[AutoYogi]

Hi dear fellow members!

It's been a while since I updated about my Altroz diesel. My car has completed close to 21,000 kms and has been mostly trouble free except for one funny/frustrating issue with AC as always which I will be sharing with you today.

(ATTEMPT NUMBER 1)
INTRODUCTION

I got a call from my Tata ASC here in the mid of Jan 2024 stating that there is a special update for Tata Altroz diesel owners who have complained about excessively cold AC issue earlier. I couldn't make time in the month of Jan hence went to TASC in the month of Feb 2024. I booked appointment 3 days in advance and reached TASC at 10AM on 22nd Feb. As I went to TASC I realized that the SA who had called me regarding the recall had quit hence, nobody had a clue about the software update. Finally they took 4 hours to find out about the software update and started to install the new update.

POST S/W UPDATE SCENARIO

The update was completed in 30 minutes and the AC started to work very well like how it does in other brands with auto AC but, the BCM went haywire in every other aspect. The BCM started acting up weirdly and would do the following actions

1) Starting and turning off the car would open the boot door partially, like how the boot door shuts when you don't slam it properly (single lock).
2) Opening the driver door would open the boot door.
3) Tailgate switch not working. Unable to open the boot using boot opening switch.
4) Turning on headlights would drop down the driver side window.
5) Fog lamps stopped working.
6) With headlamp in OFF position pushing the headlight stalk towards the floor would activate the high beam.
7) Switching ON the hazard warning lamps would drop down the driver side window.
8) Both the keys stopped working but the car would start.
9) Lock and unlock not working.
10) DRL's stopped working
etc

I maintained my patience on the first day (22nd Feb 2024) but, on the second day (23rd Feb) I started to feel restless and in the second half of day 2 I contacted the Tata Motors customer care and requested assistance from Tata Motors plant since, the TASC guys were unable to sort out the issue and started opening up the plastic parts. Finally, I got in touch with the CSM who helped me get my car back functioning normally by the evening. The AC issue which was sorted for good last year has come back to bite me and the AC started to chill me to bone, no matter what temperature I set it to.

The next day after this fiasco I had to go on a 1300 Km trip and the AC felt way too powerful throughout the trip. My mother kept warning me not to go to TASC as she has seen me struggling with these guys earlier but I was tempted to try the new software which promised an even better calibration and had to face these issues in the end.

ATTEMPT NUMBER 2

THE S/W UPDATE

I couldn't make the time/patience to visit the TASC post my long trip of 1300 Km and I got busy with my work schedule. On 19th March I called the service head at my TASC to get the AC issue sorted and I made it clear that I wouldn't be dropping my car at the SC as I am not comfortable with it. The new service head was kind enough to send me his technician to my house and I was quite happy as I need not travel 14 Km to the TASC again for no fault of mine. The technician arrived on 20th march with the diagnostic tool (laptop set) and he had come in a white altroz (in pictures below) because last time during update my cars battery died all of a sudden and had to be jump started which is weird as it happened only during the BCM update and never happened before or after the update. Just to be safe the service head sent the technician with the backup car and jump start cables. My car was placed under a tree shade. The technician started updating the software the same BCM glitch occured causing the issues as stated earlier. The technician finally installed the latest software by afternoon, after some discussion with someone on call and voila! the AC issue along with all the other issues was sorted and I tested the AC and it worked like it does in my other cars with auto AC and it was back to normal.

POST S/W UPDATE

I had to go to my workplace immediately after the S/W update hence, I left home and started going to my workplace and as I started moving the car out of my parking area things were looking nice but as I started to cover 2-3 kms the AC started acting up and it was back to square one. As the AC unit got exposed to the afternoon sun the temperature started dropping to minimum levels no matter what temperature I set the AC at. Tired of this I just let it be. I will be going to TASC to sort this out next week. I'll keep you guys updated.

WHAT I LEARNT FROM THIS FIASCO

1) Never be the first person to get a software update if TASC calls you. It might be a very small update but still don't take the risk as long as your car is doing fine. I had my AC issue sorted last year after a gentle soul from TaMo plant helped TASC calibrate my cars AC. The SA's betterment promise made me fall for it only to realize that I was the beta tester for this software. I remember my mom's warning everytime I switch on the AC post update, she warned me several times to think before I go to the TASC as she is aware of the outcomes yet I risked it and paid for it.

2) The software from TaMo itself had glitches. So much for the software update. Can't they test it before pushing it onto poor customers like me. Good lesson learnt.

