[Rajain]

Caution – Long Post on the Ordeal with Meridian in Leh

So, here is the full lowdown on what happened with the Meridian in Leh. The reason for the delay was actually lack of information and a huge diversity of views (read excuses) coming in from Jeep management and workshop in Srinagar.

Back in early June many family members (my brother’s entire family) had gone to Leh from Gurgaon. They were in 2 Jeep vehicles - Compass and Meridian. The Compass has been to Kargil a couple of times before and Padum besides other trips including to Nepal. It has been reliable and sturdy. It is a BS 4. The Meridian was added to the garage as a replacement of Endeavor (2.2). The Endeavor had done multiple duties all over the country with trips in Gujarat to Nepal to J&K. This was the first major trip for the Meridian which has done less than 10k. It is a BS 6.

Anyway, back to the Leh trip. The initial few days remained uneventful. Zoji La was crossed, Padum and back to Kargil, then Leh, Nubra and Turtuk. Back to Leh and then Pangong Tso and Chumthang. It was somewhere around Tangtse the two vehicles were navigating a dirt track when this happened. The vehicle in front was Jeep Compass being driven by my elder brother (multiple trips to Leh, many thousands of kms in Ladakh, posting in Siachen, Thoise and even a cycling trip from Manali to Khardung La), behind the Compass was the Meridian (being driven by my nephew - also multiple trips to Leh, camping in Kargil, cycling from Manali to Khardung La). [the background just to establish that this was not the first rodeo for the two at the wheel].

The vehicles were at speed of around 25-30 kmph. Dirt track meant many small stones. The Compass went smoothly over a few, no problem and right behind, about 8-10 meters was the Meridian . The Meridian felt more jerks and sounds as if stones had scraped the underbelly or gone through the left side wheel arch. The Compass had gone over the same dirt tracks and there was no issue at all. So, naturally there were no big stones. They signalled and both vehicles stopped. A physical inspection did not reveal anything. There were no leaking pipes either. The vehicles drove for a few meters and stopped again to see any signs of anything leaking - again nothing was leaking. They began the journey but within 2-3 kms warning lights came up (I am informed 3-4 of them - which all, I don't have the detail right now). They stopped the vehicles again. A couple of restarts and back and forth did not yield anything. A fairly thorough physical check undercarriage revealed many scratches as one sees in an underbelly. The DPF light had also come up. So, some physical damage going over stones (over which the Compass went through smooth and easy - just 8-10 meters ahead). After a while, when they could get the mobile connection and spoke with Jeep support they were informed, leave the vehicle there and it will need to be brought down in a flat bed truck. A nearby army unit sent in a couple of vehicles, bags transferred and the remaining journey continued.

The flat bed truck came in from Srinagar and picked up the Meridian in about 25-30 hrs and in about 4-5 days the vehicle was at the Srinagar workshop. The remaining journey was completed with Compass and a cab. The family flew out of Srinagar and the Jeep stayed there for repairs.

Now, here the ordeal began. Initially on the phone, in mid June, the Jeep workshop at Srinagar gave a long list of parts that would be replaced – almost amounting to some Rs 12 lakhs (yes twelve lakhs). Naturally the insurance company was notified. Repeated follow ups, lack of comms, no transparency meant it was a struggle to fully understand what exactly broke down and what would be fixed. They did send multiple photos so it did appear underbody many parts would be replaced. The list they gave was

1. Rear Cross Member.
2. Left Side Rear Bracket.
3. Left Side Rear Sheild.
4. Left Side Rear Clipper.
5. Left Side Rear Alloy.
6. Silencer.
7. Left Side Rear Desk Router.
8. Left Side Rear Knuckle.
9. Left Side Rear Shocker.
10. Left Side Rear Brake Shoes.
11. Left Side Rear Support Arm.
12. Left Side Rear Fender Lining.
13. Left Side Rear Shocker Bracket.
14. Fuel Tank.
15. Sensor.
16. Silencer Brackets Both.
17. Left Side Rear All Arms.
18. Left Side Front Arm.
19. Link Road.
20. Stabilizer Bar.
21. Bumper Lip.
22. Splash Guard.
23. Cross Member.
24. All AC Pipes.



