Force Gurkha owners report warranty refusals and long service waits

What owners are reporting

ConsumerComplaints.in lists 151 complaints against Force Motors in total, of which only 13 are marked resolved. Among the Gurkha specific entries on that page, a complaint dated 22 July 2022 describes a 4x4 gear engagement failure and engine noise turning up within 50 days of buying the SUV, with the dealership offering no replacement vehicle while it investigated. A second complaint dated 1 September 2022 says a buyer was kept waiting 35 days for a promised test drive at a Rajkot dealership, with no callback despite repeated attempts.

A CarWale owner review of the 2021 to 2024 Gurkha describes the windscreen cracking within five months, which the owner attributes to Bangalore heat. Force Motors did not cover the glass under warranty, according to the review. The same review also flags what it calls low grade interior plastic and glass.

Search results also point to ownership threads on Team-BHP discussing similar themes, including a 2024 Gurkha 5 Door buyer whose gearbox fault reportedly kept the vehicle at a Force workshop for weeks, and other threads comparing a good experience at one city's dealer with a poor one at another. Team-BHP's own pages would not open for direct reading in this reporting, so these threads are described only as search results show them, and we are not citing dates, post counts or quotes from them here.

What Force Motors offers, on paper

Force Motors' own Gurkha website states the SUV carries a 3 year or 1.5 lakh km warranty, whichever comes first, and includes 4 free services. The free service schedule runs at 10,000 km or 120 days, 30,000 km or 240 days, 50,000 km or 360 days and 70,000 km or 480 days, after which paid service falls due every 20,000 km or 120 days. The company's FAQ page says it has appointed dealers in 61 high potential markets across India and more than 200 additional service touch points beyond its dealerships, with roadside assistance through over 6,200 partners nationwide.

That network size sits next to a product that is a niche body on frame 4x4 built in limited numbers, unlike the dealer and service spread of Maruti, Hyundai or Mahindra. Owners posting about the Gurkha online repeatedly raise this gap: fewer workshops, and in at least one complaint, a refusal to let a different city's dealer take over an unresolved case.

Force Motors has not published any technical service bulletin or recall notice specific to the complaints described above, and none could be found on the company's own site or through search for this story.

What a Gurkha owner can do

Ask the dealer for the warranty refusal in writing, with the specific clause of the owner's manual cited. Heat related glass cracking and gearbox faults inside the warranty period are the kind of claims worth escalating in writing rather than leaving to a verbal no at the counter. If the dealer does not resolve a warranty dispute, raise it with Force Motors' corporate customer care on its toll free number, 1800 2335 000, listed on forcemotors.com, and keep the service job card and any written refusal as proof.

If that does not work, Indian consumers can approach the National Consumer Helpline on 1800 11 4000 or the short code 1915, by call, SMS, WhatsApp on 8800001915 or the NCH portal and app, which the Department of Consumer Affairs runs for exactly this kind of grievance before a formal consumer commission case. A written complaint with dates, job card numbers and the dealer's response gives any of these routes a stronger case than a phone call alone.

Sources

• Force Motors complaints on ConsumerComplaints.in
• Force Gurkha owner review on CarWale
• Force Gurkha service, warranty and roadside assistance
• Force Gurkha FAQ
• Force Motors contact page
• National Consumer Helpline contact details