[KTM_aravind]

Originally Posted by dextertuned

Hi Guys,

I had booked my nano XT from Aadya Motors (Ebony Automobiles) and so far it has been a nightmare. I'm yet to receive the car. The last two cars that I was provided had more that 200 KMs on the ODO and were more than 8 months old.

Very sad to hear that! The staff at various tata dealerships are unpredictable I guess! I hope your buying decision hasn't changed because of this experience.

[smiddela]

My Tata Nano XTA (AMT) has been wonderful UNTIL THIS HAPPENED!!

We had been have a blissful experience driving nano in the congested Bangalore traffic from HSR to Marathalli. Nano is a breeze to drive in my neighbourhood where I reside which is full of narrow roads, sharp turns and a high number of potholes. Me and my wife at least once a week feel proud of the decision we made when we bought our Nano. I am still saying it is a wonderful car though bad luck somehow found a way to pick me this time. We bought my Nano AMT in June 2015 and did 3000 km on the odo. Our average daily commute is around 30KM.

Last week when I was going to drop my son at his school, suddenly out of the blue my Nano AMT started behaving erratically. It would frequently autoshift from 1st gear to N (Neutral). I had to put it back to N and back to A (Auto) mode to continue. Then after another 30 secs of driving it would go back to Neutral again but this time directly from 2nd gear (to N). I did the same iteration - I put it back to N and then back to Auto - then the gear was fine for another 30 secs or 1 min after which it again went back to Neutral. Switching the ignition on/off also did not fix the problem and this is the time I realized that my Auto AMT box was in deep trouble. This kept happening again and again and after 10 mins of this back and forth I reached my son's school.

I dropped my son and now I wanted to reverse my car - arrrgrrh... my AMT would not allow me to do that. It would keep switching back to N when I put it in R (Reverse). Then after 4 or 5 attempts it would finally shift to R. I would reverse the car and then with great difficulty reach my home after creating havoc near traffic signals, speed breakers and turns giving sudden surprises whoever was behind me. My Nano would keep shifting to Neutral and I would keep putting it back into Auto mode to continue driving.
Finally when I reached home my heart was not able to digest the fact that the car we admired so much was giving this problem so early in its life. I am sure that this is a case where bad luck had to find someone and it found me. It could be a one off case and at this point I would not want to point any fingers on Tata Motors who have done such a wonderful making this car. It could be a minor software glitch which they could fix easily or if it is a one in ten thousand case of an unfortunate defective piece ending up in my car. Whatever the case, I expect them to fix it quickly and dont give rubbish explanations on why they cannot fix it. However, it is in warranty, so I am guessing I am fine. Anyway I have the power of team-bhp and the social networking at my dispoal to screw them if they play games with me.

I have given my car at Prerana Motors (near Kudlu gate, Bangalore) for fixing this issue on Friday, Dec 18, 2015. They have told me that this is first such complaint regarding this problem and they will have to talk to some senior engineers in the Pune plant to get this AMT issue fixed. I have found the status on Sunday and they informed me that Pune plant engineers are aware of the problem and somebody is coming down to look at the issue. I hope this is true and is not told just to keep me happy. I hope this issue gets fixed soon because we need our Nano to keep driving effortlessly in this crazy city traffic.

After all this has happened I believe that this could be one off case and I would still recommend a Tata Nano AMT to solve their city traffic woes

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by smiddela

My Tata Nano XTA (AMT) has been wonderful UNTIL THIS HAPPENED!!

We had been have a blissful experience driving nano...

After all this has happened I believe that this could be one off case and I would still recommend a Tata Nano AMT to solve their city traffic woes

Don't worry. This looks like minor sensor signal mismatch glitch.
They will probably replace some sensor and give it back to you.