About 2 weeks later (early July the Jeep Srinagar workshop informed the insurance is taking time. Another week later, still taking time. Then after the insurance guy saw it all, he deducted many parts and approved just some of them. By now the cost had dropped to Rs 4 lakhs or so. Another week passed. By end July Jeep Srinagar workshop confirmed that parts are not there and have been requisitioned. The parts arrived 2 weeks later and then they informed these were not the parts and there was some mix up. We are certain the goof up was incorrect part numbers were ordered and incorrect parts arrived at the workshop. These parts then had to be returned to where ever they came from and new set of parts were requisitioned. Another 2-3 weeks go by. Parts are yet to arrive. Some time in end of Aug the parts arrived. The Jeep Srinagar workshop takes 2 days and fixes them all up and reports in early Sept that the vehicle is ready. And a few days ago, my brother went to Srinagar and drove the Meridian back to Gurgaon. The eventual bill that came from all of the 10 weeks in the workshop was Rs 1,10,000 (abouts) that the insurance company paid the entire 100%.

So, overall some impressions –

1. Apparently the Meridian has a small hard plastic underbody protection plate and it is plain insufficient to protect anything. Imagine if the Compass went over the same stones (fairly small so much that the under carriage was not hit) and the Meridian scraped the underbody, ripped the underbody and many parts were damaged, makes one wonder how and why. To think of it the size of the stones was small – small enough that a Compass passed over them with no issues. The speeds were between 25-30 kmph.

2. The Jeep Srinagar workshop could not get its act together. The good part was the flat bed truck came and picked up from Tangtse in under 2.5 days and it was with Jeep Srinagar workshop in under 5 days. But the workshop itself kept giving stories after stories – imagine if their initial estimate was Rs 12 lakhs then after the insurance company person did the survey and said Rs 4 lakhs and the final bill after 10 weeks was Rs 1.1 Lakh. Awesome. Their stories ranged from x part is not available and y part is not available. X was ordered and Y has arrived and will be sent back. Blah blah blah.

3. The good news is Meridian is back doing its daily duties. It was checked again in Gurgaon workshops and they attested that the job was well done. The good news is also that insurance paid for it entirely (full 100%)

4. Overall, one think how come the build quality was so bad (or the GC differing by a few millimetres) that the vehicle packed up so quickly in the middle of rather remote areas. And then the Jeep Srinagar workshop kept giving some excuse and some story.

5. The support from Jeep is minimal, escalations don’t help and parts are hard to come by. In this day and age no vehicle should be parked at a workshop for almost 3 months with no transparent comms. In a drive like that with 3 generations of people travelling in Jeep vehicles would have made a good story on reliability and toughness. Sadly, that was not to be. The conversations at my brothers home these days are around moving away from the Jeep brand.

My apologies, it took long for me also to understand what all parts broke down and how Jeep responded.

Cheers
Rajain

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Rajain

4.Overall, one think how come the build quality was so bad (or the GC differing by a few millimetres) that the vehicle packed up so quickly in the middle of rather remote areas. And then the Jeep Srinagar workshop kept giving some excuse and some story.

The problem is the increased wheelbase which means that it is more likely to scrape the bottom. A shorter car can go over obstacles better than a longer car with the same ground clearance.

https://cdni.autocarindia.com/Utils/...ollage.jpg&c=0

Check ramp breakover angle here.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Caution – Long Post on the Ordeal with Meridian in Leh

So, here is the full lowdown on what happened with the Meridian in Leh. The reason for the delay was actually lack of information and a huge diversity of views (read excuses) coming in from Jeep management and workshop in Srinagar.
….
My apologies, it took long for me also to understand what all parts broke down and how Jeep responded.

Please DM for any more details.

Firstly, congratulations on having your car back home. I can’t even imagine the horror of a car being stuck for 3 months for a repair like this. Absolutely inexcusable.

Is it possible for you to please share a list of final parts that were replaced constituting the 1.1L bill so we can see the comparison with the initials parts estimate? Its incredulous to imagine that they were initially attempting to make this a 12L job. Also, is there any guidance on what part actually failed pursuant to the underbody hit?

Finally, my request is to continue the discussion over this thread itself. A DM helps one person while a public discussion will help 1000s of forum members.

Wish you an incident free and happy ownership for however long you decide to keep the two Jeeps going forward. This was quite the ordeal without a doubt.

Best wishes.

