[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by AkMar

A small query is, the Xcent would be having a single reversing lamp -am I right? From the way tail lights are configured, it does seem so.

No AkMar, That's dual lamps. I had a doubt after you asked this, so I just checked it . By the way what made you think so, it's just one ? Is it because, many cars come with just one on the left ?

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by roby.thomas

No AkMar, That's dual lamps. I had a doubt after you asked this, so I just checked it . By the way what made you think so, it's just one ? Is it because, many cars come with just one on the left ?

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought so due to the configuration of tail lamp cluster. I could see 3 portions in it - one for tail lamp, one for turn indicator, that leaves one lamp on either side. In such cases generally one side has reversing light & the other has rear fog light. Do correct me if my understanding of the configuration is wrong.

[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by AkMar

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought so due to the configuration of tail lamp cluster. I could see 3 portions in it - one for tail lamp, one for turn indicator, that leaves one lamp on either side. In such cases generally one side has reversing light & the other has rear fog light. Do correct me if my understanding of the configuration is wrong.

This don't have the so called rear fog lamp. I think you are speaking of the stuff as in Fiat Punto. I still haven't figured out the benefit of having such an arrangement though. In Nissan Micra, I saw just one reversing lamp lit, and I don't remember seeing a fog on the other side. In Swift, I think they call that red light deep bottom centre of the rear bumper as fog lamp. Anyway Xcent has none of these. It's the plain old way, the reversing lamps had been. One on either side.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by roby.thomas

This don't have the so called rear fog lamp. . Anyway Xcent has none of these. It's the plain old way, the reversing lamps had been. One on either side.

Ah ok. It had somehow stuck in my mind that it comes with a rear fog lamp too - hence this thought about a single reverse lamp came. Just checked the brochure, there are no rear fog lamps. Thanks for the clarification. We'll be getting our car in 8-10 days from now

[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by AkMar

Ah ok. It had somehow stuck in my mind that it comes with a rear fog lamp too - hence this thought about a single reverse lamp came. Just checked the brochure, there are no rear fog lamps. Thanks for the clarification. We'll be getting our car in 8-10 days from now

AkMar,

Great. While you get your car, try to see whether you can enable speed-sensing door locks on them. This is authentically written down here by wildon in the post about Hyundai i20.

Also vincyf1 seems to suggest the same that this is possible in Xcent. Backend hacks, may be. Let me know, if this indeed can be done. If it can be, then you should perhaps enable it right out during the delivery than wait for 1st service. I missed this on both the occasions.

[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

3000 kms.


Vehicle Gradeability.

Being an automatic - I was not sure how the 4 speed TC box would cope up with stop-and-go situations on very steep slopes. During the above drive, we came across a particular beach road at Kovalam (Trivandrum) where there is a very steep incline with heavy traffic (Being Saturday night didnt help either!).

But the car came out of the situation with flying colours. It climbed effortlessly and was a joy to use. I could slow down or come to a stop, and just gradually push along without any worry of slipping the clutch, braking and using hand brakes etc. Funniest thing was that - there was a Swift trailing us and he was trying real hard to keep going. Braking to standstill, revving hard, handbraking, occassional wheel spins due to over -revving before dumping the clutch etc.

This particular incline is one of the steepest I've comes across anywhere. So I guess the car passes this test without any doubts.

Originally Posted by Rajain

Hi

Really appreciate the incline driveability piece. I am just back from a Bangalore-Mumbai long drive and can tell you this is a gem of a little car. The ghats at Lonavala were crossed with no fuss while dozens of cars of all makes were doing some extra effort.

CrAzY dRiVeR, your ownership review was the 'go-for-it' push when I finally nailed it down to my SX(O) 1.2L MT

Thank you very much for that, now I had to check on something related to the way my Xcent performs, and yes ! I have that exact topic here about vehicle grade-ability. I need your further thoughts about a behaviour that I see with my Xcent. And a couple of other points too.

