Today, P Cheetah visited TVS, Saligramam, Chennai for miscellaneous minor problems like headlight focussing, rattling noise from the rear doors, rubber bushes for the engine cover, rattling of the rear number plate, topping up of fluids, etc. In addition to attending to my complaints, the technicians did a general check-up and cleaned the brake pads. The work got completed in 3 hours in my presence. I was charged for the 75-point check-up only.



The previous expenditure details are here.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

I continued my experiment with CTEK battery charger today. P Cheetah's 3 year-old OE battery is in tip-top condition, thanks to the recent two long drives.

Ravi sir, whats the advantage of the battery charger esp on a car which has enough routine running?

Originally Posted by supertinu

Ravi sir, whats the advantage of the battery charger esp on a car which has enough routine running?

For a car with enough routine running, a battery charger may not be required. But, P Cheetah has a 3-year old battery, whose driving within the city is very limited. Sometimes, I don't take it out even for a month! On those occasions, the battery gets discharged and P Cheetah won't start, requiring jump-starting with the help of an external battery. That's why, I procured jump-starter cables so that I can jump-start, using my son's i20 in case the battery goes totally dead or use the battery charger to give more juice to the battery by charging it overnight. Ditto is the case with my Thunderbird 500, which goes into the regular cycle of hibernation in every other month. With the battery charger and jump-starter cables, I don't have to worry anymore!

Reached Bangalore Basaveswara Nagar home safely at 4:50 am today; we had left Chennai Royapettah home at 10:45 pm last night. Traffic jam due to an accident near Kanchipuram bypass, long queues at the dedicated FASTag lane - more than the non-FASTag lanes, indicating FASTag is becoming more and more popular with the government buses, lorries and cabs, jumping into the bandwagon - at the Krishnagiri and Attibele toll plazas contributed for the delay.

[sk7671]

Hello Ravi Sir - am sure you are beyond the default warranty period. Did you buy extended warranty? Is it worth it?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by sk7671

Hello Ravi Sir - am sure you are beyond the default warranty period. Did you buy extended warranty? Is it worth it?

If you are going to keep the car for a longer duration, then it is good to have the Extended Warranty. Recently, for my Linea, I got the Elastic Pad(Front Suspension/Both sides) and lower arm replaced under extended warranty.

You can also refer to the below team-bhp article for more information,
https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/exte...ties-yes-or-no

Originally Posted by sk7671

Did you buy extended warranty?

No. I am against the extended warranty as it comes with many unknown ifs, buts and provideds. I had a bad experience with my erstwhile Linea, when the front left suspension and both the elastic pads were replaced just after 40 k km during my drive to NE/Bhutan in April 2012. I paid the bill on my own as the Kolkata dealer did not accept my claim, pointing out 35 k km limit for suspension. So, I am a non-believer of extended warranty! Even now, I am getting regular calls from Mahindra and TVS, cajoling me to take the extended warranty for two years, costing ₹ 25 k. But, I refuse to accede. In an unfortunate event, I am prepared to pay from my pocket.

P Cheetah suffered a puncture in the rear right tyre today at 00:45 am a few km after Krishnagiri turning on my way from Bangalore to Chennai. I saw the warning on the infotainment panel and also on the instrument cluster and brought P Cheetah to the LHS shoulder and stopped. I took out the torch and examined the situation. There was a hissing sound coming out from the puncture spot. It was a big hole to accommodate my little finger of the right hand! I tried in vain to remove the villain, a screw, deeply embedded across the hole.

Added to that, I could not loosen 3 nuts of the total 5 as the wheel spanner slipped. After half-hour or so, a TN police highway patrol stopped by and helped me by calling the sub-inspector of the jurisdictional police station at Kandikuppam, Mr Manikkam, who visited the spot with a constable on his motorcycle. After ascertaining the situation, he instructed the constable to fetch some help in his motorcycle. TN police highway patrol gave the mobile number of a nearby puncture repair shop. I called and there was no response at that time. Mr Manikkam called some of his colleagues/deputies to fetch some help or nearby puncture-fixing persons. The constable returned with a lorry driver and cleaner on the motorcycle. The 3 tough nuts yielded to the duo as one held the spanner tightly at the spot and the other pulled the lever. Then, they jacked up and removed the punctured wheel. In the meanwhile, Mr Manikkam stopped a passing LCV and asked its driver to help the driver-cleaner duo. The new entrant removed the spare wheel and fixed the punctured wheel in its place. The job was over in less than 15 minutes thanks to the unknown trio, Mr Manikkam and his constable. When the work was about to be over, his colleague, a lady sub-inspector and another constable too stopped by and enquired Mr Manikkam about the situation. Mr Manikkam explained the issue and told them that the job was over and asked me to proceed. 1½ hours wasted due to the puncture.



I reached Chennai Royapettah home at 5:50 am today. We had left Bangalore Basaveswara Nagar home at 10:45 pm yesterday.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

The job was over in less than 15 minutes thanks to the unknown trio, Mr Manikkam and his constable.

