Tata Altroz diesel ownership: Facing issues since I took delivery

This is the second Tata car in our family after an Indigo Dicor. I expected them to have better QC and QA after these many years.

I have been a regular visitor on the Team-BHP forum for the last 8+ years. I have gained an invaluable amount of knowledge regarding cars from the team-bhp forum. I would like to share the bitter experiences I have had with Tata Motors due to the purchase of an Altroz Diesel XZ, which was delivered on 26th January 2023 from KHT Motors Domlur, Bangalore. This would be a long read hence, please bear with me.

Booking Experience

I am a resident of Ballari, Karnataka and I would like to share my sincere experiences with team-bhp members and forum readers. It all started with booking my car at KHT Motors Bangalore since my dealership in Ballari (Bellad Motors) was forcing me to purchase a White Altroz which was readily available in stock and I was interested in a grey colour Altroz XZ diesel. I made my booking for Tata Altroz XZ Diesel in the month of December 2022 at KHT Motors Domlur, Bangalore while I was in Ballari via a phone call. In less than 15 minutes of the phone call with KHT Motors, I transferred the booking amount and sealed the deal.

Post Booking Experience

Once the booking amount was done, KHT Motors started ignoring me. They became lethargic and wouldn’t give me their final price, or proforma invoice nor would they even care to get back to me. With the impending price hike coming into effect from the 1st week of January 2023 I started to panic as I would have to shell out around 30,000 extra and none of the dealers were taking bookings since it was a year end. I travelled all the way from Ballari to Bangalore (a total of 750 km) just to get the final offer for my car as these guys were not responding to my requests. Even after informing the showroom guys 2 days in advance, they made me wait for close to 3 hours to take me to the stockyard for the PDI of my car and they said the driver isn’t available hence, I had to drive the Tigor EV demo car all by myself from showroom to stockyard and they made me wait another 2 hours at the stockyard to let me allow for the PDI as the car was really dirty and I asked to get my car washed since the washing area was inside the stockyard itself, KHT motors has its stockyard and service centre at one place. I finally lost my patience and gave an earful to the guys at KHT Motors for treating a customer who has travelled 350 km just because of their incompetence and I finally decided to cancel my booking and go for the Baleno. My SA came back and requested me to not cancel the car and she pleaded with me since the car was already booked in my mother’s name. I entered the showroom at 10bAM in the morning and by the time I did the PDI and got my final offer, it was 7:30 PM. They promised to not trouble me and said they would finish the next processes quickly. I came back to Ballari and they started ignoring my requests again. They started pestering me on 30th December 2022 stating price hike is impending and to process the loan quickly or else I would lose 30,000 due to the price hike from 1st Jan 2023. In just one day, we could get the loan sanctioned and finally, I heaved a sigh of relief thinking all the drama is done. The dealership registered the car without informing me nor did they ask for my preference for a particular number. I shared the whole booking and post-booking ordeal with Tata Motors via Email and I didn’t get any response from Tata Motors.

D-day

I informed the KHT Motors team lead and my SA 12 days in advance to keep all the documents in place since I didn’t want any more mess up. They promised to keep all documents and number plates in place on D-day. I kept reminding them about the documents and number plate every alternate day until D-day. The team leader also confirmed to have it with him. On D-day, I was again made to wait for 1.5 hours for delivery and guess what? they didn’t have the documents and number plate with them. I was so furious at that moment but I preferred to not spoil my delivery moment and they kept pestering me for 10/10 feedback without bothering about my issue. The team lead was very rude and irresponsible right from the beginning and I just took my car out from the showroom never to meet them again in my life. The moment I took the delivery of my car I realised the AC was malfunctioning, it would blow air at 16 degrees centigrade no matter what temperature I set it at. Somehow I missed this aspect during PDI as I checked if the AC is cooling properly or not but this is the first time I have come across such an issue in any car. The blower speed would reduce but the air coming out of AC vents would be damn cold. I got the car to Ballari and I fell ill for the next 3 days due to exposing myself continuously to cold air from defective AC for close to 400 kms. I rated my delivery experience with Tata Motors person on call post-delivery a pathetic 01/10 and nobody from Tata Motors bothered to call me in spite of the 01/10 rating, and I decided this would be my last Tata car.

My car is at the dealership due to an AC issue

I took my car to ASC in Ballari (Bellad Tata) regarding the issue and the service advisor there straight away denied the AC issue stating that I do not know how to use auto AC. I told him this was the 8th car in our family and my other 2 cars that I currently use (Ford Ecosport Titanium BS6 27,000 kms on odo and Fortuner 2014 1,60,000 kms on odo) both are cars with auto AC and he kept on arguing stating there is no issue with the AC. Finally, he took the car inside the service area and disconnected the battery for half a day and called me saying the issue is sorted I went to the ASC only to realize that the issue isn’t sorted and the technician started blaming me for the lack of knowledge from my end. To my luck, there was an Altroz Diesel demo car that was available that day hence, I made him set 27 degrees centigrade in my car and the demo car to compare. The technician confidently entered the demo car trying to prove me wrong and he was in for a surprise. Then he stated that he will have another thorough check done. I requested him to just reset the codes by connecting the BCM module and retain the AC sensor since the actuator and other components were all working fine. The technician stated the issue is in the actuator and started opening up the bottom part of the dashboard in spite of my requesting him to check the sensor first. they ripped open the bottom part of the dashboard near the passenger side and kept the car for 2 days and called me stating the issue is sorted. Guess what? yes, you are right. The issue was still present. I took my car back and was unhappy with a brand new car which was delivered less than a month ago being ripped open like this. I drove the car as it is for close to a month and I contacted the ASC again since this is the only Tata Motors ASC in my place. This time the technician said he will open up the whole dashboard and check the AC unit. I thought enough is enough and shot a strong-worded mail to Tata Motors stating their pathetic QC/QA process and not expecting much help from TaMo I started sharing my experience on the YouTube comments section as I am not active on social media and Tata Motors started waking up from their slumber. Finally, one of their engineers was connected to the technician at ASC and finally, it was decided to be a simple software error as informed by me the technician on day 1 and the car was given back to me this time with the issue sorted. My technician then argued with me stating that it was unexpected and all parameters can’t be modified by them and bla bla.

