[Shan_Kmu]

Originally Posted by (Alok)

1. Which engine oil is used?
2. Why only 2 wheels were balanced? Since bolero have lug centric wheels, how the shop performed balancing task?

Castrol engine oil was used. They also had Shell, it was a little bit pricey, so settled with the former one. Sorry, couldn't find any differences in the way they approach lug/hub-centric balance. I'll leave it to the experts here

[Shan_Kmu]

Our Bolero has crossed the 70,000 kms mark and by next week, the car will be completing its 7 years of ownership. Came to Chennai for a few weeks' stay.



A few days back, a strange noise was coming from the engine bay now and then. By last week it started coming continuously during our drive and it sounded like an old fan rotating. The next day I went to FNG (Urapakkam, Chennai) for inspection and the mechanic found out that the water pump bearing gave away and hence the radiator fan was not rotating in a fixed axis. He advised me not to drive the vehicle in such a condition as in the worst case, the fan might hit the radiator resting in front of it. So I gave the vehicle for repair and they installed a new water pump unit, topped up the coolant, and a new radiator cap. The total bill came to around Rs 5,500

Newly installed water pump:


Old one:



One of the fog lamps stopped working. My friend owns an accessory shop and he dismantled the lamp, changed the bulb (Osram), and put everything back. Costs me Rs 100 for the minor change



I learned how to wash an entire car with 1 bucket of water after coming to Chennai. Our apartment has water scarcity. Don't mind the dirty wheels. It would take another bucket which I couldn't waste. The road outside our place becomes a slush pit when it rains for more than 10 minutes. So no use in washing them.



The road in its driest condition


We sold our first car (Chevy Beat) when it was 5 years old. So I wasn't aware of the part failures which occur with age and kms run. Is this water pump bearing issue, due to any of my negligence during routine check-ups or is it due to age factor? Let me know please..

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by Shan_Kmu

Is this water pump bearing issue, due to any of my negligence during routine check-ups or is it due to age factor? Let me know please..

That's a very well kept Bolero. Don't fret on the water pump replacement, it's pretty normal. Seven years is a pretty good life I say. I normally inspect water pump and alternator every year for any funny sounds or vibrations.

[Shan_Kmu]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

That's a very well kept Bolero. Don't fret on the water pump replacement, it's pretty normal. Seven years is a pretty good life I say. I normally inspect water pump and alternator every year for any funny sounds or vibrations.

Thank you for clarifying Rakesh. A few months back the self motor gave up and now the water pump. That's why I was a little bit worried

[Raghu M]

That's a very well kept Bole. I think you have maintained it pretty well. Coming to the small part replacements, it's a car and you will see those things every now and then. Wish you many happy miles more!

[Passatman]

Originally Posted by Shan_Kmu

The smaller yet significant things:

Conclusion:

Is Bolero still relevant in the modern automotive world? might or might not be. Bolero has more flaws than strengths. And I made my purchase despite being aware of the majority of its shortcomings. Do I regret making the choice? No, except when private buses/empty trucks/vans/cars overtake me in NH which they do all the time. But I do wish it could have been a better product with a little more power, safety and comfort. BTW, BS6 Boleros have dual airbags (from the 2022 model), ABS, 1.5L 3 cyl engine with little more power and torque (75hp vs 63hp and 215nm vs 195nm) and better refinement. I believe the 1.5L mill will offer similar reliability that DI and m2DiCR are known for. Mahindra knows that reliability is one of Bolero’s fortes.

OG Bolero (not the Neo) is a vehicle no people or experts will suggest you to buy.

I sincerely hope you all liked reading this ownership review. I'll be keeping this thread updated on my Bolero's progress on a regular basis. Thank you!

Hi! Nice review of the Bolero which I have seen is quite popular in Tamilnadu and MH too!
Did you not check out the Xylo which was being offered with fab discounts ( 2 lacs) and has comparably better safety features ( ABS & Airbags) and comfort ( split ac, independent coil spring suspension ), better ergonomics ( tilt steering, adjustable lumbar support on all captain seats, elec operated Mirrors, rear defogger)and a much better engineered and vastly powerful MHawk engine. You would not suffer on the highway also

Also a word of caution! For some reason i have not been able to fathom yet, M&M does not recommend use of a coolant ; this leads to rusting & consequent failure of waterpump etc. So do use a coolant to avoid such issues.
Brake disc wear may also mean pad replacement is delayed , so do keep a check! I wish they would provide a wear indicator like on my German sedan ; it would hardly cost much! But i guess that feature would mean less spares sold !
Enjoy your beast, pamper it with regular self checks and a lick of polish and lots of elbow grease!

