[JDMBOI]

2024 Tata Altroz XZ DCA

When you buy a new car you want to enjoy every moment of it and thoughts of facing any issue hardly comes into anybody mind but our destiny didn't want us to enjoy the very first drive.

Car & Variant - Tata Altroz - XZ Automatic / XZ DCA

Price - Ex showroom Rs- 9,59,900 and on road 10.60L.

Odometer - 16 KM during PDI and now 24 KM.

Mileage - 8 KMPL (in the cluster).

Accessories purchased - 3d Mats and body cover. (Mud flaps were unavailable, was given 7 days time)

Wants

• Safe car
• Hatchback / sub 4 meter car
• Automatic
• CNG from factory (in the end bought petrol)

Cars considered

• Tata Punch.
• Tata Altroz.

Why petrol over CNG?

• No automatic with CNG.
• Not much difference between current price of CNG and petrol.
• Somewhat similar mileage of CNG and petrol.

Booking

Booked Tata Altroz online on 5 December 2023, was given 20 day waiting period which turned out to be 58 days. In that mean time, we didn't receive any update from the salesperson infact we had to call him every now and then and most disappointing part was him being unable to give satisfactory answer to the questions, that my brother decided to wait until 10th of January if car doesn't arrive by then he will cancel the booking but he never did.

2 February - Car arrived at showroom.

3 February - Went to showroom on 3 February to do PDI (without intimation to salesperson, showroom is few minutes away from home). Told him that we want to see the car and the way he said "It is in stockyard" felt like he doesn't want us to see the car but when I insisted, he drove us to the yard by saying "only take 5 minutes to do PDI, I am busy". Reached the yard and to our surprise the car was not there, salesperson called someone and then told us it is parked in their second yard and he can't show us the car as the yard is locked and the person who possess the key is away. No wonder Why I felt suspicious. He told us to come next day and he will have the car at showroom.

4 Feb (Sunday) - Reached showroom and the sales guy is not present (his phone was switched off) talked to other staff member, explained everything but they were uninterested. Finally, after 20 minutes someone came (who happens to be going to yard otherwise I would have been waiting there for God knows how long) and we went to the yard and same old drama continues, can't locate the car. The other yard which was locked yesterday is empty so we went to former yard and the car is not there at this point me & my brother lost our cool and he was about to call the manager but he (staff member) located the car, A huge sigh of relief. Clicked few pictures & as I was about to start the PDI this happened -

Him- What is this?

Me- PDI checklist.

Him- Do you work at car company?

Me - No

(At first he was calm but after five minutes or so he started behaving erratically and started asking me -is it done? is it done? how much time you are going to take?)

Me- At least 30 minutes.

Him- I can't wait 30 minutes, how about you stay here, and I will return after some time or send the PDI guy.

Me - Sure.

Him- (After a phone call, literally after 2 minutes). Is it done?

Me- NO

Him- I can't wait.

then things escalated he yelled at me " O bhai sunle, mai tumhare sath bandha hua nhi hu, ye tumhare sales man ka kaam hai( " listen brother, I am not associated with you it's your sales man job".)

Me - He fixed the date and he is not present plus his phone is switched off. It's not my problem. Why don't you send PDI guy you were talking about?

Him - NO, I can't leave you here. You have only 5 minutes then we need to go. I can't wait as I have to do some paperwork for delivery.

Enough is enough. Before I lose my patience, dropped the process and went home.

PATHETIC EXPERIENCE with Swan Motor Tata, Sonipat (Haryana) . My recent experience with HONDA was much better.(1000 Times better)

• 20 days turned into 60 days.
• Didn't called us once to give any updates.
• Won't pick you call.
• Unable to give satisfactory answers to questions regarding car arrival.
• Fix PDI date and don't show up.(Salesperson was unable to come due to some emergency but they should at least assign someone else)
• Yells at you for taking time for PDI.

Some shots from PDI

5 February - Finally PDI completed satisfied with car but it has couple scratches and mat full of mud (I don't understand why Tata doesn't paste plastic on their carpet now it's all messed up.) which wasn't the case with our Amaze, it was spick and span.

