[Thad E Ginathom]

Dose, I agree with all your points. I doubt that I'll buy for at least two years, but even so, one always thinks, "My next car is going to be...". The i20 has been in that new car for me since it was launched, but it is slipping fast now.

Still... a lot can happen to car models in two years!

[rbp]

Originally Posted by Dose

This is ridiculous! Hyundai needs to bring back the manual gearbox, diesel Asta-O with the six airbags and install a much more powerful A/C compressor and blower. And if it's not possible with such a small engine, then they need to offer more powerful petrol and diesel engines. To hell with the fuel consumption.

Nobody wants to spend so much money on a car that has a weak engine, a weak a/c and weak safety features. Despite the excellent safety features of the petrol 1.2 Asta-O, I cannot recommend this car anymore to people if what many of you are saying is true about the weak air conditioner. And I am sad that the diesel is not offered anymore with six airbags. At least they could make it a special order car, if they are willing to fix the a/c.

The previous version lineup of the i20 was fantastic with petrol, diesel, and automatic versions getting the optional Asta-O trim level. All they had to do was fix the a/c and the i20 would have retained the crown for best car under ten lakhs. But the latest i20 lineup is awful and now we can add the weak a/c to it.

Well! they got rid of another safety feature and that is the rear discs even they have gone now. I am so happy with my older i20, with all the airbags and rear discs.

[mxx]

hey guys, i hear this i20 a/c problem too much in the forum. Is it that bad. I hope all of you take up this matter with hyundai. I s there any feedback system in place for owners other than through service centers?

[wildon]

Originally Posted by mxx

I s there any feedback system in place for owners other than through service centers?

If you write any mails to cr@hmil.net you will soon get a reply saying that please contact respective N+E+W+S offices for service/sales related quires. They will "look into this" and finaly say please contact your dealer.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by rbp

Well! they got rid of another safety feature and that is the rear discs even they have gone now. I am so happy with my older i20, with all the airbags and rear discs.

The shift to rear drum brakes in Verna and i20 has more to do with customer complaints of higher cost of replacing the brake pads than cost cutting at time of manufacture.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The shift to rear drum brakes in Verna and i20 has more to do with customer complaints of higher cost of replacing the brake pads than cost cutting at time of manufacture.

If that is true, it is quite ridiculous (I am talking about the owners complaining). Sometimes, I wonder how - for lack of a better word - dumb people can be. Anyone who can afford to buy a Verna and a i20 CRDi, complaining about brake pads, seems pathetic.

[govigov]

to all i20 owners, what is the real world FE od the 1.2 irde? is it like 11-12? what is the claimed ARAI spec? (i cant seem to find that)

[wildon]

Originally Posted by govigov

to all i20 owners, what is the real world FE od the 1.2 irde? is it like 11-12? what is the claimed ARAI spec? (i cant seem to find that)

Please do have a look at the T-bhp Owners review section to know what the owners said about i20.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by darksoul

2) Was told that this is due to excessive leaves and dirt clogging up the air filter. Car was taken to the workshop, brought back in 15 minutes after the A/C filter was cleaned.

3) Voila! the A/C is back to awesome - the blower works perfectly, the back seats are cooled properly, all is well.

4) Asked about a permanent solution: Unfortunately I park on a very dusty road, with mud flying all over the place and small leaves as well. I always used the A/C in "outside" mode and apparently that's the cause.

I have been running my i 20 1.2 asta in the current Pune heat with good cooling in the car - in the front seats admittedly, that are the only ones used in the car, it is as good as I have known in any other car - so I was surprised to see all the current noise in the forum about the cooling issues.
Reading this post, I think I can confirm that advice about using only the recirc mode, which what I always have on in all my cars to keep the road stink and pollution out of the car. I don't drive more than 30 minutes stretches in the city, and on the highways, I open the vents occasionally to clear out the CO2. Keeping the vents always closed is probably the answer, therefore. The only thing one has to watch out for is that an open vent seems to be the default starting mode on the AC, so one has to remember to hit the button once to close them after starting the AC.
The engine is gutless low in the rpm band of course, but I knew that when I bought the car, and it does not bother me, I just use the gearbox to keep the revs where they need to be. With the AC on, the car is very adequate on the roads, which is all I need from a car these days. And it gives me decent FE, AC on 100% of the time, 365 days.

[wildon]

Yesterday i took the car with my wife to a ground to find out the reason why a/c cooling is not coming to the rear. First i parked the car under sunlight with all windows rolled up and closed.We entered my car after 45 min and the outside temperature was measuring 36 C.

