[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Amrit@wheels

Recently drove a 2023 dec 4x2 base variant with steel wheels. The ride quality was noticeably better than what I remember Go for 2XX/70/16 tyres and you will have a very liveable setup. I don't recommending changing OEM suspension to our local brands, only go for reliable brands like ARB, OME, Ironman, etc.

1. Indeed the 245 section tyres with 70 profile on the 16 inch steel wheels do provide a better and more cushioned ride because they have much taller sidewalls.
2. AVO are a brand originating in the UK who provide suspension components to the worlds of rallying and racing in multiple countries. They were brought in to India by the well known rallyist N Leelakrishnan from Coimbatore.

[AdiSinghV12]

Originally Posted by GTO

That is so well said & I 100% concur.



I would disagree. Yes, the AVO improves behaviour at high speeds & its dynamics, but even with the AVO, the Thar still suffers extremely poor behaviour over 100+ kmph. I have encountered road undulations on the expressway and things got awfully scary! Yes, the AVO does make the corners better, yet the Thar isn't a corner carver at all.

The no.1 reason I went for the AVO was ride comfort and I am happy. However, the 2023 Thars ride better in stock form and I don't think the AVO upgrade is worth it anymore. The marginal improvement in handling & dynamics isn't worth the cost & effort (1-lakh rupees, installation etc. etc.). There are so many other modifications you can better spend that 1-lakh on.

+ 1 to this. I test drove my friend’s Thar with AVO and it was notches below the ride quality of my standard thar. Even the high speed stability more than the handling I felt the nosedive was much better contained but that’s about all

[GTO]

Great car, poor service. That's a phrase I frequently use for Mahindra & Tata cars (including in our Official Reviews). Unfortunately, it came true this time too, and only got solved after I pinged the higher-ups at Mahindra to step in.

18th January: Car goes in for a simple, standard 1st service to NBS Mahindra, Sewri. Their driver picks it up.

18th January afternoon: Was sent these pics:




BHPian & expert offroader .Anshuman says that leakages on inner CV are common for those who offroad, and advised me to get them covered under warranty. I relayed the message to NBS Mahindra and they said we cannot claim it under warranty because of "fatter tyres". My car has done just 4,500 km and I told them there is no chance fatter tyres will lead to this happening so early in life. It's too premature.

.Anshuman also advised to get the front diff oil drained to check for debris. That might indicate damage/water seepage to the front diff. We got it done and luckily, there was no debris:




18th January: On the same day, I am told the spare parts have been ordered.

19th January to 22nd January = No updates. I was also away on a road-trip in the Safari Facelift, so didn't bother, although I did make a mental note that this delay seems unusual for such a small job.

23rd January: I am informed that parts have arrived and they will proceed with the fitment.

24th January: Now 7 days since they have the car, NBS Mahindra tells me that the car will be ready by the afternoon. However, since my usual service advisor is on leave that day, he wants to personally check the vehicle before sending it back, so they are requesting another day. Fair enough, said thanks for the personal attention and another day is okay when I've already waited a week.

25th January: Got a phone call, the Thar is ready and I will receive it by the afternoon. An hour later, they send me this picture, saying the door was dented while washing & cleaning the car:


Now, this is where I lost my cool and went all nuclear on them. First, they've taken 8 days for a simple 1st service & simple replacement of the boots. Now, they've dented the door. Who the heck reverses a car with the door open? Their driver was doing just that and banged into a pole.

Accidents happen and maybe I myself will damage the door tomorrow. But the 8-day time taken and the fact that the same workshop had damaged my PA's white-coloured Bolero very recently made me lose my cool. They didn't even repair my PA's Bolero.

To top it up, NBS Mahindra tells me their paint booth is full, 26th January is obviously a holiday, so they will be able to fix the dent and give back the car only by the 30th Tuesday....almost TWO WEEKS off the road. Now, I am lucky to have other cars in the house, as well as media test-drive cars. But to anyone who has a Thar / Mahindra as the only vehicle, good luck & download the Uber / Ola apps. Just to put things in perspective, neither my 11-year old supposedly high maintenance BMW 530d nor the Skoda Superb have spent so much time off the road in the last year or even 2.

Immediately, I ended my conversation with NBS Mahindra and decided to rope in my contacts at Mahindra. Was connected to some really senior people who got on the job ASAP. From there, I had no problem, the vehicle was fixed soon, I got hourly updates with pictures and it was delivered back to me. I really do appreciate Mahindra going out of the way, but am just wondering, what if I didn't have any management contacts at Mahindra? Who knows what other bad news the NBS Mahindra Sewri workshop guys would've given me? Big thank you to Sanjay, Shashank & Siddharth @ Mahindra who took over my case personally. The part replacements were also covered under warranty, although I told them to do as they see fit, simply because my vehicle is heavily modified.

Again, Mahindra = great cars, pathetic service.

[100Kmphormore]

Immediately, I ended my conversation with NBS Mahindra and decided to rope in my contacts at Mahindra. Was connected to some really senior people who got on the job ASAP. From there, I had no problem, the vehicle was fixed soon, I got hourly updates with pictures and it was delivered back to me.