I've started feeling that I hit a wall on acceleration while in second gear on a gradient. My 1st gen 1.2L Kappa i10 at second gear could not only just climb, but it could accelerate. I think I know the Kovalam steep incline you are talking about, and i10 took it without any fuss at all. It should be comparable to the terrain that I talk of.

In Xcent, ACC is always on for me, at 23C

1st experience

It's in a steep road leading to Ivy League Skyline Apartment in Kakkanad, Kochi. I was casually driving out of the apartment crawling on 1st gear past the security gate, and the road is a reasonably serious gradient and has a long way to go. I shift to 2nd, step on the accelerator to gain momentum, and actually nothing happens. I would have dismissed that gradient not even noticing it, had the car picked up. No nervousness in the car though. I floored the accelerator, but engine don't revv up at all - It's all set to steadily & sedately climb - As in an Ashok Leyland K.S.R.T.C would, barring its noise. I am sure, i10 would just zoom to speed - though it won't let me drop the gear to 3rd until I covered that full gradient, and the engine will be seriously vocal all along, letting me know that it is really working hard.

Here in Xcent, I just gave a try to drop to 1st, to get it to accelerate. That's when something felt like happening, and tried to pick up the speed and engine decided to rise up. I called up my friend staying there just to see whether the gradient was serious enough, or I had a problem. He says, yes only diesel's pull up there. And he has a Polo GT TDI , so I dismissed my case.

2nd experience

That's near the Kaduthuruthy twists and climbs where we seek opportunity to overtake blocking heavy vehicles which are just crawling at climb. I was overtaking a Bharat Benz, and I thought I am doing reasonably good - but then I heard two honks behind me, and an impatient Swift Dzire behind me just decided to zoom past both of us, and I didn't see that guy again . I assume that was a diesel, but he didn't wait enough for me to have a look at what it is. Just I know that it's a recent Dzire, at a glance. I knew I will never make it, since I had already almost floored accelerator while I was trying to get ahead of that lorry. If that was a Dzire petrol, then I am disappointed at what Xcent gave me at that point.

So what could be all of that ? I know yours is an AT, but I think there wouldn't be much of a gear ratio difference at least in the 1st, 2nd ?

Another issue about vehicle wobbling at certain times

It doesn't happen always and is not quite reproducible even at the same terrain, same traffic conditions. This is not a gradient related issue, but it happens while you drive in city at 2nd gear. So I thought I will ask it here. The car sometimes decide to shake and wobble, I mean as exactly as you feel in A-Star, which always has that problem all the time during city drive (I've driven a couple of them, and they all shake & wobble exactly the same way).

I doubt this happens after I am back to city after having driven continuously for reasonable distances (200 KM+). At that time, another perceivable stuff is that the gear lever's sure slotting nature has become too softer and fuzzy in transition. You don't any more get that typical Hyundai 'click' feeling when you slot in. I've experienced that in Hyundai i10 once (by then the vehicle is 7 years old, 50k ODO), on a continuous drive from Kochi to Vellore. Towards the end of the trip, I happened to casually rest my hand on the gear lever at neutral while checking something, and it just moved into the 3rd position, and then that obvious grinding sound. I never intended to shift it, and the gear level is not habitually agile to accidentally slot-in. We have to put a conscious effort always. The same happened with Xcent, after a Kochi-Trivandrum round-trip. Do they suffer fatigue after long drive?

[praveen789]

Originally Posted by jetti

Congratulations on your Xcent and excellent review. Your Xcent looks very good in this colour. Good to see that Hyundai has tuned the engines to give more mileage yet retaining the smoothness and increasing features.



Bad move by Hyundai - this is very much needed in our country and esp. when all their cars had it in the past. Forget 2 wheelers, once a clumsy man walking by also bent my ORVM forward. If I had to pay for each time my mirror got bent forward, I'd be looking at a five figure amount!