[Shan_Kmu]

Originally Posted by Passatman

Hi! Nice review of the Bolero which I have seen is quite popular in Tamilnadu and MH too!Did you not check out the Xylo which was being offered. You would not suffer on the highway also !

Thanks Passatman. We had a look at the Xylo and Scorpio's base variants that came with m2Dicr engine and they were close to 11L and 13L respectively on road with around 15k on discounts. Also, I was sold out on Bolero. So didn't give other vehicles a second look

Ha ha. Don't remind me about the highways. It's a sad story anyways. Last week a tata 407 courier van zoomed past me. I was driving in 90kmph

[Shan_Kmu]

Hello all, our Bolero has crossed 73,000 km. The car's nearly two-year-old Amaron battery (Black 700 series) experienced cell failure. The following are the events...

1) The wire that connected the rear number plate lights was severed by the rat a few weeks ago. I tied a knot and tucked it up just above the number plate because it was hanging loose. Made sure both wire ends are not touching each other.

2) No other issues at all. The car was starting up and driving well. Everything was good.
3) 2 days back I thought of connecting the severed wire to the lights. The number plate has two little bulbs, and one bulb has 2 wires coming out of it. Another bulb has only one wire coming out of it
4) I connected one of the severed wires to one bulb and another wire to the other one. Turned the key to the ignition and the bulb which had 2 wires coming out didn't light up. So I interchanged the connection to another wire coming out of the bulb and now, it lit up.
5) This is where it became problematic: there was no cranking sound when I attempted to start the car. I informed the FNG mechanic of everything in detail over the phone, even the small connection mismatch that I had made.
6) He came and checked. The voltage was low. He suspected the wire must have touched the body. So it might be a leak. Nothing wrong will happen due to the connection error.
7) Gave the battery to recharge and the next day the shop person said, one of the cells had failed. Long story short, bought Amaron Go (Green) and installed it. Now everything's fine.


My concern is are the above things connected to cell failure? I cross-checked in 3 battery shops and all confirmed cell failure. They all said that rat bites or connection mismatches have nothing to do with the cell failure and that although the fuse would have blown, the battery cell would not have failed as a result of the mismatch. This is an entirely coincidental occurrence. This is completely a co-incidental happening. Is it so? I'm just guilty if I made some silly mistake. Can someone shed some light, please?

Also, mechanics and battery shop persons say that cell failure has no specific reason. Is that so? Does luck play a part? Because the OE battery (that was also Amaron) lasted me for 5 years

[Venkat_KM]

Originally Posted by Shan_Kmu

My concern is are the above things connected to cell failure? I cross-checked in 3 battery shops and all confirmed cell failure. They all said that rat bites or connection mismatches have nothing to do with the cell failure and that although the fuse would have blown, the battery cell would not have failed as a result of the mismatch. This is an entirely coincidental occurrence. This is completely a co-incidental happening. Is it so? I'm just guilty if I made some silly mistake. Can someone shed some light, please?

Also, mechanics and battery shop persons say that cell failure has no specific reason. Is that so? Does luck play a part? Because the OE battery (that was also Amaron) lasted me for 5 years

There are various threads and posts related to this in this very forum which would shed light on this in depth than myself. Here are my few cents in this regard. As confirmed by individual shops, there are no co relation between the wire cut and battery drain in your case.

Two possible things could happen when there are open and cut wires hanging around without insulation or improper connection. One it can create direct short circuit(which eventually will blow the fuse). Another it can create parasitic current draw when there is a conducting medium in between two poles(main and ground). Chances of the second is next to impossible. Also both the things will happen only when the wires are live which in your case only when the parking lamp is switched on.

About the battery failure this shall be avoided by periodic maintenance. Common reasons for single cell failure are
1. Deep discharge/kept idle for long time and long crank after hibernation.
2. Not charged enough after deep discharge cycle.
3. Overcharging due to not enough electrolyte in particular cell or electrolyte imbalance inbetween cells.
This shall be simply avoided by taking the vehicle for a short spin once in a week atleast (this will also keep the pests away). Or using trickle charger when keeping the vehicle idle for extended periods of time. Also ensuring periodic checkups on voltage and electrolyte levels would help in prolonging the battery life to much larger extent.