They evidently did not know who they were dealing with, especially if your chauffeur handed the car over to the showroom driver.
I had a similar experience where the Anant Cars service section on Bannerghata road Bengaluru made off with the USB bluetooth adapter of the company installed JVC stereo during a service. I get to know of this a couple of days afterwards as my dad wasnt particular about using the bluetooth, it was a lifeline of sorts for me as directions on Maps and calls was taken on the go while driving. After the same experience with the advisors, one having the audacity to blame me (I was 21 at the time) I tagged Anand Mahindra in a tweet, tagging the names of the errant executives along. The senior manager of the workshop, Vijay Kumar got my adapter delivered to my home with daily updates, one getting fired a short while later due to similar complaints.
To this day, I still get an immediate pickup when I call Vijay to drop off the car for service.
Lesson learned - remove everything from the car, even the toolkit.

[gnome]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great car, poor service.

I wouldn't label it a great car either, when a key part fails so early. The perceived lack of quality is a significant deterrent for many potential buyers considering Mahindra and Tata cars. Though they have made progress, they haven't quite reached the desired standard yet.

[wadewilson]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great car, poor service . . . they've taken 8 days for a simple 1st service & simple replacement of the boots. Now, they've dented the door.

Agree with the statement though in my case I want to add - Great Cars, Sometimes Unreliable Parts, and Poor Service.

When giving our XUV700 for first service, the service centre damaged the soft opening mechanism of the glovebox in their attempt to fit the air filter for the ACC. I had no idea about the soft closing mechanism since my father and little brother took the delivery of my car. The glovebox used to open very quickly (freefall) when i would open it. When i took the car for its LCA replacement to a different service centre (1st Service centre completely ruined the interiors by dirtying it), there I checked out an MX XUV700 and for the first time found out that XUV700 has soft closing mechanism. Now my brother and father don’t obsess over each and every minutiae of cars so when i asked them they had no idea.

The body shop mechanic told me that he would check inside the dash and see if the mechanism is still there. Lo and behold, the broken bits of the soft closing mechanism were found inside the dash. They then presumed that perhaps during the 1st service, the 1st service centre might have unknowingly destroyed the soft close opening while trying to replace the ACC air filter. My thinking went along the lines of, since it was a new car model for them, perhaps they didn't know about the soft close mechanism and thereby destroyed it. Anyway, having ordered the parts, its been taking a long time since its such a small part - but I’ve been wary of that service centre and have always preferred to go to Apex Motors in Nagaland instead. While they may not have all the tools, the Service Manager always sees to it that my car is treated with the utmost care and also parts are replaced without any issues under warranty.

To reiterate - Mahindra makes Great cars letdown sometimes by unreliable parts and poor service.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by GTO

BHPian & expert offroader. Anshuman says that leakages on an inner CV are common for those who go offroad and advised me to get them covered under warranty. I relayed the message to NBS Mahindra, and they said we could not claim it under warranty because of "fatter tires." My car has done just 4,500 km, and I told them there is no chance that fatter tyres would lead to this happening so early in life. It's too premature.

It is premature, but this leakage can occur due to fatter tires, heavier than OEM ones + heavier alloys, and higher offset. All 3 put more stress on CV joints and could cause them to leak.

However, sub 5K kms is too low and indicates poorer part quality.

It's good that Mahindra eventually replaced under warranty, but this also shows that the common man won't be as lucky if his car is modded.

I am not starting a debate here, but you use your Thar as little as my Jimny, and I have yet to visit the service center in 5 months of ownership, closing on 4000kms.

[Autonaut]

My recent experience with Thar service was disappointing. The service centers often take on too many commitments and fail to deliver. Despite Mahindra's increasing sales numbers over the past several years, there hasn't been a corresponding improvement in their service. To my surprise, some of the parts, especially the relay for Thar and DEF, are unavailable. I was asked to wait for an additional 3 days, and there was no update on the DEF level in my tank during the service. I observed this and inquired with the team, who explained that they currently do not inform customers about it due to a shortage. I hope Mahindra's higher officials take note of this issue

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by GTO

18th January afternoon: Was sent these pics:
Attachment 2567176
===
.Anshuman also advised to get the front diff oil drained to check for debris. That might indicate damage/water seepage to the front diff. We got it done and luckily, there was no debris:
Attachment 2567177

EDIT: This is just a CV rubber boot failure, they just need to quietly replace that as part of recall or warranty.

Ouch! Fatter tyres will not cut the drive shaft boot. Is the overall diameter of the wheels way different? If it is similar (say + - 5% variation)l, then also this should not happen. Drive shaft boot gets cut 1) physical impact on them 2) poor quality 3) very extreme axle angle caused by lifting of vehicle etc. I guess this is mostly 2.

Did they find water contamination?

It is good to have diff oil checked if any kind of water wading is done in them. Oil changing consistency or going milky is a sure sign. If so replace them immediately.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

It is kinda premature but this leakage can occur due to fatter tyres which are heavier than OEM ones + heavier alloys and higher offset. All 3 put more stress on CV joints and could cause them to leak.

