Lately, I've been using the SUV for highway driving only and getting a consistent fuel efficiency of 20 km/l.

BHPian Sedate driver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

2022 MG Hector Diesel: 40000 km update

In just about 1 year and 6 months, my Hector has reached the 40000 km mark. So far not faced any issues or niggles with the car and have not observed any DPF issues either. The car is due for the 5th service at 45000 kms. Otherwise, the car is running fine and no vibrations or rattles are observed. The NVH levels are excellent and sometimes when cruising at 80-90 on good roads, there is absolute silence in the cabin but for a faint engine grunt. The diesel remains a diesel only on the outside with a truck-like sound. Inside the sound insulation is excellent.

The car has returned an average FE of 19.4 kmpl which is an excellent figure considering the size and weight of the car. Of late I have been using the Hector for only highway trips and getting consistent mileage of 20+ tank full to tank full.

The 60L tank gives an approximate range of 1000+ for my style of driving. As you can see below, after running 910 kms there is still a range left at 328 kms.

Overall the Hector provides a good value-for-money proposition with respect to features, space, premium feeling etc.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

For many of us, the most important thing is the fuel efficiency. Well, it's one of Hector's biggest flaws, its Achilles heel if you will.

BHPian BrakHorseBarhat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

2022 MG Hector Plus: Petrol CVT - 16,000 KM Review

Hello BHPians,

I have been daily driving my MG Hector Plus, Petrol CVT (Glaze Red with Starry Black) for around one and a half years. So I wanted to share my experience with all of you in hopes that it might help someone make up their mind regarding the car.

I took delivery of my Hector Plus on 8th December 2022 and have since driven it a total of 16,000 kilometers.

While a facelift was expected not too long after that, after inquiring with multiple dealerships we came to the conclusion that we didn't need to wait since most of the changes coming to the 2023 Hector were coming to the regular Hector and not the plus.

Let me first take you all through our selection process and options:

The other cars we were considering were the Mahindra XUV 700, Hyundai Alcazar & Creta, Skoda Kushaq/Volkswagen Taigun, Tata Harrier, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara/Toyota Hyryder and Kia Carens & Seltos.

How we eliminated the other options:

1st elimination: My father and I found the headroom and leg space in Maruti and Toyota to be inadequate so they were out straight away. (For reference I am 6'2 and my father is 6 feet tall).

Side note: My mother and I didn't like the look of the Vitara or Hyryder either.

2nd elimination

While we liked the features present on the Kias and Hyundais, they were out since we wanted a good safety rating.

3rd Elimination

We had just come from a Tata Safari Dicor (2007) which had served us well which is why we had a favorable opinion of the company, however, the boot space on the Harrier (445L) was inadequate in comparison to our Safari (981L) and all of us didn't like the new Safari at all so the Tatas were out as well.

Similarly, while we loved the performances of Skoda and Volkswagen, however, the dearth of features and small boots caused us to eliminate them. (Although to be fair, no car compared to our old companion in terms of boot space)

Side note: The driving experience of the Kushaq and Taigun left a really deep impression on both my father and me. So much so that I ended up buying the Taigun just a couple of days ago since we required a second car for our house.

4th (final) elimination

We really liked the XUV, it had both looks and features and initially, we were willing to compromise on the boot space but after careful consideration, we felt that the fit and finish of the car were a little lacking in comparison to the hector and that along with the fact that there was a 10 lakh rupee price difference between the top models of the two made us decide on the Hector Plus Petrol CVT.

Cut to a week later and it was already time to take delivery of our car.

(Didn't know my camera was dirty so the photo came out blurry.)

PPF

We got PPF applied on our Hector but unfortunately, the studio that did our car did a sub-par job because of this the Morris Garages Badging and some other accessories on our Hector were damaged and developed cracks. (One of the letters in Morris Garages also came off during a road trip from Delhi to Gujarat which was a little over 3000 KM)

Note: It cost us around 80k.

Our learnings: Firstly, we should be more careful while choosing the detailers to whom we hand our car. Secondly, one should get the PPF done before getting the accessories for the car to avoid any damage to them during the removal process for the application of PPF.

Coming to the main review of the car and our overall experience with it.

The good

• Love the interior of the car, it is very luxurious and the materials used make the car feel very premium. The overall fit and finish of the car is great.

