Tata Vista QJD Inadequate AC Cooling. Please Help.

[biker]

We have a December 2009 model Vista Quadrajet with extended warranty, serviced exclusively in Concorde,Cochin. the manufacturing month of the car is perhaps may-2009. I was told ECU update was made during the first days owning the Car.

the problem is - from day 1, the cooling of AC is not satisfactory especially to the back row passengers. AC cools fine in early morning or in the late evening. means- cooling is not effective to the back seat passengers and interior doesn't get chilled as it is in most cars.

in fact back row passengers doesn't feel any cooling let alone blower air reach the row!

I put blower in 4th position(max is 5) and in circulation mode. Regularly complained for the past 3 plus years but Concorde what they did last time for eg is claiming there was a gas leak(which they cannnot find!!!) and load the gas again. but, that had not solved this issue.

during the hot summers without cooling film, it is absolutely intolerable for passengers to sit with AC in the car now. any clue what can be the reason so that I can press up on this? My Bro-in-Law got a brand new vista full option car and cooling is satisfactory in it even during noon and he hardly uses blower in 2nd position!..

I've heard about Behr vs Subros compressor issue among tata cars? My car has Behr make compressor IINM.
Also read, Vista got only a 90cc Compressor inadequate for a effective cooling for it's large passenger compartment.


some info:
during last extended warranty service, they did cleaning of AC vents(with some foam) and refilled gas and claimed everything is fine. it was 6PM and obviously I am hasty getting the car out of the service station.
Note: Is this like the Compressor Tata provided for 2009-10 Vista is not capable enough to cool the passenger compartment? like they used a less capacity one, so that it helps in fuel efficiency - My novice thoughts!
Please help.


___________________________________________

Congratulations from a fellow Vista QJD owner. But, I have a question for you:
are you satisfied with cooling(AC) of your car?
My Vista came with Behr make compressor and cooling was not at all satisfactory. however, I heard DENSO compressor(SUBROS make) used in some Cars(Vista) are better.
AND... the blower fails to push air to reach rear passenger compartment.(sometimes I wonder whether we can fix a set of rear passenger compartment AC fans!)
I read elsewhere that Vista's passenger compartment is comparable to a Sedan and the puny 90cc compressor is insufficient. I think Tata don't want to bring down fuel efficiency by fixing a bigger cc compressor for this car.

In the hot hyderabad afternoons, try using AC of Vista and give me a feedback. unlike Indica where the passenger compartment gets chilled in blower in 2nd position, even in 5th(max) position AC disappoints(in some Vista's).

BTW, Tata does not make cars with "JAPAN SHEETS"(whatever that means!) which are zinc treated and usually lasts decades before rusting starts. Toyotas in foreign countries does not have underbody coats and lasts 20 years or more because of using said high quality metal.

So, Since our Tata will rust especially in coastal areas, you may go for 3m/wurth etc underbody coating,internal panel protection and other obvious anti-rust precautions. Tata cars "ages fast" - this is to ME- because of using inferior metal for body shell.

My Vista always runs with 100% A/C ON and I Cooling is really excellent. I think you know about Vellore temperature. Vellore is the Hottest city in Tamilnadu.

I'm using 1st postion and 2nd position most of the times. Even when I take a car from direct sunlight parking around 2-3Pm. At that time I use position 3 and 4 to make the cooling faster. Once the cabin gets cool, I'll reduce to 2 or 1 according to the chillness.

Till today I've not received any complaints from Mom or Sister about chillness, Because they only occupy rear seats of my car most of the times.

Are you sure you are keeping the Chillness to Max?

 

[biker]

Re: Vista Quadrajet AC Cooling inadequate. Please help

saw this link where the reviewer is saying
"A/C ONLY EFFECTIVE IN EVENING AND NIGHT"

A/C ONLY EFFECTIVE IN EVENING AND NIGHT - A Review on Tata Indica Vista by Rahul Jain - CarWale

http://www.carwale.com/forums/viewthread-7864.html

Guess what? the car is also a 2009 model Vista. what does Tata motors did to rectify this?

