[CA Dhruv]

Originally Posted by GTO

Please avoid, I'm a big fan of Rogerab for cars like the Civic, City etc. which have ground clearance issues on speed-breakers. But for something like the Thar, they are a complete waste of money. Don't mess with stock. In the rare event that you do, get something from a reputable vendor like AVO (although frankly, the 2023 Thars have very liveable suspensions).

Have got a sep'22 manufactured model, so would have the same stock setup as yours had. Was thinking about rogerab just to get more highway stability.

Couldn't find any information about proman spacers on the forum, would love to know your views about using them on stock thar tyres for better lateral stability.

[slumdawg]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Driving from Madras to Bangalore nowadays is like an off road rally track. Luckily I was in my Thar (WRONGLER) today and honestly I was able to just ‘send it’ over all those rough patches and potholes and corrugations without a care in the world. Nothing quote like the confidence the Thar is able to inspire. It is really no wonder that India and Indians are crazy about SUV’s.

Shankar sir - What is the grill you have on there? It looks matte and the mesh looks great too. I got myself a prad4x4 Wrangler grill, the mesh is completely rusted and is an eyes ore.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by slumdawg

Shankar sir - What is the grill you have on there? It looks matte and the mesh looks great too. I got myself a prad4x4 Wrangler grill, the mesh is completely rusted and is an eyes ore.

Bimbra FRP grill (WRONGLER JL design). Metal mesh as backing.
Comes as a set. 10K cost.

[sgmuser]

It is been very eventful with Thar lately. First, a lady driver crossed my Thar in a narrow lane. She was very nervous about her left side as there was a open drainage. So, I stopped completely and waited for her to cross. She crossed 99% and then somehow she pulled my rear wheel mud guard outer beading out and broke it. She was so fast once she knew she did hit my car. Did not even stop.

Secondly, within two weeks of this, a biker hit the left side rear reflector while my driver was driving and the impact pushed the whole reflector assembly inside and broke. I had ordered the required stuff with Mahindra dealer in Chennai (Godalaya Guindy). They are very reasonable and told me that they will order the broken part and not the whole set.

Then, take a deep breath and it is going to be an interesting story ahead!

I reside in Chennai for the last few months due to my child's college and slowly transitioned to my home town. On the week of michaung, I was out of home and returned at around 8 that in the evening. It was raining heavily throughout the day but nothing extraordinary, at least it looked like and no one pressed any panic button. So, I thought this is manageable. Water was flowing on the road up to 5-6 inches. Also, I saw the water over flowing to our street from the neighbouring streets. By night, I again came out and I saw the level going up already. Took some photos, videos and shared with the local association people and told them that I am not so comfortable but the optimistic side said 2015 isn't going to happen again. Went to bed but by 4.30 am I woke up and felt like checking out. Went downstairs and to my horror the level was at around 3 ft. Immediately pulled the sacks of mud which we purchased for gardening, cement and m-sand bags which were left overs from some other work. I put them against the ground floor door. My building is a 3 floor including ground. Usually, not many build a ground floor in Chennai due to these floods. But, I somehow did this design where going up for my aged parents will be difficult so, lets take a chance. So, I just built a ground floor area containing two bedrooms and a small kitchen, the staircase connect to the first floor. Back to the preparation again. From inside I put some plastics sheet to slow the water leaking inside, if it goes up by another 2-3 ft to reach my door level. The road to my car park is approximately 3-4 feet hight, then another one feet to my door level. So, I rushed to find some aluminium foil papers and plastic covers, cables to close the silencer of my X1 and the Thar.

By lunch water went up further and reached the edge of car park. Moved the Thar diagonally to delay the water accessing the car. By evening at around 6 the water started slowly reaching the door level but the leak still took time. But to my surprise water started to come out of drain holes in bath room in the ground floor. Within few more minutes I saw the water leaking through the front door itself. By this time, I moved the sofas and things like these which can get spoiled in water to higher level like the dining table. Told my family to take things up to 4 feet and put on higher cupboards. I called the tenants to help me move the 85 inch TV to 1st floor and the heavy duty inverter on the steps. Out of the 6 flats in my apartment, 2 I kept for my use and the 4 occupied by tenants but only two families were there while the other two were away.