• The car is very spacious and comfortable: My father (6 foot) is able to sit behind my (6 foot 2 inches) driving position with ample legroom and the headroom is great throughout the car. In fact, I can even sit in the third row for a short journey (albeit uncomfortably).

• The car feels very open and airy due to the captain seats and panoramic sunroof which is high(biggest in the class).

• The cabin is very well isolated so very little noise is able to travel inside the car which along with the quiet petrol engine makes for a smooth ride.
• The suspension is very soft which makes it feel like you are driving a cloud simply floating through the city. (It is definitely made for laid-back city driving) Since the acceleration is gradual you don't even realise that you are cruising at over 80 kmph.
• The 5-star GNCAP rating along with disc breaks in all 4 tyres give me peace of mind when driving on highways. (In fact, the brakes have proven their worth and saved us from being involved in a crash around 5 times)
• The music system is great and crisp. (I especially love the bass)
• The boot space is adequate(with the third row down) and we are able to get everything we want comfortably.

Here the car is carrying around 320-350 odd kgs of mangoes along with our luggage of 3 suitcases (2 large and 1 medium) underneath.

[Although 5 boxes(50 kgs) had to be kept in and around the second row]

The 'not bad'

• The car is not built to be agile, there is a considerable lag between the time you push the accelerator and the acceleration itself. And this rubber band effect increases even more if you drive the car in Eco mode. And finally, sports mode isn't that sporty and the difference is very minimal so I don't really find myself ever using it. Note: I don't like the way the car drives in Eco mode at low speeds like 10 - 20 kmph since the car always seems to want to stop and sometimes feels like it needs to downshift(Almost as if it's about to stall).
• When cornering at higher speeds there is significant body roll(not so much that it's alarming but enough to not be completely confident).

The bad

The most important thing to many of us is the mileage... it's one of Hector's biggest flaws, its Achilles heel if you will:

In a city like Delhi, the car can give anywhere between 6.5 - 7 kmpl (in normal mode), and around 7 - 8 (in eco mode) and I haven't really tried sports mode while being stuck in traffic.

On highways, the car gives around 7 in sports mode, 8 - 9 kmpl in normal mode, and 9 - 9.5 kmpl in eco-mode.

Note: I drive semi-aggressively. (Not so aggressive that I cut everyone off to reach one second faster but if I see an opportunity to overtake and the other driver doesn't seem to be going for it then I do overtake without fail)

There are some other things that annoy me but aren't really deal-breakers like:

• The fact that Android Auto and Apple Carplay are wired and the integration of navigation apps isn't good with the display on the speedometer. (It shows no direction information with Android Auto and shows some information with Apple Carplay but that is also inconsistent)
• The car's software glitched continuously for a month and it kept on detecting low tire pressure in the rear left wheel despite there not being any real issue. There was another continuous glitch simultaneously which caused the car to say things repeatedly three times. (like it repeated welcome and the rear left tire has abnormally low pressure three times in a row as soon as you start the car and the infotainment system boots up) Note: These glitches suddenly vanished after annoying me for a little over a month.
• The engine light has come on randomly on three separate occasions and stays for anywhere between 1 to 3 days before vanishing.

Overall experience: It is an amazing car overall, with a great price-to-feature ratio along with great safety, and has served us very well so far. It's perfect for my parents who want an easy-going and very comfortable car. (I love it too but I like a bit more thrill in the driving department)

Definitely recommend it.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The MG Hector Blackstorm Edition will feature an all-black exterior with red accents similar to the Astor and Gloster.

MG is all set to introduce a Blackstorm Edition of the Hector in India on April 10, 2024. The carmaker also shared a teaser image, revealing some details of the upcoming variant.

The MG Hector Blackstorm Edition will feature an all-black exterior with red accents, a dark chrome grille, black headlamp bezels and smoked taillights. The image also reveals stylish black alloy wheels with red brake calipers and black ORVMs with red highlights.

The Hector Blackstorm Edition is expected to feature a black interior with red accents and red ambient lighting. The SUV will come equipped with a 360-degree camera, 6 airbags, hill assist control and more.

Powering the Hector Blackstorm Edition will be the same set of petrol and diesel engines. These include a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol and a 2.0-litre diesel engine, while transmission options will include a 6-speed manual and CVT.

