[sunnsood]

My families first car was Hyundai Santro (purchased in 2005). It was mostly used on hilly roads(my parents are residing in Shimla) and some occasionally drives in plains(Punjab).

In 2007, Santro's handbrakes gave in while it was parked using handbrakes and a rock under the front and back tires. Car fell 200 meters down and no one was hurt. Since that day, I don't even consider Hyundai/Kia in my shortlist of cars no matter what budget i am looking at.

We only have one live and it can't be wasted under the term of "sour lemons".

[naveen.raju]

So looks like many have started to open up here. I totally understand not all manufacturers are perfect, but atleast they tend to reply or take notice. These are the questions that I had asked the dealers/Hyundai - Not even one answered back with a logical answer. I had dropped mails to many top executives, customer support, called the regional office, Area sales managers etc and nobody replied back after the initial automated reply.

1) Why isn't Hyundai giving a proper answer to these issues? I had dropped numerous emails/calls for 3 months.

2) When my accident occurred, the ABS light warning wasn't on but they confirmed that the ABS malfunctioned. Why is that? And why did the brakes fail?

3) For me (luckily), I hit another car at slow speed (even though I had to bear the expenses). What if it had been a pedestrian? Obviously, I will be put to blame.

4) Why are there many regional offices spread across the state when none of them reply back to our queries? Why don't you shut these offices?

5) The manual clearly states that in case of an ABS failure, the normal braking won’t be affected. The manual is clearly giving a false information?

If you see my latest update on my thread, you can see the details of the mails that I had sent. Not even a single logical reply.

Somebody please tag the higher officials on social media along with this thread.

Had it been outside India, they would have been sued.

[Utsav3010]

I completely agree with CrAzY dRiVeR. My daily driver is a 2016 Elite i20 (Petrol), and while the first three years of ownership were blissful, the journey from then on has been far from blissful.

Amidst the ongoing lockdown, my car's AC suddenly stopped working. The culprit was a failed Compressor Sensor/Compressor Valve. Funnily, I was told by both the Hyundai ASS and my FNG that there is no 'guarantee' whether replacing the faulty sensor will make the AC work again. It's pure hit and trial. In case it doesn't work, the whole compressor shall be replaced. Thankfully, the sensor worked.

In terms of service too, the service centers in Delhi are pathetic. My car had to be sent for a repaint THRICE, just because the guys thought there is no point in listening to the customer's advise. Let me put it on record, I am STILL NOT HAPPY with the work done on my car. I'd have been better off getting my car repainted at some roadside mechanic/painter. All that these Service Center guys care about is '5-star' rating whenever the customer gets a call from the Hyundai HQ.

Currently into fifth year of my ownership, where I don't anymore have the extended warranty and every time I take my car out, I just pray that nothing fails or breaks because that will make make a huge hole in my pocket.

All that Hyundai knows is stuffing their cars with features. They are literally least bothered about the feedback given by the owners. The Service Centers in Delhi too are least bothered about the quality or workmanship. And it's not like this is the only Hyundai in my family. We have at least 7-8 Hyundai's in my family. Surely, I will think twice about upgrading to a Hyundai again.

Gone are the days when Hyundai stood as a 'complete' alternative and an upgrade to MS products. They now sell those poorly engineered products stuffed with features, the features that will keep an average Joe happy. Going for a Hyundai because you like it so much? Purchase that extended warranty and once the car is out of Warranty, better sell it off.

[klgiridhar]

Thank you for such an exhaustive and eye opening post. Hyundai should immediately change their attitude in dealing with issues cropping up in their cars and atleast acknowledge that they knew about the issue and are working on a fix to the same.

As it was rightly said many times before, it takes years of hardwork to build a strong and trustworthy customer relationship but few acts like these to destroy it.

Even when we saw threads like issues with the mighty Toyota Innova, we have seen that Toyota never said a direct no to anyone and fixed almost all the issues for every customer. It makes the customer feel safe that the manufacturer cares for them. Also we see many recalls done by Maruti and Honda every now and then. The appalling thing here is Hyundai turning a deaf ear to the concerns of its customers.

