Steering Wobble Goes Away!

The steering wheel wobble between 90-120 KMPH goes away. Two key observations:

1. If you put your foot down and push for a fix, the issue will be fixed. The way to do it is to come across as a partner to service advisor to resolve issue rather than "i dont care, i want it fixed" client. Don't be passive aggressive. Once the trust is established, it is amazing the way the issue troubleshooting happened.

2. The issue was with bent rim. Changed both front rims at a cost of 2000 INR. Car rides like new.

Completed a 1000 KM Bangalore to Kodai round Trip. ODO reads at 90300 KMs.

Next service due at 99000 KMs. Will try shell petrol pump/friendly neighborhood garage rather than concorde. Reason: labour costs. Plan to get the repairs done (if any) that need parts replacement at Concorde, but routine service such as oil changes etc at FNG.

- Aravind

Inddie completes 4 years

Inddie completed 4 years in style on 7th March 2016, ferrying us from Kanhanghad to Bangalore. The entire round trip that started on 5th March and ended on 7th was close to 1000 KMs. Few notable things that 4 years completion brings:

- Car has clocked 86000 KMs till date
- Gives a feeling that it is going strong and will continue to serve us well
- I have no intention of parting with the car as of now
- Extended warranty of 4 years or 1,50,000 KMs ends; effectively Inddie is out of warranty safety net


Few niggles in the recent past:

- The A/C speed control knob goes kaput. The knob would not move from switch off position to any other position effectively rendering A/C unusable. This was in early Jan (luckily) when we would not miss A/C much. However, the heat in Karkala and Non A/C drive back to bangalore was tiresome due to wind rush. Promptly the unit was replaced under warranty. No questions asked.

- Peculiar problem surfaced after the car came back from the A/C knob issue. Drove the car for quite some distance, about 10 KMs in city. Switched off engine for a cup of tea. Started the car, drove till petrol bunk which is around 1 KM from the location of tea stall. Switched off the engine, did a tank full and cranked the engine. The engine cranks perfectly fine, car wont start. I have a habit of not cranking more than around 3 secs. Tried multiple times, car wont budge. There is another lady customer in Tata Safari behind my car waiting to tank up her car. Impatience is setting in.

Inddie wont budge. Gas station attendants now making up mind to push the car to a side. I switch off ignition fully, take the key out, reinsert the key and crank, Inddie starts as if nothing happened. I drive off thinking this is an one off occurrence. So wrong I was.

No indications on dashboard for any malfunction. Issue happens intermittently over next week. Everytime, the key reinsert works fine. Once, the issue recurred, but the key reinsert would not work. But, I noticed red indicator in dashboard with "CAR and PADLOCK" symbol, which suggested that the engine immobilizer was not recognizing the key. No matter how much I tried with key reinsert technique, inddie would not start. Gave it a 15 mins break and tried, Inddie started. Drove straight to Concorde dairy circle, reported the issue.

The first mechanic tried to give me a load of bull saying it is the battery and it is normal for the car and padlock symbol to show up. I asked him to do a OBD scan and check to which he replied immobilizer errors are not recorded in ECU.

After spending 15 mins with this guy, I called my SA Chetan. He promptly came down to the service reception and listening to me, he said it is immobilizer issue. He said he will have the technician scan the ECU for errors. Car was ready next day.

Apparently they had to make ECU relearn the key code programming. Basically, i believe they had to flash the routine for immobilizer - atleast that is what I understood.

Car is behaving normal after that.

Latest issue: Car steering wobbles/vibrates between 100 - 120 KMPH. Vibration vanishes post 120 KMPH and is not there below 100 KMPH. Need to have this checked in the next service.

-Aravind

First Breakdown. Unable to shift gears

Wanted to take care of some household errands today, took the car out. Drove normally for about 1 KM, shifted gears as usual. At the time of breakdown I was in 3rd gear and wanted to down shift to 2nd and to my horror I realize the gear lever has become lifeless. You can move it anywhere in 360* and gears are not shifting. Car was about 20 KMPH speed and the location was such that i could manage a U turn in one turn of the steering wheel. Maintained 30 KMPH all through out and reached back home. The car is still in 3rd gear.

Incident Log (Will be updated as the incident progresses):

2-Aug-2015 10:00 AM: Called Tata Motors 24X7 helpline. Within 10:05 I was given a complaint number and spoke to emergency service crew. I was told that crew will reach by 11:00 AM.
2-Aug-2015 11:00 AM: One man crew reaches my home and inspects my car for 2 mins. Says that the gear shifter cable is broken and the car needs to be towed to service center.
2-Aug-2015 11:15 AM: 24X7 helpline calls me and puts me across with the person who will tow the car.

2-Aug-2015 11:45 AM: The car is towed.

2-Aug-2015 12:30 PM: Car is inspected at Concorde Diary Circle and am told needs gear shifter cable and another module replacement. Car will be given back tomorrow.