[Sam800]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Caution – Long Post on the Ordeal with Meridian in Leh


1. Rear Cross Member.
2. Left Side Rear Bracket.
3. Left Side Rear Sheild.
4. Left Side Rear Clipper.
5. Left Side Rear Alloy.
6. Silencer.
7. Left Side Rear Desk Router.
8. Left Side Rear Knuckle.
9. Left Side Rear Shocker.
10. Left Side Rear Brake Shoes.
11. Left Side Rear Support Arm.
12. Left Side Rear Fender Lining.
13. Left Side Rear Shocker Bracket.
14. Fuel Tank.
15. Sensor.
16. Silencer Brackets Both.
17. Left Side Rear All Arms.
18. Left Side Front Arm.
19. Link Road.
20. Stabilizer Bar.
21. Bumper Lip.
22. Splash Guard.
23. Cross Member.
24. All AC Pipes.

Pardon me, but apart from fuel tank which was absolutely good on initial inspection and sensor (pt 15) , i don't see anything else that can switch off the engine and leave the car inoperative with multiple warning lights.
Did you ask/verify what the actual issue for car not firing up?

[bullitt1]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Caution – Long Post on the Ordeal with Meridian in Leh

So, here is the full lowdown on what happened with the Meridian in Leh. The reason for the delay was actually lack of information and a huge diversity of views (read excuses) coming in from Jeep management and workshop in Srinagar.

Sorry to hear about the ordeal but also good to know that Meridian is back all well and good. I think your Army help was very handy, can't imagine the support to ordinary civilians like us.

Meridian having a 214mm ground clearance compared to 178mm of Compass, very strange that few underbelly hits brought it to a halt. As others have pointed, would be good to know the final parts replaced.

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Firstly, congratulations on having your car back home. I absolutely can’t imagine the horror of a car being stuck for 3 months for a repair like this. Absolutely inexcusable.

Thank you.
Yes totally. I mean why would a company keep a Rs 45 Lakh kind of SUV in the workshop for almost 3 months. No way that should happen.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Is it possible for you to please share a list of final parts that were replaced constituting the 1.1L bill so we can see the comparison with the initials parts estimate? Its incredulous to imagine that they were initially attempting to make this a 12L job. Also, is there any guidance on what part actually failed pursuant to the underbody hit?

Yes...and when they said an estimate of Rs 12 L it was like what all on earth broke down. I mean that is a huge sum of money. And finally they charged Rs 1,09,000 (abouts) and including tax Rs 1,19,000 (abouts). Looks like the insurance people pushed back the workshop estimate!!

Originally Posted by Axe77

Finally, my request is to continue the discussion over this thread itself. A DM helps one person while a public discussion will help 1000s of forum members.

Yes sure. For the benefit of the community.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Wish you an incident free and happy ownership for however long you decide to keep the two Jeeps going forward. This was quite the ordeal without a doubt.

Best wishes.

My two elder brothers and their children love SUVs - even a CJ3B is around. Jeeps do make great machines but are unable to give good support. That is a real bummer. I have seen Rubicons really take the rough with the smooth. Go from water to tarmac to snow to sand to gravel and not a scratch.

Originally Posted by bullitt1

Meridian having a 214mm ground clearance compared to 178mm of Compass, very strange that few underbelly hits brought it to a halt. As others have pointed, would be good to know the final parts replaced.

Yes coming up. Thank you for the wishes....

As we often say - 'fair winds, following seas and god speed'


Don't know how long it stays but very sad to see Jeep as a brand not being able to get its act together.

Cheers
Rajain

Originally Posted by Sam800

Pardon me, but apart from fuel tank which was absolutely good on initial inspection and sensor (pt 15) , i don't see anything else that can switch off the engine and leave the car inoperative with multiple warning lights.
Did you ask/verify what the actual issue for car not firing up?

The family called Jeep helpline and they said do not drive after this. The car was able to drive a couple of kms but with all those warning lights on, they decided not to any longer push it.

[Rajain]

Meridian Ordeal - Broke down in Leh - parts


So, these were the parts they had originally said needed to be replaced.