Keeping fingers crossed though.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by smiddela

My Tata Nano XTA (AMT) has been wonderful UNTIL THIS HAPPENED!!
After all this has happened I believe that this could be one off case and I would still recommend a Tata Nano AMT to solve their city traffic woes

I am extremely shocked to hear about this issue because mine has been working like a charm till now and I am handing it over to my wife soon. She will be clueless on what to do if something like this happens in the middle of traffic. Anyway looks like the levers are stuck so that the clutch is not releasing. They will probably replace the AMT unit for you or replace the clutch. The main problem here being that none of the guys in TASS are knowledgeable about the AMT and its working.

But I am interested to know if the gear malfunction warning lamp illuminated on the console while this happened?

Originally Posted by deltheking

You mention the car is good except for the usual tata niggles - so would something like these issues be specific only to Tata or would a Maruti have no such issues at all.

Based on your post - it appears that Tata does not give too many problems when parts have to be replaced under warranty. Or do you have to fight tooth and nail with them to fix them under warranty ?

And you said you had some issues driving it in the steep incline ghats. My main concern here is - how the Nano pefrforms when it has to come up from the basement parking lots at the malls or movie theaters etc. Some of those are pretty steep and for a manual car you have to use 1st gear - how does the amt perform here ? Is it adequate or does it struggle to come up ?

Maruti is/was no better in my case. Presently I own a Ciaz ZDi and it had a defective clutch from the first day. I had to get it replaced under warranty during the 1000km service. Moreover the feeling of quality comparable to the level of price is absent in the car. It could be a stray case for me but this was my second Maruti. The first was a Baleno VXi which had its power steering replaced twice under warranty quite soon due to a rattling noise. Compared to TATA the Maruti problems are really heavy but they get solved once fixed. Its just like you buy the car and then you analyse it and fix all the defects like people used to do in olden day Ambys. In TATA small issues like this failing and that failing keep coming up endlessly but nothing to keep you off the road as such. My experience with Hyundai has been the best with my i20 CRDi not visiting the service even once for anything apart from routine in 30000 kms till now.

Usually TATA does not give any problems honouring warranty. But for me this time about the cracks on headlight they say that it could be the reason of objects hitting it or people leaning and pressing it. Now it is up to me to prove that these are not the reasons for the cracks. Other malfunctions they go right ahead and fix it FOC. I have never encountered a clutch or suspension problem till now that needed to be fixed in warranty. Of course this could be a different story at any Authorized Service Centre!

Real steep slopes are definitely a problem with the AMT. If you happen to stop midway of an extra steep slope it is better to roll back down and build momentum back up. But the usual shopping mall slopes are not a problem. It will be a problem only if you encounter one of those basement parkings with short and steep ramp like exit.

[smiddela]

Originally Posted by alphahere

But I am interested to know if the gear malfunction warning lamp illuminated on the console while this happened?

Yes, an orange exclamation mark on the left side of the console illuminated. I am not sure if the indication is for this problem. But I noticed it for the first time when this problem started happening.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by smiddela

Yes, an orange exclamation mark on the left side of the console illuminated. I am not sure if the indication is for this problem. But I noticed it for the first time when this problem started happening.

The exclamation mark inside a toothed wheel orange light is an indication of fault in AMT. An error code would have been logged and stored in the TCU when this light illuminates. You could have asked them to use their computer and scan for the code and tell you what is the description of the error. It would have set your mind at peace that you know what the problem is rather than being in the dark about it.

But we don't even know if they have the updated software and equipment to scan the AMT unit because not all service centres are as updated. But I do know that Concorde Kudlu Gate has the equipment. Please do keep us updated on the progress and what they do to solve the issue. Hope it is resolved soon and satisfactorily.

[smiddela]

Originally Posted by alphahere

The exclamation mark inside a toothed wheel orange light is an indication of fault in AMT.

========= Hope it is resolved soon and satisfactorily.

Yes, the exclamation was inside the toothed wheel.

Thanks for the suggestion about the TCU. I will check with them if they have done their preliminary debugging.

I gave the Nano in Prerana Kudlu Gate. I will keep you posted.

[KTM_aravind]

Originally Posted by smiddela

My Tata Nano XTA (AMT) has been wonderful UNTIL THIS HAPPENED!!