3) TASC not informed properly and also no software update manual or method shared. Or maybe it was all mentioned in the E-mail but the TASC didn't notice it.

UPDATE AT 21,000 KMS

Apart from the AC issue the car has been doing great.

I have clocked close to 21,000 km in a year and she drives like a charm. Love the way she grips the road, that robust feeling and surefooted manners is really admirable. On expressway speeds the Altroz is too calm and composed. Excellent stability and braking along with class leading road manners. The ALFA platform is way superior to its rivals in terms of NVH, Stability, Safety, Robustness, etc. I am waiting for the SIERRA which will be made on the ALFA Platform.

What I love

1) Excellent build quality.
2) Fantastic high speed stability.
3) The gem of a diesel engine.
4) Fast and fuel efficient at the same time.
5) Excellent stock speakers. Audio quality is at par or better than rivals.
6) Well designed projector headlights. The low beam is quite powerful, decent upgrades should bring out better output from the headlights.
7) Super light clutch is easy to use, has a short travel range and the easy to use bite point is awesome.
8) Gearbox has become quite smooth post 7500 kms. Also gear lever is positioned in line with front armrest making it easy and comfortable to use.
9) Nice front seats with decent under thigh support for a tall person like me (6' 3"). The front armrest needs a special mention as it is placed at the same height as the gear lever.
10) 90 degree opening doors aid in easy ingress and egress.
11) NVH from frame is well controlled viz. road noise, cabin noise, rain droplets noise etc.
12) Well calibrated EPS, weighs up with speed and has a proper feel and feedback but not in the league of Ford's EPS.
13) Dead pedal is ergonomically placed , neatly finished and set at the same level as clutch pedal.
14) Braking is good, well calibrated and stops the car in time. I would give the credit to the Continental UC6 tyres as well.
15) Cooled glove box (with illumination) easily takes in 5-6 1L bottles and the bottles are icy cold post a 3-4hrs drive with AC on which is nice.
15) Storage hooks at multiple places helps to hang low weight stuff when required.
16) Chiller of an A/C with the rear AC vents being quite useful as well.
17) You can hear a nice soothing turbo whistle at 100-110 Kmph in 5th gear alike those Tata and Leyland buses. It can be heard only with the music turned off especially during the night drives.
18) Many people except us enthusiasts aren't aware of Altroz diesel and rarely come across Altroz diesels. When the car starts to pick speed post 1800 rpm the fellow road users are surprised with the Altroz diesels progress.
19) Nice to hold steering wheel.
20) Good paint quality with decent thickness. Paint is not easily scratched and has good depth.


What could be better

1) The diesel feels little noisy compared to its competitors.
2) I can hear a whine from transmission in 1st and 2nd gear. A little more refined transmission would have been better.
3) Rear seat back angle is set a little upright and rear seat base lacks under thigh support.
4) Head unit is slow to respond, feels laggy, not great to use and hangs up sometimes.
5) Accelerator input has a 1-2 secs lag/delay especially in first gear.
6) Driveability in first gear is affected while tackling gradients. I have observed that on flat roads the accelerator delay isn't much but as the gradient increases the accelerator input lag increases and the engine rpm picks up very slowly and might shock you. Even while tackling speed breakers if the front wheel is locked before the speed breaker then the drive ability and accelerator feel coupled together will shock you. Once we cross 10 Kmph things are again back to normal.
7) TASC experience.
8) The indicator positioning is at the bottom of the tail lamp. If a SUV, truck or bus is close to you then, they cannot see the indicator as the indicator is placed in an angled surface that faces towards the ground instead of facing upwards.
9) Horn placement is a nice touch but the horn pad and edge buttons aren't easy to use. It is difficult to use the horn during emergency situation as it is quite hard to press. The horn placement is missed during turns as the orientation of horns placement moves along the steering while taking turns and causes panic during emergency situations.
10) Paint finishing could be better at certain places.
11) Fit and Finish in certain areas could be better.
12) Tata unable to fix a simple AC issue for so many altroz diesel cars is surprising and shows that they aren't proactive rather they take action only when noise is made which affects customers peace of mind.

Add ons on my car (Right from the day of delivery)

1) DDPAI rear view mirror dash cam with front and rear recording with live view along with hard wiring kit. I have hardwired my dashcam to the cars fuse box and activated parking monitoring as well. No issues with battery or any electronics even after 14 months of ownership. The night recording quality is average on this dashcam. The 70Mai rear view dashcam in my ecosport is way superior in all aspects of recording compared to DDPAI dashcam. Cost 14,000

2) Solar based TPMS. Cost 3,000

3) Double layer door damping on all doors including boot. Vibrofiltr Gold sheets were used. Cost 7500.