We just prayed and hope for positive things to happen. My wife is a strong believer and she prayed to her favorite deity that this should stop. Water inside the ground floor went up by 2 inches approx. By the evening we could not go out to the car park as the water was around 1 feet and worried that snakes kind of stuff might be crawling here and there. No power so no visibility. Then by night the rain just stopped. It was an eerily night of silence and no sound nothing. Very unusual and an experience I have NEVER seen my entire life except when I was at around 5 years old when we faced a cyclone in 1978 which I just remember vaguely. But this time it's completely different. I wasn't scared but worried about the BMW in the park and Thar not much. Thar can withstand but X1 may not if the rains return. But God's grace the rain stopped so abruptly and I felt like our prayers or probably my wife's were answered. Nearby apartment tenants were doing a Bhajan for almost two hours. Theirs too answered I felt like.

The water outside started to subside slowly but consistently. By 2 pm next day water receded by almost 12-15 inches looking at the marks on the walls. Water level at my car park also receded below the slope by almost 8 inches. But the gate was half submerged. This means the water is at 3-4 ft for sure and in some places even 5 ft due to road undulations.

Sunday night rain started, Monday night, Tuesday night and now it is Wednesday around lunch time. We spent this whole day inside the home. Once in a while we went up to see the status around and check if any help was being sent. NOTHING! Horrible! No one came - state or central.

I started to contemplate of using Thar to get out by the next day morning if the level goes down even another a feet or so. But my wife was not confident on my driving skills. This is the insult of my life. She said she didn't want to take risk. By this time just one volunteer came asking if anyone wants to leave in inflated rubber dinghy. Some people left and some people started to walk in hip high water. One of the person who was helping with this rubber boat stopped and said why you're waiting and Bolero can easily traverse this water, Thar should just walk as if nothing happened. Do not worry if you get stuck we can help you to pull out the car. I asked two three four fives times again and again. He was damn sure. My only worry was the occasional deep ditches which can increase the water level mid way. But he gave confidence. Also he scared us that only few left here, everyone gone, you don't want to be alone here. My wife was scared to the core now. We never stayed in Chennai so far as a family. This is something beyond our comprehension! She pleaded to the rescuer if he can drive us out. This is the peak of the insult to an auto enthusiast - me! Wife not believing you, after driving you half a million kms around the world. I said nothing and this is not the time to test our driving skills. Family safety is paramount. Anyway safe way out is the goal and we all agreed.

We packed our bags. I planned to move the car so that once I go down and straight pedal to metal up to the edge of the street. We reversed and kept the straight and started pushing. My family started uttered all kinds of prayers they know. This driver was full throttle making big waves in that 24 feet wide street. We crossed approximately 200 meters to reach the edge of out street and we climbed up. The water level gone down by another feet or so once we went up. He kept driving for another 2 minutes and there is nothing on the road to our shock. No water. Nothing. We could not believe our eyes. So, the geography phenomena is simple that all these 15 or so streets and the adjacent streets kept on receiving the flood water but there is no way to push this water towards the sea as there was this big roads cutting the once lake or wetlands.

The water stagnation happened in these streets heavily as these streets acted as storage and as outlet is not built and completed yet. It is been a year since they started to build it but not much progress made. Even with the built drain I don't think we would survive the amount of rain we received in 24 hours. It was around 80+ cms of rain in less than one and half day, as per the reports.

One of my tenant walked carrying his kid on his shoulder with his wife carrying the bag in her head. One of my tenant stayed back as they were 5 of them. We gave all our food stuff and water bottles to them before we left.

Then, once we we reached the dry roads we thanked the person who drove us out. We searched for hotels and nothing was free. We went to our close friend's house and kids had some good food after almost 3 days. It was an experience for all of us and unforgettable one at that.