After all this has happened I believe that this could be one off case and I would still recommend a Tata Nano AMT to solve their city traffic woes

Very sad to hear this issue! I had occasional stuck in one mode issues of the gear was not switched by applying the brake. But can be fixed after a few back and forth changes with proper brake application while changing.

But yours seems to be bigger issue. But could be a switch that is malfunctioning, which checks the brake position to valid a proper mode change.

You could visit the service station when the engineer from Pune arrives. That would help us all get an insight into the problem.

[smiddela]

Originally Posted by KTM_aravind

But yours seems to be bigger issue. But could be a switch that is malfunctioning, which checks the brake position to valid a proper mode change.

The shifts happen when the vehicle is in motion, so I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with application of brake.

[smiddela]

Originally Posted by smiddela

Thanks for the suggestion about the TCU. I will check with them if they have done their preliminary debugging.

I checked with the service center folks today. They conveyed that they have done the preliminary debugging wrt to the TCU. It seems they have connected it to their software and found a defective part inside the transmission unit that is not behaving accordingly. The service person couldn't recollect what part it was. He said he will check and get back to me.

The message from pune was that they will send a new part. At the same time they want to come down and check what happened and why it happened.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by smiddela

It seems they have connected it to their software and found a defective part inside the transmission unit that is not behaving accordingly.

Originally Posted by smiddela

The shifts happen when the vehicle is in motion, so I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with application of brake.

Good to know that they have identified the problem. In all probability some connecting lever or actuator that actuates the clutch must have bent or slipped off or broken. Hence the problem in shifting gears is amplified when stationary. Will be a simple fix when they get the new part provided the troublesome part is not located inside the AMT unit. From what they say it seems to be located outside. I really do not feel that TASS guys are qualified enough to repair the hydraulics inside the AMT unit. In case they are planning to do something like that suggest you to make a noise and get the unit replaced as a whole. But am super impressed by the way they have diagnosed and proceeding with your problem. Based on your outcome they just might get a new customer. Me!

[nobetterID]

I drove the Nano for about a 30 km stretch this weekend. Traffic was normal on the road and not the stop-and-go kind that Bangalore is known for. The avg fuel efficiency I got was 14.5 kmpl

About the brakes, as others have mentioned on this thread, once you get used to them (and it would take a couple of days) it's not as big a deal as it seems like on Day 1. Make no mistake, the brakes could have been much better but you certainly learn to use them better as and when you keep driving.

For the ones who have driven a Maruti Omni; I get the same feeling I used to get when I used to drive one (about 15 years back). You are seated very high, the is no "Bonnet" ahead of you. The way the steering is positioned is also very similar to what it is in a Maruti Omni Van.

One thing I have felt is that the steering wheel is very light. My wife's finding it tough to adjust to the short turning radius when reversing the vehicle. The steering wheel does not "auto-correct" if you loosen the grip on it when you are making a turn.
I think that for first time drivers it just needs a little bit of time as the car is really easy to drive in the city.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by nobetterID

The steering wheel does not "auto-correct" if you loosen the grip on it when you are making a turn.
I think that for first time drivers it just needs a little bit of time as the car is really easy to drive in the city.

There is a feature for auto return to centre if you leave the wheel. To get it working you have to exceed 40kmph speed at least once after switching on the engine. Now try taking a U turn at whatever speed you want. It will auto centre. And yeah each time you switch off and restart the same thing needs to be done to get it working.
When you exceed 40kmph and the auto center feature gets enabled you can feel a slight tug on the steering wheel. In tata terms it is called Active Return.

[john doe]

Originally Posted by smiddela

my Nano AMTwould frequently autoshift from 1st gear to N (Neutral). I had to put it back to N and back to A (Auto) mode to continue

My 1st thought when I read this: did you try driving and selecting the gears manually? Have I understood this correctly in that you only used the Automatic part of the gearbox?

[sairamboko]

Has anyone used their manual variant of Nano on ghat roads, especially Tirupati to Tirumala ghat roads? Will it get the job done?