Car central locking system behaving weird after service

After the car was returned from the 70K service last week, I was driving back home and noticed suddenly the car central locking system made some sounds in the door handles and the cabin light turned on. Could not quite figure out what is going on. Was busy whole of friday, saturday and sunday and did not use the car. Today the car central locking system continues to behave weird and noticed while turning the ignition key, the car's flasher flashes indicator once before the car starts and then the cabin light comes on. Have no clue what is wrong. I will have to call concorde motors and have it fixed.

The very feel of getting in touch with them to resolve this issue makes me feel tired :(


EDIT: Took the car to highway on 9th Apr and realized that these guys did not do wheel balancing properly as well. Car feels like a tractor at 80KMPH with steering wheel vibrations.

- Aravind Kamath Posral

Less than satisfactory experience for two times in a row

60000 KMS - 16th Oct 2014 : 

I reach Concorde Dairy circle for my service appointment. I updated the SA about my clutch issue in addition to scheduled 60000 KMs service. SA tells me that he will have the clutch inspected and IF  it needs replacement, they will inform me and then the car will be delivered to me on 17th Oct afternoon (I for a fact know that the clutch needs replacement).

Engine flush was added to the service list. He was very interested in pushing for AMC, which I ended up buying, of course, on my own will. The point is, the focus is more on selling additional stuff like engine decarb, bardahl additives, Engine flush, AMC etc. Especially, when AMC is being sold, the promise is you need not pay anything from your pocket Sir! I will tell the story when i come to 70000 KMs story next.

I called up on 16th evening and I am told they are checking the car and will be ready on 17th. 17th Oct I dont hear anything. 17th Oct afternoon, still nothing. Evening around 6:30 PM, i get a SMS saying your car is ready and contact SA for delivery. I call the SA, the phone is not reachable.

I set out on 18th Oct morning to get my car and the SA tries to put me on defensive by saying "Sir I was trying to reach you yesterday but your mobile was not reachable". I show him the SMS and told him if it was not reachable, how did I get the SMS? I also had received calls from others at around that time. So, he quickly changed focus to some other topic and then, breaks the news that clutch they have checked and can still run 5000 KMs.

RIDICULOUS. So you took two days for a simple oil change and some bundled services that you were marketing!!!??

I pay over 10K for the AMC and then, the car is given to me. There is no customer satisfaction feedback form that was given - very convenient!

I let go of that experience as one-off as I have always had pleasant experience with them so far.

Fast Forward today:

2nd April 2015: 70000 Kms service

I take an appt on 1st Apr for service on 2nd Apr for 8:30 AM. I reach there by 8:40 AM. I was given a token and tag. I am asked to wait. I wait till 9:30 AM. The same SA comes to me. Looks at my service history.

I had done clutch replacement at around 63500 KMs in Jan 2015 and was handled by the same SA. He had with a lot of sarcasm told me then, that Engine Decarbonization is required after clutch replacement for a FULL SATISFACTORY EXPERIENCE. Funny! But since, I had not got the decarb done for last 20K+ KMS, I agreed, although I did not see the need for it. The decarbonization inflated the bill by 1375/-Rs - that is a different story.

I was under the impression that the service interval is 10K kms or 6 months whichever is earlier. It turns out that (as per SA) it is one year. So he told me that I can continue to run my car for another 2.5K Kms as it has done only 67K KMs and then come back, or get it done now. I chose to do it today - no complaints there.

Then we walk to my car. He says the car has AMC. When he sold the AMC to me last time, he said, "Saar, next time service you will NOT pay anything due to AMC, other than wheel balancing weights."

Today, he starts writing the stuff on the Job Slip.

He writes engine oil and filter replacement and puts Rs 500. I ask him why, he says that is for cleansing agent. Load of bull! Then, Engine Flush 700/- and some foam cleaning 1100. I ask him what on earth is that? He says cleaning is checking all the bushes of the car for 1100 Rs. My question is then, what the hell is supposed to be done in the services when they say inspect belts and bushes?

I politely tell him to take out engine flush and foam cleaning. Still, I am given an estimate of 1300 Rs of which Rs 500 is mud flaps, which is ok. Why should i still pay 800 Rs when I have AMC?

Then comes the best part. He tells me that he can give the car only tomorrow 3rd Apr. I tell him I need it today. He tells me he will TRY. I tell him no trying, I need the car today as there is no major work other than oil change and other small stuff like wheel alignment and balancing and mud flap. I told him that if he can not commit, I will not leave the car today. He very coolly takes the slip back from me and says come another day. I conveyed to him that I wasted over 1 hour, cancelled meetings for this service and this guy has the audacity to tell me to come another day as cars that came for service yesterday have not made it out, when I have a valid appointment! He sensed my mood and took the car for service grudginly and said I will have to give him lots of time today. I told him it is ok to be late, but I need the car today.

What is the value in taking a service appointment if you do not have enough capacity to service cars? Decline and give me an appointment on another day when you can really service my car. Couldn't help but think that the SA behaved the way he did because I refused the foam clean and flush! :)

Make no mistake, Inddie is fantastic car. But my current and last service experiences have been sub par. I think I really have to find an independent garage who can do routine service without fuss and go to concorde only when something is broken and needs replacement. I may not have a choice as long as I have ext warranty - till march 2016. Certainly, I will have to find another TASC other than Concorde.

