[Quatro]

i also own a Tata Zest XT - which is shortly due for its first service. I had a few questions:

1. Do you find the blower noise excessively high - my solution has been to keep it at spped 1. Even at level 1, it cools pretty fast - I find it better to opt out of recirculation mode. So off recirculation mode and blower at speed 1 is ideal for comfort. Although sometimes for rear seat passenger, you either move speed to 2 or go back to recirculation mode. Another trick is to blow the air to both face and feet. Trial and error has helped to come to this solution. But it will really help if there is some solution to the issue of blower noise.

2. Second thing is that I find the gear change notchy. Many times while shifting down from 5 to 4, I end up hunting for the slot or sometime end up in 2nd gear. Can this be improved by clutch adjustment?

3. My fuel efficiency is only 8kmpl. I drive a lot in traffic - but still this is way below my expectation. Will this situation improve after the 1st service?

Thanks for your advice / comments.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by Quatro

i also own a Tata Zest XT - which is shortly due for its first service. I had a few questions:

1. Do you find the blower noise excessively high

2. Second thing is that I find the gear change notchy. Many times while shifting down from 5 to 4, I end up hunting for the slot or sometime end up in 2nd gear.

3. My fuel efficiency is only 8kmpl. I drive a lot in traffic - but still this is way below my expectation. Will this situation improve after the 1st service?

1. I don't particularly find blower noise intrusive, at least for fan speed 1. I stick to this speed when I want quiet cabin while 2 or 3 is for fast cooling. Auto mode modulates fan speed fairly well so that the cabin cools down fast and fan slows down when desired temperature is reached.

2. I actually find gear lever sliding (almost slipping unconvincingly) from 3 to 4. The kind of transition from 1 to 2 is missing in 3 to 4. Even my dad found shifting from 5 to 4 difficult. I personally use just a slight force pulling the lever back from 5. This way, gear lever sits in neutral just above 4. Now, I pull the lever back again and it seamlessly slots into 4. I felt that forcing the lever towards left in this scenario reduces the quality of shift.

3. I doubt much can be done in bumper to bumper traffic. However, I observed that staying below 2000 rpm improves efficiency.

[SAE40 in veins]

Originally Posted by Quatro

i also own a Tata Zest XT - which is shortly due for its first service. I had a few questions:

1. Do you find the blower noise excessively high - my solution has been to keep it at spped 1. Even at level 1, it cools pretty fast - I find it better to opt out of recirculation mode. So off recirculation mode and blower at speed 1 is ideal for comfort. Although sometimes for rear seat passenger, you either move speed to 2 or go back to recirculation mode. Another trick is to blow the air to both face and feet. Trial and error has helped to come to this solution. But it will really help if there is some solution to the issue of blower noise.

2. Second thing is that I find the gear change notchy. Many times while shifting down from 5 to 4, I end up hunting for the slot or sometime end up in 2nd gear. Can this be improved by clutch adjustment?

3. My fuel efficiency is only 8kmpl. I drive a lot in traffic - but still this is way below my expectation. Will this situation improve after the 1st service?

Thanks for your advice / comments.

Dear Quatro

1. You are right about the blower but there is a catch. The Zest blower is one of the strongest in speed 1, so effectively it is equivalent to the speed 2 or speed 3 of certain other cars. At speed 2 and 3 almost every car blower starts getting audible.

2. Try two tap shifting when shifting from 5 - 4. Tap the lever to neutral and then tap it again to 4th gear. in this case you do not have to search for the slot. Zest Gear lever is too soft and i personally would have liked slightly stiffer springs so that the feeling of slotting is slightly better. TML may have tried to reduce the efforts and hence would have made it soft. Any ways these are personal preferences.

3.. Looks like your vehicle has run very little. I would suggest that you set the trip meter to 0 and recheck the Fuel Efficiency. A brand new vehicle would have idled a lot in the dealerships, accessory shops and temples so the overall average usually has an additional 'idling' factor in it for the brand new vehicles. Both trip meters will give you the average and i would suggest that you set at least one of them on a daily monitoring basis so that you are accurate in the assessment.

[Quatro]

Thanks KSameer and SAE40.

1. On the blower noise, as I mentioned, by trial and error I have found the settings that are comfortable.

2. Will try out the suggested method of gear change.

3. I am hoping that fuel efficiency will improve after first service. Although it has already run 1500 kms and should have run in by now.