[Shan_Kmu]

Originally Posted by Venkat_KM

About the battery failure this shall be avoided by periodic maintenance. Common reasons for single cell failure are
1. Deep discharge/kept idle for long time and long crank after hibernation.
2. Not charged enough after deep discharge cycle.
3. Overcharging due to not enough electrolyte in particular cell or electrolyte imbalance inbetween cells.

Thank you very much for shedding some light Venkat. Point no 2, maybe the reason that the car was idle for some time after a long night drive (with headlights n fog lights ON) but let me not come to any conclusion. BTW will try to keep these 3 things in mind moving forward

[rkmountain]

I could not find team bhp official review for bolero
If someone has the link please share
If there comes an amt for this suv I will grab one

[Shan_Kmu]

Originally Posted by rkmountain

I could not find team bhp official review for bolero
If someone has the link please share
If there comes an amt for this suv I will grab one

No, Sir, we don't have an official review for OG Bolero in here. BTW, we have one for the new Bolero Neo. Mahindra will never introduce AMT in OG Bolero. Even the TUV 300 had AMT but now the Neo is manual only.

[Shan_Kmu]

Our Bolero went for general service last week. The previous service was done at 68k kms. Now the odo stands at 77k kms. The vehicle is now close to 7 and 1/2 years old.

The amount was rounded off to Rs 6,000.



Few repairs and replacements in the past few days before general service:

1) One of the headlight bulbs failed. These Osram bulbs worked well for 7 years. Anyhow replace both bulbs with Philips H4 Rally Pro.

2) The wiper motor conked off. Armature and winding are replaced and the motor is fixed back. Cost me Rs 2,700

3) Front and rear interior lights were replaced with simple coin-shaped LEDs. Cost me Rs 100 each

Issues found but yet to be fixed (Need your insights please):

1) The horn is not working if the steering is straight/turned to certain angles. The auto electrician checked the wiring and horn, and both are good. He told two possibilities:

a) The brass tip under the steering wheel might have worn off.

b) Even after giving a temporary wire connection at the U joint still the earthing issue persists. May be due to rust at steering U joints. Either we need to remove the steering rod clean the rust and put it back or replace it with a new one.

Also, to check the brass tip, in the electrician's workshop, they tried to remove the steering wheel using a puller, but couldn't do it. Many said in Bolero and Scorpio, the hub might be jammed after certain years so the steering parts could be removed in lathe only. Is that so?

Now after that try, the steering feels a little bit hard and they told me it will be back to its original condition after a few hundred kms. Hope it will be back to normal

2) Uneven wear found on the front tyres' outer side. Alignment and balancing are properly done in 5k kms intervals but still, this happened. As of now the back tyres moved to the front and vice versa. During general service, the mechanic told me to run some more kms and if the wearing comes again, the front suspension will be checked and if needed necessary parts will be replaced. Example image below.



Couldn't take photos of the car/parts/process due phone issue. Will add some in the next post sometime later.

[Shan_Kmu]

Was on the way from Trichy to Kumbakonam last night. Some paan wala must have spitted it from bus/lorry. I noticed it after reaching home only



Gave the car a nice foam wash



Back to it's glory





Both headlight bulbs were changed to Philips Rally Pro after one of the existing Osram bulbs went kaput.



Got a new steering wheel cover from a nearby accessory shop and stitched it. The old one was around for 4 years before it got torn.



Regarding the horn issue mentioned in the previous post, Seems like the earthing problem persists due to rust in the steering joints. Sprayed WD 40 at the joints but still the horn doesn't work at certain degrees. Planning to go to FNG for the next steps. Fingers crossed

Also, the rear door doesn't lock/unlock when using the remote key. Need to check that also. Suspecting the rat's work in this

[Passatman]

Hi! That's a severe case of tyre wear on your Bolero. I will advise you to check the camber alignment immediately as otherwise your tyres will be "eaten up " ! And your costs of engine oil is way too high my friend. You can order 7 ltrs (2 cans) of 15w40 oil of good brands like Mobil for around Rs1500 /- on Amazon etc. Also you can order filters too at much lower prices on Boodmo.
Use a good coolant and distilled water in your radiator to avoid water pump failure.