Mahindra XUV700 (AX7L D AT) Ownership Review: The Silver Surfer

[A.G.]

Quick update on the version 10.35.21 after 2K Kms

+ Alexa connectivity is much better and there are fewer 'sorry'
+ Overall stability is improved with only 1 blank screen encountered while booting

- Without changing any setting, Clock is now Digital instead of Analog once the AdrenoX system is OFF
- Sound quality is much inferior to the previous version

 

[A.G.]

Completing 02 Years

On the 2nd anniversary, the odo was just short of 65K Kms having covered in-excess of 32K Kms in the year. Out of this, close to 8K Kms were dedicated to temple runs with almost 4K Kms being covered in 8 days (link to thread) and two 2K+ Kms trips to Ayodhya & beyond just 2 weeks apart.

However, it’s not all been smooth journey with Fuel leak severely hampering confidence. Also, ‘it’s a Mahindra’ attitude for niggles with NO solution is becoming frustrating.

Revisiting the Good, the Bad and the Ugly after an year:
The Good:
G1 – Drivetrain still continues to impress with it’s power and frugality.
G2 – Ride & Handling balance has improved with the new Pirelli tyres.
G3 – ADAS is really a boon for mile-munching.

The Bad:
B1 – Shaken faith on drivetrain & Mahindra’s RSA highlighted during the Fuel leak fiasco.
B2 – ‘It’s a Mahindra’ attitude for niggles (squeaks from door rubber seal, air noise from Driver door, wheel-bearing like sound, etc.)
B3 – Sony sound system has become poor with the latest update (ver. 10.35.21)

The Ugly:
U1 – Various noises (the famous football-in-boot, Brakes noise especially when crawling with brakes applied), and rattles (unable to pin point but somewhere from front), Suspension noise (despite Lower Control Arm replacement).
U2 – AdrenoX experience is still marred by frequent disconnections, poor Mappls functionality and no projection of Google Maps on Instrument Cluster despite the cheaper 3XO getting it
U3 – Random errors magically vanishing with a system reboot (i.e. Battery disconnect & reconnect).

Fuel stats for the 02 years of ownership

Some parting shots

 

[A.G.]

The second drivetrain related issue

The Engine Oil Pressure sensor was replaced under warranty and this is the second drivetrain related issue after the Fuel leak. Luckily for me this time the issue occurred when I was already on the way to Mighty Mahindra for an alignment check and getting DEF in preparation for an upcoming trip.

I was having an apprehension with the passenger side rear tyre looking out of spec visually and wanted to get the alignment checked. On the way to Mighty Mahindra while just accelerating smoothly after traffic cleared-up, I heard a ‘Ding’ which notifies an alert and the corner of my just caught the Engine Check icon on the display. As a natural response, I immediately lifted off the accelerator to stop but the error immediately vanished as if nothing had happened. No alerts were displayed or stored in the Alert History sub-menu which made me think I might have imagined it all or might have mistaken some other minor alert / error.

Upon reaching, met the Cotek and informed him of the experience I just had in a very casual manner as no Alert was stored in the History but he immediately got to getting this checked for his satisfaction. Surprisingly there was an error code stored related to Engine Oil Pressure and they suspected the Sensor to be faulty. By the time I reached back to Cotek after getting the job card opened in hardly 15 minutes, they had already approved warranty replacement and the team was in the process of replacing the sensor which just took another 5 minutes.

New sensor part

Part number

Waiting for general check

With 10L DEF, it’s filling charges and alignment, the total bill came to Rs. 1,816/- with a fast turn around time of under 2 hours.

Key takeaways:
1. At 67K on the Odo, this is the second drivetrain related issue just 13K Kms apart from the last one which is unacceptable.
2. It is shocking that the Engine Check Icon came and went with NO alert being stored in the Alert History sub-menu – ideally once a crucial Engine alert comes, it should have permanently lit the icon till an ignition cycle or atleast retained the error in the user accessible Alert History menu to take corrective steps as per the Owners Manual which mandates to contact the service center.
3. Exemplary support from Mighty Mahindra once again.