Next day after the day I left, I came back in Thar and the water was down by another one and half a feet. This time I brought some relief materials like water cans, food, fruits, dosa batter etc. to some old aged families who decided to stay back due to the health issues. They kept on posting messages for help. The next day, i.e. Friday, the water receded completely when I returned again. Things started to become little bit more reasonable. After 3 days we returned to our home after I did complete cleaning, washing of the entire ground level area.

Finally, these governments failed miserably. From the first hand experience PoV, I pay all the taxes promptly. Yes it is a natural calamity. But after the rain stopped, the support system did not do anything for 3 full days. As a citizen, I should get help and support ASAP from the government once the calamity stops. But both central and state governments FAILED pathetically. Especially, the Central government with all its might like naval/air power, they should have jumped and helped. We felt we were not that much worth. From NDRF, one guy with a stick (yes, just a stick) came on 3rd day in the hip level water. I asked him what he is doing and he said he is trying to assess the situation. One helicopter dropped something in one house and then disappeared. One helicopter did some rounds and disappeared. I could not see even one NDRF vehicle or state DR vehicle or people coming into the streets to provide help. Few volunteers came and distributed some food stuff.

It is a great lesson that do not keep high hope on Indian system. This is a failed system (due to various reasons like corruption, population, economy etc.) and this system can not meet even 10% of what an European nation for e.g. can do for its citizen. People life is nothing in Indian context. It is just a number. Forget about the sufferings like this, this is nothing and move on. People make so many blunders and this is also one reason. The development of Chennai happened on wetlands, lakes and paddy cultivating lands. This geography is completely overlooked. Nature takes its preferred route and destroys whatever on its way if need arises. It is our system which is corrupted and the people who cause these disaster. The system should check all these promptly and stop this nonsense but it failed. For e.g. I can build a hut anywhere I want and get electricity by bribing the EB people. Imagine a big builder or a politician or a big industrialist trying to build something in a lake or a protected area. He can give multiple crores to get this done! FYI, I came to know that, there are 3 big private universities built on lakes (SRM is one and two more I heard) in outer area of Chennai. Finally, the lesson learnt is that, do not live in ground floor in Chennai - in any part of Chennai. Even if I stay in first floor if the street is flooded for 3-4 days what I will do? (my mind asks!)

I know I went overboard with my frustrations but hey, this is not something I go through every now and then which I could get used to it.

Edited: My family adored Thar as it was our saviour that day. They gave this guy, my Thar a new name now! He is being called Theri (it is a name of the Vijay movie but the meaning of the word is - it is a blast - now onwards! Thar the saviour!

[shankar.balan]

My Thar (WRONGLER) crossed 28,000kms. So I went and got the 30,000kms servicing done.

We changed the engine oils and the differential pils both front and rear. The engine oil had done 10000kms and one could get the faint burnt smell. It was a rich brown in colour when drained. The front diff oil was still golden but we changed it anyway. The rear diff oil was a rich brown when drained.
The Engine oil being used by the Authorised Service centre is from Valvoline Cummins but the grade is not mentioned. This is the proprietary Mahindra oil and is the updated fully synthetic Maximile V4 which they said is specially recommended for BS6 petrol Vehicles. The diff oil is the same as what Ive used earlier.

We topped up the coolant and changed the oil filter and air filter and the cabin filter all of which were reasonably dirty.

We inspected the brakes and I am amazed at the testimony to Mahindra’s Tough engineering (and I think I ll also take some credit for my driving and preserving my Thar). The rear drum brake shoes needed a quick clean and a light sandpaper. The front disc rotors are not scored and stepped. And the brake pads still have another 5000kms life in them despite having done 28000 already. But I changed them all the same and kept the old ones as spares. We bled the brakes and topped up with Dot4 Fluid.

Since the vehicle was on the two-post lift, I took the opportunity to soften my AVO rear suspension by one more click on each side. This, coupled with the 28psi tyre pressure that I use, has softened the ride more. Im comfortable with this.