 

[AppU]

Re: Vista Quadrajet AC Cooling inadequate. Please help

@Biker Boy: One of my Dad's friend owns 2009 Vista. We used that Vista for some days before getting our Vista. I don't know which compressor it is using. But, I feel the chillness is high in my Sedan class Vista(2012) When compare to Dad's friend Vista(2009).

In my Vista(2012) I keep 2nd position means, I need to keep 3rd position in Dad's friend Vista(2009). but cooling is sufficient for the whole cabin.

I previously owned Black Indica DLS 2004 model with Behr A/C compressor. Even in Indica also the cooling effort was really good. once I found the A/C cooling was less and checked with local A/C mechanic and found the leakage. once the leakage problem resolved, the cooling was back to normal.

Here I have two questions:

1. You mentioned that you have refilled the A/C gas. So it means the A/C gas has reduced. Have you found any A/C gas leakage?

2. Have you checked with any local A/C mechanic?


CTRL + Q to Enable/Disable GoPhoto.it

 

[biker]

Re: Vista Quadrajet AC Cooling inadequate. Please help

AC Gas leakage was found only recently. but, prior to that and even after refilling, AC cooling issue persists. I believe, AC Compressor is either inadequate for cooling Vista's large passenger cabin OR Compressor gets cut off frequently(which may not be the case). as written ECU update was done which hadn't fixed the issue.

I want to know, since I have officially complained about AC Cooling issue on Jan 2010 itself and even wrote a mail to tata customer care, is it a possibility that they can replace the faulty parts including compressor rather than beating around the bush!

 

[AppU]

Re: Vista Quadrajet AC Cooling inadequate. Please help

AC Gas leakage was found only recently. but, prior to that and even after refilling, AC cooling issue persists. I believe, AC Compressor is either inadequate for cooling Vista's large passenger cabin OR Compressor gets cut off frequently(which may not be the case). as written ECU update was done which hadn't fixed the issue.

A/C cut-off[thinking]. I've faced similar problem once in my Black Indica. the A/C cut-off some times, then found the problem was the Radiator fan.
Yes, due to radiator fan wire got disconnected, the fan not started at particular time to cool the Engine, so the Engine temperature raised that leads to cut-off the A/C.

Is your Engine temperature is Normal?

I want to know, since I have officially complained about AC Cooling issue on Jan 2010 itself and even wrote a mail to tata customer care, is it a possibility that they can replace the faulty parts including compressor rather than beating around the bush!

Have you received any reply ? are you checked with any other local A/C mechanic regarding this problem?

 

[rkg123]

Re: Vista Quadrajet AC Cooling inadequate. Please help

It is a major design flaw in Vista. I have Oct 2008 model.
In old indica the compressor capacity is 660 gm in Vista it is 440 gm.
Vista a bigger car than Indica
Indica is 3.6 m long and vista 3.8 m long.

Further the the unit is placed somewhere behind the front glove box and piping is done some awkward way resulting the dash getting chilled than car interior.

I have written may letters to TML. but TML it appears is blind to all customer feedback.

What you said is coorect. It cools the car in the early morning and evening and night. In the afternoon it is like car is without AC. Blower capacity is very low.

What ASS will or can do. they tell some lies to customers to escape.

Even Indica CR4 comes with 550 gm compressor.

AC was best point of old indica's not any more

 

[biker]

Re: Vista Quadrajet AC Cooling inadequate. Please help

@rkg123: thanks for the valuable input. but, one thing I can't get is, if it is a Design issue, how come newest model Vista owners seems not complaining? My bro-in-law has a 2012 Vista top end model and He is very satisfied with it's cooling.

so, what are we 2008-2009-2010 Vista owners? test cases?
--
Currently cooling coil and expansion valve is replaced at service centre. I don't know what purpose it saves. I got a call from Concorde service CRM and He is giving promises like He will look to this issue.. Let us see.

 

[anshuman8]

Hi Biker,

What will be cost of replacement of the compressor from what you have now to the 2012 Refresh or Manza Refresh one ? Please check that with TASS.