I have an Xcent SX(O) and can confirm that the ORVM does bend forward as well. I had stopped at a signal and a two-wheeler was trying to squeeze through from my right. His handle pushed my ORVM forwards and i thought it might have got damaged. But surprisingly, i pressed on the ORVM open/close button and it closed fully and was functioning properly after that.

[roby.thomas]

Today, after a short City trip I suddenly noticed that the ABS and Brake Warning Indicators are both permanently lit. That brake warning indicator will light up when parking brake is on, but that's not the case here. It's disengaged.

Yesterday, I had been on a 150KM round-trip journey. I don't remember seeing this warning light ON upon return. I did water wash the body, as well as the wheels and the wheel wells after a long gap of about three weeks.

The owner's manual indicates that, having the brake warning indicator lit means the vehicle should not be used if possible, and consult service centre immediately. I'm always at the bad time when these kind of trouble strikes me, since service centre is on holidays for Onam, and I can get this checked only on Saturday.

• I have checked the ABS fuse inside the cabin, as well as the one inside the fuse chamber of engine bay. Both seems to be intact.
• Brake fluid is right at the 'Max' level
• Don't see any problem with braking capabilities of the vehicle or the parking brake.
• I've the bluetooth OBD II scanner, and checked the fault codes reported through ECU. None shows up !!

Anyone reading this post has an idea ? Vehicle has just almost clocked 3250 KM on the odometer so far.

[praveen789]

Originally Posted by roby.thomas

Today, after a short City trip I suddenly noticed that the ABS and Brake Warning Indicators are both permanently lit. That brake warning indicator will light up when parking brake is on, but that's not the case here. It's disengaged.

Yesterday, I had been on a 150KM round-trip journey. I don't remember seeing this warning light ON upon return. I did water wash the body, as well as the wheels and the wheel wells after a long gap of about three weeks.

The owner's manual indicates that, having the brake warning indicator lit means the vehicle should not be used if possible, and consult service centre immediately. I'm always at the bad time when these kind of trouble strikes me, since service centre is on holidays for Onam, and I can get this checked only on Saturday.

• I have checked the ABS fuse inside the cabin, as well as the one inside the fuse chamber of engine bay. Both seems to be intact.
• Brake fluid is right at the 'Max' level
• Don't see any problem with braking capabilities of the vehicle or the parking brake.
• I've the bluetooth OBD II scanner, and checked the fault codes reported through ECU. None shows up !!

Anyone reading this post has an idea ? Vehicle has just almost clocked 3250 KM on the odometer so far.

It is probably is related to a sensor problem. I am not sure the exact location of the sensor but could the water wash have affected it? If that is the case, it 'might' correct itself once it dries out.

In any case, since both the lights have come on, it is advisable to have the service centre guys visit you instead of you driving the car (just in case it is a genuine issue and not a false alarm)

PS: I have not come across this issue in my 9k kms of having the Xcent.

[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by praveen789

It is probably is related to a sensor problem. I am not sure the exact location of the sensor but could the water wash have affected it? If that is the case, it 'might' correct itself once it dries out.

In any case, since both the lights have come on, it is advisable to have the service centre guys visit you instead of you driving the car (just in case it is a genuine issue and not a false alarm)

PS: I have not come across this issue in my 9k kms of having the Xcent.

You might be correct at it. This warning indications disappeared as of today morning. I haven't taken it for another drive yet. I believe the sensors are inside the wheel hub. If a water wash can create problem, then I am concerned. I'm in Kerala and with rains and hallmark potholes on road, I can't avoid getting into water. So if this is really about water, then I need to find out how it gets into the sensor portions.

Tomorrow anyway I will get it to service centre and ask them to check for the error code history - I have a long drive too on that day. I would want to know what the trouble is. I shall update if we find any.

[praveen789]

Originally Posted by roby.thomas

You might be correct at it. This warning indications disappeared as of today morning. I haven't taken it for another drive yet. I believe the sensors are inside the wheel hub. If a water wash can create problem, then I am concerned. I'm in Kerala and with rains and hallmark potholes on road, I can't avoid getting into water. So if this is really about water, then I need to find out how it gets into the sensor portions.

