[asit.kulkarni93]

I have never been a fan of products from Hyundai because they just have the feel good factor but never seem to be well engineered. All the issues you have mentioned are horrifying. In the older Hyundais there were steering rack issues(An FNG I know had around 50 steering racks awaiting to get scrapped), clock springs going bust(a 30k kms done i20), cooling coil issues(i20, verna.etc.) and the clutch is very weird. I have literally seen clutch going hard again in less than 10k kms after replacement. The parts are very expensive and they definitely are not keepers. If I were to pay a premium, I would gladly do that for a Toyota with lesser features or just stretch and pick up a VAG product.

[Nissan1180]

XCent CNG: issue faced is a sudden lack of power while on CNG. Running on petrol is fine. The HASS did not diagnose it correctly, and neither did the local garage. Changing the CNG filter did not help. If anyone has a solution to this persistent problem, it would be great if you can share it.

[jasjotbains]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

And regarding the clutch, the HASS guys are eager to change the car clutch if it has been run for 25-30K kms. According to them, the clutch life of more than 30K on Hyundai diesels is a bonus. This is another scam that these HASS run on unsuspecting customers

I faced a similar situation last year when I gave my car for its 6th annual service, first one away from Chandigarh. I got a quote of 20k including clutch change (6k approx), some rotator bearing in seat belt assembly (what?) and a new silencer (8k, though it's due for a change). I was told clutch change is required due to slow pickup. Told him I get 19kmpl, so kindly check the tires first (I have a 175 section instead of 155). No further calls. Car serviced for 3300 and delivered clean and shining

[akshay81]

If have been using Hyundai cars for over six years now - Verna MT Diesel version (2014-2017)
and Hyundai Creta AT Diesel SX+ (2017 till date). Of the issues listed here, I have faced the following:

Verna - Steering issue (can be Issue 6: Premature EPS failures). The steering unit was making weird noise. The Hyundai dealers couldn't resolve or tell exactly what the issue was. One of the service centre quoted Rs.40,000/- for resolving the issue - they wanted to replace the entire unit. Once I said the car is under warranty, I didn't hear back from the centre. Thankfully, I sold the car shortly thereafter.

Creta - Braking issue. The braking in Creta is not exactly confidence inspiring esp. over a speed breaker / pothole. You cannot take it for granted that the car will stop exactly where you want to stop it. Even my alto has better braking than Creta. Its not just my Creta but the others I have driven have similar braking problem.

Another issue I am facing is AC does not work sometimes. Though the AC light glows and the fan is blowing air, it just doesn't cool. This happens sometimes and the issue goes away after I switch off the car, get out and wait for 5-10 minutes. I had posted the issue here, went to several Hyundai service centres but none could identify the issue and this issue persists till date. I just got my warranty extended by another two years so that if anything goes wrong, it won't cost a bomb.

After this thread, I don't think my next car will be from the Hyundai stable.

[Secretariat]

Have a contrary view to much of what has been described on this thread, although I readily concede the validity of Crazy Driver's compendium. My view is based purely on personal experience. I have a 2014 Xcent which has run 1.3 L kms and I have taken it all around the country. I have truly abused it on trips to the North East, Spiti and a few other 5000 kms + trips and I have never had any trouble. Not once. It has gone to places a compact sedan should not go to and came out on top. In fact, I will take it anywhere where a 4WD is not required and do so with absolute confidence. That has been my experience. My only grouse is the horrible AC.

With that track record, I will happily buy a Hyundai again. And I wouldn't quibble at all about the usual reference to fuss free ownership in car reviews here. It has been true for me.

I however feel that Hyundai has turned tone deaf to it's customers' views. Their customer feedback process after every service is a joke - the demand for 10/10 is well known. Rarely do any messages get a reply and major faults, like those reported in this thread, just get ignored. The issues have been building up and the company should show that it cares. If they listened (or just kept scanning this forum), they will be a lot better off.

[green_ninja]

For anyone who has spent any amount of time in a mature auto market outside India, the unreliability of Hyundai/Kia won't come as a surprise. I lived in the US for about 15 years and H/K were always seen as substandard manufacturers known for their cheap tin can like cars. Most people I knew would prefer buying Japanese or American made cars and the Korean cars were pretty much reserved for the low income groups until the 2008 financial crisis hit.