[nirdayitantrik]

For those going in for the first service of their ZEST, I would like to share my experience through a letter of complaint that I had sent to the GM(service) of Oberoi Cars Noida. It does not matter whether you are in Mumbai/Bangalore/Hyderabad/Kolkata, the legacy of TASS is marred with corruption. So, beware..

Hi,

I had purchased a Tata Zest XT(QDJ) from your showroom in February 2015. As per the service schedule, the first service was to be done at 4500 km/3 months, whichever came earlier.

In pursuance of the above, I placed my car in the service queue on 8th April, 2015, at around 12:30 pm. Mr. Vijay Kumar was my service adviser. He gave me an estimated time of delivery(ESToD) of about 4:30 pm in the evening after going through the vehicle and its specifics. He assured me that things will be taken care of in a professional and time bound manner, to which I promptly agreed.

The service issues were as follows:

1. Metallic clank/clattering sound from suspensions when subjected to even minor depressions/potholes. This was different from a previous issue of my then 1 week old Zest, which was a case of a loosely torqued jumping rod of the front left suspension.
2. Headlight beam throw misaligned.
3. Slightly misaligned steering wheel from day one. Left it to be corrected under the first service.
4. Harmon Kardon integrated unit hardware upgrade(added later by the service adviser).

Now, the following events occurred:

1. No call/follow up from him regarding the vehicle throughout the specified period. I had to call him to inquire about the service status at around 3:30 pm.
2. The ESToD was extended by 1 hour, citing an upgrade in the Harmon Kardon integrated unit, which I agreed upon.
3. Again, I called up Mr. Vijay and asked whether the vehicle was ready, to which he said yes and asked me to come and take the vehicle as it was in the final cleaning bay at that time.
4. When I reached, the car was nowhere close to being washed. It took my physical presence to initiate the same.
5. I asked for an explanation and Mr. Vijay seemingly apologized for the above. He also requested me to pardon him for this aberration, which I again accepted.
6. Meanwhile, Mr Vijay gave me the feedback form. I gave him good ratings after our previous conversation. I would regret this later.
7. After this, I moved to the service area and asked him whether the headlight alignment was done or not. The answer was negative and he assured me that it was a 5 min task, to which I again agreed.
8. Now, the final nail in the coffin was a scratch below the handle of the right side passenger door, which infuriated me. Added to this, Mr. Vijay said that it was just a small thing and happens.
9. Grease marks and mud on the lower part of the vehicle were there even after the so called washing. Moreover, the seat cover was dirty and unattended to.
10. The floor mat on the driver's side was kept upside down. I corrected it myself outside the building gate.
11. I finally left the showroom at around 6:38 pm.

Now, I have to say the following:

1. I am an educated and functionally literate person. I also understand that there are some bad/exceptional days for both the customers as well as the service personnel.
2. I watch, listen, analyze and understand each and every activity thoroughly and I always exercise my discretion judiciously.
3. I was planning to buy a Safari Storme from Oberoi Motors Ltd., but now I am forced to reconsider my decision.
4. It is my observation that in the first FREE service, the term "free" is taken as a liability and the same can be seen in the service performance.
5. As for this, despite of the queue of other cars, a first service never consumes 6 hours of time under ordinary circumstances, and my case was strictly ordinary.
6. Constant persuasion to have "Teflon" coating as a part of the marketing/management strategy to boost individual/organizational revenues is condemnable.
7. I am not one of those gullible or bovine customers who could be fooled via marketing gimmicks or be taken for granted, and this is what I wish to convey with utmost conviction.
8. Such practices are not acceptable when Oberoi Motors Ltd., one of the faces of TATA Motors, deviates from the normative and prescribed work culture and service ethics.

My question is that what was my car doing parked in the service area for 6 hours when nothing major had to be done to it? Who will take responsibility for this devious and suspect practice? Who will compensate me for the lost time and resources?

For the time being, I am not contemplating any action to be taken against Mr. Vijay as everyone deserves a second chance. But this is strictly subject to the redressal of my complaint. I empathize with his limitations but refuse to be taken for a ride, which I have already iterated.
I request you to kindly initiate reforms and reorient your personnel to cater to the customer's needs professionally. They require practical and tangible motivation. I also understand that it is easier said than done, but then, it is your duty.

Finally, I expect a prompt reply and redressal of my grievance. I hope I would not be compelled to escalate the matter to the higher echelons.