Nothing seems to be working, and have no choice but to take the car to the service centre.

BHPian Lord-Lannister recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Been facing an extremely weird issue with MG iSmart.

The data has suddenly completely gone out of sync, despite showing that it is updated/refreshed to the date. Have no data being recorded on the Smart Drive, ie. no GPS data, driving info etc. Similarly, the fuel tank and range are wrong, as is the total km run, which is shown on an older date before it went haywire.

Tried to connect with the MG Pulse and made their usual suggestions of deleting and reinstalling the iOS App and factory resetting the MG Console via the car. Nothing seems to be working, and have no choice but to take the car to the Service Centre for a quick check-up as suggested by them. Thankfully the car is running smoothly without anything off with its system data, so I'm not too worried.

The weirdest and slightly scary part is the sudden "Vehicle Start" alerts being sent via the iSmart app of the car with the date and time stamp at random hours of the night and early morning. I live in a multi-security condominium, so the safety of the vehicle is guaranteed. However, I did run down to the parking bay, simply to double check on one of the first random alerts. Ignoring the others for now.

Has anyone else faced such an issue?

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It integrates very nicely with the existing infotainment functions. Retains the AC control bar at the bottom and 360 camera functions launch as expected.

BHPian Nonstop-driver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I went to the service centre last week to get the D to N jerk checked. At first, the advisor tried to brush it off as normal but when we compared it against other Hectors, it appeared that the jerk was present in all but was amplified in my vehicle.

Then they spent almost the entire day checking the CVT, transmission oil, mounts, spark plugs, error codes and whatnot. But nothing came out of it. Ultimately I was advised to keep driving and report back if there were any issues.

Considering the complex vehicle that it is, I decided to close the chapter fearing they would break something else trying to fix this. Got headlights re-focused and they changed a brake pad (didn't even ask to). Bill was 0 as the elite maintenance package covered it. Got the ceramic coating touch-up done (last service of the 3-year package).

In a separate update, purchased a Carlinkit T-box Lite Android dongle and was surprised to see that it runs full-screen Android OS, Android Auto and Apple Carplay by default without any scaling or resolution issues. The dongle has 3 functions:

• Runs an Android OS on the headunit. In the basic model, you need to give it a hotspot, advanced models get a SIM slot. This means with just a hotspot, the headunit can run Google Maps, Spotify, etc.
• Wireless Android Auto. Same thing as above but now your phone heats up more and the battery drains faster.
• Wireless Apple carplay. Didn't try this yet but the reviews say this is integrated even better.

Integrates very nicely with the existing infotainment functions. Retains the AC control bar at the bottom and 360 camera functions launch as expected.

Other than the pros, 2 cons:

• Takes about 30-60 seconds to boot up after the MG boot-up
• Uses the USB port under the screen so the phone can't fit the wireless charger unless I remove the phone cover.

I have a trip planned to Chandigarh and then to Kangra later this week. This will be the first long trip in Hector. Planning to write a full purchase and ownership experience post that and click some nice pics as well.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

My only gripe is that MG has not bothered to launch a Diesel automatic which would have competed with the Tata Harrier and Jeep Compass.

BHPian Sedate driver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A concise review of my MG Hector Diesel Sharp after 1 year and 26000 km.

Pros:

1. Best in terms of space in this segment. The rear seat space and boot space are too good. Gives a proper big SUV feeling. With big windows and a sunroof, the inside looks airy and spacious.
2. Though big in size, easy to drive in the city also.
3. The 2.0 L Fiat engine is powerful. Just tap the accelerator for quick overtakes even in 5th or 6th gear at the right RPM and the engine pulls along without any lag. At lower gears, it pulls effortlessly.
4. The Diesel engine is fuel efficient for such a big and heavy car - got an average of 19.2 kmpl after driving 26000 kms in a year translating to a cost per km of Rs. 4.50.
5. 60L fuel tank gives a range of 1000+ kms before fuel low warning, resulting in fewer re-fueling trips.
6. Audio - the Infinity audio system is excellent.
7. Things like a sunroof, the ICE with a big display, ventilated seats, powered driver and passenger seats, connected features, powered tailgate, TPMS, cruise control etc. add to the feel-good and value-for-money features.
8. Absolutely no vibrations or rattles after 1 year.
9. Very good NVH levels and engine noise is almost nil when driven relaxed at 5th or 6th gears at 1800 RPM.
10. No DPF issues so far.
11. Solid build quality and no uneven panel gaps. Excellent fit and finish.
12. Commanding view from the driver seat resulting in good visibility.
13. Ride quality is good. The car just glides over rough roads at moderate speeds.

