My Pre-Owned Tata Safari 3.0 - Ownership Review

[umalkars]

So which lights are new, the white or the yellow. I take it that the fog lights in bumper don't work?
Quite bright.
Have you tried, xenon lights?

The white ones are new. Earlier, the yellow lights were in the middle, shifted them down. The fog lights in the bumper also work, but may not use them as I have put yellow ones right before them.

Never tried xenon lights, may check. Frankly, I am very happy with Neolites, they are affordable and serve the purpose during night drives.

 

[ZenandEnfield]

So 4 fogs & 2 Headlamps. Anything else which takes some power, like sub-woofer?

 

[KALINGA]

The white ones are new. Earlier, the yellow lights were in the middle, shifted them down. The fog lights in the bumper also work, but may not use them as I have put yellow ones right before them.

Never tried xenon lights, may check. Frankly, I am very happy with Neolites, they are affordable and serve the purpose during night drives.

Sorry if I am repeating the query.

What is the price of Neolites in Pune?
Where to source & install?

 

[umalkars]

Sorry if I am repeating the query.

What is the price of Neolites in Pune?
Where to source & install?

I got a pair for Rs.800/- only from Maalik Automobiles. By default, they have 55W bulbs, you can go for 100W bulbs. You can get it installed from any car electrician, make sure you use a cut-out.

Another friendly suggestion (that's what I have done) is, connect lights to the battery directly. Do NOT make it dependent on the car ignition. This way, you do not modify or interfere with the car's electrical system. Though you have to ensure that the lights are put off when you switch off the engine, else it will just drain the battery.

So 4 fogs & 2 Headlamps. Anything else which takes some power, like sub-woofer?

I may not use all the 4 lights at the same time. It would always be 2 headlights + 2 auxiliary lights, with AC and tape (most of the time) ON.

 

[ZenandEnfield]

'Tape'? I assume you mean cd player? A sub-woofer takes more power.
Enjoy the drive!
When I drive at night, at the end of my drive, when I turn off the highway, I switch to low beam and then to parking lights to give the battery time to recharge. The next morning, I don't have trouble starting it.

 

[umalkars]

'Tape'? I assume you mean cd player? A sub-woofer takes more power.
Enjoy the drive!
When I drive at night, at the end of my drive, when I turn off the highway, I switch to low beam and then to parking lights to give the battery time to recharge. The next morning, I don't have trouble starting it.

Yes, the DVD player, but only listening to the songs, no movies - so that saves the power consumption from the screen.

Came across this product, seems useful in such cases - Digital-Led-Display-Car-Auto-Battery-Voltmeter-Panel

 

[umalkars]

Even after keeping the vehicle at Krishna car garage for more than 2 weeks, the play in the steering is almost the same. Any suggestions guys to reduce the play in the steering? I certainly do NOT want to go back to the same garage. I am thinking of taking it to the TASS unless somebody wants to suggest a better and reliable option in Pune.

 

[Manipuzhas]

Even after keeping the vehicle at Krishna car garage for more than 2 weeks, the play in the steering is almost the same. Any suggestions guys to reduce the play in the steering? I certainly do NOT want to go back to the same garage. I am thinking of taking it to the TASS unless somebody wants to suggest a better and reliable option in Pune.

Dear Umalkars, please check yourself where you can see some movements check tie-rod, the connecting Rod control, idler arm, idler arm bush, steering joint etc. Check with engine off and with engine on. easily you can find out the trouble. also check the balancing rod bushes.

 

[umalkars]

Dear Umalkars, please check yourself where you can see some movements check tie-rod, the connecting Rod control, idler arm, idler arm bush, steering joint etc. Check with engine off and with engine on. easily you can find out the trouble. also check the balancing rod bushes.

Thanks @Manipuzhas, will check out these things when I go home today.