CV joint stress DOES NOT cause boot to cut, don't ever buy that. Boot can get cut ONLY if the angle is extreme (very different ride height) causing them to rub against each other on a continuous basis. Don't go by the pics above, that is when vehicle is on hoist.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

CV joint stress DOES NOT cause boot to cut, don't ever buy that. Boot can get cut ONLY if the angle is extreme (very different ride height) causing them to rub against each other on a continuous basis. Don't go by the pics above, that is when vehicle is on hoist.

Boot cut I am aware won't happen just due to fatter tyres. That is fine. My point was different that tyres + alloys + offset does put stress on the drive shaft.

What we don't know as you said is boot was cut due to external or some other stress causing it to give way. It's very doubtful to give way on both sides like this the inner one.

[Turbolove]

The same thing had happened to my 2021 Thar. I hadn't taken it offroad for over 6 months and suddenly the steering felt a bit shaky when completely turned, turns out the CV boot was leaking, thankfully the mahindra folks in hyderabad replaced it for free without asking anything.

[vellatechie]

My Thar Service experience with Koncept Mahindra has been fanatastic from Day 1.

1. For my free services, my car was picked up around 11am and dropped at my place around 6pm on the day of the service.

2. My Thar suffered misting issue and this issue was resolved within 4 days for free. In the same service my wobbly air con vents were replaced for free.

3. My rear door made constant noise and it was resolved (mostly) within 2 Days. For free.

4. When I went to pick my car I suggested maybe I should add few more accessories (door protection and all) worth around 20k. My SA said "Sir mat spend kijeeye, aise hi acchi lag rahi Hai." Lol

I next car will definitely be a Mahindra, either XUV700 or the new 5 Door RWD Thar.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

They evidently did not know who they were dealing with, especially if your chauffeur handed the car over to the showroom driver.

I didn't enter the picture until much later. It was my staff who handed over the car to their driver.

Originally Posted by gnome

I wouldn't label it a great car either, when a key part fails so early. The perceived lack of quality is a significant deterrent for many potential buyers considering Mahindra and Tata cars.

Disagreed. It is indeed a great car in many ways, but yes, there are issues. I hope you've seen my earlier post on the niggles:

Originally Posted by GTO

We're loving the Thar & its driving pleasure is unmatched! The engine & transmission are also A+.

But the car sure is a niggle factory

- Yesterday, post a drive, I parked the Thar and pushed the driver door shut. Instead, I heard a loud clank! The driver's door lock is jammed and the door won't shut. Will be going to the workshop today.

- About 1 month back, there was excessive petrol smell in the cabin whenever the engine was running. After 15 - 20 days, it disappeared by itself.

- As I'd reported before, in June, the engine mysteriously went into limp mode and wouldn't revv over 2000 rpm. Pulled over & restarted the engine. Been okay since.

- Android Auto still has severe disconnection issues. I connect my phone via Bluetooth only.

- And of course, there was the reversing camera niggle on delivery - camera would activate just 50% of the time "R" gear was engaged. That was fixed via a software update at the 1st checkup service.

5 niggles in <5000 km is a bit too much in today's day & age. I understand these are all small issues when viewed individually and that mechanically, the car has no problems. But viewed collectively, these niggles are too frequent for 10 months of ownership.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I am not starting a debate here, but you use your Thar as little as my Jimny, and I have yet to visit the service center in 5 months of ownership, closing on 4000kms.

Indisputably! See my quoted niggles post above. My Thar has already visited the workshop twice for niggles (jammed door, engine limp mode) and twice for scheduled services (1st month checkup, 1st year service). Would have been a 5th visit in a year if this rubber boot leak was seen earlier. I think your Jimny will probably go to Maruti just 5 times in 5 years!

Originally Posted by Jaggu

EDIT: This is just a CV rubber boot failure, they just need to quietly replace that as part of recall or warranty.

Yes.

Is the overall diameter of the wheels way different?

Nope. Within 2% variation.

Did they find water contamination?

Luckily, nothing.

Originally Posted by Turbolove

The same thing had happened to my 2021 Thar. I hadn't taken it offroad for over 6 months and suddenly the steering felt a bit shaky when completely turned, turns out the CV boot was leaking

My 4x4 has been engaged couple of times in the last 3 - 4 months.

[Turbolove]

Originally Posted by GTO

My 4x4 has been engaged couple of times in the last 3 - 4 months.

So if the CV boots failing irrespective of the 4x4 being engaged, thats just plain and simple poor part quality on mahindra's end.

[100Kmphormore]

I didn't enter the picture until much later. It was my staff who handed over the car to their driver.

Guessed as much. My experiences with Royal Enfield (The Mahindra/Tata of motorcycles) were pretty much the same. Fantastic bikes, especially 2018 onwards starting from the Interceptor but lousy ASS, exception of the company operated stores which were directly monitored. On a sidenote, I hope they repaired your PAs Bolero too (would have been a nice gesture for him too)