Attitude towards customers is all it takes to break the confidence, trust and customer loyalty. Was very excited with Zest launch and Hexa concept and wanted Zest (or upcoming kite) to be replacement for my Inddie and Hexa to be replacement for my Corolla Altis at the end of 2016.

Must say, after spending lakhs of hard earned money and thousands in service so far, this leaves a bad taste.

Update 21:00 Hours: Got a call from SA at 4:25 PM that the car is ready. I reach there by 5:30 PM. Made to wait till 7:10 PM and the car is given to me. The car is delivered to me literally with words "Saar, dont mind, I have expedited tomorrow's delivery for today". Sigh!

Have no clue in terms of what went wrong in the last 6-7 months and why the service experience has dipped this way! Only thing I can think of is increased focus on Zest which probably resulted in lower priority to vista owners.

- Aravind Kamath Posral

clutch Replacement & Whirlwind Goa Trip

Finally, the clutch has been replaced at 63400 KMs. The clutch kit costed around 7000 with labour and another needless decarbonization for 1300 or so..total 8300. Car drives like new, clutch is super soft, no judder and pulls cleanly and linearly during acceleration. Overall car drives much better.

Decided on 23rd to do a goa trip on 24th and tentative return on 25th. Started 24th morning 6:30 AM from home and toll plazas upto tumkur were a mess. The breakfast at Kamat at Dobbspet took a lot of time too. There were two kamat's in the next couple kms, which we later realized while driving, which would have saved us atleast half hour. The route - bangalore - tumkur - Hubli byepass- Dharwad - alnavar road - mollem - ponda - mardol - madkai. Reached madkai, around 605 KMs from home by 6 PM. Had lunch at a Rajasthan dhaba near HP pump about 40 mins before hubli. Roads are excellent but for 20 KMs or so near the karnataka - goa border. Bangalore - Hubli stretch can do speeds excess of 100 KMPH but limited the speed to 90-100 KMPH to have a easy ride in the weekend madness traffic. Finished pooja at temple at Madkai by 10:30 AM on 25th, started back at 12 Noon. Reached home by 11:15 after lunch at Hill View before Dharwad - Hubli Byepass and Dinner at Kamat Reliance A1 plaza near dobbspet. Traffic was crazy. Inddie as usual was rocking. Two tank fulls and another 5 liters of diesel did the trick.

- Aravind

All about shiny bright headlights!

This blog post is for educational purpose only to understand different types of automotive lights that are available in the market today. I am not recommending the usage of high powered bulbs. Those are illegal and a safety hazard.

Ever tried driving in the night on Indian roads? Ever felt the need for brighter headlamps? I am trying to put together all that I know about brighter lights based on my research.

It all starts with one person deciding to go against law. As per law in India, halogen light upto 60w per bulb are allowed to be used as headlamps on vehicles. But then,  more often than not, those tourist buses, cabbies and some private vehicles decide that 60w of lights is not enough and upgrade to 100w, 110w or even 130watts of halogen bulbs. That is what is blinding the oncoming traffic. Mind you, none of these lights are street legal - which means it is illegal to use them for driving on public roads.

Now, as a fellow user of the road, these blinding lights are a safety hazard for you. You will not be able to spot any obstructions (which are plentiful) on the roads, you may not be able to see the edge of the road. These lights also put tremendous strain on your eyes. No amount of flashing the lights will make the oncoming persons to use the dipper or low beam. That is when the insatiable urge to get even with equally or more powerful blinding lights play tricks on your mind :).

Broadly, there are three different types of lights available in the market today:

1. Halogen bulbs
2. HIDs
3. LED

1. Halogen Bulbs: 

Cars in India primarily come with different types of halogen bulbs which are marked as H4, H1, H7 etc. H4 type is most popular and comes with two filaments - one for low beam and another for high beam. The filament is tungsten and the bulb is filled with some type of halogen gas. Now, there are OEM direct replacement bulbs that provide upto 100% additional light for the same wattage. Which means, there is need to quantify the light produced.

Wattage is rough way of looking at brightness of the light, the actual way to measure is lumens. For eg, a standard 100w bulb will provide 1500 lumens of light. Ideally, we would like 1:1 mapping in terms of wattage and lumens which would be 100% efficiency. So, the bulb is operating at 15% efficiency which means, the remaining 85% is dissipated as heat. So roughly a normal 60w bulb would produce 900 lumens of light. Some brands like Philips Xtreme Vision use a different gas to charge which has better efficiency and for the same wattage ie 60, it will produce higher lumens - not sure about the exact amount though - due to which it produces more light. Since the wattage is same, it is safe to use as direct replacement for original bulb.

Now, if one is upgrading to 100w bulb, then, following things would occur:

W= VA. Circuit is designed by original car maker for 60w. So W=60. V is constant from your battery = 12v. So, for a 60w bulb operation, the A would be w/v = 60/12 = 5Amps. Now, if you replace 60w bulb with 100w, then A would be 100/12=8.5 A. Combine this with the efficiency of the bulb which I mentioned above. This leads to two problems:

a. More current flowing through the circuit, overloads the wiring and will lead to melting of insulation of wires again leading to short circuit.
b. Excessive heat generated due to high wattage bulbs. So the plastic holder designed for 60w melts and leads to short circuit.