Tomorrow anyway I will get it to service centre and ask them to check for the error code history - I have a long drive too on that day. I would want to know what the trouble is. I shall update if we find any.

Even though water seems to be a culprit in this case, I believe this issue would be something specific to your car. I feel this because if that was not the case, Hyundai would be getting a lot more complaints about this. They would have done sufficient testing to avoid this. Also, the guy who washes my car is very liberal with the use of water and douses buckets of water on the wheels at the end and it has not caused any problems so far.

Hopefully the service centre guys can retrieve the exact cause. Their usual response is that it is ok now and to come again when you face the issue. Rarely have I seen them proactively resolve a potential issue.

[roby.thomas]

Took it to Hyundai service centre. They scanned for error code history, and it turned out to be a wheel speed sensor error for a rear wheel. However, it didn't reoccur. According to the service advisor, if the vehicle bumps into potholes and such uneven surfaces occasionally this error can pop-up. There is no malfunction.

I do have a growing concern on the gradient tackling capability of this vehicle on not so perfect roads, or unpaved country roads. Those roads are typically the ones leading to an independent house or so, which is so common in Kerala. I wouldn't have complained, but the humble 800 and Alto's would tackle all these like a piece of cake leaving me insulted . These are situations where I actually want the car to climb up since the gradient is tough for elders too. But it is a big let down, stalled the engine four times and I just had to give up !!

In the first gear, it actually shows no sign of moving and finally engine will stall. Slipping clutch is an option but in this car, this is very difficult for the way they have set-up the clutch. I'm not sure how much of a healthy adjustment is possible in the cable, but this clutch has a minuscule range to operate at the bottom end of the pedal. If you revv it up, wheel will spin. I think the terrain handling capability is worse than my old i10, because this is now just about 3 months with this car and has already experienced trouble thrice, where I had to give up.

This car is suited only for perfect tarmac gradients, highway runs, and city roads. People living in a slightly demanding terrain will have trouble with this car on a daily basis. and should definitely keep away from this one. People might claim such roads are for SUVs, but I know cars from Maruti shop which costs 3-4 lakhs less will easily make it. And I myself has taken it, so the same driving skills apply.

[praveen789]

Originally Posted by roby.thomas

Took it to Hyundai service centre. They scanned for error code history, and it turned out to be a wheel speed sensor error for a rear wheel. However, it didn't reoccur. According to the service advisor, if the vehicle bumps into potholes and such uneven surfaces occasionally this error can pop-up. There is no malfunction.

I do have a growing concern on the gradient tackling capability of this vehicle on not so perfect roads, or unpaved country roads. Those roads are typically the ones leading to an independent house or so, which is so common in Kerala. I wouldn't have complained, but the humble 800 and Alto's would tackle all these like a piece of cake leaving me insulted . These are situations where I actually want the car to climb up since the gradient is tough for elders too. But it is a big let down, stalled the engine four times and I just had to give up !!

In the first gear, it actually shows no sign of moving and finally engine will stall. Slipping clutch is an option but in this car, this is very difficult for the way they have set-up the clutch. I'm not sure how much of a healthy adjustment is possible in the cable, but this clutch has a minuscule range to operate at the bottom end of the pedal. If you revv it up, wheel will spin. I think the terrain handling capability is worse than my old i10, because this is now just about 3 months with this car and has already experienced trouble thrice, where I had to give up.

This car is suited only for perfect tarmac gradients, highway runs, and city roads. People living in a slightly demanding terrain will have trouble with this car on a daily basis. and should definitely keep away from this one. People might claim such roads are for SUVs, but I know cars from Maruti shop which costs 3-4 lakhs less will easily make it. And I myself has taken it, so the same driving skills apply.

Good to know that there wasn’t any major issue with the sensor.