I role down all the windows for 10 min as was doing some rounds, later rolled up the windows and put the A/c to 20C , Full auto mode , re-circular mode. We were sitting at front and it was chilling. Later my wife shifted to the back and said the cool air is not coming.

I have flatten the front passenger seat and gave a try, surprisingly my wife changed her opinion after 5-10 min. Later i allowed my wife to drive (She got an L.L recently) and i took the back seat. With the front passenger seat flat the whole cabin was got chilled. I made the driver seat too flat and found the rear cooling as good as the front.

My findings :- The Front seats are blocking the 90% of the cool air. Later i adjusted the vents in such a way that the cool air should pass through both sides and center. The result was very good at back and front, but for the front passengers who like to get chill air on face/chest have to compromise.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by wildon

The result was very good at back and front, but for the front passengers who like to get chill air on face/chest have to compromise.

From my days in the HVAC industry, people in places like India, Singapore do not believe in any AC other than ones that blast freeze you.
In most parts of the world, cooling means holding the ambient to 24 celsius, with no cold air draughts. Obviously, in the beginning, a cold air blast is required to cool things down if the space is hot, but this is not supposed to be a permanent thing. Probably not healthy either, that way. It is only in India that not getting chill air on the face would be called a compromise.
And for the i 20, perhaps leaving it on Lo all the time may even deliver that air but the whole intent of the climate control system is then defeated.

[Rodeo]

@Wildon, I guess there a big difference between Bangalore and Hyd weather.

Is there any way we can give feedback to Hyundai?

[manu]

Originally Posted by vishwas

Guys,

We just took delivery of a new (Apr 2010) model Hyundai i20 Asta - will post a separate review soon.

There seems to be a problem in the keyless locking. According to the user manual, pressing the lock button on the the keyless entry device is supposed to blink the external lights once. Unlocking is working as supposed - it blinks twice after pressing the unlock button. But pressing the lock button locks the car but does not blink the lights; So there is no visual or aural feedback for successful locking. This seems to be a software problem or a problem with one of the door sensors.

The salesman said they have observed this in all the deliveries of new i20 Asta and Sportz models with keyless entry and they are also confused about this behavior. Can other people who have taken the new models please comment?

I am wondering if this is a design flaw or or a defective component in the car?

I had the exact same problem with my Apr 2010 i20 Asta!

And as Wildon has already correctly pointed out, the issue was incorrect alignment of the hood switch.
I went to the service center (Safdarjang Hyundai in Gurgaon) and they corrected the switch alignment by loosening the holding bracket and then tightening after correcting the alignment with the rubber cap on the hood.
Its located on the left side of the bonnet - pretty easy to find.

I thought this was just a one off issue with my car. When you say its an issue with your car as well as "all the deliveries of new i20" - that makes me wonder - how did Hyundai mess this up? The salesman may not know, but the service center electrician fixed it in a jiffy!

[manu]

I got 3M RE50/70 sun film fixed on the sides and rear glass of my i20 Asta on Saturday - the AC has definitely become a lot more effective even in the Delhi summer (39-43 degrees in the last two weeks!)
My car is parked in the sun all the time and so it really gets bad when you first get in. As many others have pointed out, let the air circulate by lowering the windows for a half minute when you drive off, and then let the AC do its job in the circulate mode once you roll up the windows.

[vishwas]

Originally Posted by wildon

^^^ The hood switch may not be pressed enough, so check the rubber bushes of hood.

Thanks Wildon for your suggestion. Yesterday I popped the hood, depressed the hood open/close sensor switch fully and it locked with the single flash. I have put a thick piece of paper now on top of the switch and closed the hood. So now the locking feedback is OK. I have some pics of the switch, I will post for reference.

Originally Posted by manu

I had the exact same problem with my Apr 2010 i20 Asta!

And as Wildon has already correctly pointed out, the issue was incorrect alignment of the hood switch. I went to the service center (Safdarjang Hyundai in Gurgaon) and they corrected the switch alignment by loosening the holding bracket and then tightening after correcting the alignment with the rubber cap on the hood.
Its located on the left side of the bonnet - pretty easy to find.

I thought this was just a one off issue with my car. When you say its an issue with your car as well as "all the deliveries of new i20" - that makes me wonder - how did Hyundai mess this up? The salesman may not know, but the service center electrician fixed it in a jiffy!

Thanks Manu for confirming this issue. I contacted the dealer; he has asked me to stop by. So this was a relief; the day I took delivery, I had a sinking feeling that I had ended up with a lemon with major software problems. Seems like a a quality check problem at the Hyundai factory, hope somebody is listening and fixes it soon.