My Manza Aura ABS QJet - Truly a Breed Apart - Now 23,000+ Kms

[Highway Ranger]

For my previous Zen, the service station guys were advising me to change the battery which was hardly a year old. Since the car always started at the first crank, I ignored their advise. One fine day it was dead when I tried to start in the evening from office. Push started and drove back. The battery was completely dead and did not hold any charge even after the drive. Finally had to replace it.

Case of a dead battery... not a drained battery

So these battery dies out without any visible signs...

 

[gypsy]

Case of a dead battery... not a drained battery
So these battery dies out without any visible signs...

In that case I think I dont even need to go to tata workshop as they would have Excide or Tata green battery only as replacement, I better go to amaron dealer & get the battery replaced & also get the old battery checked if its drained or dead.

 

[Tornado]

@gypsy ,it has definitely died prematurely. In my previous cars the batteries have always survived for 3yr /60kkm atleast. Get the alternator checked before purchasing new battery.

 

[gypsy]

@gypsy ,it has definitely died prematurely. In my previous cars the batteries have always survived for 3yr /60kkm atleast. Get the alternator checked before purchasing new battery.

In my previous Indica OEM battery was replaced after 3 years, alternator advice is good but how will they check it I don't know.

 

[Rudolf_Diesel]

alternator advice is good but how will they check it I don't know.

I think this can be done by any good mechanic outside or TASS also. In my previous car ZEN, i had problem of the battery getting drained . In that case alternator was the problem. But i found that later only. I changed new battery and that also died after some run. Then only concluded that alternator was problem

 

[gypsy]

Yesterday 5th june I took the car to Oberai motors Noida & asked them to check the alternator is working ok or not, after checking they told me that alternator is fine battery is dead & as per them the life of the battery is 18-24 months so its time to change the battery. They offered me another Excide battery for 6000/- 18 months warranty.

I went out in sun 44°C to get amaron battery, 2 of the shops selling amaron suggested me higher current batteries for less price ranging from 3600/- to 4800/- but I was not keen on taking their suggestion as it didn't match the specification mentioned in the manual 12V 60AH DIN 55.

As per amaron website "Amaron Go" was recommended but then I finally found a Amaron dealer & he showed me Amaron Go battery but said that this will have terminal points protruding out & create problem, he recommended another battery Amaron Flo which is as per specification & exactly like OEM Excide battery without terminals protruding out.

I bought the battery for 5200/- (old battery exchanged) & these guys were kind enough to deliver it to the workshop 3-4 kms away as the car was kept in workshop. One problem we faced was that this new amaron flo has power terminal reversed so had to mount the battery ulta (reversed) hence the connector wire is bit stretched.

Gave a start & it started without any problem & checked the current at idle rpm it was 14.3V so they concluded that alternator is working fine.

Now the big issue for me is that I travel 95% on highways including my travel in mountains & this is dangerous precedent that the battery can die without giving any signs what so ever leaving me stranded in mid way, good that it happened when I was at my home, Imagine if I was on expressway or a hill drive & stop somewhere along with family & kids & car refuses to start at all.

Workshop guys are saying it lasted good enough, 24 months 19 days the car has been with me & before that the car another 3-4 months old when it was shipped so over all the battery life was 28 months approx. A dying battery does not show any sensor warning that is quite a concern for me. The mechanic at workshop told me that manza needs 12.8 specific gravity below which it wont take the load so ensure that SG remains above that which means I have to manually check that for so called maintenance free batteries specially after 18 months have crossed.

Had I been told during earlier service at 40K I would have changed it then & their, at the time of servicing the battery was checked & found alright on Jan 31st 2013.

Lessons learnt will remember it now onwards & fellow manza owners who are nearing 18-24 months keep an eye by checking it every week.

 

[Rudolf_Diesel]

The mechanic at workshop told me that manza needs 12.8 specific gravity below which it wont take the load so ensure that SG remains above that which means I have to manually check that for so called maintenance free batteries specially after 18 months have crossed.

Thanks gypsy for the information. Now my car is 20 months old and crossed 20 K kms. Will keep an eye on this. How do we check the SG you have mentioned. is the normal multimeter used to measure this.

But isnt the life too short for these battery. only 24 months . I have heard people say that battery last for 40 - 48 months. Is there a problem in these exide batteries or all are the same

 

[Highway Ranger]

For my previous car the OEM battery lasted around 4 years. But the replacement battery hardly lasted a year.

For Manza though, it is 28 months and counting...

Hardly anything I can do - (I mean, checking the battery every week is out of the question.) I will just use the car normally. If it fails, will have to push start and head for the battery showroom.

 

[Tornado]

@ gypsy , since you have completed 48kkm ,pleased share your experience and thoughts here

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/accessories-spare-parts/12651-new-tyres-tata-manza.html

Now the big issue for me is that I travel 95% on highways including my travel in mountains & this is dangerous precedent that the battery can die without giving any signs what so ever leaving me stranded in mid way, good that it happened when I was at my home, Imagine if I was on expressway or a hill drive & stop somewhere along with family & kids & car refuses to start at all.

Solution for this fear is to carry jump current wires with special jump clips attached to them and carry a' :' placard which can be shown to the other passing cars so that they can provide you necessary jump.

@all ,TATA is recently using accessories from well known brands but as a part of cost cutting ,they are procuring basic quality accessories from these brands.eg ,B250bridgestone tyres ,the tyres are average quality by bridgestone standards,while their potenza and Turanza range is known for
sporty handling and comfort respectively.

Same is true with blaupunkt music system

 

[Gurrala74]

@Tornado

It is not only TATA man, Also Maruti giving JK tornados worst of the JK range and no ICE where at least you get blaupunkt

 

[Highway Ranger]

@Tornado

It is not only TATA man, Also Maruti giving JK tornados worst of the JK range and no ICE where at least you get blaupunkt

I found the music system pretty good for my need and is still working well without any issue. (I would have preferred a system that supported .FLAC format. My transcend mp3 player supports that and I can connect it to the AUX for long drives)

Tyres... I expected them to last at least around 50000kms. Looks like I might have to do that a bit earlier...

 

[Highway Ranger]

With the odo nearly touching 41000 kms, I have left the car for its 40000 kms service. The last 11000 odd kms has been trouble free.

In this service they should do the following...

• clean the AC filter
• replace Air filter
• replace oil and oil filter
• replace fuel filter
• check/replace all suspension related bushes
• check engine mounting/bushes
• replace the coolant
• check underbody coating
• check steering bushes
• check brakes
• check and rectify some suspension noise that come in bad roads
• check clutch hardness
• painting of half the rear and front bumpers - some scratches
• interior cleaning

They have promised to give the car tomorrow afternoon. The day after I will be going on a long drive to attend a wedding.

The car as such is running good. Hope these guys don't screw it up.

 

[AppU]

Happy to see that you successfully clocked 41K without any issues

BTW, What about Gear Box oil? What is the time interval to change it?

What is the estimated cost for the service?

What is the condition of your Tyres?

 

[Highway Ranger]

Just got a call from the SA.

Need to change the front brake shoes = est - 2000 - this is extra.
This morning, he had given me a rough est. parts 7500 + labor 2550 (inclusive of paid service)

He also told me that there is oil leak from one of the front shocks and has to be replaced as a pair. He hasn't got back on the cost yet.

The tyres are pretty bad and I will need to change it before the next long trip.

 

[Tornado]

@HR. Good to read that the manza is troublefree yet.

BTW ,which tyres you have finalized ?