[W.A.G.7]

So, our Altroz achieved it's first milestone of 10,000 kilometers today. It has been an extremely satisfying journey of a transition to an automatic transmission-ed car. We took the gamble of getting the most complex dual clutch gearbox (DCA) and we are happy with the overall results.

Of course, with a Tata car, there are quirks. For example, as you will see below in the pictures, the CEL has lit up for the 10k milestone! And we don't know why. The car performs just like everyday with no drop in any performance or abnormal behavior. It will probably go away after restarting a couple of times, we don't know. After the Nashik trip, the car was dirty, so we got it cleaned up at a local washing center. No fancy treatment, but the basics were taken care off. As you can see, it makes a significant difference whenever the car is washed and polished. It looks especially good, because the grey color has a nice, rich, deep wet look finish to it. Anyway, I think this milestone should give enough confidence to most of the people out there on Tata cars as well as the Dual Clutch Automatic gearbox provided by Tata in the Altroz.

We are sure that there will be many more milestones with our first automatic. Here are a couple of pictures of the car on the milestone.

Here's a picture of the 10k milestone achieved in 1y 10m 7d with the CEL celebrating the milestone!


A clean and a simple 4 spoke alloy design. We like the simplicity!


Here's a view of the cabin. Due to the wide angle photo, the height of the driver's seat is more pronounced.


A view from the co-drivers side. The quality of plastics used is very good.


The hatch door is fully covered, no ugly wires or framework seen anywhere.


Doorpads are white, which means that they are difficult to keep clean.


Here's the meaty 3 spoke steering wheel as seen from the drivers side.


Here's the front view of the car. We love the way, the wet look grey shade shines through.


A view of the front 3 quarters. The car looks good from this angle as well. When the paint is clean, the reflections look really nice.


Here is the front look when taken from the bottom side. Note that subtle use of chrome without going overboard. I believe it looks classy.


Left cornering lamp is on, but not the right one!


I think the eye replacement broke up the wiring of the right cornering lamp. We need to check it once again


The piano black surfaces look great on the car, but are definite swirl magnets. Although from a distance it doesn't look scratched.


The front and rear head rests are wide and broad. The seat fabric is of good quality.


Side panel indicators are simple orange bulbs inside a white case


Good Year Assurance triple max tyres are really good for OEM manufactured ones. These ones seem to be manufactured in June(?)


You can see in this picture, what I said about the high loading lip of the boot. The opening is tiny, which means you end up removing the flat parcel tray


Logos look neat, except they are rich in calcium deposits, after every water wash!


The wet look lustre of the paint. Paint quality is top notch everywhere.


Wing mirrors are wide and cover every angle.


A view from the rear 3 quarters. The black surface contrasts the grey color well!


A pic of the rear A/C vent. We managed to break the louvre knob. Now we use a spoon to adjust the vents!


A rear photo. We are yet to replace the broken plastic mudflap...


The hatch lid is held up by good quality struts. And what do you find there? More stickers! There is seriously no dearth of stickers containing QR codes, on this car!


The sunglass holder is functional but doesn't have a felt lining, so your glasses rattle inside the plastic cubby hole. The speaker for the voice commands is located above the holder. Roof liner is of good material and hasn't shown any problems.


The XZ model comes shod with 16 inch rubber by default but the spare tyre is a 14 inch wheel.

[Xtremecrd]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

the CEL has lit up for the 10k milestone! And we don't know why. The car performs just like everyday with no drop in any performance or abnormal behavior.

Please check the error at service station. Ask them to hook up their diagnostic tool and check. Do not take lightly these errors.
I had parking brake light on my altroz diesel console blinking intermittently. Turns out my brake fluid was leaking behind LHS tyre side on the frame. It seems the nut shown in the attached image has loosend itself over time (vehicle odo 20k in 1 year).

[NiInJa]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

So, our Altroz achieved it's first milestone of 10,000 kilometers today.

Of course, with a Tata car, there are quirks. For example, as you will see below in the pictures, the CEL has lit up for the 10k milestone!

Anyway, I think this milestone should give enough confidence to most of the people out there on Tata cars as well as the Dual Clutch Automatic gearbox provided by Tata in the Altroz.

Congratulations on the milestone, but please do get the error code from Tata service and resolve the issue while car is in warranty. 10,000 km is too low a mileage to get a solid opinion on DCA

We had a Fiat Linea that was assembled at Tata's plant and it had a very small issue with the first gear slotting, we ignored it, so did the service station (Pandit Automotive) and after a good 68,000 kilometers it stopped slotting in first gear altogether. The throw-out bearing was the culprit. We could have gotten it resolved under warranty in the initial years.