So, if one is to upgrade to higher wattage, appropriate wiring kit that includes a relay and ceramic holders is required. The entire setup will cost around 2000 Rs including bulbs. If the bulbs are of higher wattage than 100w, then there is a serious risk of the plastic reflectors turning black in the headlamp assembly. Mind you, the bulbs dont last as long as the 60w ones as well.

2. HID

We need to understand three things here:
a. Project headlamps
b. HID upgrade kits
c. Bulb types

HIDs are primarily to be used only in a projector setup. HIDs are street legal upto 35w IN PROPER SETUP. There are some cars that have reflectors that are specifically designed for HID bulbs but then, most of the cars are not. Before we get into other things here, we need to understand how the HID bulbs work. In a traditional halogen bulb, the tungsten filament lights up to provide the light. In a HID, there are some super duper expensive salts (some iodides) which create an arc when HIGH voltage is passed through them. How much voltage? probably around 25000 volts. Yes, you read it right, around 25KV for the initial arcing to happen. So when you switch on the headlights, around that much voltage flows through the bulb to create the light arc but then, once arc is created, it requires lower voltage to sustain around 42V. Remember, your car battery is 12v. So, that is where a ballast comes into picture. Ballast is essentially a step up transformer (intelligent one) which provides that kind of voltage for the arc to happen and to sustain. So, by now, you would have realized, HID is not just about plug and play of HID bulbs. The main component is the ballast and the entire setup will cost around 12000/- rs. Each bulb will be in the range of 3000 Rs. Now, for intelligent cars that display that one of your lights have gone kaput in MID, need something called canbus ballast which is generally costlier. There are cheaper HID kits in the market but they are not durable.

So with that theory, let's get started with the projector headlamps. The HID bulbs scatter light in all directions ie 360*. So to prevent glare and provide the focus for the headlight, projector lenses are used which is what gives that cool look to headlights, like the ones that are available in BMWs, Mercs and other high end cars and now, in the likes of TATA ZEST, XUV500 as well.

The HIDs produce different colors and is what is denoted by the 6000K, 4300K, 8000K marking. The light is red/yellow in the lower bands like 4300K and become whiter at 6000K and at 13000K it is purple. The most suitable for driving are 4300K and 6000K. Others are fancy color lights - thats about it.

Now, the projector setup comes with expensive cars and after market projectors is difficult to source as different cars have different headlight shapes.

That is where the HID conversion kits come into picture. What that does it gives you a way to fit HIDs into your existing reflector headlights. By now, you have realized that it involves additional wiring for ballast and the HID bulb will throw light is all directions. Most likely you will not be happy with the focus after the installation - so it requires a good skill have it focused right. Also remeber, 35w of HID light is almost 2200 lumens which means, it is brighter than 110w halogen bulb. So, with a better conversion efficiency, the bulb tends to heat less, and less damage to headlight assembly. However, note that the initial arc requires 25000 volts that puts tremendous stress on the circuit. So that is why, you see most cars that use HIDs use it as low beam - once the lights are on, it stays on. High beams require switch off and switch on operation which makes high beam not so suited for HIDs. This, in the 4 lamp setup with 2 low beams and 2 high beams. There is no concept of low beam filament and high beam filament in H4 HIDs so they are called bi xenons which is trick used to provide high and low beam with a cover that moves in front of the xenon bulb when you switch from low to high and vice versa.

Finally, the HID bulbs are marked as D4R and D4S which specify the usage. D4R stands for reflectors and D4S stands for Straight (projectors). D4R has some glare removing at the front end of the bulb where as D4S does not. D4S should not be used in reflectors. D4R is for use in reflectors that are specifically designed for xenon - example 2010 Toyota Corolla GL model. It is another matter that corolla xenon bulb costs around 10500 Rs per bulb, yes you heard it right, in dealerships.

3. LED

This is the newest trend and does not require any kind of ballast for wiring. The efficiency is also slightly better than HID - at around 27W delivering around 2200 lumens. But, the challenge is to find the right fitment to your reflectors. Also, although LEDs have better efficiency and generate less heat, the LEDs are susceptible to the heat generated by them which is far less than the normal halogens. So, some LEDs come with cooling fans that particularly pose a challenge to direct fitment. If you find a good LED bulb that fits your car type, then if you go upto designed wattage, you will get some serious bright light. For eg. a 45w LED can throw around 4000 Lumens. Probably that would be too bright for your eyes to drive, let alone the one coming from the opposite side.

Hope this post helps clarify the doubts that you have in your mind about headlamps.

Disclaimer: All the above information I have published based on my research and please use discretion before you decide to take the plunge. Please note the usage of higher wattage bulbs is illegal. Even the auxiliary lamps are illegal for street use and should be used for off road purpose only.

- Aravind

Some updates that I missed earlier

Quick update:

Changed first set of two original (Goodyear) with Apollo Acelere purchased from changemytyre.com at 36000 KMs. Going strong after 21000 KMs. Initially had them do the duty on front wheels until I changed the remaining two with the same Apollo Acelere at 46000 KMs. At that point, moved the first set of Aceleres to back and had the new ones installed at the front. At 60K service which is another month away, will have them rotated.