 

[Manipuzhas]

Ask someone to turn the steering, and observe from outside,.
please check idler arm for the loose fastener, if the fastener is tight then idler arm bush might be worn, this bush will be available outside TASS also, an you can fix it in a local garage.
I did it for my old 3.0 Dicor, and worked

 

[mercedised]

Thanks @Manipuzhas, will check out these things when I go home today.

You will need to change the central link to reduce the play. So, if after replacing the tie-rod ends and central link the play don't goes then you will have to open the powersteering box and replace the faulty components. That's what happened to my old TCIC Safari and now with this one. Even after refurbishing the suspension, there is play in steering due to something gone bad inside the powersteering box. But, I have now learned to live with it.

 

[ZenandEnfield]

Yes, the DVD player, but only listening to the songs, no movies - so that saves the power consumption from the screen.

Came across this product, seems useful in such cases - Digital-Led-Display-Car-Auto-Battery-Voltmeter-Panel

Hey Umalkars,
That meter looks good.
I wonder if an analogue meter is available. It would look more retro.

Thanks

 

[strome]

About water issue, haven't checked lately, but cannot claim that its fixed. But its certain that its coming in through some gap below the top of the bonnet.

About braking issue, never came across this issue. But my wild guess is that these could be the possible reasons (guys - please correct me ...)

1. Fault in braking system - uneven brake pads or the brakes are not applied evenly on all wheels correctly / simultaneously
2. Wheel alignment is not correct (rare possibility, wonder if this could be the reason at all)
3. Some issue with power steering - seems illogical !!!

Yes problem is solved,had purosely kept out in heavy rains to check.Later found out that the carpet was dry
Here in mumbai TASS i am quite happy ,they are well experienced.
I request you to try other TASS.

And regarding brake issue i never experienced that

Thanks umalkars and Storme911 for your reply. The situation here is that I left the storme at the dealer workshop almost two weeks ago. I had no update so didn't post anything. It is still there in the workshop but I have some update to post.
First of all it was a dealer workshop (I also bought from the same dealer) and I got recommendation from Tata Motors about this workshop. They fixed some issue last time (A pasting problem @ windshield).
Now when I reported the water seepage problem again they started looking into other possible causes. I reportedly said that water was accumulating somewhere and dripping in through out for the next 2 ~ 3 days.
I heard back from them today, that they have identified few gaps and worked towards sealed the same. They have reported that they have fixed the problem. I'll update once I get the car back.

Now on the brake issue, I had checked the alignment, so I guess it was not the problem. The problem is it is hard to reproduce. I reproduced it with one of the senior service manager of that workshop, but the actual issue is that for few seconds when I was feeling like that the car was not in my control is a particula sensation to me, unless someone less drives and faces the problem it is hard to make him understand the problem. Now the update is that they are saying that they have checked all the brake lines and found no problem. Not sure what to do.
Any suggestion would be of great help.
My question is can it be due to fault in EBD system? Then how to ask these guys to verify the same?
I know that this problem won't occur regularly, but giving the fact that it occurred thrice already on real situation and giving the feel I had that time, I am anxious.

Out of these three options
1. Fault in braking system - uneven brake pads or the brakes are not applied evenly on all wheels correctly / simultaneously -- They checked and found no issues.
2. Wheel alignment is not correct (rare possibility, wonder if this could be the reason at all) -- The problem occurred even after alignment check was done just before that.
3. Some issue with power steering - seems illogical -- Not sure though. But just a note that even after alignment was absolutely normal the car has a tendency to pull towards left. I have also shown the same. Is this a problem? Is ABS the cause? Can I suspect EBD? If that is the case how should I make the Tata guys understand the problem. (Note their driver couldn't reproduce the problem while driving. I know when and how it occurred, so I can do it)

Thanks once again for your valued reply.

 

[umalkars]

Planning to replace the engine oil with Mobil Delvac 1 5w 40. Is this oil fine for Safari or it has to be 15w 40 ?

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Stick with the OEM 15W40 oil. Mercedised uses Shell Helix HX6 15W40 in his 3.0 Dicor and says he is happy with the results.