[kaps454]

Congratulations. The CEL is probably on because some water from the pressure jet would have found its way into the coupler of one of the many sensors. Get the code scanned and dry off that sensor. It should go away.

regards kaps454

[bajica]

The CEL is probably due to the Maintenance Schedule of 10000 KMS. If the manual says the service is due every 10000 kms, then the CEL light will glow up.

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Congratulations on the milestone, but please do get the error code from Tata service and resolve the issue while car is in warranty. 10,000 km is too low a mileage to get a solid opinion on DCA

Originally Posted by kaps454

Congratulations. The CEL is probably on because some water from the pressure jet would have found its way into the coupler of one of the many sensors.

Originally Posted by bajica

The CEL is probably due to the Maintenance Schedule of 10000 KMS.

Thank you, for the suggestions. We will get it checked during our service. Today the service centre had called us for the service appointment. We booked the slot for 13th July as both of us have prior commitments. As we had guessed, the CEL light disappeared today morning. Yet, we must get the car scanned for the error code.

Most likely it is the reason that kaps454 has mentioned. Some water got into a sensor and misbehaved with it. I will share further updates once we get the car serviced at Garve Tata on 13th July 2024

[W.A.G.7]

The car has covered 10,511 km as of today. We got the 4th Paid service done at Garve Tata. Yes, the first three are free. Now it's all paid territory.

Guess what? We let ourselves get hoodwinked like a couple of kids. Second time. This time, they tacked on a lot of unnecessary charges and an AMC just to reduce INR 500-600 from the servicing. In the hindsight, we ought to have fought "more" tooth and nail over this bill. Especially the AMC. You will see what I mean.

The usual advisor (Nikhil) who gets assigned to us had called in sick. So we were assigned someone else. That's when you get the "Ouch" awkwardness... This time, I did not have my talking Ecosport with me. We contested the charges to an extent but only ended up exhausting ourselves mentally. The drive back put up the smile again though with the way the car performed. I would suggest, don't opt for any kind of AMC. No matter how much they sugar coat it. Seriously you are better off paying only the service costs. The basic servicing done was perfect though. They did everything mentioned for the 30k service; in the service booklet to the T.

Here's the photos of the bills. We both felt we paid INR 7k just to waive off the engine oil and some charges. Whatever is INR 0.0/- is considered to be waived off under the AMC.

The silver AMC... that's daylight robbery.


Page 2 of the AMC. Although the validity is one year, the actual validity is for one service only completed in this time frame. That's what we were told.


Wheel alignment and balancing done as per the service book.


Page 1 of the bill


Page 2 of the bill. As you see, we fell for the A/C cleaning thing once again. Complete waste of money. We challenged this like crazy at the time of payment, but heck no. Then you realize that talking is getting you nowhere except wasting your time, so you just pay up and leave.


Last page of the bill. Seriously. INR 4.5k labour charges?


All in all, we paid 7495 + 6146 = 13,641 for the 4th paid service. This time the experience was not good because they added unnecessary things into the bill. So, I would rate them 3 out of 5 stars.

Here's why the drive back put a smile on the face once again.


Lessons learnt = No AMC is necessary. Just ask them to do the regular servicing as mentioned in the service book. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. This ownership experience has become a roller coaster thread of "Lessons Learnt" register and what to do (and especially not to do) during your servicing!

Now every time both of us laugh like crazy when anyone mentions that they are cleaning the A/C ducts!

[W.A.G.7]

So, the car has crossed 11,000kms last week. We are absolutely loving it. With the rains in MH in the prior two weeks, it was but natural that the Altroz would be pressed into service all the time. The rain sensing wipers perform nicely as expected. Except, when the rain stops momentarily (e.g. when you drive under a metro station) they go berserk at the highest possible speed. That's a scary experience if your co-passengers aren't aware of this behavior! One of the discoveries is that after a few sweeps of the main wipers in auto mode, the rear wiper also makes one sweep.

In short, all the automatic functions work as expected. Fuel efficiency hovers anywhere between 10-12 km per liter of petrol, depending on how lead footed the driving is. But one thing is for sure - this is a proper premium city hatch back with a convenience of a full blown dual clutch automatic transmission.

One gripe though is the angle of the rear windshield. As you can see, due to angle a lot of dust and mud that gets kicked up, settles up on rear windshield and bumper. Add water to a mix and you get a very muddy hatchback!


