Mahindra Scorpio N Faulty Sunroof – Is it Real?

Recently a video has been making rounds of the internet where a user drives his Mahindra Scorpio N under a waterfall. What was intended to be a fun video under a waterfall, soon turns into a surprise for the user as water starts to gush in from the sunroof.  

Causes of a faulty sunroof

A first look at the video and one would conclude that there was some fault in the sunroof as a result of a manufacturing defect. Before we take a closer look at the video, let’s see what could lead to a sunroof leakage. A sunroof leak can have a number of causes, such as:

• Seals that are damaged or worn out: Over time, the seals around the sunroof may become worn or damaged, which allows water to seep through.
• Drainage tubes that are clogged: Debris or dirt can get stuck in the sunroof’s drainage tubes, causing water to collect and eventually leak through the sunroof.
• Corrosion or rust: If the metal parts of the sunroof, like the tracks or hinges, corrode or rust, they may not work properly and may result in leaks.
• If there has been physical damage to the sunroof, such as from an accident or normal wear and tear.
• Installation errors: If the sunroof was not installed correctly, it may not seal tightly, allowing water to leak through.

Now, the car in question here seems to be new. I mean, how old could a Scorpio N be thanks to the long waiting period right? The first four points can be ruled out since the car seems fairly new and there is no visible damage to the sunroof itself.  The only possible explanation is that there was some installation error and the seals were not installed properly.

Well, we too would have concluded that this was a manufacturing defect if we did not look at the video closely. So let’s see how the video plays out.

The Video

We see beautiful scenery while the camera pans onto the waterfall. The user says that he will now drive the Scorpio N under the waterfall as it would be fun and he will get a free car wash.  He drives under the waterfall and within seconds, water starts gushing into the cabin of the car. Water can be seen entering through the roof speakers and the roof lamp assembly as well. The user after a few seconds drives out of the car wondering what just happened.

Seems okay? Well not to us, we started investigating and looked at the video frame by frame. There are five reasons we feel, this video could have been made on purpose:

Closed sun shade

Everything is okay till the user drives the car toward the waterfall. Things get suspicious when just before driving under the waterfall, the user closes the sun shade which was left open. Why would you shut the sunshade if you’re taking the car under a waterfall for fun? Wouldn’t you want to capture the view of water falling on the sunroof glass and show it to the audience?

Well, the reason we think the sunshade was shut was that the sunroof was left open. Check the below images and you’ll see what we mean.

The left window of the car is left open.

Now, if you’re driving under a waterfall, wouldn’t you shut all the windows? The user shuts them after the water starts entering the cabin.

Seats covered with plastic

The front passenger seat can be seen covered with plastic. This could be because the user knew that water would gush in and might have used plastic to avoid damage to the ventilation system in the seats.

Driver not prompt

Now, put yourself in the shoes of the driver, as soon as you see even a drop of water entering the cabin, you would drive away from the waterfall. In this video, the driver can be seen taking his time to shoot all the areas the water is gushing in from before taking the car out of the waterfall. Not only that, he has parked the car and shifted to neutral, we can see him changing into the first gear and then driving away.

Camera angles

The camera angles were set up beforehand as the user was just planning to take the car under the waterfall. Even before he takes the car under the waterfall, he’s showing the sunroof, and talking specifically about the sunroof. This looks suspicious if you look at the video closely

The user may have a case, but having a look at the video a few times, in a strange way, it does come across as if it was set up to show a certain outcome. What are your thoughts?