7 February - Took delivery of the vehicle. Was given a small basket of snacks. No cake cutting. Car was driven to home by their driver (I had never driven an automatic car so didn't want to take risk of driving brand new car) reached home. While he was parking it, I heard metal grinding noise (not so loud but consistent and concerning for a brand new car. Like something is broken inside gearbox / metal groves grinding when you engage gear without pressing the clutch fully) and told the same to the driver he said don't worry if something happens car is in warranty. Didn't pay much attention at that time because I had to drop the driver back to the showroom.

Issue faced - Transmission malfunction and TPMS error

After taking delivery, car was parked for 2 days. On 10 February when I tried to start the car it won't crank. (same thing happened during PDI on 4th February even Tata guy was unable to start the car and gave an extraordinary excuse that there is no fuel (I didn't buy that) but on 5th February I made sure everything was ok by requesting Tata employee to start the car few times and it started in 1 try each time) tried few times but no luck. Display says to press brake pedal and then press start button but it won't start (how hard do you want me to press the brake pedal, do you want me to stand on it) tried locking and unlocking the car but no luck. I Called the salesperson and told him about the scenario he started giving illogical reasons - you might have left the door open and car battery drained. Are you kidding me?

When I was about to give up, I tried one last time and this time 2 error pops up on screen first TPMS and then Transmission malfunction . My heart skipped a beat after seeing latter fault then I thought maybe that's why grinding noise was coming from the car they might have sold us a LEMON. Called the salesperson again (like always won't answer the call) and told him about the scenario at first he didn't believe me, little did he know I made a video of the cluster with the aforesaid error & when I forwarded the video to him, he called us and I can feel change in his voice tone and requested to wait as he will contact technical team and call back. Finally, after an hour or so they arrived at home.

(You can't see those errors in digital cluster by going into setting like Skoda in Vehicle information ( maybe you can I'm not sure )

Technician pressed the button once and I showed him the error and sales man was shocked, he tried 1-2 times but no luck and tried shifting from park and pressed the button then the car started and all the faults disappeared (MUST BE TATA THINGS) told him about the gearbox noise, he tried parking the car like other driver did on delivery day (noise was coming while moving at slow speed too) but no noise this time around but he did something after opening the bonnet and sticking his hands behind the engine (loose plug or maybe a screw) Took the car for test drive, he hit some good figures and we came back. After they left I took the car for another test drive and it was working fine. Thank God it wasn't the gearbox or maybe it is. time will tell. Thing I noticed is the brake pedal feel was hard (less travel) when car won't start but after they left and I tried to start the car and it started in one try and at that time brake pedal was smooth (more travel)

If that dude had given me more time on 4th February I definitely would have tried to start the car few more times and if that error would have popped up during the PDI then we would have avoided the car. Do I trust the car absolutely not, will I recommend it to anybody, HELL NO. To be honest I was telling my brother to buy Amaze CVT (he denied because of not so good built quality) now its wait and watch either its fine or we are in for a drive that we don't want to do.

Likes

• 5 stars safety rating.
• Build quality, thud sound is so satisfying.
• Speakers sound quality is good.
• Cornering fog lights.
• Feature loaded - TPMS, auto headlights and wipers, cooled glove box.

Dislikes

• Under-powered, noisy 3-cylinder 1.2L petrol engine.
• Reliability.
• After sales service.
• Only 2 parking sensors.
• No auto dimming IRVM for 9.6L car.
• Windows take a lot of time to go down fully.

Nitpick

• Handbrake location.
• Indicator on fenders.
• Ugly long antenna.
• Piano black is prone to scratches. (Tata used it a lot- near headlight, window surround and at the rear too)
• Rear door handles.
• Not a fan of touchscreen implementation.

Initial thoughts

• Acceleration - Not so quick response it takes its own sweet time (1-2 seconds) sometimes I question myself did I hit the pedal or not.
  
  
• Rattling noise - Car is 3 days old and over bad road rattling noise is coming from dashboard. Very nice.
  
  
• Steering - The steering (leather wrapped) is very eager to come back to center. Usually if you turn the wheel 5 -10 degrees in other cars you have to bring the steering back to center yourself but not the case in Altroz.
  
