Mahindra Scorpio-N: Front wheel falls off due to suspension failure

How can such a thing happen to an automobile group who has been in the industry for such a long time and who emphasises a lot on 'safety'.

BHPian revver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I would like to share an incident that happened to my friend after he took delivery of a brand new Scorpio N. As he is not a member here, I am posting this on his behalf.

Here's the summary of events that happened in his own words:

Scorpio-N. Manufacturing defect?

Wish I could say that I am a Proud Owner of the "Big Daddy of SUVs". It took only seconds to feel that it was not a great decision. Would like to bring to all my fellow owners and Mahindra Group about a recent incident with my Scorpio-N. Got the delivery of my much-awaited Vehicle on 8th August. Since then, have been driving within City limits, specifically for office commute & weekend shopping that too in just 2 weeks.

On 16th Aug evening, had to step out for a casual shopping nearby. Once done and back to my Apartment parking lot, dropped my wife and kid and then was all set to park the vehicle inside the parking lot. Moved the vehicle with this intention and all I could hear was my wife & daughter screaming "STOP. STOP.. THE TYRE CAME OUT". Literally applied the brake that second and came out of the vehicle.

Shockingly I see that my Left Front wheel was hanging out. The Suspension mount (nut-bolt connection from the mount to the frame and lower arm) has fallen off and the tyre is hanging at almost a 45-degree angle. I am in no position to move my vehicle. Tried reaching the dealer and as expected none were available for a visit (fair enough as it was around 8:30PM).

Cannot imagine this happening on a highway. In fact, we had a road trip planned on 19th Aug. Thanks to the almighty for the blessings, this happening in a very safe place. Considering this happened in a very odd (blocking vehicle movement in & out) place in the parking area, after 2 hours of big struggle, we managed to manually push the tyre back and move the vehicle very slowly to the parking lot.

The next day began with phone calls to my dealer who is 30 kms away. I requested a mechanic to be sent for fixing the same to have the vehicle moved to the service center. The dealer confirmed that no mechanic can be sent to such a distance and I should contact the nearest SC (Service Centre). RSA was suggested as the only option. While the dealer was helpful in making calls and providing contact, would have expected immediate assistance given the criticality.

Contacted the nearby SC and same result. NO mechanic can be sent and the only option is RSA (Road Side Assistance). I reached out to my dealer for the GM/Zonal manager contact. The dealer also agreed to speak to the GM. Sent a detailed message to the GM. Simultaneously contacted RSA, and made multiple calls for informing the details. CRM from my dealer calls me and informs me that they are in discussion with the nearby SC for a mechanic to be arranged. Finally, in the afternoon the mechanic is assigned to come. GM calls me to inform the person at my gate. Temporarily fixes the issue and takes the vehicle to the service centre. They are now replacing the parts and will be delivered in 3-4 days. I am waiting to know the root cause of the issue.

This is a VERY VERY serious concern. How can such a thing happen to an automobile group who has been in the industry for such a long time and who emphasises a lot on 'SAFETY'. If this was to happen while travelling at a higher speed then there could have been causalities. VERY DISAPPOINTED CUSTOMER NOW. Looking forward to getting answers from Mahindra.

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If this happened while he was driving, it surely would've caused an accident. Fortunately, this happened in his parking area.

What I could understand is that the nut that fastens the Knuckle to the upper Control arm was not tightened properly. Don't know how this happened. If the tightening torque was not verified after the assembly line, how did it pass so many quality checks and PDI. I Hope Mahindra finds out the root cause and ensures that this does not happen in the future to any of their vehicles.

Here's what BHPian ashivas89 had to say on the matter:

The title should read: Scorpio Suspension Upper Wishbone Joint Failure

There is no such thing as a "suspension mount"

This seems to be a case of fastener failure. Cannot get a good look at the alloy steering knuckle/ upright to see if the pocket that holds the ball joint shank has failed. If it hasn't, then clearly the nut that is supposed to hold the joint in place has come off, possibly due to not being fastened properly during assembly. If that is the case, then it is some scary QC by mahindra.

Ruling out fastener failure due to metal fatigue and loss of bolt pretension as a consequence of durability limit loading because the car is brand new and the owner's claim that it has only been driven in the city.

Here's what BHPian ferrarirules had to say on the matter:

It is really sad to see what happened with your car. Upper wishbone mount breaking in parking (at crawling speeds) means a big lapse in tightening of bolts. You should take Mahindra to task on this. Ask for minimum free extended warranty.

Having said that our forum is recently getting filled with new car breakdown complaints. I think the reason for all this is

- The manufacturers having big order backlogs and running round the clock operations to clear them as quickly as possible. But in the end the person doing quality checks is a human, defects start to creep in when you are overworked. I am not defending Mahindra here but this is the reason of the sorry state of affairs.

- Lack of consumer supporting laws are worsening the situation. Cases against manufacturers drag on for years, they have legal teams on payroll to delay the process as much as possible. Anywhere outside India, manufacturer will be dragged to courts for such substandard cars and manufacturers will have to pay hefty compensation and replace the car as well.

According to me, our forum should work with other forums/automobile review sites to make a representation to govt for implementing lemon laws. If we can have BNCAP, we should have lemon law as well, all the developed countries have it. Example of UK's lemon law

BHPian revver had the following update to share:

Update: The dealership replaced the entire front suspension LH & RH, brake hose & also the front left wheel that had scratch. Owner took the vehicle back. But they are yet to hand over a detailed report of what & how it went wrong. I will update this thread when he receives the report.

Apart from this issue, the car is performing well. So i assume this is not a lemon but maybe a one off but serious lapse in QC by Mahindra. I doubt that the company will admit the mistake. But It's better to take a permanent corrective action in their Assembly, QC & PDI process & never let this happen again.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.