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4 years with an Altroz diesel: 6 pros & 6 issues that made me sell it

2nd May 2025, 12:19 by Ananth Iyer

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The Altroz Diesel was an incredible car, but recurring issues and poor service experience made me move on.

BHPian geekay_c137 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Why I Sold It?

Issue 1: DPF Issues

My usage is a mix of city and highway rides in Chennai—2 days city usage for office commute and 1 day mandatory highway commute as a getaway in ECR Chennai (100 km up and down). Additionally, a trip to my hometown every two/three months (750km up and down)
I used to get DPF issues every 8.5K km on an average, despite manual regeneration by driving in 3rd gear at 80 km/h every month(which is suggested by SA once).
More than the issue in the car, the service center took 3–4 days to clean the DPF/regenerate and I had to be without a car.

KMs Faced DPF Issue:

8,500 (Met team-bhp member Prasannadhana while he visited Kavery Tata,Trichy for his Altroz’s service, don’t know if he remembers)
18,000
28,000 (fuel injectors change)
32,000
43,000
51,500

Issue 2: Gearbox Oil Leak

Around 10K km, oil was leaking from the gearbox without any external damage.
The service center confirmed it was a quality issue and changed the shaft oil seal under warranty.
The issue repeated once and was fixed around 32K km.

Issue 3: DPF Oil Dilution & Fuel Injector Replacement

Around 28K km, I got a DPF issue in the middle of a trip.
This time, the DPF issue reached its next stage: oil dilution.
It went to the stage where they ended up changing all fuel injectors under warranty.

Issue 4: Clutch Plate Replacement

Around 32K km, the clutch plate was replaced.
I fought against their wear-and-tear claim, as until 35K km, my usage was mostly highways before I moved back to Chennai after COVID.
I got it replaced under warranty after sharing my experience on social media and raising a complaint with customer care.

Issue 5: Rust Spots

Rust spots started appearing under the hood and boot—places not exposed and shouldn’t rust.
I raised a complaint with Tata Motors, and the service center agreed to fix it with a paint job.
They took 10 days, only for me to find out they painted over the rust without removing it.
After making a scene at the service center, they properly removed the rust and repainted it in one day.
It wasn’t a perfect paint job, but at least the rust was gone.

Issue 6: Complete Clutch Failure

Around 54K km, while driving back from a function with friends near Porur, Chennai, the clutch felt completely free, and gears could not be engaged.
I managed to park the car safely but had to book roadside assistance from a third party after failed attempts with Tata Motors and Oriental Insurance. (Cost: ₹3K as I was within 40 km from the service center.)
This time, the entire clutch system failed.
I challenged their wear-and-tear story, took the issue to Twitter, and raised a complaint with Tata Motors, highlighting all my past issues.
The extended warranty covered only the slave and master cylinders, but not the clutch plate and other components.
The service center also identified a potential issue in the steering rack and agreed to replace it under warranty.
However, they asked me to pay ₹24K for the clutch system and labor.
After multiple discussions through a ticket I raised with the regional service manager, they asked me to pay just ₹6K.
This was when I had enough. I lost my patience with Tata Motors and decided to let go of my beast!

What Kept Me Hooked all along?

Final Choice After Test Drives

Altroz XZ Diesel was my final choice after test driving so many cars during Dec 2020/Jan 2021.
Polo was my 1st choice, but since the rear passenger space was very limited, I had to strike it from my list.
Realized I’m not that college kid anymore who dreamt of owning a Polo.
Altroz ticked all my boxes.

Why I loved It?

Wonderful engine for a sturdy car. I used to cruise at 120 km/h with ease and with so much confidence.

The diesel torque. I got addicted to the diesel pull and the effortless driving in all conditions. This is a revv happy engine, and I love that engine sound.

Space. The car is spacious in all aspects. I still couldn’t find a comfortable driver seat better than the one in Altroz. Rear passengers have huge legroom, good under-thigh support, and space, space, space everywhere!

Features. It had everything needed in 2021:

JBL speakers
Cruise control
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Alloy wheels
Cooled glovebox
Lots of storage space everywhere
(Sunroof was not a thing during that time, and even now, I would prefer not to have one considering safety.)

Safety. I met with a minor accident at a signal. A Creta braked suddenly due to a scooter, leading me to rear end it, and an old i10 then rear ended me.

I got down to notice, Creta had a dent, i10’s left side collapsed, and my Altroz had mild scratches with just a bent number plate in the front.
Altroz always gave me a safe feeling in every aspect.

Fuel Efficiency.

City: 15 km/l | Highway: 24 km/l
After the fuel injector change due to the DPF issue, city mileage dropped to 12 km/l, but highway mileage remained 20–22 km/l.

JBL Speakers. Though I mentioned this under features, this deserves to be highlighted separately.

Music is always part of our travels, and nothing met the Altroz’s standard when it comes to sound quality.
Though the rear speakers stopped working just before I sold the car.

Final Thoughts

The Altroz Diesel was an incredible car, but recurring issues and poor service experience made me move on. Would I consider Tata again? In future, only if they improve their quality and after sales service.

I exchanged my car at 55K kms for 6L with exchange bonus of 30K during Dec 2024 to get my next car. I will bring a dedicated write up for my new one: Why i chose it?