Optimus: Mahindra XUV500 W8 FWD. Long Term Ownership Review

[kinshuk.arya]

Hello All,

Optimus completed 1 lakh kilometers last week. The journey till now is nothing short of a dream. We have covered Leh Ladakh, Rann of Kutch, Himalayas of Uttarakhand, beaches of Goa together without any issue. My home town trips to Kota, Rajasthan from Pune approx 1100kms have been done a lot of times and now they feel like a trip to Mumbai.

Till now there have been 0 major issues, 0 breakdowns, even when we took an uprepared Optimus to Leh without even so much as an oil change.
Couple of niggles keep coming up here and there like some electric motor going bad, ac cooling in the 2nd row (overcome by turning on the 3rd row ac and putting a towel on the window)

The only major changes done till now are 4 Yokohama Geolander tyres, and a suspension overhaull which costed me around 40k and 35k respectively.

Apart from these the minor things that have been changed till now are
1. Window washer motor, once.
2. Motors for power window for 2 windows, once each.
3. Gear shift knob, half eaten by rats
4. couple of sets of Wiper blade

Oh and yeah my navigation has stopped working, for which the nippon servie person said I wwould have to change the entire screen, so that is kept on hold.

Kudos to Mahindra for making such a vehicle.

The details for everything that has been done till now is anyways there in this thread.

Regards,
Kinshuk

 

[mayankdixit]

I have changed 3 power window motors. Also the rear wiper water pump once. And twice I have done the A.C gas refill/top-up.Maybe the cooling coil/evaporator core is the culprit.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

I have changed 3 power window motors. Also the rear wiper water pump once. And twice I have done the A.C gas refill/top-up.Maybe the cooling coil/evaporator core is the culprit.

its already monsoons here and frankly I am not getting much time to take it for AC service separately. Will get it checked next time it goes for service.

 

[bhvm]

Thats a Great update.
My Cheetah has been sleeping mostly, due to Repeated Lockdowns & Lack of use.
Here is a list of niggles Noticed-
1. Door locks getting stuck
2. Rear spray Washer Is not working.
3. GPS has no signal. Looks like antenna issue.
4. AC cooling was reduced. Solved with a Small top up.

My Tyres were first changed at 60k. Now Its time to change again (May work 10k).

Current ODO is little over 1L. The running over these 2 years was not even 2k kms.

 

[mayankdixit]

I'm so happy that both of you guys have crossed 1lakh kms. Even after moderately rough usage.
Now I know I can hope to follow your footsteps with out apprehension. Congratulations to both @bhvm and @kinshuk.arya on crossing this milestone.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Hey guys,

This is the 2nd instance when I found a rat in my XUV. first time I used clothes soaked in Eucalyptus oil along with hot air to drive it out, after which I didnt see any indications of a rat in the car. Thankfully it hasnt done any damages to wires or upholestery till now.

Yesterday I again found some indications of a rat visiting my car. Found some droppings and a plastic bag lodged in the drivers side, Footwell vent of the AC. As of now I have again put in couple of clothes along with hot air, and didnt find any more evidence today. But I am looking for a more permanent solution.

Any ideas which locations should I put the rat mesh? so that it cant get inside the car?
Regards,
Kinshuk

 

[mayankdixit]

There are so many wires and so many sensors in XUV engine bay that its mind boggling. Rat presence is very alarming. Put mesh over air vents found in the rain gutter.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

There are so many wires and so many sensors in XUV engine bay that its mind boggling. Rat presence is very alarming. Put mesh over air vents found in the rain gutter.

Any ideas on how to access them? For now i have put napthalene balls under the bonnet, in the cabin and spme clothes soaked in eucalyptus oil.

 

[mayankdixit]

Any ideas on how to access them? For now i have put napthalene balls under the bonnet, in the cabin and spme clothes soaked in eucalyptus oil.

1) Remove the plastic covering at the base of windshield to access the rain gutter/cowl area.
2) For that you will have to remove the wipers first.
3) After that, clean the dirt etc on the base and attach/stick the wire mesh over the air intake duct. Use glue for the sticking purpose.
4) Put back everything in reverse order.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

1) Remove the plastic covering at the base of windshield to access the rain gutter/cowl area.
2) For that you will have to remove the wipers first.
3) After that, clean the dirt etc on the base and attach/stick the wire mesh over the air intake duct. Use glue for the sticking purpose.
4) Put back everything in reverse order.

DIY or mechanic job? I have never removed the wipers.

 

[mayankdixit]

DIY or mechanic job? I have never removed the wipers.

Depends upon your interest and enthusiasm for DIY.
Already done it in mine(cowl opening and cleaning) twice!

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Depends upon your interest and enthusiasm for DIY.
Already done it in mine(cowl opening and cleaning) twice!

Any pics would be really helpful.

 

[mayankdixit]

Any pics would be really helpful.

Will definitely try to find out in the old archives, and post them here for your help.

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Will definitely try to find out in the old archives, and post them here for your help.

Thanks Mayank. That would be a big help.

 

[bhvm]

Any pics would be really helpful.

I have rat mesh Installation in my Thunderbolt thread.