- Aravind Kamath Posral

Inddie Gets Insecure!

There's a new kid on the block. Inddie's feeling a little insecure...Hey but wait, thinks Inddie, Boss is still driving me around more than that guy! May be, I will not be the long distance cruiser anymore..or may be I will continue to be the mainstay... That guy is showing off...but I am still the workhorse...thinks Inddie.

And Inddie's insecurity is not without any reason....

Watch this space for more...

The 50000 KMs Service

The car had clocked 50488 KMs when I gave Inddie for service on May 2nd. Was attended on time by the SA at Concorde Dairy Circle. This time, I observed that the person manning the coffee counter was well dressed, like an up-scale restaurant waiter, but was not serving or even asking customers for tea or coffee. Never mind, that is not an issue because I will be more than happy if my car is taken care of.

Back to the service - when I mentioned 50000 KMs service to the SA, he scribbled many things on the sheet and then asked me for list of issues. I reported a problem with front right strut, which was leaking oil and making sure that I feel it all the way till my spine, every small imperfection on the road. I also reported a problem with A/C vents not throwing enough volume of air as they used to before.

SA noted down both of them and said my service estimate will be around Rs. 7500 excluding the cost of strut, which he will inspect whether to change or not. Now 7500 is exorbitant for a normal service - so I start reading what is written. Straight away I got rid of engine decarbonization and engine flush as this was done at 40000 KMs. I did not face any symptoms of carbon deposits like black smoke, knocking , low FE or low pickup. So why fix something that is not broken. That apart, TATA recommends that these things need to be done ONLY if there are symptoms. The two straight away saved me around 2300 Rs.

Car was promised at 5 PM. Around 3 PM, I got a call that strut and brake pads also need replacement and will cost around 8000/-. I authorized the replacements. Car was delivered at 6 PM. The final bill was 11595/-.

The last service with no replacements costed around Rs. 9000+. Makes me think, if I keep spending around 10K for every 10000 KMs, i am spending around 1 Rs / KM as maintenance. Now, that is not acceptable. I can vouch for the service Concorde has provided me so far - it has been good. But I need to be mindful of costs too. In the bill of 11595, around 4000/- alone is labor charges. Thinking if TATA motors have smaller AUTHORIZED workshops and I can get the work done there, it would save me some money. All said and done, if the brake and strut replacement was not there, then my service would have costed me approx 5000/- which is still ok.

-Aravind Kamath Posral

The Strut Story

Went to Concorde Dairy Circle today for repair work. At the gate, the security did not issue the "pink slip" which they otherwise issue with the car KMS and the order in which the car was received. Parked the car and reported at Service front desk. The lady asked me to sit. And, there I sat. And there I continued to sit.

Problem that I wanted to report: oil leaking from Inddie front right strut.

Ok, back to repair story. After 30 mins, the front desk lady brings a mechanic to me. Good hearted guy with good intentions. Says "Sir, car has already done 48200 KMs, fix this with 50K service only, that way one shot everything is taken care of. Today everyone is busy anyways"

I say " OK, i am driving around 800 KMs or so in the next week on highways. Will this cause a breakdown"

He Says "No, dont worry"

I say "OK".

I drive my car back to work after spending 1.5 hours in the whole process.

So, what is the point I am trying to make here? The point is very simple, getting a repair done at concorde outside of scheduled service window is pretty tough. There is no process at all to handle repairs - or atleast that is the impression I got. There used to be QRS (Quick Repair Service) bay, which takes care of small running repairs - but if a strut develops problem at say 52000 KMs, then with the current model, i think the owner has to really struggle to get the struts changed or wait until 60K service. Hmm. Hmm!!

- Aravind Kamath Posral

Inddie celebrates 2nd B'day!

March 8th, 2014 - Inddie completed two years and how! Inddie, has clocked 46300 KMs and was ferrying us from sullia to bangalore on March 8th. Inddie is going strong..Upcoming work - 50K KMs service and may be change the remaining two original tyres with brand new ones!

- Aravind Kamath Posral

Some Pics from the Inddie's southern adventure..

Inddie's Southern Adventure..

Better late than never! So here goes the story of Inddie's southern adventure starting from 21st December to 26th December 2013. It all started in the month of October when I began feeling the need for a trip during the annual shutdown at our workplace. Initially the idea was to cover Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Tanjavoor, Thiruvananthapuram, kodaikanal and back to bangalore. However, little into route planning, the reality struck that it would be too tiresome and most of the time would go only on the roads rather than visiting places - especially, with my two esteemed co-travellers - My Dad and Mom. Quickly, the plan was changed to cover Bangalore - Kanyakumari - Trivandrum - Madurai - Kodaikanal - Palani - Bangalore.

Did not do much as part of the prep work for the car other than getting the regular 40K Service in november which i have already written about. Did not plan much of night driving, in fact, no night driving at all. Just a basic check of car fluids and air pressure including the spare tyre - that's it. Tanked up diesel the previous day.