I totally agree with you about the lack of power on inclines. The Xcent is my first car so I did not have much of an idea about how cars should behave on inclines. That was until the time I drove my friend’s Ritz. The car’s engine is a gem and feels wonderful in the ghats. I used to wonder why does Maruti sell so much inspite of not having all the bells and whistles of Hyundai but I got my answer now. The K series engine is simply fantastic and doesn’t sound strained at any RPMs.

I think the problem is that in the name of silent and smoothness, Hyundai have compromised big time on power delivery. I would definitely rate Maruti engines way above any Hyundai engine. I guess we will have to live with this till we switch.

[roby.thomas]

Originally Posted by praveen789

I think the problem is that in the name of silent and smoothness.

I believe it's their attempt to mend their bad reputation on mileage which backfired in terms of power delivery. I think this should be rectifiable on an ECU remapping, but does Hyundai service centre has an alternate mapping of ECU for those who complain about power is in question - If they have, I would certainly opt for it since I am accustomed to bad mileage in i10.

As I said, I never felt i10 underpowered. It has a problem at gradient but that's not because of a lack of power. It's difficult to control / slip clutch because of its binary on/off engagement and disengagement points. Once you get it moving, you have confidence that it will make it.

But this Xcent petrol has a totally different problem compared to 1st generation 1.2L i10 on gradient. You step on the accelerator, and the engine don't revv up. It will start crawling up, and I don't need to have my feet on clutch - So engine is delivering the momentum. But, at this point you can even keep the accelerator pedal floored. Engine will never revv up. That's ok, consider I don't want to accelerate at the gradient - and you will think this car will make it to the top albeit at crawling speed, then suddenly duh !! Engine stalls. It could have been an obstacle in that unpaved terrain. You don't even get the slightest of the hint that the engine is going to stall. In Maruti, you would hear and feel the engine knocking and your mind is trained to then slip clutch right at the point and help the engine out - You need a feedback from engine, either by sound or shudders that you need to do it, and a time for you to react which Maruti engines afford to give - That's completely lacking in this car, it's a deceiving engine.

If I am determined to actually take this car up there without stalling, the only possibility is take it all the way riding on clutch (On Xcent this would mean you have almost fully extended your leg on clutch pedal - It's range of slipping the clutch is located deep down), and press the accelerator right from start so that you can hear the engine (That would mean RPMs in the range of 3000+) - That's actually holding the revvs even when you don't need it - let the clutch take the toll. When I said, I gave up on a few occasions - I actually didn't want to fry the clutch, and I decided not to slip it all along. I would rather happily leave the car where it is, and walk up. It's an uneasy problem for the rest of the people in the car too. Loss of confidence, Right ..

This is where, people living in such areas would end up burning their clutch faster than any Maruti's on this car. I still think there is something wrong in the ECU mapping, since a 1.2L car is good enough for the terrains that I talk of - it's computation of engine load and accelerator input is going wrong somewhere - That's why accelerator flooring don't have any effect on the engine - ECU perhaps understands that the engine will knock, so it probably disregards accelerator input. But the driver's feedback is deceiving. We will think the engine will tackle it because it is silent and shudder-free, but no - The next second just stall !! This is where I feel the good old carburettor was way better. When you press the accelerator, it has nothing more to think other than feed more fuel.

People with Xcent automatic transmission are lucky, since the torque converter is totally a different mechanism and will smooth out the trouble underneath - At the maximum, you need to avoid rolling back - but this engine is sufficient enough to not let do that - the terrains that I speak of. That's why a couple of reviews here are happy about Petrol AT's performance on gradient. Luckily Hyundai didn't go the AMT way like the Zest, had it been the case it would fry the clutch too, just that we won't probably get to know it until it's too late

[AkMar]

That is strange. We do not drive our Xcent on gradients which you encounter, so I cannot comment on its behavior in that specific case. However, in general our Xcent does give signs like shuddering before the engine stalls.