[lemedico]

For context, mine is a 2021 BS6 XZA+ petrol Tiago, which has been very well cared for and also been the subject of many DIY jobs to enhance it's feature list

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...icted-diy.html (Auto-dimming IRVM for Rs. 2500 | I’m addicted to DIY)

https://team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do-yo...ty-issues.html

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ata-tiago.html (DIY: AMT Hydraulic Oil Change (Tata Tiago))

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...ata-tiago.html (DIY: Armrest installation for Rs. 1800 (Tata Tiago))

So naturally, when a mechanical or electrical fault occurs, it strikes you hard to learn that even a Tbhp's avid DIYer's machines are not exempt from troubles. Not that owning a Tata is the most peaceful to start with!

I took my car to work, there were no issues in the aircon that morning. When I was going home in the evening, the car and mechanicals were working fine but the aircon was not cooling. I tried many on/off's, rummaged around the engine bay and even scanned my ECU with an OBD2 scanner + Torque mobile app. There were no faults at all. I did however notice a hissing sound in the cabin when the aircon button was pressed for ON.
Somehow, I made it home in absolute heat and humidity. I don't remember being in any vehicle without aircon for at least 30 years!

Stopped off at my FNG who does aircon work as well, his apprentice mentioned it was most likely a condenser/evaporator leak and would need to dismantle the whole dashboard to access it. I felt miserable hearing that, as no car is worth driving with the rattles it develops after such brutal work.
I refused to immediately leave the car for its repair job as I wanted to do some research myself.

I also have an extended warranty for this car and whatever the fault and bad parts, Tata would replace but at the expense of my mental health and countless days without the car. We just cannot EVER get a good service experience at their workshops and even worse are the ones in Agra.

At home, I noticed an oil patch on the granite surfaced parking, the spot reserved for this car! It had leaked some oil overnight and nobody noticed it due to being masked by the rainfall earlier on. When it dried up, the patch of oil remained.

This was actually very happy news for me, as I ascertained it is definitely not a condenser/evaporator fault but rather something external like the compressor or gas lines. Putting two and two together that is, the sudden aircon failure and the appearance of leaked oil=aircon compressor oil leak and gas leak.

I went back to the FNG, narrated my findings and he immediately started to inspect the system from the radiator towards the cabin and the gas lines.

Now here we find an interesting fault. There are aluminium gas lines( also called liquid lines in mechanic lingo) which run from the compressor and towards the cabin, into the condenser/evaporator. In the Tiago/Tigor, they run parallel to the underbody, bolted directly on. One right-angle bend is in direct contact with the chassis and due to vibrational abrasion, it had eroded away to form a hole! This is right behind the front left wheel.

On further inspection, we noticed a right mess of condenser oil spray on the left axle area. Luckily, dismantling that section of pipe was not too difficult.

After taking it out, we could see the damaged area and then decided to swap the part out of pocket instead of claiming warranty. Unfortunately, it was not available in the market at that moment, and online is out of the question with delayed shipping. The mechanic suggested silver metal welding. Cost just Rs. 250 for it and it seems to be hardy. We wrapped up all contact points with old rubber scraps, refitted the pipe and charged up the system with new oil and Floron gas.

The system is working well now, cools well and all like nothing happened. If it conks out again, or the compressor fails due to being run without oil on the day of the fault, I will reluctantly have to go to Tata to make use of the extended warranty. For now, dashboard disaster averted!

I do wish to email Tata and claim this to be a manufacturing defect. It is silly to not provide rubberised contact points. Definitely a sue-worthy incident in the US, but hey we're in India and sab chalta hai.

Dear fellow Tata Tiago and Tigor owners, please inspect your car's underbodies and wedge in some rubber protection to prevent a leak (PUN INTENDED). It will save you an unnecessary headache.

I would like to extend this PSA to all Tata owners as I am not sure if the design is any different on their other cars like the Nexon, Punch etc/

Here are some photos to do the visual explaining

[Jeroen]

Does your AC charge doesn’t come with a dye? I thought these days all over the world ACs are charged with coolant that contains a special dye. Even miniscule leaks can be found with a simple UV light. Works really well!

The succes and long levity of the silver welding repair is highly dependent on how skilled the mechanic was on silver welding/brazing techniques and what type of silver solder used.

Good job finding the leak!

Jeroen

[lemedico]

https://youtu.be/XfVjz734iCI?si=B-eAVTy6gt02-tYk

@7:33

There are quite a few YouTube videos with a nearly similar fault like on mine.
And after chatting with fellow Tiago owners on a forum, it is evident that it is a common flaw indeed.

[lemedico]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Does your AC charge doesn’t come with a dye? I thought these days all over the world ACs are charged with coolant that contains a special dye. Even miniscule leaks can be found with a simple UV light. Works really well!

The succes and long levity of the silver welding repair is highly dependent on how skilled the mechanic was on silver welding/brazing techniques and what type of silver solder used.

Good job finding the leak!

Jeroen

I am not sure if there was any UV sensitive dye from the factory. I still haven't washed the car after the leak and I do have a UV lamp. I'll check at night!
For the welding, let's keep out fingers crossed that it lasts long enough! As a surgeon with a sharp eye, I looked at the repair and deemed it to be good as new