[CliffHanger]

Today, I have been going through the thread created by member Arjun Rudra on his Creta engine failure and found a strange coincidence - on how his car has done more than a lakh kilometers, goes for a service and bam, the engine seizes just after a week after the service.

Sometime back, my car which has now done more than 1,50,000 kilometres goes for its annual service, quite delayed because of covid. After a week after the service, I take it to Ooty and couple of hours into the trip, the car starts jerking and I had to abandon the trip and had to return with the car jerking non stop. Took it to the service center, PPS Jeep, and the holy guys there mentioned that something was not fitted properly in my previous service. I was furious, but would they understand if I say that the service was done more than a year back and the car has several thousand kilometres since then. I was glad though that nothing happened to the car, guess I was lucky.

To be frank, I have a 50% hit rate with my services. That is one in every 2 services, I will face issues post the service. The last few ones were:

- the one mentioned above
- Had requested them to replace the front wheel arch, the holy guys there did that, but forgot to screw them properly. On a highway run, the wheel arch comes in contact with the tyre and gets torn into pieces
- Another service done and travelled to Munnar in the same week. Car loses power on and off. Reason - the holy guys in the service centre who removed the battery, did not put it back properly.

Like I mentioned, I have faced too many and have read similar in the forum as well.

So, what do you guys think? Service warranty of 1 month or 1500 km post service, whichever comes first.

I have zilch respect for manufacturers such as Hyundai, Maruti, Renault, etc. for I believe they are hand in glove or aware of these types of malpractices which the dealers indulge in to increase profits. Just see the circus the member Arjun Rudra had to go through in the hands of Hyundai which I believe is not his fault. Like how the government is mandating safety measures, the government should also step in to mandate these norms to avoid malpractices from the manufacturers and dealers.

On a side note, I get appaled by how the fan boys all jump in to give recommendations for cars such as Harrier, Safari, etc.

Unreliable cars, terrible service stations, 20+ big ones and free recommendations from fan boys in the forum. Guys, spend a few days in Tata service stations before giving those recommendations in the forum.

[J4J]

I think , if we service our vehicles from ASC, we are paying a premium. They should give warranty(on non wear and tear parts) till the time we service in ASC and adher to their guidelines.

Otherwise it is useless to service at ASC.
We have to suffer their poor workmanship and also serious issues later on for such carelessness.

All of this after paying a much higher amount when compared with FNG.

[VKumar]

You get this in VW, 2 examples I have from my own car's case:

1) Water Pump Case: Rust in coolant is a known issue in VW TDi engines, I had once got my water pump replaced. In the process, the coolant was replaced, they flushed the entire system their way, and replaced the expansion chamber bottle too. Exactly 2 months later, the new water pump developed some leakage, hence all the coolant was lost.

New water pump and coolant, all was added free of charge. Not under extended warranty, but under the part warranty.

2) Headlamp Replacement: The front left headlamp of the car was replaced after an accidental repair. A few days later, when the car went back to service station, it was found that the adjustment mechanism was not working properly in the new headlamp. It was again replaced under the part warranty.

[dark.knight]

While I will defend Hyundai/KIA quality till I lose my breath, I will however write that their service is 3rd rate, and that too is a compliment.

Things they do/have done :

1) They change headlamp leveler settings, ok not so serious.

2) They've left the fuel flap loose, ok a bit more concerning now.

3) They've left the engine air filter compartment loose, this had me furious.

4) They didn't bolt the engine sump guard once, the hair on my head stood up

Tried all 3 dealers in Bangalore, all uniformly and supremely, 3rd rate. Since it was me, and since I go with a toothcomb and a microscope to find their mistakes, it was ok, but anyone else who'd have listened to their "all perfect saar" schtick and driven away would've gotten disastrous consequences in a matter of weeks.

I say work with independent mechanics and source the spares yourselves, I did the previous service 80% by myself and rest by Shell (engine oil), sourced all parts from MOBIS, worked out c-h-e-a-p. Rest assured that warranty on service will NEVER be done by any brand, it'll give them way too much legal and technical burden, their 2000% profits on labor charges should go to their bank account right?