[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by kapilnitdg

I wanted to highlight the hardships I am facing to resolve issues and niggles on my Tata Harrier XZA Purchased in Dec 2021. After spending nearly 1.5 months of 6 months ownership at the service center, now the company is asking me to replace the engine on the car! Its like replacing the heart of the car which has barely managed to complete 6k kms and 6 months.

Very sad to see the car undergoing a surgery at such a young age and sorry to hear about your plight, can understand your situation.

Since TASS have diagnosed that engine is an issue and they will replace it (hopefully under warranty and nothing from your pocket), suggest to proceed. Who knows the niggles/issues which you were facing might go away with this change and you might start enjoying the ride.

My guess is the engine might have escaped the rigorous Q&A checks and somehow landed in your lap.

[kapilnitdg]

Originally Posted by rishi.roger

Hey! Just my 2 cents-

Can you talk them through that if engine was to be replaced, they better send it to official assembly plant instead of doing it in their local ASC ? I think this is something which they might consider. (Usually once a car is registered in RTO, manufacturers won't replace unless repair costs are on higher side. I don't think there is any such legal policy either which dictates replacement of entire car, at best it's the components.)

The major challenge in engine replacement is the quality of installation and your must be to reduce it as much as you can, as getting the engine block fitted in an ASC is unacceptable for new car.
Their incompetence already shows at the fact that they were unable to diagnose a problem in a new car, and decided to go for the easier way.
Just in case, if they are right about their diagnosis and if it's indeed the engine, you're better with the replacement in most cases that engine repair.

Also a piece of advice, reach out to someone popular on YouTube and show them this situation. Those guys love such content. In my experience, YouTube hammer spreads like wildfire and sometimes hits hard on Sales.

I have enquired them about the replacement possibility in the plant itself. They explained that there are a lot of processes in place for components movement in and out of plant and its not possible to get this replacement done inside the plant. Someone in the group can throw some light in case this was done in any case

[Jeroen]

It’s not a good idea to replace an engine at the factory at all. Cars get put together in a very rigorous orchestrated process on a production line.

Taking an engine out of an existing car and putting a new engine in is a very different process, requiring differents skills, knowledge, experiences and also tools.

I think it is really important to get an understanding what is wrong with this engine. After having read what has already been replaced and tried there are really a few things that could have gone wrong. Unless there is a serious problem with the crankshaft and or bearings the most likely problem is ignition and or timing related. That is where also the car cable loom abd electronics such as ECU, TPM, BCM etc can come into play. They might put a new engine in, but if the cable loom is wonky you will have the same problems.

You really should get a solid explanation why they believe they need too replace the engine. As I mentioned, an engine replacement, when done properly, is really not a problem at all for reliability.

Good luck
Jeroen

[kapilnitdg]

Update:

Yesterday, I got an email from the Regional Managers of Tata Motors Karnataka region that they will not be able to accept my demand of vehicle replacement or even an extension in warranty as its not as per company policy of Tata Motors.

Even though I have all the proofs and more than 30 emails from the day 1 of purchase where one or the other issue is cropping up on the car. I also have all the invoice details of parts changed on the car till date and also that out of the 180 days of ownership of the vehicle, around 50 days the car was lying at the Service Center and even now I am being given a loaner Tiago Vehicle.

I did not pay 25 Lacs to face all this hassle and trauma and drive a Tiago vehicle and run around service centers from past 6 months!

It truly paints a disturbing picture of the lopsided power relationship between the consumer and Indian automobile giants. Not sure if all this ranting will even bother anyone at Tata Motors

I have asked them of details about the problem in previous Engine and why they want to change it in an email to which I am awaiting response.
I am not even sure if the Idle vibration issue will be solved by change in Engine as they are not giving any details about the problem. All they said is the plant team has checked and recommended that Engine replacement will solve the vibration issue in the car.

I have a humble request to the community and Mods to please help me out on this issue

[RROD]

Mod Note : Please do NOT post messages that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the quality of this forum.

We advise you to read the Forum Rules before proceeding any further. Request to post ONLY when you have something substantial to add to a discussion.

[BANDHAV]

Originally Posted by kapilnitdg

The engine replacement is being done because of the high idle engine vibrations which the technical team has pointed out is because of some problem in the engine itself.

My BIL is XZA Dark Edition had the same issue, even he pursued TML for a replacement car but TML didn't budge, he then settled for Engine replacement.