[GrammarNazi]

Amazing compilation with very relevant factors considered in a balanced way & neutral perspective.

Whenever I have visited the Hyundai showroom, the sales person always presents the car to be an exceptionally flawless product compared to its competitors - chiefly Maruti. And they're so very confident based on this premise, that they've almost never negotiated, humbly citing the high demand & low stock availability.

During the purchase process, this is often the perception on-ground. Which is why people would do well to be prudent & consider the factors enumerated on this thread as realistic possibilities.

As enthusiasts, over time we often find some factors that can be improved upon as well as some that MUST be remedied. After all, we don't buy cars as purely commuter vehicles, we buy them for their character. And in those terms, Hyundai shouldn't ignore feedback, infact this mechanism is the most basic decency people expect. Atleast IMO, that's what is (largely) a differentiating factor between a Non-Branded product from a Branded product. If they're not taken proactively & constructively, the perception of the company being reputable turns out to be a bubble.

[GipsyDanger]

While I can certainly understand the electronic niggles in newly launched cars, it's the peeling paint and parts falling off and the malfunctioning steering wheel at speeds,posing incredible danger to the driver as well as other motorists, that truly terrifies me!

You're paying extra money over the much ridiculed "tin-can maker", for what? A false sense of build quality, only to find out the latter does an infinitely better job of putting their cars and the people behind them together.

I've seen issues cropping up in the previous Vernas and I thought that was it. Wasn't absolutely expecting the newer Vernas and Cretas to join the list as well. For heaven's sake, those aren't budget grade cars!
People pay big bucks for them, and you sell them potato chips?

The manufacturer is solely to blame for not taking quality control seriously. When Skoda gets crucified for it's expensive parts, why does Hyundai get a free pass? It's way past high time we add these issues as "cons" in reviews of their cars, especially with the 2020 Creta.

Get your act together, Hyundai. Don't willingly flush the hard earned good will down the toilet. Please don't end up like Tata: Enticing customers with great cars, only to provide shoddily built cars, and make them look like idiots when the next batch comes up. My condolences towards BS4 Harrier owners.

[RaceHorse]

Thanks CrAzY dRiVeR for one of the most useful thread on the forum.

As a owner of three Hyundai cars and two in immediate family, I can say that the quality which we had in old cars,
like Santro and i10 is not found in my current Verna.

The quality I am referring here is not in material perspective but more mechanical. The steering feel and ride are not in same league as old Hyundai's.
Less we say about the braking it is better, it is horrible and life threatening.

[Rahul_]

Great compilation Crazy Driver It was about time someone put it together.

I have been vocal about it from a long time with my experience on my i20, (links to my posts are in the opening post). The only good thing in the entire fiasco is that at least Hyundai management listens and is proactive to complaints that reach them and the fact that the dealer at which I got my car serviced at was somewhat good too (in bangalore) and the parts were readily available or procured soon enough.

Having told the good things, here are the issues we have owned in the two i20s in the family (2011 Petrol and 2014 diesel elite).

* power steering failure (old i20)
* ac failure (old i20)
* headlights fogging (new i20) - fixed under warranty
* Sound from faulty alternator bearings (new i20) - fixed under warranty
* AC condenser jammed/ice formation over ac ducts in engine bay (new i20) (pictures in i20 thread) - fixed under warranty after changing condenser and thermistor
* suspension bush cut (new i20)- changed every service under warranty
* faulty lower arm bush - changed under warranty
* rear ac and front left ac vents broken.
* very hard clutch since 25k
* paint started bubbling and peeling on (not as big patched in the picture here but small bubbles)

Once the extended warranty could not be extended further and after an ordeal of 4.5 years, I decided that it was time to sell the car as the car wasn't ageing very well even though it had been pampered like a baby all along.
It might be me, but I also felt that the car was even underperforming when you compared it from the earlier days.

The other thing that I have said enough number of times is that Hyundai service might be good but isn't cheap anymore. One of the reasons I chose Hyundai as my first car over any German/US brand was to keep maintenance predictable and in check. The car did not live up to that expectation.