Oil sump gasket failure noticed at 2nd service (7500 km)

I requested my ASC to change the engine oil to 7500 km since I have a habit of changing engine oil once before 7,000 km on all my new cars. My car was lifted in the service bay and I noticed the SA trying to clean the leaking oil under my car. I went inside the service area and noticed oil leaking from the gasket area of the oil sump/reservoir. My SA advised me that there wouldn’t be any issue and I can continue driving since the leakage is minimal. I requested him to replace the gasket under warranty to which he obliged and gave me the car back the next day.

Engine bay area rusting

Recently I have noticed that several areas in the engine bay have started to rust and this was the final test for my patience. I shared the pictures with the service head at my ASC and I called the service head he said get it and we shall see what can be done. I mean the guys at ASC and Tata Motors are so casual with the customers who purchase their cars with hard-earned money and these guys don’t give a damn to our emotional bonding with the car. I make sure to only wash the car if it is absolutely necessary and I use only soft water at all times. The ASC guys use hard water which leaves white spots after drying hence, I request them to give me my car without washing after service from now onwards. I live in a dry region so there shouldn’t be chances of rusting for a less than 6 months old car.

Issues faced by me till now

AC issue.
Driver side A pillar trim rattling (sorted out by myself after ASC failed to do it twice).
The Centre console’s grey colour trim around the gear lever has an ugly gap and they made it even worse after the warranty replacement.
Fog lamps switch on intermittently. The fog lamp switch displays on condition but fog lamps don’t turn on sometimes.
Paint sprayed over dust particles right from the factory.
Engine sump gasket leakage.
Abnormal panel gaps on each side of the tailgate area.
Engine bay rusting and paint peeling off at the edges along with paint bubbling up at certain areas.

Windshield with defects. I have changed the OEM wipers that were making a juddering noise while used in rains and installed Valeo wiper blades which also started juddering during rains and I realised there is a manufacturing defect either with the windshield or the wiper arm. The same Valeo wipers perform really well on our Fortuner and EcoSport.

What I love about the car

Excellent seating comfort for a well-built guy like me ( 6’3 and 94 kg).
Brilliant road manners.
Chilling AC.
Ultra-light clutch never gets tiring.
Gem of a diesel. Quite powerful along with excellent driving ability. Great fuel efficiency.
Doors close with a reassuring thud and make you feel safe.
Nice audio system.
Brilliant headlights for a stock car. The low beam is especially too good.
Looks awesome.
Decent braking.
Interior is a nice place to be in.

Summary

I have done 10,000 kms in less than 6 months and I drive a minimum of 30 kms daily. This is the second TaMo car in our family after an Indigo Dicor. I expected TaMo to have better QC and QA after these many years yet they haven’t sorted it out yet. Altroz isn’t a high-selling car like Punch or Nexon yet, they managed to mess up on the QC front. There is a reason why people prefer Maruti, Toyota, Hyundai and Ford. The service experience is several times better with the competitors and also a mail to the company from a grieving customer is taken seriously whereas in TaMo it is seriously a hit or miss. My car has so many QC passed stickers all around the engine bay, glass area and the interior component yet, they missed catching hold of so many issues in one single car. People who mock MS cars as tin cans should realize and appreciate Maruti Suzuki’s QC approach and the way they treat their customers right from booking, and delivery to service everything is smooth. If Maruti Suzuki starts getting cars with better structural safety then I would go back to Maruti without a second thought. I request you all to not blindly fall for the Made in India automobile craze instead, buy a car on its own merits. I thank team-bhp for imparting a vast amount of invaluable knowledge to us automobile enthusiasts. I wanted to bring to the notice of automobile enthusiasts how TaMo hasn’t changed their old habits and the end result is borne by the customer.

Cars Owned

M800 (2000-2005) (Pre-worshipped, ultra-reliable)
Matiz (2002-2006) (Pre-worshipped, reliable)
Scorpio (2006-2016) (Purchased brand new, done 1,80,000 kms without a single breakdown)
Ertiga Zdi (2012-2018) (Purchased brand new, done 22,000 kms, ultra-reliable)
TUV 300 (2016-2020) (Purchased brand new, done 23,000 kms, ultra-reliable)
Fortuner (2018-till date) (Pre-worshipped, done 1.6L kms, absolutely reliable)
Ecosport (2021-till date) (Purchased brand new, done 28,000 kms, very reliable)
Altroz (2022-till date) (Purchased brand new, done 10,000 kms, no comments)

Please find attached the respective videos and images.