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Nice suspension. Bad patches were easy.
Lacked power at steep inclines. Had to rev hard in 1st gear.
Was expecting better FE(around 16Kpl). Guys pls comment.

My wife noticed a very funny behavior from the car radio on our way back. At ghats, each time the car would turn at a bend, the radio would start playing a different song from a different radio station. Even though the display keeps showing the same radio station. Take another turn and the first song comes on again. It was very very funny at that time but a serious flaw we look at it in isolation. Has anybody else noticed this in Zest or any other car?

I presume you travelled through mangaon - mahalsa - diveagar. The inclines are pretty steep and more twisty than I had initially anticipated and you can only negotiate them in 1st and some of them may be on 2nd. Was driving a fiesta classic then. Probably one of the steepest ghats in maharashtra.

In my opinion 14 kmpl in a ghat drive is fair average, your average will be lesser if you are covering more distance on lower gears.

On the radio issue, you were probably picking up different stations i.e. Mumbai/Pune broadcasting on the same frequency. You can experience the same just after lonavala on the mumbai pune express way too.

By the way, did you encounter any bounciness on the rear seats - did anyone get car sick on the twisties.

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

I presume you travelled through mangaon - mahalsa - diveagar. The inclines are pretty steep and more twisty than I had initially anticipated and you can only negotiate them in 1st and some of them may be on 2nd. Was driving a fiesta classic then. Probably one of the steepest ghats in maharashtra.

Yes we took the mangaon route. The plain roads barring the MIDC patch at the end of tamhini ghat did not inspire smooth cruising. Have to be on the edge always.

In my opinion 14 kmpl in a ghat drive is fair average, your average will be lesser if you are covering more distance on lower gears.

Yes the ghats are a bit steep to expect nice mileage with 4 on-board+weekend luggage. But the same 4 people rode from Delhi to pune(~1600 kms) last dec even then the MID rarely displayed 16.

On the radio issue, you were probably picking up different stations i.e. Mumbai/Pune broadcasting on the same frequency. You can experience the same just after lonavala on the mumbai pune express way too.

Didn't notice during mumbai trip. Had similar experience during the last trip to lavasa.

By the way, did you encounter any bounciness on the rear seats - did anyone get car sick on the twisties.

My cousin sis made us stop once. In the return journey I gave her anti-vomit pill. Worked wonders Didn't complain about seat comfort. Wifey was fine the whole trip though.

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by nirdayitantrik

For those going in for the first service of their ZEST, I would like to share my experience through a letter of complaint that I had sent to the GM(service) of Oberoi Cars Noida. It does not matter whether you are in Mumbai/Bangalore/Hyderabad/Kolkata, the legacy of TASS is marred with corruption. So, beware..

Have gone through your post and would like to mention that if you are writing to only the Gm of the dealer / service centre , it most likely is not going to help.

The only way to get them take a note is to write to Tata motors directly.
Hope you get a fair listening and required correction from them.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by nirdayitantrik

[b]
6. Meanwhile, Mr Vijay gave me the feedback form. I gave him good ratings after our previous conversation. I would regret this later.

You had your chance and you gave it up very easily. You could have saved yourself from writing a longish mail if the feedback form was filled up correctly. I would never do this after discovering that the works are still incomplete.

[nirdayitantrik]

Originally Posted by madhu33

Have gone through your post and would like to mention that if you are writing to only the Gm of the dealer / service centre , it most likely is not going to help.

The only way to get them take a note is to write to Tata motors directly.
Hope you get a fair listening and required correction from them.

I made the TASS personnel run around like kindergarten kids, which they deserved. I deliberately did not mail TML. On the other hand, I had received a call from TML Hyderabad for a survey, in which I happily down rated the TASS and lodged a complaint against them.

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

You had your chance and you gave it up very easily. You could have saved yourself from writing a longish mail if the feedback form was filled up correctly. I would never do this after discovering that the works are still incomplete.

Yes you are right that I had my chance, but I deliberately chose not to avail it during the first instance, if you read carefully, out of empathy for the SA and which up till that time was tolerable. I did not expect the washing part to be such a big deal. So I did not consider it while rating the SA, which was done at a time when my delivery was about to be done. The scratch in my opinion was the byproduct of an incompetent washer man/mechanic. About the other things, I wrote the letter for the purpose of record. I usually do not get bothered by such issues, but what infuriated me was the freewheeling of the TASS. I hope that we all learn from this misadventure of sorts and save some valuable time and resource.

