A quick update after 5200+ kms
I haven't yet had time to compose a full ownership review of our Hexa XT 4x2 yet, so I will share a few more thoughts here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rshnvjy Hexa XT 4x2 7-seater, 2500+kms and 24 days on.. |
Above is the link to my first quick impressions review, posted on this same thread.
I also hope that guys from Tata Motors are reading this thread thoroughly as I would also like to share a terrible experience here which will hopefully be taken as a strict learning experience in order to improve service and maintenance quality standards.
I'll break the post down into multiple points, as done earlier.
1. A 2000+ km journey to Hampi and Badami
We undertook this long journey with a full load of 6 passengers plus a huge load of bags and the car performed remarkably. Most of the places we visited in Karnataka had rather good roads, however, there were a few patches where the roads were broken and rough for kilometres at a stretch. We also had to maintain an average speed in order to stick to our rigorous 6 day schedule, so the car really took up all the beating, the brilliant suspension absorbing all the bad patches and keeping us occupants cocooned in utmost climate controlled comfort. We covered total round-trip distance in just 6 days, which, if you consider the fact that the car is practically brand new (and that most of those kilometres weren't gentle or on smooth roads), is a remarkable achievement which would stand as a proud feather on the cap of the mechanical reliability of this machine.
2. Woes with Harman's infotainment system, again
Midway through our tour of Hampi, after driving over a particularly bad stretch of road, the infotainment system abruptly stopped working. It turned off completely showing a complete blank screen. Restarting the vehicle did not help. When we stopped for lunch, dad suggested that perhaps the fuse for the system might have come loose. I tried locating the fuse box (which I thought was below the steering column, on the right side) and pressing all the fuses in. Surprisingly, this worked and we moved on until we hit another bad stretch of road where the system stopped working again. This went on for many kilometres until finally no amount of pressing or tightening the alleged fuse box would result in the system turning back on. We theorised that, previously, when the ICE was replaced due to the issue mentioned on my previous post, the techs at Hyson Motors, Thrissur, our local Tata dealer, must've forgotten to put the cover to the fuse box back on causing the fuses to rattle loose during the arduous and extremely uncomfortable roads we faced in Karnataka.
After we got back to Thrissur on Friday (30th July), we decided to visit the service center the next day in order to find out what could be causing this problem. The supervisor who handled our case seemed rather arrogant and did not fully understand the problem. The car was troubleshooted for almost 2 hours before being given back to us. We were told that the culprit was an SD card of songs we had in the system. They told us that the card was possibly affected by a virus (which is ridiculous as it was a brand new SanDisk SD card, formatted on macOS by us before loading songs onto it). We believed them anyway, thinking it might not have been a virus, rather, some corruption of the file system of the SD card (which may have happened anyway on SD cards, they happen on camera SD cards sometimes and we have experience with that). They also told us that the box on the right of the steering column is not a fuse box, but are just relays. We checked a TD car, and it did not have the aforementioned cover on it either. We were mistaken about that.
When we got back in the car, the ICE worked well and I put in another SD card containing a different collection of songs and all was well. However, while cleaning the car today (Sunday) at our home, the infotainment system abruptly turned off again. I removed the SD card and turned the engine off and back on and similar to how it was before, there was absolutely no response from the system. There was also no power at the front USB port, indicating an electrical supply issue, either with a fuse or relay box. It was definitely not an SD card issue. There is simply no chance a small embedded system such as this ConnectNext system (running a custom version of Linux, moreover) could be affected by some random virus off a clean formatted SD card. If the card is corrupted, it should simply stop reading and not malfunction or crash and take out critical components such as the rear parking sensor and camera display (which also works in sync with the infotainment system). We are now waiting to go to the dealer tomorrow to sort this out once and for all and also to give them an ultimatum regarding their quality of service.
During the previous issue, the whole infotainment unit had to be replaced and for that the service techs had used a metal screwdriver in order to pry open the bezel surrounding the head unit. You can see a small dent at the bottom left corner of the bezel. This time, despite us warning them to be careful to not damage the surrounding plastic, they did the same thing again, albeit with a lot more shoddiness and a lot less care, resulting in the larger piece of damage that you can see above. 3. My advice to potential Hexa owners
I would recommend anyone considering to buy the Hexa to go right ahead with the decision. But, at the same time, make sure you do so from a dealer who is ready to give you the right treatment, worthy of someone who just shelled out 20 lakhs for a very well engineered, solid and reliable product.
I reiterate, mechanically, the car is absolutely solid. It passed with flying colours considering the constant kilometres of abuse we subjected it to. The engine is an absolute gem, every interior part is solidly put together, it seated 6 people in utmost comfort, and even the ICE unit is very intuitive. The roads we subjected it to probably had that negative effect on the electrical system, even if it was a minor one. I am confident that it's just a failed relay or fuse and the fault can be diagnosed and solved in a matter of minutes (if handled by a competent person, unlike the ones at Hyson Motors, Thrissur).
But, if you are going to buy a Hexa, demand better service. You have the right to do it. Demand that you be treated like an intelligent person rather than blaming all fault on the customer's so-called 'virus-ridden' SD card. Tata needs to improve service and customer care, there is no doubt about this and I have already written to their customer care email and gotten a reply. I also intend to escalate this issue to the regional service manager. But, as a customer, we have the right to demand the best service experience we can possibly get and doing this is the only way Tata can improve and survive.
In conclusion, yes I am indeed naming and shaming Hyson Motors, Thrissur for their incompetency and lack of professionalism shown towards a valuable customer, not having properly trained technicians or tools for opening a plastic bezel without damage (using a metal screwdriver instead of using a plastic spudger), for dirtying the grab handles on the roof and the roof lining despite previous warnings (we had to take it to them twice to get it cleaned), and Tata Motors for putting up with such insincere and non-committed dealers. If anyone from Tata is reading this, please take note; your engineering team is perfect. Keep building these great cars. Fire all these worthless dealers and aim for a level of service surpassing even Toyota's. Only then, will you succeed in the cut-throat Indian automotive market. Else, be prepared to pack up and stop.