Cons:

1. No AT in Diesel.
2. Not so good in handling and driving dynamics.
3. Speeds above 100 kmph are not confidence-inspiring.
4. Font size is very small in ICE as well as MID. Trip meter information is very basic.
5. Lack of physical buttons for AC is a major inconvenience.
6. The auto AC always works in re-circulation mode. Fresh air mode cannot be selected in auto AC.
7. No memory function for powered seats.
8. Headlights are just adequate.
9. Biege upholstery is difficult to maintain.
10. The rear becomes totally dirty when driving in the rain. Not sure about similar cars.

All in all, the Hector is a very good VFM car with everything neatly put together. No complaints in general for me, as owning a car is not only for convenience but peace of mind too, without niggles and failures. Only gripe is MG has not bothered to release a Diesel AT which would have competed with Harrier and Compass.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The vehicle has 5 year comprehensive maintenance package along with an accessories package installed by MG.

BHPian Nonstop-driver recently shared with other enthusiasts.

Hi BHPians, I'm currently driving a 2017 Creta SX AT Diesel with the ODO reading 56,000kms. I'm currently based in National Capital Region which caps the life of diesel cars at 10 years, which means my car is due for a replacement in 2027, or about 3.5 years from now.

The original plan was to replace this one with a similar car towards end of 2026.

Yesterday, I came across a post in our society group where a 2021 MG Hector Plus Petrol CVT (6 seater) is available for sale with 17,000kms on the ODO. The vehicle has 5 year comprehensive maintenance package along with an accessories package installed by MG. Also, its very well maintained. The owner is selling the vehicle because he's moving abroad.

I have never purchased a pre-worshipped vehicle in my life. This was never the plan but this lateral upgrade opportunity got me thinking and now I'm seeking suggestions from fellow motorheads if this makes sense.

The equation:

• Buy the 2021 pre-worshipped MG Hector. Seller currently quotes 19 lakh, thinking to negotiate and bring him down to 17 lakh. Since the owner is leaving the country soon, I've some leverage here.
• Sell the 2017 Creta to Cars24/ Spinny. I did a search and it appears 8-10 lakh is a reasonable price to expect. But this can vary at the time of the actual sale.
• Pay the difference in cash. Max budget is upto 10 lakhs but I want to manage everything in 9 lakhs and keep 1 for contingencies.

What I get:

• A newer, bigger, safer vehicle. Do I need these? Not necessarily but its good to have. 6 seats are sometimes missed. 6 airbags too.
• Valid vehicle life until 2036. Current vehicle's fitness expires in 2027.
• More bells and whistles. Do I need this? Well I do miss some luxuries in the current Creta like a sunroof, 360 camera, puddle lamps, etc.

What I lose:

• Upto 10 lakh rs in cash. Although if I don't spend now, I'll end up spending 18-22 lakhs 3 years later to buy a new vehicle. The opportunity cost of the 10 lakh would be partially offset by the residual value decrease of the Creta.
• Mileage. Current Creta's running cost is about 6 rs per km while I believe for Hector Petrol it will be closer to 10rs. Although my expected run is less than 10,000km per year so this isn't a huge concern.
• Lose some peace of mind because of a used vehicle? I'm probably worrying too much about this. Can probably manage it by testing the vehicle thoroughly with MGASS and FNGs.

The dilemma:

• I'm not in the market looking for pre-worshipped cars. I am not comparing this option with other pre-worshipped cars as it is very important for me that the vehicle should be from a trusted source. I'm looking at this opportunity as it came and purely as a financially wise decision. There could be an argument that a similar/ better opportunity might come up in the near future, but you never know, right? My dilemma are:
• Are the financial numbers making sense? Valuation of both cars and am I paying the right price?
• Am I getting into an unnecessary upgrade just because there is a potentially good deal available?

Thank you motorheads for reading my dilemma and sharing your thoughts.