So the when the day arrived - we got started on 21st Dec at around 7 AM from my house as against a planned 5:30 AM start. Well! well! Traffic snarls right from the end of the elevated express way. The two toll booths (Hosur and Krishnagiri) took 1 Hour put together to pay the toll and get out on the other side. We just kept going ignoring all the breakfast hotels - the Kamat, the A2B, the Saravana Bhavan..all of them! In each of these, you could see an ocean of cars parked - so I knew we did not stand a chance of coming out of that place before 1 hour. Kept driving till Thoppur toll, made a U turn, went to A2B. Hardly 15 cars were parked - what a relief! We reached there by 9:50 AM and after a hearty breakfast of dosas, left the place at around 10:30 AM. Covered distance pretty fast after this stop. Traffic got thicker near Salem. Waded completely after Namakkal. Held the Inddie below 80 as we approached Salem. Once past salem, let all the horses loose.. Was able to comfortably ride 120 KMPH. Crossed Madurai around 1:45 PM. Tanked up diesel in a place where i saw many private cars filling diesel..Inddie drank around 1200 Rs/- worth of diesel. We were not feeling hungry, so did not stop for lunch. Had a Kumbakonam Degree filter coffee at KDMC (if i remember it correctly) after madurai. Took a couple of stretch breaks. After Madurai, it felt that we were the only ones headed to Kanyakumari - absolutely no traffic on the highway! Oh Boy, we were so mistaken! Felt like half the world was already in Kanyakumari when we reached there :D. Reached Kanyakumar by 4:00 PM, Checked into the hotel and the Trip meter said 675 KMs.

Went out to the beach relaxed by the sea that evening. Had some good food at Hotel Saravana in Kanyakumari, the one near the temple. Went to bed early.

Woke up early next morning (Dec 22), started to Thiruvananthapuram by 6:30 AM. Frankly, nothing much to see in there - or atleast we did not plan to cover any of the places there except Lord Padmanabhaswamy temple, which was mother's to-do list for a long long time; even before the temple treasures news came in the public domain. So, distance wise it was only 90 KMs, but took around 2.5 Hours. There started the brush with the reality - the temple was too crowded with Ayyappa Swami devotees. It is a very bad season to visit any temple in south india during that time - the wisdom dawned after this trip though :) It was virtually impossible to even get to the cloak room. So I decided to be the cloak room for my parents, took my dad's shirt, mobile etc and sent both dad and mom inside. I prayed to the lord from outside only..We finished the visit, ate breakfast at a place called Arya Bhavan on the Kanyakumari road and drove down to Wooden Palace in Padmanabhapuram. Between Thiruvananthapuram and Padmanabhapuram, at one of the curves, an old lady decides to just run right across in front of my car. My car was at around 45-50 KMPH on the national highway. Just slammed the brakes on my car..No time to down shift..ABS light comes on in the dashboard. Steering is still responding thanks to ABS as wheels were not locked. I swerve left, avoid the collision with old lady, car stops and the old lady just walks past quickly! Phew! one heck of a lucky day! Thanked lord Padmanabhaswamy :) and continued with journey. ABS really saved the day for me and that old lady both! Especially for me, because in such situations things can go from bad to worse any time..you know the mob mentality that is prevalent here in India irrespective of whose fault it is!

Anyways, finished visiting the wooden palace, drove back to Kanyakumari, got some rest, went out to watch sunset near Gandhi mandapam. There was a sense of serenity amidst all the sea of humanity all around:). Ate some street junk food, came back to our hotel SivaMurugan, went to a good sea food dinner at Sea View hotel and crashed to bed. The car odo read 210 KMs for the day trip.

23rd Dec: Woke up early, visited the temple with special darshan tickets. Here too Ayyappa devotees rule the queues! Tough, very tough. Especially for aged people like my good ol' man! Anyways, finished darshan, went and stood in the long vivekanand ferry queue, visited vivekanand memorial, thiruvalluvar statue, and back to mainland. Checked out from the room and visited Chottavilai beach - was super good. Very clean, not many humans roaming there. It was very, very good. After half an hour to 45 mins, left the beach, drove towards Madurai. Reached madurai late afternoon. Filled diesel for 1000 Rs on the way to Madurai. Had booked a hotel online called Hotel Kathir palace, which is near the west gate of Meenakshi temple. This was one hell of a driving experience - narrow streets - cows - bullock carts - auto barging in from all directions - and top of that, a slow GPS software in my smartphone. Missed one right turn and then struggled like anything - entered narrow lanes where there was space barely enough for my inddie to navigate. The relief when I found the hotel is something that i still feel to this day! After profusely sweating and managing to reach this hotel, the A/C of this hotel was the only solace. I decided that i am not going to pull the car out of the parking lot of this hotel until check out, decided to use autos instead. Went to Meenakshi temple in the evening, again Ayappa devotees. Again the unmanageable crowd. Add to that security checking and two separate queues! Took the special darshan tickets, Meenakshi Amman darshan was smooth, lord Sundareshwara darshan was impossible with the kind of crowd who behaved as if lord is going to run away any moment from now! My parents were simply struggling to get on the ramp that leads to the sanctum sanctorium and not one person would allow our queue to merge at all. Finally, I think the lord himself took pity and one gentleman obliged and let my parents squeeze into the queue. I had blown all my wits by then and I made the decision on the spot to drop Palani from the tour list. I had enough of this mad rush and I could not take it anymore - not for me per se- but more so for my parents. Cannot see my parents go through this madness, I thought. Makes me wonder sometimes as to where the conscience is, in public life. What a stark contrast to me offering my seat to the old and needy to this day vis-a-vis this crowd. Phew. Out goes Palani from the trip. I call the hotel in Palani that evening to cancel, they say i lose the entire amount, I say ok. Simply could not digest more crowds in temple. Came to hotel, relaxed. My friend had told me not to miss Jigar Thanda, Murugan idli Kadai and Bell Hotel Jumbo Prawns. Saw Jigar Thanda and my jigar got thanda the moment i saw what is jigar thanda and decided not to go for it. I think it is for people who are not in the risk of being diabetic :D. But looked good I must say. Enjoyed bell hotel prawns.