Now there is a nice cop one really needs to appreciate publicly. Did you take his photograph? Also, I strongly feel that you should send an email to his DCP and tweet to the DGP TN police about all the help he offered and his patience.

Mr.Manikkam made my day today.

My late father - a mechanical engineer with a professional driving licence, not just for motorcycle and LMV, but also for HTV, crane, excavator, etc. - used to say that he did not believe in superstition, but believed in the theory of probability, even in driving. Even a good driver in a good car should be prepared to face accidents, breakdowns, getting stranded on highways, etc. atleast once in one's lifetime. Well, I have my quota of getting stranded on a road, thrice in the last six years. But, I was saved by good samaritans in all these events. I am grateful and thankful forever to these samaritans from saving me from distress.

1. Zojila Pass, JK, 16 September 2011:

I switched off the engine and came out of my Linea. The outside temperature was freezing 4 deg C. I saw about 3 pairs of headlamps of vehicles climbing Zoji La. The first one was an Innova taxi. After seeing the road blocked by my Linea, one gentleman got down and came to me. I sought his help to move my Linea. He called his co-passengers and instructed them to assist me. Four persons including the driver of Innova alighted. Two of them pushed from the left side of my Linea and two from behind. I started the engine, accelerated slowly, my Linea moved with a screeching noise, came out of the clutches of the rocky bed. After some distance, I signalled the Innova to overtake me, but they kept following me.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2529262

2. Thambi View Point, Zuluk, SK, 9 April 2015:

Then, the Samaritans came in the guise of Royal Enfield riders from Karnataka, whom I had been meeting frequently from the morning! All the eight of them pushed from behind with me behind the wheel. But, again, Purple Cheetah did not want to come out of the snow-pit. Before departing, the cab driver informed us to seek the help of Indian Army, whose check-post was just a km away from where we got stranded. The leader of the group volunteered to ride to the Army post to seek their assistance and left the place on his Royal Enfield.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post3698300

3. Kandikuppam, Krishnagiri, TN, 27 March 2017:

The 3 tough nuts yielded to the duo as one held the spanner tightly at the spot and the other pulled the lever. Then, they jacked up and removed the punctured wheel. In the meanwhile, Mr Manikkam stopped a passing LCV and asked its driver to help the driver-cleaner duo. The new entrant removed the spare wheel and fixed the punctured wheel in its place. The job was over in less than 15 minutes thanks to the unknown trio, Mr Manikkam and his constable.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post4170684

P Cheetah has got 4 new Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tyres today from Lal Enterprises, Chennai. All along, I wanted to go in for JK Elanzo NXT tyres for replacement as they served me well for over 54 k km with just 2 punctures in only one tyre so far - that too after 50 k km - in more than 3 years, which took me to 26 states/UT without any problem. But, after seeing Michelin Latitude Sport 3, I changed my mind and selected them. I got a quote for Michelin Latitude Tour HP for ₹ 12,200 each, but decided in favour of Latitude Sport 3, costing ₹ 14,600 each. I got a cash refund of ₹ 200 for the old tyres.

[Sisu]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

P Cheetah has got 4 new Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tyres today from Lal Enterprises, Chennai

Hi Mr. Ravi,

The new Michelin tyres look great. They are a bit pricey but ride quality, road noise etc would be much superior to the stock JK's. The only negative feedback I've heard for the Michelin's is that they are softer tyres prone to sidewall cuts and faster wear. But not sure if that's true for the latitude tyres.

Can you please share initial impressions of these tyres?

Even I am in a similar situation as you because the stock Bridgestone Duellers on my XUV have done 50k kms and still have some life left in them but would need to look for replacements soon.

Cheers,


Sisu

Originally Posted by Sisu

Can you please share initial impressions of these tyres?

After driving back from the tyre dealer - located within a stone's throw from home - I have not taken P Cheetah out. I will share my experience here after my next Chennai - Bangalore drive.

This is the first time I bought the expensive Michelin tyres for replacement. All along, I used to go for the same brand for replacement. Now, my experiment with Michelin has begun!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Sisu

The only negative feedback I've heard for the Michelin's is that they are softer tyres prone to sidewall cuts and faster wear. But not sure if that's true for the latitude tyres.

I had used Michelin latitude Tour HP's in Skoda Yeti for close to 70,000 kilometers and faced zero issues. Of course, after 60,000 kms, punctures were a bother but that is it, no side wall issues. The OE tire had side wall cuts.

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Now, my experiment with Michelin has begun!

Very good choice I must say and just the right time to change your tires [it is always a good time to change tires & oil ] as the JK's would start to degenerate faster now and would have been a bother.

In fact, I changed my tires at a mere 36,000 kms as I felt, they weren't good enough.

[RacingForIndia]

What a review Sir.
I am amazed at your "drive". Makes my choice of XUV true, not just because of the car it is but also because of the people who own it.
Wishing you many more adventures with the beloved P Cheetah!
God speed.