Here's what BHPian yedukrishnan199 had to say on the matter:

An MG Hector Plus CVT 2021 model which has run for 17,000 km @ 17-18 lakhs is a good deal, provided the car is in good condition, you will surely get 8 to 10 lakhs on your Creta if you are patient and wait for the right buyer,as I have seen even Spinny and Cars24 offer around 8 lakhs for your model.

A few things to consider are the fact that the MG Hector Plus CVT is quite a bulky car running on a 1451 cc engine producing just 141 hp and 250 nm of torque which might feel a bit underpowered considering the fact that you are coming from a lighter Creta which produced 126 hp and 265 nm of torque.

The MG isn't frugal at all and would return mileage mostly in single digits. If you can live with these facts, then going for the MG Hector Plus CVT would be a good decision.

Here's what Sufficient-shop had to say on the matter:

Adding to what Yedukrishnan mentioned above, the desire to sell the 2017 Creta sounds good considering you are in NCR. Its value will only depreciate faster as years pass by.

But not sure about pre-owned (or pre-worshipped as you mention) cars. Unless it's someone whom you can trust, I'd suggest you stay away from spending 8+ lakhs, especially for a Hector.

Considering you have an overall budget of ~20L, why not look at new cars in the same segment like the new 2023 Seltos or just wait a bit for the Creta facelift expected to come in Jan 2024?

Here's what BHPian bijims had to say on the matter:

If you are in the market for a 6/7 seater SUV under 30 lakhs, there are hardly a handful of options to choose from, with the Mahindra Scorpio-N, Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, Hyundai Alcazar, and MG Hector Plus, your only options.

If you are planning to go with petrol, all of the above are fuel guzzlers, and if you like the overall looks, performance, and feature set of the MG Hector Plus, there is nothing to worry about, follow your heart and go for it. If you get it for 17 lakhs, I personally think it is a good price for the model, provided it is in good condition.

Here's what BHPian mayannk had to say on the matter:

As you said, mileage is not in the equation. In that case, the hector would be a good buy.

Additionally, since it's not really fixable outside, you can easily check for issues logged with MG for your specific car. The ownership is very peaceful, and the lack of power is only evident for about the first few days. But it's such a luxurious and comfortable place to be in, you'll soon forget about everything else that may be lacking. Mainly the kmpl and the looks. In any case, the plus looks better than the 1st gen 5 seater.

Here's what BHPian rnair had to say on the matter:

To me this is a no brainer. I really don't see a problem in you upgrading from a 2017 model Creta to a 2021 Hector. Its both economically viable and also sensible. Though I am not a big fan of Hector, I feel it is definitely an upgrade from a 2017 Creta. Buying a pre owned car is no longer a big matter of concern provided you buy it from a known source. Moreover the car you are mentioning will also be in warranty. Pre owned cars are the flavour of the season. You can see this from the insane resale values these days compared to a couple of years ago. If you've seen the car and you like it, you should go ahead and move it to your garage!

Note: I am saying this keeping the Hector as the only option!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The SUV has always been driven with a light foot which might have helped in these mileage figures.

BHPian Sedate driver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

MG Hector Diesel (Oct 2022)

• Total Kms driven - 18650 km
• Always driven with a light foot
• Average mileage - 19.26 km/l

• Highest as per tank-to-tank filling - 21.79 km/l
• Lowest as per tank-to-tank filling - 17.09 km/l
• Highest mileage achieved in a trip as per MID - 25.6 km/l

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The overall driving experience has been smooth but the fuel efficiency is something that could have been better.

BHPian write2sourav recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am using my MG Hector Sharp PRO for the last 3 weeks and so far had a pleasant experience. I have completed just over 300 KMS and the following are my observations:

1. The 360 Degree camera feature of the car really helps especially in case of a parallel parking situation or a tight parking spot. I was literally worried about this considering the dimensions of the car but this camera really helped. In my society, the parking space is also limited and I have to park between 2 cars at times. The clarity of the camera is good.
2. Overall driving experience with this car has been good so far. The car may not be a driver's car, but for people who prefer driving at moderate speeds, the car is an excellent choice. Overall the experience has been smooth so far.
3. The fuel efficiency is something which could have been better. But considering a car of this size and being a petrol one, understand this takes a toll on the efficiency. I am getting an average of 9-10 so far mostly in city conditions. Yet to do a check on the highway. You need to keep looking at the 'Distance to Empty' figures constantly.
4. The infotainment system is sloppy at times. I have observed at times the globe does not appear or it takes a good 15-20 seconds to appear on the infotainment system when you start the car. Even when using the Apple car play, sometimes it switched automatically to the default infotainment system. Reported this to the SA, and he mentioned that will be taken care of during the software update. I am hoping for a better experience in future.
5. The MG app shows some wrong figures and cannot be believed completely. I was fooled by the Tire pressure figures. When I went to the shop, the actual tire pressures were way less than what was shown on the app. Not sure how these are measured. This is something that MG should take note of seriously.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I slowed down & moved to third lane and slowly near the edge of expressway and continue to drive very slowly further ahead for safe place to stop the vehicle.