24th Dec: I get a call from my friend Beni and he has also landed in madurai. What a pleasant surprise! He showed up with delicious Idiyappam. We had breakfast, spent some time chit chatting, and after that checked out. Started driving towards Kodaikanal, where I booked my stay in Sterling valley view resort. Took the kodai road, the road was good all the way. Inddie is a star - be it flat highways, hill roads, bad roads - he is the real mile cruncher. Inddie more than eager to gobble up KMS in the ghats once turbo opens up at 1750 RPM; there is no stopping Inddie! Reached there by 12:30 PM. Checked in. Gala Dinner was complusory. They sent us to buffet lunch which was absolutely avoidable. Relaxed for the rest of the day in the property. Booked a cab for 25th dec to show us around in Kodaikanal. Had gala dinner spiced up with dance music and other activities - me strictly from a audience perspective. Came back and crashed into my comfy bed.

Dec 25: Next morning, the sunrise was simply too awesome! One of the most memorable sunrise of my life time. Had buffet breakfast, hopped into the car and started sight seeing. Visited all the view points in kodai except guna caves as the walk up to the caves would be too much for my mother. Completed most other view points like pine forest, kurunji temple, view points, coakers walk, some garden, pillar rock, suicide point, moir point, lake, boating etc etc Came back in the evening. Relaxed at the resort.

Dec 26th: With Palani cancelled, the plan was to drive straight to Blr. Went to suicide point one more time, and then started to blr. It was 10:30 AM when we left Kodaikanal. Decided to drive back via kodai road and then NH7 only rather than take the dindigul road. It was a good decision. Reached NH 7 by 12:15. Started driving back. Filled diesel somewhere near salem. Stopped at the same A2B near thoppur toll plaza at 3:30 PM. Had good food. Reached electronic city by 5:45 PM and home by 6:45 PM.

Total distance travelled: 1735 KMs
Number of days: 6
Mileage: Dont know, did not calculate.

Each day passing, I am more convinced that Inddie is a great car! Inddie is a steady mile cruncher and is super comfy for long drives.

Will publish photos next..

- Aravind

Inddie basking in glory amidst sun n sands..

Watch this space for Inddie's southern adventure! ~1750 KMS - ||Plains. Plateau. Ghats. Beaches.||

||4 Lane buttery smooth NH 7 - 676 KMS in 9 Hours|| 130 KMPH ||

||2 Lane pot hole ridden NH 45|| 30 KMPH||

ABS saves the day!

Been there - Done that! Coming soon, Inddie's southern adventure -  A travelogue.

Watch this space.

Headlights fixed again!

I was promised during the 40000 KMs service by SA that the left headlamp set would be replaced under warranty as the high beam focusing was not working and was found to be faulty. SA had asked me to come down on a weekday to have it replaced.

So, I go there on 29th Friday afternoon and SA accepts the car. I also asked for an additional work of scratch removal from front bumper on the left side which i had got by rubbing against the wall almost an year ago. The scratch was present at the cusp of bumper and the body panel arching over the front left wheel.

SA said he will try to deliver the car in the evening - if  not- next day.

I got a call on 30th that my car was ready. The left headlight unit had been replaced under warranty at no cost and the left bumper scratch was fixed as well. There is still a small area on the body panel where the paint was rubbed off which is still not taken care - but the bumper was painted neatly. Most importantly, the high beam alignment was tested by me and was done to my satisfaction even before i landed at Concorde to pick up my car. This mechanic by name Murugan knows the electrical stuff well and all the while, right from day one, only he has been knowledgeable enough to fix the headlight issues. Couple others (may be junior folks) who worked on the car in the past, dont even know where the screws are present for a highbeam adjustment!

Got a bill of 1400/- for the paint job. Car was delivered sparkling neat inside out - overall a good job.

