[eternalshenron1]

I bought the Tata Punch EV Empowered Plus Long Range model three months ago, and my experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. Ever since the car arrived, it has had significant charging issues. The charging session would intermittently stop, and each time, I had to manually restart it. The car would only charge about 5-10% at a time, which meant it took 10-20 charging sessions to fully charge the car. This problem occurred exclusively with the Tata fast chargers available in my residential area. Since my apartment doesn't allow the installation of a personal charger, this was my only option.

When I reported this issue, they assured me it would be fixed during the first service, but the service center people simply charged the car on a normal wall charger and claimed the problem was resolved. However, the issue persisted. They took the car again after a couple of days and probably tried the same thing again with no success. They then escalated the complaint to the head of EV in Mumbai and took the vehicle to another service station in Mahape. There, they changed some cabling in the car and assured me the issue was resolved. Yet again, nothing changed, and to add to my frustration, the front DRL lights stopped working after this repair job.

After reporting the persistent problem, they took a month to tell me that the factory was working on a solution and the replacement part was not available. When the part finally arrived, they replaced the same cable again, claiming this time it would definitely resolve the issue. They also replaced the front DRLs. Unsurprisingly, the issue remained unresolved. A week or so later, they sent someone over to my place to try charging it at the same charger where I was facing the issue. They connected a laptop to capture data during the charging interruptions, hoping it would help diagnose the root cause. The data that was captured mentioned a couple of parts heating over the threshold, but the technician didn’t allow me to take a photo and said it would be sent directly to the factory for diagnosis.

A week later, they sent someone to collect the same data again because they had somehow lost the previous data, causing me to skip work. This time my vehicle was already at 85% charge and was able to charge to 100% without interruption (Probably because of slower trickle charging after 80%?). After another week, they said the issue would be resolved via a software update. They updated the software and claimed that the issue was resolved, but this time I refused to take delivery and act as their QC assistant. I insisted that they test charging the vehicle at a similar Tata charging station to verify if the problem was truly fixed. Thankfully, this time the problem was actually resolved. Although I am not sure how they were able to fix overheating with a software update, I am afraid they might have dialed down the charge speed the car is willing to accept. However, this is something that I need to test.

During these initial three months of ownership, another issue emerged where the regenerative braking randomly stopped working. It might not sound like much, but essentially it means that the brakes of the car were unpredictable and were not working as expected. There were times when I would rely on the regen brakes to slow the car but the braking just wasn’t there when I lifted my foot off the accelerator, causing me to make an emergency brake to avoid hitting the car in front. This issue was also resolved with the software update.

Just when I thought all problems were sorted, a few days ago, I faced another major issue. One night, after parking the car and returning to it, the car wouldn’t start. It displayed multiple errors like hill hold error, TPMS error, and low auxiliary battery, and was stuck in park mode and would not even go into neutral. The car was automatically applying the parking brakes, and I was a sitting duck. I tried pressing the SOS button in the car, but it simply said call failed. Finally, I got a text message from Tata with a number to connect with in case of an emergency. How is this viable during an accident?

Tata roadside assistance arrived after an hour’s wait, tried recharging the auxiliary battery to no avail, and the technician had no idea what to do so he ordered a tow truck. This ordeal happened at 1:30 AM in the rain, and I had to book a cab home without any assistance from Tata. It does hurt to see your new car being towed away.



The car was in the service center for 8 days and they finally fixed it, said there was some issue with the brake fuse and wiring. Overall, the Tata Punch EV is a brilliant car when it works, but my experience has been dreadful. The car has spent more than 20 days in the service center in just the initial three months. The frequent service visits have aged the car significantly—the white interiors have turned brown, the steering wheel is stained, the DRL alignment is off, and certain panels have started to rattle. Owning a Tata car has been a disappointing experience, severely impacting my confidence in the vehicle. I wouldn't dare take it on a long drive or let my dad drive it over long distances, defeating the purpose of owning an EV car.