What I realised out of my experience was that if your car doesn't drive well and doesn't age very well then howmuchever tech ready or feature enabled it might be - you are simply going to feel something missing. And which led me to my next purchase - A Vento TSI which was obviously less fancy than my 5 year older car but even after a year it drives almost as good as new. The maintenance costs are not much different to be honest.

[dr_davis97]

My dad has vehemently opposed the purchase of any Hyundai/ Kia cars, atleast here in India. He feels that even though the car feels well built and premium, they are prone to serious quality lapses. Though we had owned a Kia optima back in the UAE, he feels these cars just don't ply that well on Indian roads.

I have personally come across two people who have had certain issues with their Hyundai cars:

1. This issue was faced by my neighbour, who had experienced total brake failure in his first generation Verna, while returning from a vacation with the entire family aboard. Thankfully, it was at a very low speed and an accident was prevented. Needless to say, he has given up on Hyundai and hasn't looked back since.

2. The second issue was faced by my cousin in her fluidic Verna. She faced quality issues with the paint job, which had started to fade rather quickly (in a span of three years) and also had an issue with the yellowing of the headlamps. The vehicle was well maintained, not parked excessively in the sun and so on.
In contrast, my Vitara Brezza (red dual tone) which is generally perceived as a more cheaper built car still sparkles after every wash.

So till Hyundai India gets it's act together, I am staying away even if it makes me feel like a million bucks. For me, it's the German way ahead.

[Night_Fury]

I stay away from the Koreans. Simple. It all started with my friend having brake issues with his creta. He did not crash, but had a close shave. Sold off the creta within a few months after that. I mean, how can you drive a car knowing that the brakes won't work at some point. I'm also very surprised by the huge number of people who are not aware of these issues. Then I saw Naveen.raju's thread and realized it isn't a localized issue.

We blame M&M and TATA incessantly, and rightly so sometimes they do have their shortcomings, but show me a TATA which won't brake when you're taking a blind corner at speed. My honest advice is to stay away from them, until Hyundai does something to fix it, or at least recognize there are faults. The trade off is simply not worth it. You may get a perfectly good car where nothing goes wrong but what if you get a rotten apple? It's not like the creta is a cheap buy either.

[JojyKerala]

Some folks in Hyundai's management probably set up a task force by now to take notes of the complaints mentioned here in this thread.

Hyundai owners have been complaining for quite some time now but the company didn't bother to give a patient ear. All complaints so far against Hyundai were spread across threads on TBHP. By compiling them all in one place, CrAzY dRiVeR has ensured that everybody (including the top folks at Hyundai) sits up and takes notice.

Three cheers to CrAzY dRiVeR and the indomitable spirit of this forum.

[aniyo]

Originally Posted by Night_Fury

We blame M&M and TATA incessantly, and rightly so sometimes they do have their shortcomings, but show me a TATA which won't brake when you're taking a blind corner at speed. My honest advice is to stay away from them, until Hyundai does something to fix it, or at least recognize there are faults. The trade off is simply not worth it. You may get a perfectly good car where nothing goes wrong but what if you get a rotten apple? It's not like the creta is a cheap buy either.

I was going to say this. Had this been a thread on TATA people would have spoken about it even after their re-birth. I have a Nexon and it's a very stable car with awesome brakes, despite drums at the rear. Many a time I had to bring the car from 100 to <20 owing to unmarked or unexpected speed breakers and the car has responded well.
Yes there are a few niggle which I can live with but its a robust car.

Hyundai has understood, Indians care for looks, car is still a purchase to show off, our market has not matured to a point where car is a personal purchase. When I bought TATA Nexon many people gave a response, " Oh TATA li hai, Hyundai creta lete"

I remember, TATA was one of the very few manufacturers who had in-house crash testing facility since 2010 at least. We belittle our brands more than is required.

[pranavtengshe]

What a timing for the thread!!! My nearly 2 year and 30k old petrol grand i10 sportz just has its check engine light on. So far car never had any major issue.
Only issue for me is HASS trying to bill me for things not required. Last time I had a radiator frame broken they were more interested in painting the bumper than mechanical fixes.