 

[A.G.]

7th Service of 70,000 Kms with other issues and highlights

Since the 60K service done in 1st week of August till the 70K service in 2nd week of November, there had been 02 unscheduled visits – once for tyre noise other was supposed to be for DEF filling and general check-up but ended up being for the Check Engine icon which came on the way to workshop.

Had actually visited Mighty Mahindra to address the Check Engine icon which came once again a day earlier – this time I was able to capture the same on camera. I could notice the pattern that the Check Engine icon came just before the upshift from 2nd to 3rd which occurs around 30 Kmph while slowly accelerating from 25Kmph to 35 Kmph. Under any other scenario of different gear/speed or faster acceleration around this point, there is no Check Engine icon.

Picture

Video
https://youtube.com/shorts/8ohekNGAzDM

No alerts were displayed or stored in the Alert History sub-menu which is not the right as the faint ‘Ding’ notification can go un-noticed easily. In the scan, the error code was registered as P06DE (Actual Oil pressure is High compared to Set point).

After initial diagnosis (scanning & oil level check) and having already replaced the Engine Oil Pressure sensor with the Check Engine icon not being reproduced on that particular day, it was suggested to go ahead with the service and monitor the issue. While the plan was to get the service done after return from the upcoming trip, got the service done as suggested which was done at 69,451 Kms.

Waiting to be taken inside the workshop

During service, the Cotek himself supervised the oil change and had got the oil drained in a bucket instead of the usual drain container to check the oil & oil filter.

Oil drained in a bucket

Work in progress

The Ultra V4 Oil (again no specs on the oil can)

The rear brake pads were at end of life with one of the wear indicators almost going to touch. Along with the replacement, the Brake discs were also skimmed to even out the minor undulations.

New vs Old Rear Brake pad

All old Rear Brake pads

Procut in action

Post skimming

All this was completed in just 1.5 Hrs and with time to spare, got the outside only washing done to save time which took another 40 mins.

On the washing ramp

The total service bill came to Rs. 15,106/- which included Air Filter, Oil Filter, Cabin filter and V4 Ultra Engine oil along with Rear Brake pads & labour for their change with Disc Skimming cumulatively costing around Rs. 7500/-.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Is v4 engine oil 15W40 ? It popped in via Google Gemini.

 

[A.G.]

Is v4 engine oil 15W40 ? It popped in via Google Gemini.

No idea since the grade of oil is not mentioned anywhere on the oil can, in the owners manual or by way of any sticker in the vehicle itself. Usually the current crop of BS6 vehicles from most other manufacturers are using 5W30.

 

[A.G.]

During a recent TLC session, noticed that the Coolant in the expansion tank was way above the Max mark.

Current Coolant level

Missed mentioning in the 70K service that 1L Coolant was also billed. While I was not convinced with Mahindra’s procedure to exchange 1L coolant (by draining 1L old coolant and adding 1L new coolant during the 70K service), it seems weird that the level is above Max mark now.

Also, the Coolant 2 years back was Violet in colour and is gradually changing colour over the past 70K Kms.

Before (Sept. 2022) – After (Dec. 2024)

Noticed during cleaning that the positive terminal side of the battery was having sulfation. Removed the intake and saw that the area not usually visible has prominent sulfation marks.

Suflation marks

The Check Engine icon remains unattended with their being no clear plan of action as I would refrain having stuff opened randomly. To me it looks like the issue is somewhere else as it is vehicle speed dependent and not engine speed dependent. For now the only solution is avoiding sedate acceleration around 30Kmph mark – covered close to 1200Kms post service with no issues. Infact for the first time achieved 17Kmpl from Chandigarh to Delhi airport without any sort of hypermiling and despite getting stuck in usual Delhi traffic.

Trip stats

Some parting pics from the TLC session