Recently the Punch EV received 5 star safety rating in crash testing, but another key factor to consider while determining the 'Safety' aspect of a vehicle is its reliability. If a vehicle can leave you stranded in the middle of the road, I will consider it to be a serious safety issue. Generally not something a lot of us consider while making our purchase decisions, but now I've come to learn how important it is. We also have a tendency to think that these are one off cases and will not happen to us, I used to feel the same way when reading about Tata ownership reviews but now I realize how significantly lacking the Tata ownership experience is.

[youknowitbetter]

I just can't understand how Tata Motors finds itself in this same situation (new cars breaking down, technical issues, panel gaps, quality of after sales service) every time with almost all of its cars. On top of it, they bought JLR which was notorious for after sales service and reliability issues, even before Tata Motors acquired it.

They have been selling so many cars, but are still oblivious to customers' happiness. Just yesterday, I was talking to someone who works in Tata Motors. He was giving me an example of how the same issue happens in case of CVs (commercial vehicles) as well, wherein a gearbox of CV broke within few days of delivering the truck! Imagine a brand new truck with a broken gearbox. The reason I am bringing this up is because we call Tata Motors as a CV manufacturer who has a passenger car business but still has a DNA of CV. So if their CV business is also like this, is it same to assume that passenger vehicle business will be no different.

Sorry to be extremely one sided, I must clarify that I own a Tata car and my extended family has multiple Tata cars. I bought a Tiago back in 2018 when people were a lot more skeptical of buying a Tata, but it is quite disheartening that a brand which competes for 2nd largest passenger vehicle manufacturer position in the country has such a lackadaisical approach when it comes to quality control!

[h3mnzu]

Originally Posted by eternalshenron1

It displayed multiple errors like hill hold error, TPMS error, and low auxiliary battery, and was stuck in park mode and would not even go into neutral. The car was automatically applying the parking brakes, and I was a sitting duck. I tried pressing the SOS button in the car, but it simply said call failed.

At this stage, you could probably use a video camera, record everything and gather all possible papers you have for the car; invoice, booking, service records and car delivery photos and PDI date info. You put the papers in a very big bag, put your video camera in it, and go out to buy a scanner-printer. Scan and print multiple photocopies of each and every paper proof you have, including printing/photocopying bank statements of money having passed hands from you to the dealership.

Then go to the dealer, meet everyone and video record their name and designation and talk to them about purchase date, problem date and multiple problems recorded by you on video and give them only photocopies. Visit again next week on same day for atleast 3 weeks until they know you as a frequent annoyance. For the 4th week, walk directly to sales floor and announce to open air that for past x number of visits, they have not acted and urge everyone present there not to buy their cars. A meeting with senior managers shall be arranged for you. Collect email addresses of these seniors. Mail them your issue with all possible paper trails scanned by you.

Hire a lawyer for consumer court for the least amount you are comfortable with and negotiate on a delay time frame like 6 months 100% payment, 8 months, 50% payment and 1 year - lawyer change. Usually they won't cost you more than 1500 per month (which may already be less than service costs incurred to you).

Demand a replacement vehicle for the time your original problem is not fixed. Document your demand, let them decline it and record the reasons in video or by printing the email reply they send to you. If they don't respond, count the number of days they didn't respond.

To the lawyer, you only need to say they sold you a faulty vehicle and they should either refund you the full cost invoiced + damages (time/ peace of ownership) + interest amount on delay of compensation.

Visit them when you are free. It will be a slow progress, but consumer court will definitely pass judgement within a year or two.

Don't be worried if any single day is disappointing to you or doesn't end up achieving the justice for your efforts. You don't climb a mountain running up all the way, a slow pace ensures you complete the task and that's all to it.

For them, you are just a 5 minute of annoyance per week. Also, challenge the ideas of a person, not the individual itself because sometimes these people are good beings dealing with complex issues while they are trying to help you, and initially they believe you will get scared of ill-treatment. So politely tell them that it's not a fight against the person they are, but a rightful demand for some mishap someone somewhere did, which is common in large scale industrial manufacturing.