I sacrificed the fun to drive requirement for long term reliability and features but I am sceptical now.
I wont comment on build quality for the price but there is rust on suspension components and dont know if 2 years is a early time for such rust(Its just surface rust for now). I have attached the pic of front linkage.
Paint quality is strictly budget and they are happy to blame it on the customer.

Whenever I visit HASS I get a feeling that they care more to bill you to meet their targets than fixing or maintaining your vehicle.
I generally visit Sai Auto Powai or Borivali and I wont say they are bad but everytime I had to accept atleast 1 un required billing item in service just to avoid their pitch. Even then they manage to bring bill amount cross 6k INR. Hyundai suggested cost are within 3k.

[jonesanto]

Thanks a lot for this thread, Crazydriver,

I had finalized on Seltos as my next car, after seeing so many issues reported by so many people, I am not touching any of Hyundai/Kia cars with a bargepole. This is coming from someone who owns a 2006 Elantra with 400K ODO, car has been extremely reliable. They don't make cars like those anymore. Recently I had driven i20 diesel and Creta petrol AT, both less than three years old, though feature loaded, I was disappointed by both the cars performance, it just did not drive like a new car, I was thinking it has something to do with not maintaining properly, now I know the real cause. Oh, yeah, i20 had terrible AC, it was just not cooling properly. My daily drive is an Octavia, now that VG group is not selling diesels anymore, I decided to go for Seltos. I am left with TATA or Mahindra cars, nothing against their cars, the wise decision will be to hold on to my Octavia for some more time.

HYUNDAI, you better get your act together!

[rkv_2401]

I own a 2004 Elantra CRDi. Whilst it's performance and drivetrain reliability has been phenomenal(If I recall correctly, it's still on it's original clutch! Hard to go through 15 years of service receipts to confirm, though ); there have been many issues with the rest of the car. We got it serviced once every 6-8 months until 2017 or so, and there were a variety of unfixable problems ranging from niggling to significant.

1) From some point in 2008, the engine temperature indicator has been acting bonkers. It starts off okay, and on switching on certain electrical components(mostly headlights or the A.C) the needle shoots up to the red zone and stays there. It doesn't mean much, but my dad had tried for more than 3 or 4 years to get it rectified, all to no avail. It is unnerving for a car that was being driven in a spirited manner on the highways to not have a functional temperature sensor.

2) In 2016, we gave it for regular service at the regular service station, and when the vehicle came back, the brakes weren't working properly. It was working just fine before. I immediately drove it back to the station and asked them to rectify it. They couldn't do anything, and in fact somehow made it worse after spending ~55K on replacing the brakes(or something to that effect). No matter how hard you stood on the pedal, the car wouldn't stop immediately, even at speeds as low as 10km/hr. It was undriveable. In fact, during that time period, I bumped into a person whilst turning into my apartment complex! At one point, they had the gall to say that all Elantras were like this, there's nothing they can do about it, and I had to firmly point out that I learnt how to drive using this car, and I knew how the brakes were working right up until I had given it for service. I would drop it off and walk back home once every week or two, with no end in sight. Eventually, a full 3 months later and 70 or 80k in, they were able to get it back to a driveable condition(Still wasn't particularly reassuring, mind you). This frustration is what led us to finally buying a new car, and not from Hyundai! Thankfully, we didn't have to use the car much during that period.

3) When the A.C stopped working in early 2017, we were asked an exorbitant 45K or so to replace the compressor, and even then it wasn't guaranteed that it would work. Took it to Suresh Car A.C(Heard of him from this thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...chennai-4.html (Good A/C Service mechanic in Chennai)), and turned out that the evaporator coil had developed a leak. He explained that some leaves and grime had stuck on the coil, leading to its failure. He took 2 days, and there was some issue that led to the dashboard lights not turning on afterwards, but he replaced it for 9K and it cools much better than ever before, to this day.

The car is no longer mechanically sound, although it is still driveable, and I firmly believe it would have been much better if it weren't for the callous attitude of the Hyundai Service station that forced us to look elsewhere for maintenance.