The gearbox failure in such a short period with car having run 54,500 km and being ~ 4.5 years old is just a colossal failure.
Pratik Pareek shares this information and drops in a query via this Team-BHP share page!
My car details:
Tata Hexa XTA (December 2017)
Sequence of events:
The first time I faced an issue with the car’s gearbox was in the last week of March 2022. The AT would not shift more than once with the engine switched on. E.g. If I start the car, I would be able to shift from P to say R or D once, but then, would have to turn off the engine and shift to P and then again, start the engine and go to, say, D after reversing the car.
The car was sent to a Tata authorised service station and checked for 2-5 days (as automatic cars are checked only online by the Pune team). They said that some oil seal was torn. So they replaced it on chargeable basis for Rs. 1,500.
The second time I faced a problem was at the end of May / start of June. This time, the AT would put an extreme amount of load in 1st gear and reverse gear and would feel as if the brakes were stuck.
Again, the car was sent to a Tata authorised service station. The diagnosis took extremely long for same reason and I was told that the AT oil and coolant line had been damaged leading to this. So, the only way out is to replace the gearbox as repair was not possible.
The last week, I was told that the cost of the gearbox was Rs. 3,17,000 (including GST). Some part called a cooler would cost ~ Rs. 11,000 (including GST) plus labour charges. But, they were talking to seniors and trying to see how company could help me.
The final resolution was that they would supply me a gearbox at company price and waive off the dealer margin bringing the cost of the gearbox down to Rs. 2,40,763 (including GST + consumables etc.). I have tried talking to Chandraday Dey, Regional Office – Kolkata.
The gearbox failure in such a short period with car having run 54,500 km and being ~ 4.5 years old is just a colossal failure. Had it been normal part, it would ok, but if the engine or gearbox fail, and they expect the customer to pay, this is purely lack of regard for customers. Their only answer is that the car is out of the warranty period and nothing can be done.
I have attached the invoice of the last repairs (March 2022) and conversation with Tata Motors employee, Dimple Mehta. The head of Tata Motors customer relations didn't even respond to the mail.
I had no option as I need the car. So, I have told them to repair and it should be ready by tomorrow. I told them that I will escalate the matter to the court and on the forum, but they seemed totally fine with it.
What astonishes me is that when I bought the Hexa, Tata wasn't a brand where many people were ready to spend Rs. 20 lakh for their cars. If people like me have shown trust in their car, they should support the first risk-takers who have practically helped them reach the spot of the number 2 car seller in India today.
If Team-BHP can help me with this, I would really be very thankful. I have seen and followed the Team-BHP Hexa threads religiously and I know how passionate people are about the Hexa in the forum.
Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:
Quite concerning to me as torque-converter ATs are usually known to be the most reliable.
If engines can be repaired and overhauled, I don't understand why AT gearboxes cannot. I feel dealerships themselves don't have a clue how to repair, hence they only "replace".
Am fairly confident we'll see the rise of AT-repair specialists in the market, as sales of AT cars overall are increasing. An opportunity just waiting to be tapped (including the repair of AMTs).
Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:
Lifetime sealed AT gearbox that needs no maintenance - well that is the corporate marketing speak.
With the increase in number of AT vehicles , it would be good to have AT gearbox specialists in the aftermarket who can repair them rather than replace them every 5 years. I doubt if any of the ASCs are trained to repair an AT.
Here's what BHPian Porcupine had to say on the matter:
Speaking with experience of having dealt with AT gear box issues multiple times in India and the UK, it's more a question of time and money than can or cannot.
In general it's no secret that there are far fewer mechanics out there who can repair an AT gear box. The ones who can, usually do admit that it's a very tedious and time consuming job given that AT boxes have many small and important parts and are ultimately just a pain in the rear to fix and get right.
And next is the question of cost. The more parts and hours you need, the more money you spend in procuring those parts, and the labour. What I've experienced and also been told is that the cost difference between repairing an AT box to a good quality, is nearly negligible. And given the extra amount of time required, it's often the easier option to just replace it.
I know the cost angle is hard to believe, but that's generally the case as far as I've experienced.
Here's what BHPian locusjag had to say on the matter:
Toyota charged around 4 lacs for a Innova owner last year, to replace a burnt out TC AT gearbox. Nissan charged a 5-6 lac amount for an accident-totaled Magnite's CVT to be re-built/replaced.
On the other hand, the outgoing ancient 4 speed AT TC Jattco gearbox on Maruti's vehicles costs only Rs.80,000 to replace (but I'm not counting labor costs). At least, that's how much the gearbox costs on Boodmo.
On the whole, I am glad that I know a good FNG in Chennai who can handle reasonable repairs/servicing of TC AT gearboxes and CVTs. These are rare, few and far between, if you were to search the city of Chennai fully. You can probably count the number of genuinely capable FNGs who can repair these "exotic" gearboxes. I mean, every FNG out there can handle repairs of manual transmissions. The same isn't true for automatic transmissions sadly.
And does any FNG repair DSGs? I haven't heard of one as yet.
Here's what BHPian Benoit had to say on the matter:
Engines and gearboxes should have a 7-10 year/ 1L km warranty. The govt should enforce that. A gearbox that fails at 54k km and one that costs 2.4L Rs to repair / replace should be a responsibility of the companies. Only then, manufacturers will improve the reliability.
In this case, such an explosive bill would devastate any customer and increases the hatred towards the brand. Cases like these only justify the product failure.
Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.