4) OEM Goodyear Assurance Triplemax tyres (185/60/R16) exchanged with Continental UC6 (195/60/R16). I paid 5,000 extra on each tyre after exchange as the OEM tyre size for altroz is an odd size one only specific to altroz. Nobody were ready to exchange for the tyres and finally cherry tyres purchased old tyres for 3.8k each.

5) Purchased rear tweeters from boodmo and installed in the rear door using connectors purchased from KarDiy Channel.

6) 80w philips rally bulb (made in poland series) on all four headlight chambers.


Special mention about the tyre

I have used these continental UC6 tyres on my ecosport (installed on D day) for 2 years & 32,000 kms. I am surprised by these tyres as they have taken all kinds of abuse on my ecosport and altroz as well. They have sustained several sidewall hits as well during parking. I am so much in love with these tyres that I have turned into a continental tyres loyalist and would only purchase conti tyres in future. The noise level is low, wet grip is insane, dry grip is brilliant with the tyres asking you to push for more. In have never ever heard these tyres squeal even under hard braking or hard cornering in both my cars. I love these tyres as they have exceeded my expectations. Also these tyres fill the rim quite nicely as they wrap around the rim edges and the tyres protect the rim as it sits outside the rim whereas, the oem tyres sit inside the rim exposing the rims to external hits. The conti tyres of same size look and sit bigger than the OEM goodyear tyres which I love.

Some pictures shared below

Picture during first S/W update attempt



Close view of BCM



My doggo supervising S/W tuning at my house during the second attempt



Some recent clicks at 20,000 kms on the odo.















Thanks for all the support fellow TeamBhpians. I shall keep you updated of the future events. Wishing you all good health and prosperity.

[Aditya]

Tata Altroz Diesel Review | Pros, Cons & AC software update woes - Post moved to a new thread.

[gauravanekar]

I have few questions, would be helpful if you could answer.
1. Do the added 2 tweeters in the backdoor help in noticably improve audio quality to the front passengers?
2. How good are the new bulbs which you have fitted?

[AutoYogi]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

I have few questions, would be helpful if you could answer.
1. Do the added 2 tweeters in the backdoor help in noticably improve audio quality to the front passengers?
2. How good are the new bulbs which you have fitted?

1) I got the rear tweeters installed on the D-day itself hence I couldn't compare the actual difference. I am 6'3" and I push the driver seat all the way back (80% of the seats travel range), I am seated close to the rear tweeters and I can hear the vocals from rear tweeters due to my seating position. I wanted the top end like feeling hence, I added the rear tweeters. I would like to kindly inform you that the power for rear tweeters is to be tapped from rear speakers using 3M scotch locks or wire splicing (not recommended).

2) The new bulbs (80W) are atleast 40% better than the OEM bulbs (55W). I installed these bulbs on D day itself hence I couldn't compare them to the OEM bulbs. Recently I drove my cousins Altroz DCT with OEM bulbs and the difference these rally bulbs make are phenomenal compared to their pricing. I have driven my car in rainy conditions at night several times and these rally bulbs with their warm white colour gradient actually surprised me with their performance. On well marked highways these bulbs light up the road really well. The high beam with these bulbs has a strong pencil beam like effect that is narrow but covers a long distance. You will definitely love the output from these bulbs and the difference a set of 4 bulbs make on highway drives in worth the 1k that we spend on these bulbs. Make sure the headlights are adjusted well post the bulb change for best lighting effect and also make sure to purchase original 80W rally bulbs from authorized dealers for best lighting improvement.

[AutoYogi]

I would like to update about the AC software issue. In the first week of may I got the software update done at the TASC with the help of a very experienced and senior Service Head and this time the team from Tata Motors plant took online control of the Service Center's laptop and pushed for the update manually.

I was informed that the auto update system had a glitch hence, they had to push for a step by step update manually. The TASC took close to 9 hours to resolve the issue and I preferred to wait there the whole day. It's been more than a month since the update and I can now confidently say that the Auto AC system is working as it should be.

I have now decided to never let the TASC change or update the software specifications. It was a good lesson indeed. To all the Altroz owners out there who are suffering with Auto AC issues, please get the new software patch updated with the guidance of Tata Motors personnel. Now the blower speed reduces with increase in temperature and vice versa.