A full report after 2 years is necessary now for everyone's benefit. I will put the details soon towards the end of August. The other reason for not updating the thread recently is this thing


Maybe it's time to open another non-head bobbing thread! The Altroz seriously spoiled both of us with the automatic DCA gearbox. So much so, that the talking Ecosport has given way to this automatic white beast. We took delivery of this beauty on Monday!

[drive.helios]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Now every time both of us laugh like crazy when anyone mentions that they are cleaning the A/C ducts!

Been there once - 2019 when the family got our first car, interestingly that too a Tata - Tiago. Ever since, for every servicing there is one statement that goes out - no changes to parts or anything unless approved by us or the ASC bears the charges. No tacking on of anything other than what we report for service, other wise show us the manual. Has worked wonderfully well with most service costs coming under 7k. We had opted for the extended what expired just last week, I would say that the 6k paid was utilised with multiple part replacement without much of haggling.

[Xtremecrd]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

One of the discoveries is that after a few sweeps of the main wipers in auto mode, the rear wiper also makes one sweep.

Did the SC updated the ECU firmware for the rear wiper to sweep in tandem with main wipers? my diesel Altroz does not do that. My car only activate rear wiper automatically when i put the car into reverse and main wipers are "ON" and on auto mode. Please check the connection of wires for rear wiper assembly. This I am not sure if Tata added the new feature.
As for the bill, i see all the unnecessary add-ons. Washer fluid for 80 bucks, that's just water they put in the tank.
OEM wipers goes kaput in 2 months. better to go for aftermarket ones otherwise you spoil your windshield with hard rubber. Also there is no warranty on wipers. and for rear wiper, please change the only rubber blade from any accessory shop. Take the Bosch rubber blade costing around INR 170!
SR. no. 17, 18 and 19 are totally unnecessary requirement.
for Sr. no. 17 and 18, you can get Maruti Ac disinfectant part no. 990J0M999H2-640 costing Rs. 701 on Boodmo and clean the AC duct yourselves by watching you tube videos. For sr. no 19. You can get very nice detailing done on the outside shop. I always do the cleaning and detailing after the service, works out cheaper.
Please do the wheel balancing and alignment outside once amc is expired, it will cost around 800 - 1000 RS. for whole thing.
Also try Panchjanya workshop in Pimpri, they are good but they have too much rush. also this habit of unnecessary inflation of bills is present in this workshop also, But if you are firm with them they do back off and don't add them in bill.

[W.A.G.7]

Thanks for the two replies above. We will definitely take care next time. Anyway, it's time for an update and some pics of course.

• The car is doing it's daily job extremely well. No squeak, no rattle, everything has been put together solidly.
• Tyre's are good, and holding well through all the monsoon abused roads. In fact I am surprised that they haven't worn out yet with the insanely dirty quality of roads that we have left after the rains took their toll on the roads.
• The automatic headlamps work like a charm. So do the rain sensing wipers. The Garve Tata service center hasn't done any ECU update yet, for the rear wipers to sweep in tandem with the main ones.
• The seats are holding well, although the cloth upholstery is showing signs of dirt and dust accumulation. Looks like a thorough interior job is now really needed. We will probably get it done after the monsoons complete their activities.
• The plastics are good quality ones and they have held up well in the last two years.
• All buttons still work great and we love the physical buttons. Work great means that they still have the same tactile feedback as we had when the car was new.
• The engine is an under powered workhorse. Yes it's under powered without a doubt but it does it's assigned job extremely well. The lack of power is felt on the highways but for the layman, the power will be sufficient for within the city driving.
• The fuel efficiency hovers between 9 and 10 kmpl within the city. There's a parallel thread somewhere on Team Bhp where someone found out that a faulty thermostat assembly will cause the fuel efficiency to drop. We have sourced the part for the Altroz from Boodmo but we haven't got the time to get it changed. And yes, as mentioned in that thread, the temperature always seems to be below the 90 degrees celsius threshold.
• On the highways though, the fuel efficiency straight away increases to between 15 and 16 kmpl. Funnily enough this engine isn't meant for the highway spirited driving yet it always manages to deliver pretty neat fuel efficiency for a heavy and under powered hatchback.
• The paint quality is solid. No chips, flakes, peeling or fading observed anywhere. The sparkle effect in the grey colour looks especially good when the car has been washed properly and wiped clean.
• The DCA gearbox still continues to charm us with the seamless gear changes. We have made it a practice, whenever the car will be stationary for more than 30 seconds, we shift it to "N".
• Gear shifts are smooth and you can hardly make out the changes. It's only when you hear the engine RPM increase or decrease, you know the gears have changed. We tried the manual mode on the highway once again but heck no. It always ends up confusing us, so we switch back to the "D" mode once again.
• One thing we sorely miss is the gear indicator. It will really be a useful feature in the car to see the gear in the instrument panel.
• The Harman Kardonn system is fantastic. Neither of us are audiophiles but we really love the clean bass and notes with the default settings. We just like our music the way we want, and this system doesn't disappoint in any way.
• Surprisingly it has the feature of Apple car play / Android auto but that works only when you connect your phone with a cable. And we always forget to get the cable when we start any journey. And we remember it only when we are minimum 5 kilometres away from home!
• Overall, we are satisfied with the purchase so far and in the last two years and one month the car has completed 11,825 kms. Barring a few things, overall I think this is a solid hatchback for the cityscape or as a secondary car.
• I sincerely wish Tata would mate the DCA gearbox with the 1.2 Turbo Petrol engine and that would make a great "Hot Hatch" for those on a budget.