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[fuelinmyveins]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Congratulations on your Zest! It surely is a nice car

Even I had notchy gear shifts during reverse gear engage. I got it addressed immediately. The service advisor mentioned that he did some minor clutch adjustment. Post that, all my gear engagements are butter smooth.
He also said that some Revotron vehicles come with minor clutch adjustment issues.

Got a call from TASS center near my place and had place an appointment for the very next day.

Was a bit late but was surpirsed to recieve a reminder call. They offered to collect the car from my place but I preffered to drive it down personally.

The designated service advisor met me at the gate and I showed him the problem. The problem diagnosed was exactly what you had mentioned in your post. He made adjustment to the clutch pedal and voila!!! the gearshit is now buttery smooth.
Still he got me to sign a form which mentioned that the car will be under observation for a week.

Got a follow up call and message from TATA customer care with in half an hour. All in all I'm staisfied with the experience.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by fuelinmyveins

He made adjustment to the clutch pedal and voila!!! the gearshit is now buttery smooth.


Got a follow up call and message from TATA customer care with in half an hour. All in all I'm staisfied with the experience.

Glad to hear your problem is addressed.

In fact, I've been pretty happy with Tata after sales service quality. I have personally not seen any major differences between Maruti and Tata after sales service quality levels.
I have only heard from people on these forums that they are bad.

I hope Tata Motors improves their perception!

Also, I had a long and detailed survey call from J D Power regarding my Zest purchase experience.
The call lasted almost 15-20 minutes!

[balajisv]

The service advisor today morning suggested me that the fuel economy would get better after 5000 kms of drive. I have driven 2200 kms till now.

I currently manage to get 8-10 kmpl in Bangalore city traffic and around 12-13 kmpl in Highway drives (With light foot, speeds under 80 kmph)

Is this true? Can the experts throw some light?

[perty]

My daily drive in my Zest XMS RT, is for 50kms though BLR city traffic, almost completely in Eco mode, with AC being on 25% of the time.
The car has done ~2000km in a month and a half.
I find the Eco mode good for mileage and ease of driving in city conditions due to the muted throttle response.
If I switch to City or Sports mode in city traffic, I need to be very quick in hitting the brake as very often some or the other auto/2-wheeler cuts across into the smallest of open spaces in front of me, forcing me to slow down just when I had pressed the throttle to move ahead and occupy the same open space.
Eco mode gives me more time to react and makes the drive less stressful. The acceleration provided in Eco mode is adequate for city traffic conditions.
When there is a real need to get a better throttle response (for ex, when climbing an incline) I quickly switch to Sports mode and the car zooms ahead.
The need/opportunity for Sports mode, however, is very limited in the conditions where I drive.

Mileage so far after ~2000 km of driving reads 13 kmpl on the indicator.
When I first got the car, the indicator showed 8kmpl (which seems to be a factory default/reset value).
This figure increased as the car did more kilometers and as of today it is hovering around the 13 kmpl mark and doesn't seem to be increasing beyond that.
Nevertheless, I still measure FE based on the tank full to tank full method, which also yields an FE of 13-14 kmpl.

As suggested by one of the other members on this thread, up shifting earlier helps in increasing mileage.
Earlier, I used to follow the gear shift indicator on the MID to shift gears.
Now, I up-shift to 3rd gear soon after crossing 20 kmph. The up-shift to 4th happens around 35 kmph. This maintains engine RPM around the 1000 mark.
I noticed that the display does not tell me to downshift at these speeds and the instantaneous FE indicator goes well past the halfway mark.
Coasting at 35-45 kmph in 4th gear seems to be the healthiest for FE.

The SA at the showroom also mentioned that once the vehicle has run for more than 5000 km, the engine will have properly 'settled in' and will yield better FE, so I would look out for it over the next couple of months.

[balajisv]

Hi Perty, thanks much for the detailed information.
On the contrary, I drive mostly in City mode and use Sports mode for sudden bursts of power.
Eco mode is very sluggish and usually tests my patience! The mode requires the accelerator pedal to be floored hard to move ahead! And this action drives the FE meter to drop to its lowest level!

I will try to use Eco mode more frequently and try to up shift gears quickly. I shall check my FE with this procedure.

On the Zest owners Facebook page, I'm really surprised to see people posting 18-20 kmpl FE for their Revotrons!!