Mahdindra XUV 3XO Discover the X as in Xcuses & Xcustomerservice & BadXperience

I am writing this complaint with a heavy heart, deeply upset and saddened by the customer experience and service of your brand after purchasing an XUV 3XO AX5 AT from Penta Mahindra Montana. I unfortunately have no other choice as I feel that I’ve been more than patient and accommodating the past 4 months and given all involved a fair and reasonable chance.

I purchased the vehicle end November 2025 and since then I’ve received bad customer service which has left me severely doubting my purchase. I’ve been given unsatisfactory excuses and the run-around to solve my complaints. It’s the same old story, you are sold a vehicle with promises and warrantees but left with bad aftersales service.

Bottom line is that you’ve sold me a vehicle with features that does not work correctly and with factory / delivery defects. I am providing evidence in the form of pictures and can gladly share WhatsApp communications.

Background: I purchased the vehicle through Mahindra Montana and had it delivered to Mahindra Kuilsrivier as I received a better deal through them and the latter branch could not match their offer. Kuilsrivier received the vehicle and performed the PDI. Me and my wife took delivery of the vehicle on 29 November 2025 in the showroom. We inspected the vehicle and pointed out a few cosmetic marks on the interior and exterior but nothing major that could not be wiped clean. It was mainly plastic or glue residue. Raymond Basset mentioned at the time that they had to rush to get everything ready for us so I accepted it and took delivery in good faith as we were understandably very excited to drive our new purchase. You should also note that no person will inspect every single nook and cranny of a vehicle on delivery and will base their acceptance on the overall condition of what they see at that moment. He took the time to explain all the features on the vehicle and how it worked and then we were off.

However, based on his demeaner during parts of our conversation I could see that he was not happy that they missed out on the deal. As we left he also mentioned that for any problems or issues that I might experience I should contact Montana as Kuilsrivier was doing them a favour and only took delivery. Not something that sat right with me at the time nor the fact that you are one company who should provide one service. Be that as it may, after driving the vehicle and inspecting it for anything that we might have missed in sunlight and with the sun shining on the instrumentation cluster I noticed marks on all the black panels and a deep scratch on the cluster which can be seen in proper daylight. None of these marks were visible on the showroom floor. I also removed several bits and pieces of plastic and laminations in the vehicle over the next few weeks which was missed during the PDI and clearly indicated that they were in fact in a rush prepping the vehicle. Long story short after Redge Botha (original salesperson) from Joburg tried his utmost to assist me and exhausted his options with no real assistance or support from Kuilsrivier and Mahindra South Africa, I was left basically caught between 2 dealerships shifting responsibility. One Mahindra? Not at all. During these conversations several people mentioned that this vehicle was an insurance replacement, up to this day I do not know why. I bought it myself with no deposit through BMW finance. I was eventually contacted by Shaun van Breda from Montana who said he would assist me where possible. I was advised by him to take the vehicle for a polish quote to see if the marks on the black panelling would improve. I agreed that I would do that after sorting out the other issues which is persisting to this day. He also advised that I should book the vehicle in at Kuilsrivier for a warrantee claim for the scratch on the instrumentation cluster.

By the time I booked the vehicle in for the warrantee claim, a number of electronic issues arose such as the temperature reading showing the ambient temperature not responding correctly or showing incorrect readings (I have attached many pictures to prove this), the instrumentation cluster and infotainment system randomly shutting down or going black when starting the vehicle, a check ESP system warning and a hill descent control error. All very worrying alarms for a brand new vehicle. After this intervention I was told that most errors were sorted through a software update. The temperature sensor was found to be faulty, replaced and calibrated. I was to monitor the readings. I was also told that the cluster will not be replaced due to the scratch. I would like to state that there is no way that I as the owner would be able to scratch the instrumentation cluster like that by myself through simply wiping it clean with a cloth. It was obviously received like that from the factory or happened during the PDI when removing the plastic film. I cannot and will not be held responsible or accountable for someone else’s mistake.

In the months that passed the temperature gauge was still not working correctly and the random shutting down of the cluster during starting the vehicle persisted. I was close to the 10 000km service so I waited till then to report the issues once again. Kuilsrivier attempted once again to process a warrantee claim for the replacement of the instrumentation cluster due to the persistent electronic issues with the temperature gauge, but they were denied. The feedback I received was that the temperature sensor is testing within spec and that this issue is coming on since the XUV 300 model and that it does not update due to the amount of higher priority data going to the cluster. Not the news a customer wants to hear. Surely if the 3XO is an upgrade and an improvement of the XUV 300 then this should not be the case. See your Tech Line reference – T-OMK10520.

How can you tell a customer that the brand-new vehicle of over R350 000 which he purchased is within spec and you can’t do anything about it? You should then change your spec as the evidence I’ve provided clearly proves that the temperature sensor / cluster is not working correctly. I understand if it takes a few minutes BUT almost 45 minutes to remain as is, sorry that is not good enough! I drove home in 30 degrees after the service, it took me an hour and it remained on 16 degrees. How am I as the customer suppose to be happy with this?

You have not exhausted all your options to solve the problems. Surely you should look at the hardware i.e., the computer or instrumentation cluster and replace both.

Lastly, I also noticed malalignment of the boot on the right-hand side (pictures provided). I wanted to do a warrantee claim for this also, but this will take another full day out of my busy schedule as the dealer apparently needs to get 3 quotes and only then ask for approval. The vehicle in question clearly missed a few quality checks in the factory.

Maintenance: I was given a blank warrantee booklet with only the PDI populated and service intervals up to 100 000km. No vehicle details or any other information captured.

PDI done 24/11/2025 @ 45km 10 000km done on 31/03/2026 @ 10 010km

I was advised after my 10 000km service that I have a 3Y / 55 000km service plan according to your system even though it is a 5Y / 100 000km service plan for all AX models (the very reason I went for the AX5 and paid more).

I understand that you have processes in place to deal with complaints and warrantees, but these processes should not be focussed on looking for reasons not to assist the customer or not rule in favour of the customer. You should look at the facts and history of the claims and do what any reasonable person would do. Do what is fair, always. You need to handle these cases on an individual basis and not just make blanket decisions. The very nature of continuous improvement, something I believe all companies aspire to even yours, is to regularly evaluate their processes and make changes where required.

All I am asking for is to give me a fully functional, correctly built vehicle which I paid for.

In conclusion I am a very dissatisfied customer relating to your brand and customer service. I am sincerely hoping that your response and further assistance in the matters above will change my mind. I am also hoping that it will enjoy the urgency it deserves.

People I delt with during this time: Shaun van Breda – Penta Mahindra Montana Redge Botha – Penta Mahindra Centurion Patricia – Group 1 Service Manager Kuilsrivier Raymond Basset – Group 1 Mahindra Kuilsrivier