Keep your cool and decide for yourself how you want to go ahead, by the ways of corrections or by the way of replacement with a correct version of same vehicle or allow the consumer court force them to pay you back.

If you have owned multiple vehicles in the past, corrections can be done and you would be okay with some level of troubleshooting and multiple service visits. If it is a new vehicle and you have never personally owned this type of vehicle in the past, definitely mention this to the consumer court and get your money back.

Always remember, your efforts should be directed at the potential corrections a person is capable of doing, rather than their individuality and their people dealing abilities.

[DHARM]

Its sad that you are going through such orderal with a new car, it really shatters the confidence in a new car. I totally agree that QC has to be done with better set of parameters & problem solving has to be proactive than reactive to inspire trust in TATA Brand vehicles.

I too own the same car/model however except one or two minor niggles I have good experience with the car. Recently did a 850km round trip and car worked flawlessly so I assume yours could be a manufacturing defect & you should get it resolved working with TATA or explore a legal option. Many TATA Nexon or Tiago owners could replace part/battery under warranty so explore/need be do the same by pressing up on TATA motors/Dealer. who is your dealer and how he is supporting in this matter?

[SithDefender]

Originally Posted by eternalshenron1

It does hurt to see your new car being towed away.

There is nothing more depressing than this, whether a new car or old. It's a heartbreaking feeling.

Originally Posted by eternalshenron1

The frequent service visits have aged the car significantly—the white interiors have turned brown, the steering wheel is stained, the DRL alignment is off, and certain panels have started to rattle.

Shoddy and irresponsible service. No doubt the technicians should take extra care in handling a customer's car, but no, they will just soil the interiors without a care in the world. By the way, I had seen the same in white interiors of XUV700 also, so it's not just restricted to Tata service.

Originally Posted by eternalshenron1

Recently the Punch EV received 5 star safety rating in crash testing, but another key factor to consider while determining the 'Safety' aspect of a vehicle is its reliability. If a vehicle can leave you stranded in the middle of the road, I will consider it to be a serious safety issue.

Completely agreed. It sort of defeats the whole purpose if we are not sure whether it will breakdown at the next junction or not! And this applies even to some *cough cough* "over-engineered" cars.

[blueather]

Tata have been selling cars for how many years now? Reliability I understand but how come quality control is still an issue?
My relatives used to own Tata Zest. It was nothing short of nightmare. Gave them so many headaches they sold it within two years.

[Venkatesh.C]

Over time they have evolved from making bulky, noisy cars to fine looking cars with world class features at great value. I wonder why they don't realize that the poor ASS and reliability are the only things stopping them from beating Maruti Suzuki today. Imagine, if Tata also stood for quality and ASS. The market would flip in a year.

[ByKaizen]

Tata showcases the build quality (which they have definitely) and their price is slightly cheaper compared to competitors (from 25K to 50K) and road has lot of Tata cars today (compared to how it was before 5 years). People fall into the Tata's trap seeing these and getting out the trap is highly frustrating.
I fell into this trap 2 years ago and owned Tiago NRG AMT, but I came out of the trap by selling it in 3 months which caused me a loss of 1~ Lakh but gained the peace of mind. Car had uneven panel gaps, ununiform throttle responses, gear knob failing few times in mid of the road and the AMT of the tata can be categorized as the worst AMT that is sold in India with lot of rough power delivery and heavy head nods.

[coldice4u]

This will turn into another Tata bashing thread in a jiffy. The Punch EV is based off a new platform underneath, so teething issues are expected especially so in EVs which are far less mechanical.

I've a Tiago EV XZ with the odo at 21.5k kms in about 16 months. A simple car with no fancy gizmos and mostly matured technologies. No issues whatsoever except the the obvious plastic issues viz creaking and the faint rattle here and there.

I also own a 2015 Bolt XT with 88k on the odo. It has had its fair share of quirks but has never been in a garage for anything but preventative maintenance.

[psbali]

Tata makes great small cars. I belong to a household with multiple cars and we have made up a rule to only own 1 car from Tata Motors at a time.