The Koreans were the first to offer really good financing and long warranty periods. They also started copying European styling around the same time. Cheap stylish cars were lapped up by the fleet operators first and then it slowly moved to the retail customers. Reliability was never really a concern as most American new car buyers usually replaced their cars every 3-4 years once the lease ended. Warranties on Korean cars were much longer.

Once back in India, I still carried the negative stigma associated with H/K and could never bring myself up to buy a car from their stables. I will buy Toyota or Suzuki given my positive experience with Toyota and Maruti but I'll never touch a H/K with a 20 foot pole. The first reaction I had when the Kia Carnival was announced was " who the heck was going to pay close 30lacs for a Kia" but I was wrong. They are laughing their way to the bank.

[landcruiser123]

Not only Hyundai, the quality of Indian cars (mass-market) have gone down in the second decade of this century. Hyundai seems to have taken a bit too far. A Getz was the 2nd car in the family for 12 years and it didn't have a single problem in the 12 years/60k km we owned it. Similar with Santro which a few of our relatives had.

A reason why things go wrong is larger tolerances in parts. Achieving smaller tolerances results in higher manufacturing costs, but results a long lasting car.

+Large tolerances in sheet metal parts results in uneven panel gaps. Comparison between the 3rd gen and 4th gen City is the best example.
+Large tolerances in critical components in steering, suspension, powertrain systems lead to early failure of parts.

I sincerely hope Hyundai haven't worked out the economics the Ford Pinto way where it is cheaper to replace a few failed parts under warranty rather than building quality products in the first place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_P...the_Pinto_Memo

Correct me if I'm wrong, barring AMTs, Maruti cars haven't really seen any widespread part failures in their cars.

[N33raj]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Thanks for sharing. Glad to know. But you see - even you have faced the a/c failure - which is again a common issue with many owners. Your Grand i10 cannot be more than 5 years old? Most owners report the failure by around 3 - 3.5 years.

...I agree Hyundai is a good compromise. But it will be a LOT better with these issues fixed.

Yes, the grand i10 is from the 1st gen lot of cars; this problem cropped up in the third year of ownership. It was a small component failure but yes it was a problem nonetheless. The Cretas are not that old so cannot be certain if this issue will crop up or not but the i20 has had no problems so far.

Hyundai is good, but what good is a climate control system if the ac system fails? What good is ABS if the braking system fails? What good is a light EPS if the steering system fails?

[McLaren Rulez]

Great effort compiling all the issues into a single thread! It was the ABS and brake related issues with the Creta posted by Anurag and others that really opened my eyes first to the seriousness of the issue. I thought it was insane that the company got away with it at the time and I am glad it is now highlighted.

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

If I were to pay a premium, I would gladly do that for a Toyota with lesser features

I wish I had the time to make a similar complilation but a very critical issue is with Toyotas and airbags. There have been multiple cases of Toyota models crashing very heavily with no airbags being deployed.

As with Hyundai, the issue is that people perceive the cars to be reliable and high quality when the reality is that they are cutting critical corners.

[abhi9044]

First of all many thanks to Crazy Driver for putting up this so well. I've seen multiple complaints relating to Hyundai's paint and Engine issues but never thought that it was that serious. You have seriously compiled it well.

Seems like Hyundai is intentionally leading it's customer's into accidents(Brake Fails, Steering free wheeling, Seriously?) whereas Maruti is failing to protect it's customers from accidents.

Also I would like to add some of the problems that have appeared on my cousin's Grand i10.

The headlight's were becoming foggy without even using them. This was replaced under warranty with the outcome being that the problems still remains the same.



Another one was some problem with the wiring. A rat was somehow able to get into the car interior from the firewall and had chewed many interior trims and mats. Although no damage to the wiring was reported. But still, there was a Airbag light which was always there on the speedo. The car was scanned and checked again but even after clearing the codes the light would appear again. Since the people at HASS were unable to identify the problem they said that wiring harness is at fault and will require 70k. At this point my uncle asked whether the airbags will work or not, to which they said it will definitely work. Well if that is the case why is a light appearing on the dash? To this day it's the same.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Issue 2: Rusting on front doors mainly compared to rear:

During a conversation on WhatsApp in the Creta India group, a couple of owners posted the images of their front doors rusting badly which made me also go and for the same under the beading on the front doors and was shocked to find rust there. Attaching a few images of the same:

That is something that I'm really shocked to see. Our Wagonr had a hit when it was just a month old(I was reversing with the door open and it hit the pillar) and the paint peeled of. Since i was a school student without any pocket money back then, I asked one of my friends to bring her silver coloured nail polish so I can atleast mask it and prevent it from corrosion. Almost five years later when I finally decided to paint it this is how it had faired.

