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Here's how Mahindra claims the CEL fault on my Scorpio-N is normal

19th July 2023, 15:07 by Ananth Iyer

I was told that this is not a problem but a feature of the vehicle and normal behavior.

BHPian ikalmegh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am writing this ownership review of my Scorpio N Z8L 6S Petrol AT after 8300+Kms of driving. I initially wanted to write this after completing 10K Kms but desperate time calls for this measure.

The search for new vehicle began with my health not allowing me to drive a manual car. I was looking for a perfect replacement to a VW Polo 1.5D Highline (Chikni). The standard was set high by my faultless Polo ownership. The search began in early 2022 for a safe SUV as safety was the first priority with a family of 5, but mostly used by 3 of us as my fathers Ford Fiesta 1.4 TDCi was stationed at my village for my mother and grandmother to use in emergencies. I wanted the car by December 2022 deadline as I could not risk my health any longer.

Cars in option were:

Mahindra XUV700 AX7 petrol AT Luxury Pack
Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo 1.5 DSG
Jeep Compass 1.4 petrol AT
VW Taigun 1.5 DSG
TATA Harrier Black edition AT

Diesel was the last option as the is uncertain. Still think I made the right choice. The first choice was a Mahindra but my SA said that it will be extremly difficult to get the vehicle in the varient I want. Moving on I narrowed it down to Skoda Kushaq as it fit well in the criteria except the fit and finish and overall quality was inferior to the solid Polo. That is when the Nagpur Skoda dealer decided to wrap up his business and untill further notice and the appointment of the new dealer the dealership was closed. I dropped the VW Taigun as the VW dealer was closing shop as well. With the Germans (Sorry Skoda) out of picture and time passing by came the time when suddenly my SA at Provincial Mahindra called me up for the launch event of the (So called) Big Daddy of SUV the Scorpio N. I liked the vehicle but was unsure of how this big footprint body on frame SUV will fit me. SA was sure I will not get this in my time frame. Sadly I forgot about both Mahindras because of unavailability.

By this time I was sure that either I have to go for a Harrier or Compass. With good relations maintained thoughout with all the SAs at different dealerships, In November I was offered the Harrier ready available at the company and delivery in 30 days max. Similarly a white Compass was offered at a whooping discount of around 3 lacs with immidiate delivery as the vehicle was available with the dealership. In the mean time the Scorpio N was getting fantastic reviews from all round the motoring community. It just made it more desirable and with clever suspension the high centre of gravity didn't bother me about uncontrolled body roll.

As my birthday was approching we decided to put our booking on the 24th of November, 1 day before my birthday. Me, my wife and my daughter (now 3) left to get put down the booking for either of the two. As we sat in the car just to campare everything again we somehow decided to visit Provincial Mahindra to take a look at both of the offerings from the manufacturer. As we landed there the SA was again sure I will not be getting the car. But my persuing power was too much and he offered the vehicle on display with the delivery promised in 10 days. I put down the 1Lac booking he asked for.
On 29th of Nov my SA called me to make the full payment to get the vehicle in RTO. It took him good 5 days to do the process and I took the delivery of KALI, (yes I name them all) on 3rd of Dec 22. A happy and proud moment!

My first long drive was a good 600 km trip in a day. I fell in love with the overall dynamics of the vehicle and loved how it behaved on the road even after being tall, long and wide. It wasn't long and my 1st service was due by 18th Dec, got it done the next day on 19th.

At this point all was going good and other than a few nags in the electronics it was smooth sailing. My run got low as I was busy with house renovation for 2 months. Then came the time to travel again on June 4th when everything gone south.

I was on Samruddhi EXP traveling with my wife and my daughter minding my business in cruise control cruising at around 100-103. With no traffic and road as straight as it can get there was no need to apply brakes. Suddenly the engine warning light and the warning on the cluster came on, disengaging the cruise and not letting me engage again. As it was a Sunday I found a spot to stop the car near before Karanja and called the customer care number. I was given a number of CXM from Provincial Auto and was asked to get in touch with him. I called him up and fortunatly he answerd on a Sunday. He asked me to visit the nearest service as an engine warning cannot be taken lightly. But being Sunday no service would have entertained us. So we decided to turn back to Nagpur. It was a 425KM return trip. After returning I put everything on mail to Mahindra, explaining the entire situation.

The very next day I took the vehicle to Provincial only to get it back by evening. I was told that EMS ECU was flashed and the problem is solved now. Happy with service we decided to leave the next day 6th June. I drove exactly how I do, no unneccesary braking and the cruise control was set to the same around 100kph. Faced absolutly no issues while going. But while on my return journey on7th after doing around 900-1000kms since getting the vehicle back on 5th the engine warning was back. Not expecting this the vehicle was back with Provincial service on the 8th after just 1233 Kms for taking it home as problem resolved.

This is where everything got weird. I was told by the Provincial service team that they are being asked to go by SOP, 1st mechanicals were checked then the electronics. Then they took 2 test drives, combined it used up all of the 230+km range worth of Petrol. Then after all of the investigation they got back to me with not a resolution but an explaination. I was told that this is not a problem but a feature of the vehicle and normal behavior. I was shocked and angry to hear this. My immediate response was to laugh at the statement made by the service advisor on call (wish I had recording on). After collecting myself I asked him to confirm this in writing, and he agreed to do so. This was on the 16th of June, 8 days after me leaving the vehicle with Provincial. 17th -18th being weekend I was worried it might be delayed to Monday, and it did so it an ugly way.

On Monday the 19th I visited the service again, this time I was to meet CCM from Mahindra. I was made to wait 5 and a half hour and he still didn't provide me that email. Tired of arguing the point I left disappointed again. On Tuesday I called the service advisor again and he assured me that the mail will be provided by day end, they didn't. On Wednusday, already tired of Mahindra I visited my lawyer and asked him to draft a notice. While this was being done I recieved an email from the CCM. In that email he explained the problem as below:

Mr. ------
Greetings from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd!
This is in reference to your feedback related to the engine check lamp while driving vehicle in the cruise mode for long time (more than a hour). Your feedback has been evaluated and found that, this is as per intended safety logic and normal operation of the vehicle. As per logic if the vehicle is driven in cruise mode for more than one hour without any brake input in between, the engine check lamp will get ON and cruise more will get deactivaed. To initiate cruise mode again, you need to switch OFF the ignition and again switch it ON.
Alternatively, to avoid getting into this situation, you may operate brakes once within an hour of engaging the cruise.
With Regards,

After recieving this I asked my lawyer friend to stop the notice and in reply to the mail asked the CCM as below:

Mr. ----------

Do I consider this mail as confirmation that the vehicle in question Scorpio N reg no. MH -----is fit for operation without any known issues in the electronic and mechanical system?

Regards

To which he replied:

Mr.-------
Greetings from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd!
Yes, already mentioned in my communication.
With Regards,

I took the vehicle back on Thurday 22nd June convinced that if anything happens here on forward Mahindra has to take responsibility now that they are denying the fault by saying it was a feedback and not a complaint. No apology offered by CCM, for anything!

Sunday 25th of June while in city only after doing 60 odd kms in the city itself I got the same engine warning without even engaging cruise. And the vehicle is back to Provincial again today. Tuesday after calling my SA he said that the Mahindra asked the team to perform SOP again! What was done before then?

I have taken pictures and screenshots of everything for proof and posting the same here. I am in dire situation here with no one taking resonsibility for the problem. My wife and kid are stuck at my in-laws now because I don't have my own vehicle.

All help is appreciated!