- Aravind Kamath Posral

40000 KMs Service Update

Before we get into how the 40K service went, I would like to share the headlight saga once again. Up until 30K service, the headlight focus was good after it was set right on my fifth visit for the same issue. During the 30K service, I told the SA that my left high beam bulb was gone and that it needed to be fixed. They indeed replaced the bulb, BUT, the highbeam was out of focus again. The left high beam was focused at about 10 feet from the car and was absolutely worthless. Somehow, since right high beam was focused properly, I just kept driving and procrastinated on the focus problem. Then about a month back, left low beam bulb fused out. Then I kept driving with the remaining 3 for about two weeks until the right low beam bulb fused too. So virtually I am left with no low beams and with no other option left, I go to Concorde about 2 weeks back...dont remember the exact date. Then I explain the problem and tell them that two low beams bulbs need replacement and left high beam needs to be lifted up and refocused. After 2 hours, I get my Inddie back, with 2 low beams fixed - no complaints there - but instead of lifting the left high beam, the right high beam has been lowered to match the left one. At that point, mine was the only car in the world whose high beams had a shorter throw than the low beam!!! Effectively I was left with 4 low beams and 2 fog lamps! I covered around 1700 KMs after that and a good portion of that was in the night. Night driving speeds were limited to 50KMPH with such idiotic headlamps.

Come 40K service, I am greeted promptly and attended within 10 mins on 5th Nov, when my inddie's 40K service was scheduled. The list of problems from my side first:

1.Lift both the highbeams (refocus them)
2. Clutch releases too close to the floor (to which the Service Supervisor retorted "Saar, if you release clutch the car should move only na"..Hmm... I did not know this after driving for over 17 Years now :P)
3. Left indicator would not stick (stalk problem)
4. Turbo kick not being felt like before

SA recommended:

1. Engine flush
2. Decarbonizing

As part of the mandatory 40K service, all fluids were replaced including coolant.

Result: Bill of 9191 Rs. Issues 2, 3 and 4 taken care and Inddie looks good for another 10K KMs haul. The indicator stalk (switch) was replaced under warranty at no cost.

Issue 1 still persists. I have been promised a replacement of left headlamp unit as left high beam lifting motor is not working as expected. I hope to have this replaced next week. Will keep you posted.

- Aravind Kamath

Headlamp bulb replacement...

One of the standard things that you get with a brand new car is a spare set of two headlight bulbs. Open pretty much any car owner's manual, they say replacing a fused bulb is "Do It Yourself" job. Now let the bulb fuse. Open the hood of the car. Surprise!! Other than A Star, most other  hatchbacks have no space to even poke ones finger anywhere near the headlamps. So if you have a fused bulb you got to drive straight to service center. I think there is a need for a better design that makes a basic thing like replacement of a bulb by the owner possible.

30000 KM Service Update

Just completed 30000 KM service yesterday. Had a few issues that needed to be taken care of:

- A/C blower not blowing the cold air (quantity and quality) the way it used to before
- Clutch starts engaging right from the max depressed position of the clutch pedal
- Steering wheels pulsates upon braking at high speeds probably from 100 KMPH - 60-70 KMPH

- High beam bulb fused

Apart from this regular service.

Some of the service requests I made (outside of the regular service(:

- 3M teflon coating - exterior
- 3M interior cleaning
- A/C flush

Car was delivered as promised. Got a bill of 9380/-. Of which around 4500 was for my service requests and rest was cost of taking care of issues and servicing that includes engine oil (just stayed with normal oil not synthetic) and other consumables and labour. Clutch bleeding was done to fix the clutch release issue and I definitely feel a difference, but my gut feeling is this may not last. I think, this will again resurface in another 2000-2500 KMs. I am also feeling a step kind of a thing when I depress the clutch fully sometimes and sometimes it is buttery smooth. Highbeam alignment is gone after the bulb change. I will have to get it fixed again.

I smell that clutch change is round the corner. What baffles me is my Maruti 800 did not require a clutch change when we sold it at around 60000 KMs. Our Froggie (Astar) is still going good with original clutch with over 50000 KMs on the odometer. Our i10 did 38000 KMs before we sold it but that may not be an apt comparison because  it was automatic. Our blueyy is still at mileage infancy having done 7500 KM in 1.5 Years. My Inddie acting up with clutch at 30000 KMs - Hmm, never know. There is no reduction in traction or accleration I get, the turbo kick can still be felt, but the clutch pedal release seems to be the sore point. Problem is, in hydraulic clutch there is no concept of clutch play adjustment (as per SA) and that is where the issue is.. Will be driving Inddie to sullia this weekend, so the service effectiveness will come to the fore then.

25000 KMs Update

Clocked 25000 KMs about 10 days back. Currently ODO is at 26000. March 31st, started at 4:00 AM from Bangalore to Sullia and reached Sullia by 9:25 AM with a 20 minute breakfast stop at madikeri. Thats like 5 Hours and 25 Mins to sullia with a 20 minute break. Nice. Road is littered with too many speed breakers. Kept cruising at 100 - 110 KMPH. No new rattles or squeaks. Finished work in Sullia by 3:30 PM and started back to blr at 3:45 PM. Reached bangalore by 10:30 PM. covered 650 KMs in one day.

Inddie is just rolling. When I drove the blueyy recently, I drove it like I drive my inddie. Blueyy complained right from the word go. Inddie just wants to go after roads - good and bad alike - but blueyy doesn't like bad roads at all.