The problem
If you are heading for a dream vacation or simply travelling, one thing you cannot avoid (especially on highways) is paying the dreaded “Toll”. The process has simplified over the years, from standing in endless queues to standing in smaller ones with the introduction of fastag. I will keep this blog as concise as possible without anything fancy.
I bought a new car sometime late last year and since there is a mandate that the fastag needs to be affixed before the car exits the showroom (is it?), it was duly complied with. My car came with an IDBI bank-issued fastag on the windshield with some minimal balance.
With the excitement of driving a new car over long distances, one fine weekend I decided to take it for a spin to Agra via the Yamuna Expressway. The first toll plaza approached and the message on the display was “Tag blacklisted” but the barrier opened for some reason. I was not lucky with the subsequent plazas, and I had to pay the penalty (twice the normal toll). My reasoning with the operators at the toll plazas was not fruitful and I was told to contact the NHAI helpline. As I was not in the mood to get into discussions, I paid the penalty and moved on.
The next long-distance trip was to Sariska and something different happened this time. My fastag worked (with some manual intervention) on some plazas whereas it didn’t on some. This time I was not ready to give up and called the NHAI and the bank’s helpline. Everything was fine at their end but somehow the fastag simply was not working. I was left with only one choice i.e. to get it replaced.
The process
The process of getting a new tag is quite easy. I went to HDFC Bank’s website, filled in a few details, and shared some screenshots and the fastag was home-delivered in a few days. I started watching some YouTube videos on the process of removing the existing one. While few of them were honest enough to admit the difficulty and some of them were dismissive of it. Anyway, I ignored it for some time and finally took the plunge with the expectation that this was not going to be easy.
The first thing was to collect the tools required for this. I took along a 3M windshield cleaner, WD-40 spray, microfiber cloth and a Swiss knife. I started the process by spraying the sticker with the 3M spray to soften it up. Some of the fastag stickers come with a dual layer (I might be wrong with this, but the HDFC one seems like a single piece) and unfortunately, the IDBI one on my windshield was the same. After some efforts, the top layer of the sticker came off revealing the actual pain i.e. the deadly second layer.
Initially, I was reluctant to use the WD-40 on my windshield fearing some damage. I kept on drenching the second layer with 3M liquid, but it simply refused to budge. I had almost spent close to 30 minutes by then and was starting to get frustrated. That was when I ditched the Swiss knife and the 3M spray and started the combo of WD-40 and my fingernails. This combo finally started to show some results, and the sticky residue started to come off. In between, I was also using the microfiber and the 3M spray to wipe off the glass (was a bit too anxious about the effect of WD-40). After struggling for about 45 minutes, the windshield was fully clear. I was happy that my blood and sweat (just a metaphor 😊) finally bore fruit.
Conclusion and Learnings
I was fully aware at the beginning that using a heat gun could be an easier solution to this but how many of us have access to it at home? The next best thing could have been a hair dryer, but I did not have the cordless one readily available so that option was also gone. If you have either of these available then by all means give it a try, could be that much easier.
But if you are like me or if you did not find success with applying heat, then my method could be the one to follow. The process is quite painful as you would have read in the preceding section, but it is what it is. I could also have tried using a solution containing isopropyl alcohol/nail paint remover which is considered good for removing these kinds of stubborn sticky residues.
There is also the idea of first applying a transparent packing tape and then sticking the new fastag over it. By doing this, it would be that much easier to remove in future in case of failure. But then I did not do it, what if it causes problems in reading the tag? I have stuck the new one over the windshield with the hope that it will work well for a long time.
I am still nursing my fingernail but then it was what worked at the end. If you want to share your experiences or suggestions, then feel free to do so.