BHPian FiatDiesel recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have never imagined to be stranded with two flat tyres simultaneously. While I share the details, I also need opinions from experts hence dividing my post into following sections:

• Incident details.
• Three tyre bursts in last three months / 3000 KM's
• Current status.
• Relevant pictures.

Incident details:

I was thinking about writing a travelogue of my Varanasi trip from Pune while driving down early morning towards Pune during my return journey from Varanasi this Sunday 26 Mar on Samriddhi expressway and is jolted by loud burst noise.

It was 5:30 AM we were nearing Karanja (Lad) exit & rear right tyre explodes with TPMS giving warning of flat tyre. Fortunately, I had slowed down from 115 KM/hr to around 80 KM/hr and have moved to middle lane as my son asked for a loo break and the signages were indicating an exit hence had slowed down.

As soon as the tyre explodes & TPMS gives warning, a huge sense of disbelief & frustration comes in my mind immediately, given the fact that very recently we already had a tyre blow out while returning from Amritsar in January after new year vacation.

It was dawn with low visibility. I slowed down & moved to third lane and slowly near the edge of expressway and continue to drive very slowly further ahead for safe place to stop the vehicle as Karanja exit was only 100-150 meters away. Due to exit, it gave an additional exit lane to expressway, and I stopped my car as much inside the lane as possible with hazard lights on so that it doesn't comes in between the primary 3 lanes of this high-speed route while sufficiently being visible at same time.

I step out, check the tyre, its deflated. Get back into the car thinking again of the whole exercise of RSA and loss of couple of hours.

It must be around 5:35 AM, I tap on I-Call on central screen and receive call from MG support immediately on the unit. The lady asks for the issue, I inform her about flat tyre while looking at TPMS screen on driver MID & as I speak TPMS gives low pressure warning on front left tyre as well. I am horrified as two tyres in parallel are giving low pressure warning within minutes of each other & my home is good 600 KMs away. I inform the support executive and she informs me that way of handling the issue will change between one flat tyre and > 1 flat tyre so she wants me to confirm if it is 1 or 2 flat tyres. I ask her to wait as I have tyre inflator in my car & wanted to check how much low pressure it is in front tyre. I quickly get down, grab the tyre inflator from dicky, plug it and its 22 PSI. It was 34 PSI as cold tyre before I started the journey, also had glanced through the TPMS for the tyre pressure & temperature while entering the expressway. All looked normal at that point however now after 150+ KM's it was altogether a different story.

I could also hear hissing sound when I was checking the pressure of the front left tyre indicating air gushing out of the tyre rapidly through some hole.

I return back to the ongoing call with MG support center, she confirms the location she has received from vehicle, my registered phone number and informs that I will get call from RSA team soon.

Within 5 minutes I get call from RSA team, they confirm the situation & I check with them if technicians can fix puncture (if it is fixable) of front left tyre when they arrive so that I drive down with the car to Pune (with rear one replaced with spare). They inform that puncture fixing is not done by technicians as they don't carry those tools, they can just replace flat tyre with spare tyre in car. They informed that car needs to be towed to nearest MG service center as it has two flat tyres and it will be MG Nagpur. I inform them that my base location is Pune, and I will prefer if it can be towed to Pune. Executive informed that in MG Shield RSA is free of cost till nearest service center which is 200 KMs in Nagpur while Pune is 600 KM's. And if I want to take it to Pune then I will have to bear the cost of balance 400 KM's (200 KM charge will be borne by MG) to and fro for the flatbed which is normally Rs 50/KM (depends on vendor) excluding tolls. It came roughly to Rs. 40K which didn't make any financial sense. RSA executive also mentioned to me to not to worry and vehicle will be taken care properly in Nagpur as it would have been taken care in Pune so I should not spend money- on towing vehicle to Pune.