  
• DCA Noise - Noisy, you hear the gear grinding noise/ gear engaging and disengaging that it feels like some parts are broken inside the gearbox. I want to ask fellow DCA owners, is it normal?
  
  
• Build - Doors, trunk lid, bonnet are heavy and the thud noise it offers is something else.
  
  
• Gear change - When car changes gear you can feel it, no jerk though.
  
  
• Hand brake - Build quality (plastic) of the brake is poor, it moves left and right (base structure) not properly implemented. Positioning is kind of weird.
  
  
• Windows motor - They are not noisy but take their own sweet time to roll up or down fully. means you have to hold the button longer than usual.
  
  
• Seats - Fabric material, they don't hug you though.
  
  
• Glove box - Soft opening, has panel gaps and I find it to be less useful as they partitioned it by putting a plastic shelf in the middle.
  
  
• Button quality - Quality of steering wheel button and window switches is decent.
  
  
• ORVM - They are huge and offers good visibility.
  
  
• Reverse camera - Good quality and comes with adaptive guidelines. (utilizes full screen for camera)
  
  
• Headlight and fog light - Headlight(projector) and fog lights are in halogen. can't comment on their performance, yet to drive at night.
  
  
• Engine bay - It has white padding (above front wheel arch on both side) when asked they said it's for insulation but I think it's for headlight, to protect it from water splashes as its plug are right next to it and it has under hood insulation.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

CIAO

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Tech Stuff. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[BhaskarG]

Originally Posted by JDMBOI

After taking delivery, car was parked for 2 days. On 10 February when I tried to start the car it won't crank. (same thing happened during PDI on 4th February even Tata guy was unable to start the car and gave an extraordinary excuse that there is no fuel (I didn't buy that)

Wasn’t there some red flags to start with? Sometimes our excitement of getting a new car (specially after so much waiting time) makes us ignore things like this. I just hope that this is a one time thing and not repeated. All the best.

[ssjr0498]

So sorry for your ordeal! You have some level of patience, I must say! Hat's off!

Why don't we tag Mr. Tata and make him aware of all this! Tata cars are normally great, it is their service that is a let down! I have so many friends and acquaintances who own Tata vehicles with pride, but all of them are extremely unhappy with the sales/service team.
It's high time they take note of this!

[SteeringWheel]

Originally Posted by JDMBOI

[center]

2024 Tata Altroz XZ DCA

Thing I noticed is the brake pedal feel was hard (less travel) when car won't start but after they left and I tried to start the car and it started in one try and at that time brake pedal was smooth (more travel)

CIAO

That may not be a problem. Brakes use vacuum which is created by engine when it's running. With the engine off, the vacuum remaining is only sufficient for few brake pedal presses. After 4 or 5 brake presses with the engine off, the vacuum is no more available and the brakes become hard.

When you were trying to start the engine before, vacuum was lost and so the brakes were hard. Brake was soft after the drive because the vacuum was created while the engine was running. If you press the brake with the engine off for few times, brake will be hard again.

[ashokabs]

It is difficult to believe that Tata Motors personnel will not be aware of what all is written about their vehicles and service/sales in Team BHP. Hence, no need to make anyone aware as they do not seem to be concerned about improving these drawbacks. Best of luck to Tata Motors.

[shancz]

- Second post#5.
- If I was in your place I would've rejected the car and if possible the dealership. Also reminds us to not release the full amount unless the PDI is done and not trust any dealers/sales folks.
- I hope that the issue doesn't repeat itself but do get the transmission checked for what was the problem and did it cause any damage in the time it was with you. Since I am not informed enough on the issue someone else would guide you or check how is it in any other cars in the workshop when you head for your service. Get max possible warranty if you haven't. Try another ASC if feasible.

- I was puzzled with one of your pics, what is this thing? isn't it supposed to be clamped together? Did anyone open up that area?

[JDMBOI]

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

Wasn’t there some red flags to start with?

No, at that time there was no fault in the cluster. I made sure, it was okay the next day (5th February) the employee started the car 4 times in front of me (atleast 5-10 minutes gap between each start & it started each time) and I started the car few times before the delivery too.