The vehicle is performing well after the replacement.

[Palio_2005]

These and other such issues dissuade me from plonking 28 L in a Tata. That way Mahindra's are much better and have improved drastically in design, reliability. I have no experience of their service. I think Tata's will lose market space to Mahindra in SUV segment if they don't focus on the core issues.

[ritedhawan]

This kind of initial ownership would dissuade prospective car buyers from picking up high-end cars from one of the big indigenous car manufacturers in India. The kind of issues that are being faced by you in a fairly new product could point to due negligence done by the manufacturer at the plant level or by the dealer. The information shared may put the blame on the manufacturer.

If the ASC is recommending an engine swap and if that's something substantiated by another ASC and\or by the manufacturer themselves. Moreover, the manufacturer is unwilling to provide you a replacement car. In this situation taking into account the above two factors, you are left with no other option but to allow them to proceed with the engine swap.

However, who would do the actual job of replacing the engine. Its unlikely the manufacturer will take the onus of replacing the engine as per the information already shared in this thread. Thus the onus of replacing the engine will fall on the ASC. The ASC's have a mindset of replacing instead of repairing. This dictum is being followed by all ASC across all car manufacturers. Further to the above point, the next question comes whether the ASC has the required equipment and more importantly an expert technician who can perform the job to the satisfaction of the customer? Whether he has already performed such a job previously?. The answer to the last two questions will only be revealed once such a job is performed by the technician in the ASC.

The conclusion that I can draw out from the information shared above and taking into consideration the information shared in this thread already is: You may allow the ASC to proceed with the engine swap and hope that the issues you faced will be resolved finally.

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

TML didn't budge, he then settled for Engine replacement.

Do you know if they updated the engine number on the RC Card or if the new engine block came with the same engine number?

[kapilnitdg]

Update
Tata motors is asking to replace the engine on the vehicle. They are saying engine replacement will solve the issue.
Have not got the details yet about the issue with the old engine.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by kapilnitdg

I have a humble request to the community and Mods to please help me out on this issue

If it's financially possible, just let this car go once the engine swap is done. Go for something that gives peace of mind like the Innova. I sold my Tigor for a Figo, best decision ever! Peace of mind more than makes up for what I lost in resale.

[kushagra452]

I will NEVER in my life buy a Tata vehicle - No matter how many stars it gets in the Global NCAP! When a person spends 25L of his/her hard earned money he/she expects to enjoy his/her new ride.

At the same time, I do understand that mechanical parts breakdown. However, the apathy of the Tata Motors dealers is sickening. It seems as if they are picked specifically for this very trait! Harassing a customer, who has recently purchased their top of the line flagship product and then sounding as if they are doing him a favor is downright disgusting.

Several BHPians have written about the apathetic attitude of the sales staff at Tata Motors dealerships before the actual sale of a vehicle!

Can't imagine what Kapil is going through after so many months of follow up. Kudos to you for being patient with these guys. Hope you get a resolution soon. Best of luck!

[techmotor]

Sorry to hear about your plight @kapilnitdg. It’s quite possible that you received a lemon in which case I’m of the opinion that TML should come forward and offer you a new vehicle. Harrier/Safari is TML’s flagship product and the variant here is a top end model which has already spent 1.5 months in the service center within 6 months of delivery.

Originally Posted by kapilnitdg

Update:

Yesterday, I got an email from the Regional Managers of Tata Motors Karnataka region that they will not be able to accept my demand of vehicle replacement or even an extension in warranty as its not as per company policy of Tata Motors.

Seriously! Not even warranty extension under goodwill?

Coming to your options, you can go with the suggested repair and hope all will be sorted out. It’ll be a difficult decision for you, or anyone in your situation for that matter, but unfortunately this is how the system works here. Customer is not the King but pitiful people at the mercy of these manufacturers.

[adi58]

Really sad to see that Tata would not even offer extended warranty on the engine replacement. Sell the car immediately because they cannot be trusted in the future too. Bear the loss and move onto some other brand. Save the time and frustration.

[Laidbackakki]

Very sorry for the ordeal you are going through. Although I feel that getting the engine replaced at the plant will not happen because the the processes there are different as compared to a repair/replacement process post sale. I would only add that if you are unsure of the competence of the current TASC then better get the replacement done at another TASC which is known for better service. I know this in no way provides solace but atleast you can take steps to control the things which are in your control. Hope this helps.
Regards