Facing gearbox issues on my Tata Hexa XT

I had to shift from 4th to 6th skipping the 5th gear because it was behaving like the SUV is in neutral.

BHPian sandeepsc recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Part 1 of the story

I was on my way to Nasik when this 5th gear problem occurred. I was driving as usual and the car was running in 5th gear. When I tried to shift to the 6th gear it was observed that gear is trapped/jammed at 5th position and unable to shift to the 6th gear position. Initially, I thought I am not pressing the clutch properly so attempted to fully press the clutch. However, gear lever refused to shift from the 5th to 6th or 4th gear position. As I was driving on the busy Mumbai-Nasik highway slowly moved the car to one side of the highway, switched off the engine and tried to bring it to the neutral position. However, the gear lever didn’t budge to shift. After several attempts and pumping the clutch the gear lever came to the neutral position. Then I started the car and gears were shifting properly up to 4th gear. When I shifted the gear to the 5th position, the real problem occurred. The gear was slotting into the 5th position but was not accelerating. The 5th gear position behaved like a neutral where gear was engaged but the car was not moving. Then I shifted to 6th gear which was working perfectly. It means I had to shift the gear to 6th position directly from 4th skipping 5th gear which was acting as neutral gear. This was a sudden problem as I never faced any issues related to the gearbox before this.

Part 2 of the story

I brought the car to Wasan service centre on Saturday 27th Nov-21 to resolve the issue. The SA took the car for a round and confirmed the issue. The SA was not sure about the cause of the problem but said there might be a misalignment of the gear and in the worst condition synchronizer ring problem. First two days they carried trial and error on the gearbox but could not find the cause of the problem.

After two days SA informed me that they are talking with engineers at the TATA plant and will open the gearbox after their approval. The SA said I have to bear the repair cost to which I strongly objected and said the car is still in the manufacturer original warranty and the issue is related to premature failure of the gearbox.

After three days they agreed on the warranty part. But still, the solution for the problem was not found. They again asked TATA engineers at the plant for the solution. Then they opened the gearbox. Till then 8 days passed without a concrete solution on the cause of the problem. I saw the gearbox opened at the service centre and the person working on my car said there is no problem with the synchronizer ring and any other gear components. The gear oil also did not contain any metal parts. He observed slight play in gear shifting. He said a bush part might be the culprit here and they have ordered it from the plant. However, as per him those bush part is modified for Hexa and will take time to arrive at the service centre.

All these visits and conversations happened on Saturday 4th Dec-21. They assured me that part will come on Tuesday 7th Dec-21 and the car will be handed over to me max up to Thursday 9th Dec-21. Yesterday on Tuesday in the evening got a call from SA to inform me that the bush part is still not received. Today morning I called their Service Manager for a delay in service. He informed me that some interconnected parts of the gear assembly are ordered from the plant and he will call back me after confirming with the TATA plant. After half an hour Service Manager called me and gave me another shock. He said parts will arrive only on Saturday 11th Dec-21 and will take another two days for installation and inspection and then will deliver the car. Upon asking which parts they have ordered he did not give a straight answer and said some interconnected bush parts and synchronizer ring.

Now I am in two minds whether service centre actually found the right solution for my problem as service manager himself not confident about which parts they have ordered. Every time I call them and they give me reasons for the delay. Now I am heavily doubtful about their technical capabilities. Even if they do the job how reliable will it be? To date, I am not sure about what went wrong with the 5th gear. My concern is what the real cause of the problem with the 5th gear is. The car was running fine without any issue with the gearbox and all of sudden this problem occurred in the middle of the highway.

All the elite members and moderators are requested to help me in my way forward to this problem. The car is in the service centre for the last 12 days and no solution is in sight. Is it not the responsibility of TATA Motors to make available the spare parts for the discontinued model? Or am I paying the cost for buying a discontinued model? Such a capable and once flagship car of Tata motors but incidents like this ruined the whole ownership experience. I can understand that there might be a delay in parts supply but the way the service centre handled the situation has shaken my confidence in Tata Motors.

Here's what BHPian TROOPER had to say about the matter:

While I don’t have any ideas about the technical aspects, all I can say is try being patient and cordial with TASS. I don’t think any service centre is ever a fan of having a car the size of a Hexa waiting and occupying space. Ya, we need to keep prodding them to get the job done, no doubt. Plus waiting for spares will definitely be a pain. A fellow owner’s flood-damaged Nexon had to wait over 2 months for spares to arrive. And Nexon is in production. The spares availability at Tata is pathetic.

My two cents is, don’t trust Tata company officials one bit. They’ll do everything in their power to pass the buck and paint the service centre and customer as the villains. Try having a good rapport with the SA and general manager of service. Every ounce of your patience will be tested.

Even my Hexa has developed a minor rattle/squeak which comes from the steering wheel area on rough roads and undulating concrete roads. It’s irritating. This too is only at 17k kms. The honeymoon period is over I guess. May God have mercy on all the Harrier and Safari owners plonking 25 lacs on those niggle boxes.

Here's what BHPian bullitt1 had to say about the matter:

My wife drives a 2019 March XM covered around 24k kms. Long time back, we faced an issue of gears not slotting to 5th and with difficulty to 3rd, anyways 1st is terrible, started using 2-4-6. SA could not solve the issue, was told that he will check with TATA and get back and that never happened.

Somehow it disappeared on its own and right after this from 5th, the gears were not slotting to 6th, it was going to Reverse. Now, these have become intermittent popping at their own will. Service centre has been of no use at all.

Other issues facing are slightly hard and springy clutch, increased lag, suspension noise.

Here's what BHPian abhishek46 had to say about the matter:

The issue appears to be with the Synchronizer & Sleeve corresponding to the 5th Gear.

The entire gearbox needs to be opened, dismantled and then the components have to be replaced.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.