Tata Tiago Long Term Report: June 2017

Throwing Tantrums

The Tata Tiago has just returned from the service centre and Tata replaced the brake pads, which has improved the braking performance. But the brakes were the least of my worries this month as the car showed the first major signs of trouble.

Returning at night from a recent trip to Pune, while cruising at a speed of about 90km/h, the car suddenly let out an unexpected jerk and the ‘check engine’ light started flashing on the instrument cluster. I pulled over and I realised idling had risen up close to 1,500rpm – which was also the reason for poor efficiency on that trip. While trying to diagnose the problem I let the car ‘cool down’ for a bit – not that it was showing any signs of over-heating. I must add here that oil and coolant levels were optimum too. After about half an hour I cranked the engine and, miraculously, both the warning lights had stopped flashing. The idling was back to normal, too.

I resumed driving and arrived home without further issues. While I was fortunate to not suffer a break down, issues like these can be hazardous. In fact, considering that the car has just clocked over 16,000km on the odometer and more importantly just returned after being serviced, such issues leave a bad after-taste. By the time this goes into print, the car would have gone for another service and we should have a clearer picture about the issue.