1. Rear Cross Member.
2. Left Side Rear Bracket.
3. Left Side Rear Sheild.
4. Left Side Rear Clipper.
5. Left Side Rear Alloy.
6. Silencer.
7. Left Side Rear Desk Router.
8. Left Side Rear Knuckle.
9. Left Side Rear Shocker.
10. Left Side Rear Brake Shoes.
11. Left Side Rear Support Arm.
12. Left Side Rear Fender Lining.
13. Left Side Rear Shocker Bracket.
14. Fuel Tank.
15. Sensor.
16. Silencer Brackets Both.
17. Left Side Rear All Arms.
18. Left Side Front Arm.
19. Link Road.
20. Stabilizer Bar.
21. Bumper Lip.
22. Splash Guard.
23. Cross Member.
24. All AC Pipes.

This is the final bill



I wonder if it was abundance of caution (to replace so many parts or it was an attempt to make a lot of money. There was naturally some back and forth between the insurance company and the workshop and looks like the insurance company knocked off many parts.

Anyway, it is what it is. The vehicle is back.

Cheers
Rajain

[BhayanaV]

Were they able to diagnose what exactly caused the vehicle to stall? From photos, it seems unberbody hits but none of these will leave the car inoperable.

[Rajain]

Originally Posted by BhayanaV

Were they able to diagnose what exactly caused the vehicle to stall? From photos, it seems unberbody hits but none of these will leave the car inoperable.

Any vehicle's underbody has multiple scratches and minor dents. The vehicle continues after this almost all the time. Rarely have I seen a bunch of warning lights come up. And to think of it, a Jeep Compass driving over the same dirt tracks ahead by 8-10 meters had no issues.

However, the workshop people said don't drive any further and it will need to be brought into the workshop for further checks. So, that suggestion of followed.

To think of it Tangste is not the most friendly of places, it air is less, DPF will show issues, comms is absent and few few travellers. With 3 generations of family travelling together not many options present themselves.

So the choice was to park it there, find shelter, get some support from the nearest place - which was an army unit (the CO was known to my brother) and move on with alternate transport options.

Cheers
Rajain

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Meridian Ordeal - Broke down in Leh - parts


So, these were the parts they had originally said needed to be replaced.

Since all these are mechanical parts and the car is fairly new (no question of wear and tear), what is the reason for replacing these? Are they starting to rust?

[Quoter]

Originally Posted by Rajain

However, the workshop people said don't drive any further and it will need to be brought into the workshop for further checks. So, that suggestion of followed.

There is no other option when you get warning lights on the dashboard.
From the list of repairs, it appears the AC pipe broke at some place, perhaps a minor crack at some joint which would have cause the gas to leak. Since it is does not leave a trace, you would not have been able to detect it. Some cars do turn on the warning light for this. It is definitely worrying though if it happened from small stones.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Rajain

Any vehicle's underbody has multiple scratches and minor dents. The vehicle continues after this almost all the time. Rarely have I seen a bunch of warning lights come up. And to think of it, a Jeep Compass driving over the same dirt tracks ahead by 8-10 meters had no issues.

However, the workshop people said don't drive any further and it will need to be brought into the workshop for further checks. So, that suggestion of followed.

To think of it Tangste is not the most friendly of places, it air is less, DPF will show issues, comms is absent and few few travellers. With 3 generations of family travelling together not many options present themselves.

So the choice was to park it there, find shelter, get some support from the nearest place - which was an army unit (the CO was known to my brother) and move on with alternate transport options.

Cheers
Rajain

Prudent choice! Sorry to hear your family had to go through such an ordeal.

Are there any photos of this dirt track which caused all these issues?

Did you manage to get a proper diagnosis on what exactly caused those warning lights on the dash? Was it the AC pipe taking a hit?

I am a bit surprised to see wipers on the parts replaced list. How did they get damaged?

[Kosfactor]

There maybe a case for insurance fraud here - at worse the AC pipe may have needed replacement but other than that everything else seems intact.

DEF error is common when the weather is cold but it takes care of itself afterwards. The list of things replaced would be fine if this vehicle was in Himalayan rally or something - may god help Jeep in India.

[R.I.P]

This looks like the driver misjudged a rock/rocks and should have driven around them rather than over them.

The service centre experience is horrible, similar to many other service centres of all brands. They must have tried to get more parts replaced, knowing that you are from Gurgaon.

Standard practice in India.

[akg7091]

I am surprised the insurance agreed to pay 100% easily !