Though Concorde is a good Service Center , kindly get it checked from another TASS/Independent garage for second opinion.

Thanks,
Anshuman

 

[jayadev]

Bad ac is one of the reason l sold off my vista..do I need to say anything more

 

[biker]

@jayadev: sorry to hear that! But AC issue may be checked outside TASS also na? if you go to mangalapuram there are good AC specialists there, who may get you a DENSO or used Japanese compressors. I am skeptical about the fitment since HVAC is now a whole electronics affair.

but, vista is a spacious and comfortable car man! I have no issues except this AC cooling and now a Turbo replacement. I had owned Indicas and Vista QJD is leaps above in quality to those.

 

[nozzlering]

@jayadev: sorry to hear that! But AC issue may be checked outside TASS also na? if you go to mangalapuram there are good AC specialists there, who may get you a DENSO or used Japanese compressors. I am skeptical about the fitment since HVAC is now a whole electronics affair.

but, vista is a spacious and comfortable car man! I have no issues except this AC cooling and now a Turbo replacement. I had owned Indicas and Vista QJD is leaps above in quality to those.

Buddy, these two are major problems.

Last year, I was driving to Goa from bangalore. I started early morning. and was at Goa outskirts by around 1230 hrs. Ac was on all the time and I took 2 breaks. At this time, suddenly there was no cooling. I felt the blowers have lost the powers. The throw of air suddenly became weak. I was baffled. New car and this problem. I pulled out and parked under a tree, trying to figure out what happened. And weather was hot. Anyways, worried, I drove to hotel. Next day the problem was gone. Went to TASS, they also couldn't figure out the problem. Till then, the problem has never recurred and I hope it never does.

 

[biker]

I agree. I could've said, I am satisfied with Vista's ride quality and was not frequenting service centre. now, My car is in TASS and they have diagnosed these issues including Turbo failure. I shudder thinking if this happened after warranty period.

 

[rkg123]

As i said it is a design issue. The boffins at TML must be drinking some thing when they decided on this.

The blower capacity do not match that of AC.

Result: ac condensation happens and blower gradually becomes week and stops.

Solution: once it is noticed that blower is becoming slower, stop AC for 5-10 minutes. Blower speed will return to normal.


Unfortunately it is not possible to fix other AC's. I have asked them to fit onld indica compressor with gas capacity of 660gm. ASS says not possible. Now that warranty is over i will try it outside.

But my car never ever created problem for me on the highway. It has completed 69K as on now in 4 years 5 months. Gone to 6 states.
none of the electricals have gone bad, still working.
tyres lasted 54Km
Break pads 51KM
Wiper blades 55KM
I have not changed anything. my model is Aura Oct 2008 batch

 

[biker]

@rkg123: you are saying no logical solution exists for this issue?!
if you drive for an hour or so, the air flow from blower slows down and you can hear blower running fine. I guess condensation was happening as you said.

I would have shared more details in the first post.
1. in the past 6 months, I have replaced all 4 tyres of this car which came with Goodyear Gt-3 tyres.
tyres lasted only 25-28000kms. presently using bridgestone S322 .

facing alignment issue from the start itself. alignment goes off after 1000-1500kms running.
the answer I get from others is "it is a Tata car what do you expect?"

 

[alexddas]

@rkg123: you are saying no logical solution exists for this issue?!
if you drive for an hour or so, the air flow from blower slows down and you can hear blower running fine. I guess condensation was happening as you said.

I would have shared more details in the first post.
1. in the past 6 months, I have replaced all 4 tyres of this car which came with Goodyear Gt-3 tyres.
tyres lasted only 25-28000kms. presently using bridgestone S322 .

facing alignment issue from the start itself. alignment goes off after 1000-1500kms running.
the answer I get from others is "it is a Tata car what do you expect?"

Bro, find out a good place to do the alignment and check every 2000 kms and do check whenever you feel a side pull on the steering, even if you had checked a 1000 kms before.