Originally Posted by SteeringWheel

That may not be a problem. Brakes use vacuum

Maybe the car is not registering that I pressed the brake when the brake pedal is hard.

Originally Posted by shancz

- I was puzzled with one of your pics, what is this thing? isn't it supposed to be clamped together? Did anyone open up that area?

Don't worry, it's just rubber pad (pocking outward) they used it to cover the gap. (steering slightly adjusted downward)

[saikishor]

Are these bloody Tata cars even worth people's money anymore? Every alternate day I see a malfunction or dissatisfied related thread with Tata on Team-BHP. At this point I feel it is purely the buyer's headache. Despite of knowing about the fact that Tata's are prone to niggles and the same being documented numerous times on the forum, the buyer still went ahead and put his money on the brand.

Did Tata really improve over the years? If you search for monthly car sales analysis of lets say 2013, you will find Tata at the bottom. I remember reading some comments like Tata's deserve the bottom position in the monthly sales figures as they have shoddy fit finish etc. What has changed after 10+ years? The fit finish is still the same or marginally better. Tata cars just dont age well, be it the old ones or new ones.

I still find it surprising as to how people place their money(especially the ones on Team-BHP) on Tata cars despite of reading so much about them.

Do I feel sorry for the owner's ordeal? Yes and no. Yes because a customer should simply not be treated in this way(thank you Tata motors for this) and no because he bought the car despite of knowing what might come ahead.

[Xtremecrd]

Originally Posted by JDMBOI

DCA Noise - Noisy, you hear the gear grinding noise/ gear engaging and disengaging that it feels like some parts are broken inside the gearbox. I want to ask fellow DCA owners, is it normal?

Get the above gear noise checked ASAP. This grinding noise should never occur in normal working gearbox. If the service center is telling its normal, show it to another service center, also please tag social media handle of tata.

[Burgman_tales]

Originally Posted by Xtremecrd

Get the above gear noise checked ASAP. This grinding noise should never occur in normal working gearbox. If the service center is telling its normal, show it to another service center, also please tag social media handle of tata.

Agree with this. I have Altroz XZ DCA (same model) and there is absolutely no noise from the gearbox (or anywhere else for that matter) while driving. It should be checked thoroughly by the service center and transmission replaced in warranty if required

[SteeringWheel]

Originally Posted by JDMBOI

Maybe the car is not registering that I pressed the brake when the brake pedal is hard.

That crossed my mind too but not sure if loosing the vacuum completely in two days is normal. If that is the case, the solution may be just adjusting the brake switch near the pedal. Try noticing how much the brake pedal needs to be pressed before the brake lights turn on and that can give you an idea. I have a Brezza AMT which also needs the brake to be pressed to start but I don't remember the brake getting so hard even when we leave it unused for weeks.

[shancz]

Since other owners have pointed that the grinding noise isn't normal, ask them to drain and inspect the transmission oil and filter, you might see metal shavings in it indicating transmission damage. In that case you have to ask them to replace the transmission since even if the issue is fixed the damage incurred might lead to a premature failure when you won't be under warranty.

When everything is sorted, don't accept the car unless all noise has been removed under all load conditions. Take detailed test drives.

Good Luck.

[anand_roy]

Originally Posted by JDMBOI

[*] DCA Noise - Noisy, you hear the gear grinding noise/ gear engaging and disengaging that it feels like some parts are broken inside the gearbox. I want to ask fellow DCA owners, is it normal?

Please get the gearbox checked ASAP in the Service Center. We had to get our automatic gearbox replaced within 45 days of delivery. My worst fears came true!

All details here: https://www.team-bhp.com/news/altroz...laced-warranty

[harikrishnansp]

Originally Posted by SteeringWheel

That crossed my mind too but not sure if loosing the vacuum completely in two days is normal. If that is the case, the solution may be just adjusting the brake switch near the pedal. Try noticing how much the brake pedal needs to be pressed before the brake lights turn on and that can give you an idea. I have a Brezza AMT which also needs the brake to be pressed to start but I don't remember the brake getting so hard even when we leave it unused for weeks.

The short answer is, atleast a brand new car should not throw troubles like this.