So here are a few pictures after the updates! Those who are thinking of getting this car (automatic), please go ahead without a doubt. It's one of the best value for money hatch back available in the market. If you are one who lusts after performance and zero to 100 figures, then this one is not for you. It is a proper cityscape specific, safe, feature laden family hatchback with a wheezy engine that delivers good F.E. on the highways!

Looks good from any angle!


This one is a long hatchback, with a big front overhang


This is the angle that I love best


A random shot somewhere around Satara city


The flowing lines and a subtle use of chrome make it look good!


Thankfully there's no overload of chrome anywhere


Front view at a scenic location with no crowds. This place is on the opposite side of Kaas plateau which is now too overcrowded.


Another random shot of the beautiful nature. If you look outside of Kaas plateau in Satara, there are countless such places.


Yo! My wife is happy with the money spent on the car!


Wet look finish of the grey colour is good


Alloys have a nice, simple, and a clean design


The best angle to look at!


Overall Fuel efficiency (which included getting stuck in a mammoth traffic jam after Khambatki tunnel) of the car after the entire Pune>Satara>Pune trip.


Fuel efficiency for the Satara>Pune trip and odo reading when we returned to Pune on Sunday evening

[condor]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

We have made it a practice, whenever the car will be stationary for more than 30 seconds, we shift it to "N".

May be reduce this 30 sec rule to say, 5-10 seconds ? Should help in long run, IMO.

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by condor

May be reduce this 30 sec rule to say, 5-10 seconds ? Should help in long run, IMO.

Ideally yes. We will try this rule. It's now ingrained into our brains that we shift to N every time there's a signal or stop and go traffic.

The cruise control and the manual gear mode are the two features that we have used the least in the car, since we bought it. The cruise control works great (used it only twice on the highway, for the record) but is quite useless given the our road conditions. Strangely enough, we never tried it on the expressway. It was always on NH4 from Pune to Satara or vice versa. The main thing that we really need to do is change the thermostat assembly to the new one from Boodmo and check if it impacts the fuel efficiency as stated in the thread here: Link (Soft failure of thermostat in the Tata Tiago, Tigor & Nexon)

[run_sun]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

• The engine is an under powered workhorse. Yes it's under powered without a doubt but it does it's assigned job extremely well. The lack of power is felt on the highways but for the layman, the power will be sufficient for within the city driving.
• The DCA gearbox still continues to charm us with the seamless gear changes. We have made it a practice, whenever the car will be stationary for more than 30 seconds, we shift it to "N"
• I sincerely wish Tata would mate the DCA gearbox with the 1.2 Turbo Petrol engine and that would make a great "Hot Hatch" for those on a budget]

I recently upgraded from Alto to XUV 3X0 Petrol automatic base variant.

1. Altroz was one car whose design I liked from day 1, but my alto gave me such horrible lag especially in the 2nd gear and felt lacking, power wise that the repeated mentioning of underpower had me worried. I didn't want to face the same problem again.

2. When deciding, on a new car, I wanted an indian made automatic that is not an AMT. Altroz was the first option money wise that is available. But then I realised that the entry DCA wasn't giving rear AC vents and the version which provides that feature is priced super close to 3X0.

3. When Altroz racer was announced, it was super disappointing to know that it didn't have DCA option

In our times, where 11 out of 10 cars are some SUVs, spotting a hot hatch is a joy to behold.

Congratulations on your car. Best wishes!

[satyamkolhe]

Originally Posted by condor

May be reduce this 30 sec rule to say, 5-10 seconds ? Should help in long run, IMO.

But wouldn't that wear out mechanical parts more because regularly using clutch and shifting gears? I doubt transmission will heat up so much in 5-10 secs. Unless I am missing something here?
I am using this 30 sec rule too for my torque converter as recommended by my mechanic.