[Uppili_N55]

Appalling! This is no different from the US market where Hyundai had a huge recall for engine fires and other issues. In fact i see a lot of used 2011 era sonata's with "complete engine replaced by Hyundai recently" on the ads. My roommate's 2011 had an engine replacement. My colleague's Kia Optima had an engine replacement.



Fun but sad Fact: I am a part of a Facebook group which spots Kia/Hyundai vehicles with malfunctioning tail lamps. So many people spot them every day.


What is happening Hyundai? Basking on the exponential success and failing to control quality? Hyundai is no Fiat/VW. They very well know to engineer good products. This is not a step in the right direction and will tarnish the faith gained over the years.

[Silver Knight]

I was always a fan of Hyundai. Though I never owned one always had positive experience driving them or travelling. These stories did really changed my outlook towards Hyundai. Also lately I observed a lot of complaints here as well as elsewhere regarding Kia Seltos. Whenever I think of replacing my Innova (turning 10 years in a couple of days) these type of news pulls me back. And there are no worthy cars from the Toyota stable to upgrade, including the new Crysta (as I feel it is priced Very high and is out of my budget). Hyundai and Kia are perceived to be very reliable, but the reality is quite different. And one thing I have observed in the car industry is there is a decline in overall quality in most of the brands except a few. Quality of cars from Honda, Ford and Marutis (to name a few) has seen a decline. Do they think Indian me chalega yaar? I have a new Figo, though I am happy with the car, the quality is poor compared to the old Figo or Ikon. While I was about to book the Figo, I was talking to a friend who is working in Ford. And he told, the car is definitely good, but don't expect the solid build of the old gen Figos, and he was right. Also, I have a 2003 Marutis Zen and a 2009 diesel Swift. Both works like clock work, and definitely have better quality than the new Marutis. Definitely there is a conscious effort and research going on to downsizing quality (leads to reduced cost in manufacturing and more spare sales) in the auto industry in India. I have also observed the Crysta ( I have extensively used ) doesn't feel that solid compared to my 2010 Innova.

[GTO]

Just remembered something and we had commented as such in the Official Reviews.

- In our Aura review car, the wireless charger wasn't working.

- In the Venue media car, the Bluetooth mic wasn't working.

- In the first two Kia Seltos media cars we got, the air-con randomly stopped cooling!

Do note that these are brand new examples & such a thing has NEVER happened before with Hyundai media cars. There are definitely QC issues with Hyundai-Kia.

[arunramaswamy]

There is a saying in English. The higher a monkey climbs, the more it's rear end gets exposed. This is so apt for both Kia and Hyundai. Why does it happen only in India. The moment something has achieved some sort of a good name to it, we Indians will be taken for ride. It has literally been an eye opener and has really exposed Hyundai's high-handed approach towards Indian customers and step-motherly treatment towards Indian market. But alas this thread came too late for me. Had this come last year, I would have cast the Verna out of my consideration. I hope people make informed decision about buying a Hyundai in the future. My next car would certainly be from an Indian manufacturer. Probably will be selling my Verna once the extended warranty period is done with.

Dear CrAzY dRiVeR, thank you very much for such a compelling thread. I am in awe at the sheer effort required to compile all the facts from the vast Team-BHP resources. Kudos to you. I am not surprised you were made mod for this forum. I will never forget your thread on niggles in 4th gen Honda. Thanks to it I never even bothered to step into a Honda dealership.

[SS80]

A big applause for the efforts of Crazy driver, it must have taken ample time to consolidate so much data from various threads.

Regarding the power steering going loose issues, is this why they switched to HPS on the new Santro that they launched? Somehow Skoda and TATA always managed to take a big slice for being horrible with after SASS or TASS, looks like Hyundai is not that far behind.

4 of my close friends have Hyundai cars (Verna 1.6 P 2017, Verna 1.6 D 2016, Santro Xing 2007 & a new Santro 2020), none of these guys have any complaints about the car or service centers, the diesel verna clocks 30k each year and Xing is used for inter state travel. So I guess, these issues reported are some sort of lemons. May be every 5000th car is a lemon or something like that.

Hyundai should try to check what batches of cars are affected and ideally offer recall for free repairs.