was a new pump, so no such case. Deep down I knew it was not the fuel, but the vehicle. As the vehicle cooled down, it started picking up speed, but as soon as temp guage approached half way mark, the service light would start blinking. with no engine analyzer with me, I had no idea which sensor was acting up. MY wife was sure it was some sensor connection issue. We drove on some more, since it was downhill, and stopped a Bolero Pickup. He told us we may get a mechanic near Sangla, but I knew no local mechanic will be able to do anything. So it was time to scratch head some more, and I decided to try a shot in the dark. Maybe air filter had clogged up with all the dusty drive, and due this ECU was restricting the engine. So I opened the toolkit, and started searching for a star screwdriver. there was none. Sangla was nearby, and we started driving towards it, and reached a small market. There we stopped and asked people for a star screwdriver. Nobody had one. Stopped a Maruti 800 guy, and he graciously lent us his. I must say that the humble 800 has a better equipped tool kit than the safari. After that I opened the airfilter, going step by step from the service book, and took it out. It was dirty, but I have seen dirtier ones. anyways cleaned it the best I could without compressed air, and put it back in. After that started and proceeded towards Kalpa, we had to get to our hotel somehow. But soon the service light started blinking again, and we were in idle mode. There was no mechanic on the way, but somehow I reached Karcham where they have these huge Volvo trucks. I figured maybe somebody will be there who is aquanted with modern diesel engines with ECU. But nobody was ready to help us. It was almost dark now and traffic was thinning. There was no STD booth nearby too. We stopped for some time on the highway NH22, and then decided to somehow reach till the base of climb to Reckong Peo. At 15kmph in first gear we ambled along. Stopping on the way again and again. Finally few kms before the climb we stopped again, since the road was now ascending. No way we could potter around in idle. Stopped a couple of jeeps, but understandably nobody was ready to tow the two ton hulk up the mountain. Finally we started and reached an army camp. We decided to park there, but the guys won't let us, and asked us to proceed a couple of kms further, as there was a checkpost or something there. By now it was dark. We stopped a sumo, and he asked for 500rs to just drop us both to Kalpa. But we declined, and we did not want to leave the vehicle in middle of nowhere. The clock was ticking by, and now there was no traffic. We stopped by the roadside again, and I again opened the bonnet and did a customary check of the coolant etc., Everything seemed normal, but was not. The service light continuously blinked, as the engine limped on. Finally we had to stop again due to a climb, and it was there I spotted the lights of a vehicle. It was a "private" taxi scorpio CRDE, and that guy suggested that maybe some sensor is at fault. Since he was going till reckong anyways, he will give us lift to Kalpa for 300, and from Reckong Peo we can make phone calls to customer care or whatever. But before that he asked us to go for 2kms more and park our car at check post as it would be safe there. For 15 minutes we idled along, with him following us closely. The other passengers of scorpio also said no problem, and did not mind driving at 10kmph and reaching their destination late. This is the beauty of himachal. you will not find such nice people anywhere else. Finally after couple of more stops, we were at the checkpost. there we locked the car, and sat in the scorpio, and finally reached a STD booth at Reckong Peo. A lot of phonecalls, had to be made, and a lot of people had to be abused. We were frustrated angry and cursing ourself for not buying a scorpio or a Toyota Suddenly Innova seemed like such a nice vehicle, and the scorpio looked like the most beautiful SUV ever made. And the safari looked like some diseased white elephant, manufactured by a useless company to suck happiness out of the lives of customers
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 13:59	#22
star_is_here BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 95 Thanked: Once	Amazing pictures and fantastic travelogue. You have me glued dude
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 14:16	#24
suman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4,589 Thanked: 279 Times View My Garage	This is better than any blog I've read in recent times; fantastic narrative though it would have been a terrible experience at that point in time! Time to shoot the horse & put it out of its misery?
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 14:58	#25
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Phone a friend...... the first phone call is to the service advisor at Autolinks Gurgaon. He lives in a shared flat with three other service advisors, and I was hoping he gives me some solution. However things like sedimenter, air filter etc., have already been tried, and without a laptop its impossible to tell whats going wrong. He says he will contact customer care himself. I tell him I have no mobile, so I am going to contact Tata customer care at periodic intervals. Next call is to the 1800 toll free number. MY complaint is registered, and I tell them that I will keep calling them since I do not have a mobile phone. As usual they are apologetic and promise to provide a solution soon. After that we proceed to our hotel. Its past nine PM. Its dark and lonely, and we are tired hungry and frustrated. But sometimes, at the worst of moments you meet people who are like angels. The hotel staff at Kinner Kailash Kalpa are like that. Even though kitchen is closed, they tell me not to worry, they will prepare whatever we want. A hotel employee in the kitchen has an airtel mobile which he graciously decides to lend us. I promise him full currency, and finally we have a mobile phone. The wondeful thing is that all such courtesies are being offered. I did not have to ask. They told me that they will do whatever they can to assist me, and we should just go to our room and enjoy our meal. This is called service. HPTDC hats of to you. And hats of to the hotel staff! I call up the customer care line again and give them this number. Phone calls are coming and going. I get call from Pune, Mumbai etc., as the entire tata juggernaut wakes up from slumber. For all their lousy engineering, I must say the customer care guys are pretty efficient. Finally it emerges that the nearest Tata workshop is 250+ kms away at Solan, and its s 14 hour bus journey. So in steps TVS, tata's helpline drones. They have some tie up with Maruti guys and unsurprisingly there is a MASS at Reckong Peo. So if you want to tour remote places, buy a Maruti, even if its a 800. You will not get stuck for the want of service! The MASS guys in the morning will clean filters and see if they can do anything. Right now there is nothing to do. I get another phone call, this time from customer care chd, and he assures me that I will get assistance from solan if MASS does not work out. So with nothing to do, and tired from the ordeal, we go to sleep, hoping that Friday the 13th will not be a Halloween experience Last edited by Jaggu : 17th March 2009 at 15:02. Reason: meet people not meat :)
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 15:04	#26
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Nice place & nice pictures.
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 15:07	#27
akshay4587 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt Posts: 4,151 Thanked: 4,525 Times View My Garage	I am hooked to this and a break down in middle of nowhere especially in himalayas is a big nightmare for me.
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 15:15	#29
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Nice report and location and not so nice experience, Its very disappointing and unfortunate that vehicle you received has come with glitches. Only few like you explain and highlight the issue it properly so others can aware of it so they can learn how handle such situation Good writeup. Its very clear TATA scores less marks when it comes to quality and even after many many years they are not improving. I found 2.2 has more problems than 3.0 DICOR ? But on the other hand it depends on % of 2.2 users using internet against 3.0 users. Also please note that professionals (techies, people who work in office which is exposed to internet/mnc, service oriented) started buying more Safari after 2.2 launch thinking its more advanced and bugs are sorted out. So most of the issues are getting exposed more in internet. TATA has to come with actual % of Safaris having issues. Then only we will know. Regards, Ravi.
	() Thanks

17th March 2009, 15:21	#30
Sideways BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Madras - India Posts: 641 Thanked: 31 Times View My Garage	Beautiful pictures Tanveer. Brings back some very fond memories. Sorry to hear about the mechanical issues. I hope all is sorted out soon.
	() Thanks