They then did an EMS (Engine Management System) update using the laptop. The total cost of servicing was 13600/- and this was only because I chose to proactively change the Brake Pads in advance of the actual need and the fact that every annual service I make it a practice to drain and change the differential oils both front and rear whether the service manual mandates it or not. Else the cost would have been no more than 8000 or so. The vehicle is absolutely butter smooth and the engine is so noiseless and silent and I am seriously thinking I should keep it for some more time.
All said and done, the Mahindra Thar Petrol AT is an absolutely fantastic vehicle. Full marks for Mahindra’s Engineering and for Sireesh Auto’s Servicing. Their GM Anil, Service Advisor Vinoth, Mechanics Suresh and Chandran are all excellent people. I enjoy spending time at the workshop on the shop floor along with the mechanics and it is a pleasure getting my vehicle attended to by such good people. They are no-nonsense and professional and knowledgeable too and I appreciate this a lot.

[sandeeprawat]

Finally got my Thar this friday and already took it for ~800 KM drive. Loving the vehicle, kids didn't hate the backseat and totally enjoying the experience. I may have driven it too hard a few times and reached the highway legal speed limits which in the hindsight I should have avoided during run-in period though I really feel this is just a myth. New Vehicle I hope do get stress tested in factory so shouldn't really matter (finger crossed )

Looking for suggestions on what dashcam to fit in the car and how best to avoid dangling wires without impacting warranty or reliability of the car.
What's the best place to fit rear camera in a convertible? Already got Mahindra rear camera installed so I prefer if DVR can use either existing Mahindra rear cam or else would install a new one along with Front dashcam.

[Tourer]

The rear defogger stopped working since a few days. Noticed today that on pressing the rear defogger button lound clunking noise lasting apprx a minute come from front left side (dashboard area). Mine is a 2021 manufactured D LX AT. Not sure if anyone else faced this niggle.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by Tourer

Noticed today that on pressing the rear defogger button lound clunking noise lasting apprx a minute come from front left side (dashboard area).

Was taking my car for a very short spin in the morning. I didn't use the defogger but the same noise came post switching the car off. Not sure now if it related to the defogger. Got an appointment for monday to get this checked at the service center.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Tourer

The rear defogger stopped working since a few days. Noticed today that on pressing the rear defogger button lound clunking noise lasting apprx a minute come from front left side (dashboard area). Mine is a 2021 manufactured D LX AT. Not sure if anyone else faced this niggle.

That's your rear defogger relay gone kaput. Take it to the ASC for replacement of the same.

[alabjarus]

Been eyeing the Thar for a while now; since the gen-1 Thar actually, and thinking of taking the plunge in 2024.

Can Thar owners in Bangalore suggest a reliable aftermarket accessory store here pls. I plan to replace the bumper, headlights (both ala Jeep) and also fit armrests, a better ICE and a few other cosmetic changes. Recommendations based on personals experience appreciated...thanks in advance.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by alabjarus

Can Thar owners in Bangalore suggest a reliable aftermarket accessory store here pls. Recommendations based on personals experience appreciated...thanks in advance.

Autostyle Koramangala 80 feet road (near Indian Oil Bunk). Look no further is what I say.

[MithunSathianat]

I have lifted my Thar with MMG Kit. Have penned down detailed post on the same. Please read here:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5691445 (Initial Ownership Review & Modifications | 2021 Mahindra Thar)

[sandeeprawat]

Does Thar come with a single remote key? I received one remote and one manual key. Wonder if this is the case with all Mahindra vehicles or a recent phenomenon post chip shortage?

[rajeevsulu]

Originally Posted by sandeeprawat

Does Thar come with a single remote key? I received one remote and one manual key.

Yes. That is the case since a couple of years atleast.
Cheers
Rajeevsulu

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sandeeprawat

Does Thar come with a single remote key? I received one remote and one manual key. Wonder if this is the case with all Mahindra vehicles or a recent phenomenon post chip shortage?

Mahindra Thar always came with one remote key and one manual key. From Day1. However, it is a simple matter to take the vehicle and both the keys to the service centre and have them sell you the appropriate remote key fob and have that programmed and set to your Thar, so that you have two remote keys instead of just one. I cant remember now exactly but I think it costs about Rs 2000 to get this done. The manual key fob of course, becomes redundant and gets trashed. I dont think they have any recycling going on there.