Now my next query to him was what about us? Do they provide or facilitate taxi for folks onboard the vehicle. He said "Yes" and its free of cost to your destination (except tolls). I was surprised and reconfirmed that it will be till Pune, He confirmed again & asked me if he should take RSA taxi request as well. I confirmed to him immediately and it brought down my stress level substantially.

He further confirmed if there is sufficient space in front of my vehicle for the flatbed truck to arrive, move around & for its ramps. Obviously, that was not a problem at the place we were stranded.

So now we had two requests placed with RSA which they were working on:

• Flatbed for Hector for MG Nagpur.
• Taxi for us to Pune.

All this happened till 6 AM. And between 6 to 7 AM I got multiple calls from two teams (one of flatbed & other for taxi) about the status of request, vendors for exact location on WhatsApp etc.

By 7 AM I received confirmation that flatbed is on its way and will reach us before 9:15 AM. Taxi confirmation was still pending however I informed the taxi team to ensure taxi also reaches us before 9:15 AM as I don't want to be in situation standing with complete luggage & family on high-speed expressway under the board mentioning "No standing, No stopping..".

While all this was happening, I spent time in checking the tyres & started searching for puncture guys in Karanja. I found a number on Google whose location was 5 KM from me. I called him however he flatly refused as two wheelers are not allowed on expressway. I also got the front tyre on jack to check from where the air was leaking, inflated it through tyre inflator & found approx 1 inch cut in middle of the tyre from where the hissing sound of air escape was coming. I called the puncture guy and asked him if he can fix this just in case if he is able to come, he said it can be fixed but then he would recommend the tyre to be used as spare tyre. It will be not fit for regular usage. This feedback closed this alternate approach, and it made sense to MG to investigate.

In the meantime, I get update that taxi is also identified around 70 kms from our location and will reach us by 9 AM which was a relief.

I started getting calls from both drivers from 8:30 AM onwards as they were approaching our location and both of them arrived by 9 AM. Hector was loaded on flatbed. Vehicle job card was prepared and handed over to me by the vendor and he took the car keys.

We sat in the taxi and both vehicles started in opposite direction with flatbed taking Karanja exit to return to Nagpur and we are going straight on Samriddhi towards Pune via Shirdi. Not a happy moment for an enthusiast and family who love their car.

I got confirmation around 3 PM that vehicle has been delivered to MG Nagpur & us also reached Pune by evening.

Overall MG RSA gave us a superb service, very polite, prompt and on their toes to get us help at this remote location.

Three tyre bursts of my Hector over the span of 3000 KM's:

As you would have noticed in my previous post, earlier this year in January while returning from Amritsar, my car suffered tyre burst of rear left tyre. The tyre had a big cut from center of tread and reason provided was that it must have had some impact. I also didn't delve much into it and considered as one-off case. This happened when car had done 27000 KM's.

Varanasi trip was very next long-distance trip we took last week in March. I drove all the way up to Varanasi from Pune (~1500KMs) via Shirdi - Samriddhi expressway - Nagpur - Jabalpur - Rewa. Our return route was also same and after about ~800 KMs into return journey two tyre bursts happened with one again with loud bang with cut towards outer tread of tyre and other one having 1 inch cut with air gushing out. Car had run 30000 KMs by now.

My car also went through 4th service recently in March and no concern was raised by service center for tyres. They had decent tread remaining and overall, no cuts etc apart from normal wear of tread.

Current status:

MG Nagpur has provided following feedback:

• Both tyres need to be replaced.
• Rear alloy wheel has damage though not visible, but it is not usable as per them. It needs to be replaced.
• Front alloy wheel also has damage but not as much as rear one. They prefer it to be replaced as well.
• They have recommended to go for insurance claim as tyres are out of warranty & my insurance does have rim & tyre cover.

They have filed the claim today, most likely car will be surveyed tomorrow.

Relevant pictures:

Tyre burst in January while returning from Amritsar, rear left tyre.

Tyre burst on last Sunday while returning from Varanasi, rear right tyre.

Around 1 inch cut in front right tyre through which air was escaping.

Hector loaded on flatbed.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.