EV breaks down often, dealer ordered to pay refund

By Sohail Khan 14 September 2026, 11:10 am

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Business News›News›Trending›Car smart key failed to lock, unlock EV properly, new electric SUV buyer left stranded on roads multiple times; Tata dealer ordered to pay 24 lakh

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Car smart key failed to lock, unlock EV properly, new electric SUV buyer left stranded on roads multiple times; Tata dealer ordered to pay 24 lakh
Synopsis

A Telangana consumer commission ordered a Tata dealer to refund a buyer close to Rs 24.63 lakh after his new electric SUV's smart key repeatedly failed to lock or unlock the car, leaving him stranded on the road multiple times within the first month of ownership.

Car smart key failed to lock, unlock EV properly, new SUV buyer left stranded on roads multiple times; Tata dealer ordered to pay 24 lakh

A buyer who bought a brand new electric SUV in August last year found himself stranded on the road more than once within the first month of owning it, all because the car's smart key would not lock or unlock the vehicle properly.

The Telangana District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has now ordered the Tata dealer who sold buyer the car to refund the price after deducting depreciation, along with compensation and costs, taking the total payout to close to Rs 24.63 lakh.

Smart key trouble that never really went away

According to the order, the buyer took a loan to purchase the SUV for over Rs 26.64 lakh. Soon after taking delivery, he began facing a software glitch that stopped the car from locking and unlocking the way it should.

Two problems kept coming back no matter how many times the car was sent in for repairs. One was the smart key losing range and not responding to commands. The other was the central locking system malfunctioning on its own. The buyer says these issues left him stuck on the road on more than one occasion, unable to trust the car to simply lock or start when he needed it to.

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Job cards from the service centre, dated December 2025, actually referred to the problems as old issues, suggesting the faults had never been properly fixed even after earlier repair attempts.

Vehicle reportedly broke down mid-way too

The commission noted that the car had, at one point, stopped functioning mid-way, even after the dealer had carried out repairs and handed the vehicle back. This, the buyer argued, showed that the underlying defect was never resolved, only patched temporarily each time.

Dealer says it is not the manufacturer

The Tata dealer defended itself by saying it was only an authorised dealer and service centre, and could not be held liable for what it called a manufacturing defect. It also argued that the buyer had not submitted any expert opinion to prove that the defect was, in fact, a manufacturing one.

The commission rejected both arguments. It pointed out that the dealer had not placed on record any material showing the exact arrangement between itself and the manufacturer, or even the date on which the vehicle was handed over from the manufacturer to the dealer. In the absence of that evidence, the commission said it could not accept that the dealer bore no responsibility for delivering a defective vehicle.

On the question of expert evidence, the commission said none was needed since the dealer's own service records confirmed that the smart key and locking issues persisted well after the car had already been repaired more than once.

Commission orders refund with compensation and costs

Ruling in favour of the buyer, the commission directed the dealer to refund the price of the vehicle after deducting 10 percent as depreciation. The buyer was told to return the SUV and cooperate with the paperwork needed to cancel its registration.

Along with the refund, the dealer was ordered to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for the mental agony and financial hardship caused, and Rs 15,000 towards costs. The commission, however, declined to order a refund of the GST and other charges the buyer had paid separately, saying that awarding everything he had asked for would go beyond fair compensation.

45 days to pay, or interest kicks in

The dealer has been given 45 days from the date of the order to complete the payment. If the amount is not paid within that window, it will start attracting 9 percent annual interest from the date of the order until it is actually paid.

With depreciation deducted from the vehicle's price and the compensation and costs added on top, the total amount the dealer now owes the buyer works out to close to Rs 24.63 lakh.

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