Our Nexon EV XM is a great car. It so far only had only one issue of charger showing red light even in cold weather which leads to similar type of intermittent charging. We have to go down and turn it off, allow charger plug to cool and restart.

I had to jump through multiple hoops to get the charger replaced under warranty. It is still not changed officially under warranty I had to get in touch with someone from EV division to borrow a new charger and submit my old one to test. Even after sending them proof that the new charger works well I havent been officially allotted a new charger I am just continuing with the new borrowed charger.

Our 1st request was denied at dealer level stating poor earthing and without checking our earthing point at home. The SA processed charger to be replaced under warranty but at time of handover of new charger the spares department cited poor earthing to deny replacement without any checks. I then had to approach a Tata Motor employee.

The charger point was installed by Tata Motors and all parameters vis a vis earthing was checked with video and photo proof.

I really require a 2nd EV and I am just waiting for a more reliable brand to launch a Nexon/Punch sized EV.

All Tata cars are great IMHO as long as they don't develop an issue. Once they do, prepare for a nightmare. Frankly I really dont want to buy a 2nd Tata Car and find that out for myself.

[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by eternalshenron1

Recently the Punch EV received 5 star safety rating in crash testing, but another key factor to consider while determining the 'Safety' aspect of a vehicle is its reliability. If a vehicle can leave you stranded in the middle of the road, I will consider it to be a serious safety issue. Generally not something a lot of us consider while making our purchase decisions, but now I've come to learn how important it is. We also have a tendency to think that these are one off cases and will not happen to us, I used to feel the same way when reading about Tata ownership reviews but now I realize how significantly lacking the Tata ownership experience is.

Absolutely spot on. Something I too learnt the hard way after owing a TATA car. So I added Reliability right next to Safety as a requirement while replacing it. It is hard to change the culture of an organization, more like a adult human. And TATA Motors too is struggling to get past that "chalta hai attitude" when it comes to Quality Control. I like their new models, but will never buy one of those even if it is perceived Safe & Value for Money compared to competition.

[i74js]

Originally Posted by h3mnzu

Hire a lawyer for consumer court for the least amount you are comfortable with and negotiate on a delay time frame like 6 months 100% payment, 8 months, 50% payment and 1 year - lawyer change. Usually they won't cost you more than 1500 per month (which may already be less than service costs incurred to you).

Why to buy Tata at the very first place? One has to draw line, a company that doesn’t believe in quality and reliability should continue to struggle. Why so much of post purchase drama for brands like Tata & VW. This amazes me.

[asbshyam]

Originally Posted by coldice4u

This will turn into another Tata bashing thread in a jiffy. The Punch EV is based off a new platform underneath, so teething issues are expected especially so in EVs which are far less mechanical.

"Brand new platform" is never a good enough excuse. Any 1st gen car with niggles that leaves you stranded is not worth anyone's time or money.

[Sk8r]

Originally Posted by coldice4u

This will turn into another Tata bashing thread in a jiffy. The Punch EV is based off a new platform underneath, so teething issues are expected especially so in EVs which are far less mechanical.

True and rightly deserve to be IMHO. Seeing a car on flatbed is no "teething issue". Door not closing on 1st attempt, steering pulling to the left, mild abnormal noise from suspension components, ICE systems hanging and similar other minor (or) non show stopper issues can be termed as teething issues.

Off course they make great looking cars, well built, well priced and a ton load of features. But none of these are a trade off for "reliability" - at least for me and I can vouch there are few others like me

Now, you can quote your examples of trouble free ownership experience, but that's the beauty of Quality right ? They got to be even for all cars produced.

[silverado]

I love Punch EV, but its very unfortunate that you have got a lemon. This can happen with anyone and with any brand.

It is the handling of these issues which separates others from TATA.
I am a very proud owner of Tata Nano since 13 years and it has had absolutely 0 niggles. It is our daily driver and beater car and works really well.

The real issue is our consumer laws in our country which are lax and the car companies know this.
What you have experienced is nothing short of mental harrasement, fight it out in best possible way you can.

Good luck