My Altroz suffers its first gremlin; Cracked coolant hose & broken cap

Appreciate the promptness of the Tata service centre in getting it fixed.

BHPian W.A.G.7 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So, after many days of carefree driving, we suffered the first gremlin. En route to home on 5th April, my wife realized that the radiator fan was running constantly and even after switching off the car, the fan would continue to run for a minute or so. This was strange because we hadn't seen this behaviour. Realizing something was amiss, she drove the last 9-10 km slowly, without the air conditioner and also not exceeding 40-45 kmph. This turned out to be a blessing. After the car cooled down in the night, we opened the coolant reservoir lid to check on the coolant level, and it was bone dry. Then we opened the radiator cap as well, and another heart-in-the-mouth moment - there was barely any coolant. This was alarming, a powerful torch and 2 minutes later, we discovered all the coolant splattered on the innards. There was a big puddle of blue coolant.

We called Garve Tata service centre and they advised us to bring the car slowly to the service station, after filling in regular water in the coolant reservoir and the radiator. Again, I appreciate their promptness in arranging for an appointment. Also being a Friday helped, as there was less load on the service centre. A job card was created and they inspected the innards. They realized that the coolant hose was cracked and the rubber cap had a hole in it. The coolant was spilling out from the rubber cap.

They kept the car on Saturday and replaced both the coolant hose and rubber cap. In the evening, the car was ready, yet they kept it under observation for a day more, just to see if there were any other leaks. Thankfully no other holes or cracks were seen.

We received back the car on Sunday - with replaced coolant pipes and new coolant filled in. Thankfully the car was cleaned nicely this time. The total bill came to 515/- which is okay. I mean we came nearly an inch from blowing up the engine (due to lack of any coolant), so the charges don't mean much as compared to what we would have to pay for replacing a heat-damaged engine. For a change, I would like to thank my wife for observing the fan running... That's because ladies usually aren't automotive-oriented (exceptions are there of course) and wouldn't usually notice such things. But she did, and her promptness in driving back slowly most likely saved the day for the car. Additionally, the twin-tone horn was fixed, as the lower tone was not sounding intermittently.

Another lesson learnt - turn down the music and keep an eye and an ear on the car! Some pictures below from the episode...

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