[Digital Vampire]

#3 and especially #4 are serious concerns.

I'd estimate more than 2L to get this car back to a reasonably good condition with a high chance that you may not get everything right. If I were you, I'd stay away from such high maintenance examples.

Search hard - you may just find a better maintained vehicle.

[debuda]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Dear friends, need a quick advice. Got to meet a person selling his Tucson, 2006 model, 3rd owner, 90,000 kms. He has upgraded the ICE, put Stanley Leather seats and repainted the car in Matt black finish (From the greenish color). Tyres are new (done less than 5k). He does not have spare keys or owner's manual. He is expecting around 6l.

I took a brief test drive and here are my findings:
1. Slight noise while turning steering
2. Brakes were weak (though he said that pads were replaced).
3. Whoosh noise of turbo was audible
4. Exhaust felt greasy on touching
5. Suspension felt good
6. Timing belt has not been changed ever.
7. Clutch replaced by 2nd owner.
8. Headlights have become dull.
9. Car shudders at first gear till half clutch
10. Gear slotting is spongy (can this be fixed)

Anything else I should specifically test while going on a TD this saturday. Also, what are the expenses I should look forward to (inn between 90-120k duration). I'm planning to keep this for 1-2 years. Is the car's age healthy enough to be taken to Leh/Bhutan, or should I look at different kind of 4X4.

I'm proposing to close the deal at 5l, and I have set a budget of 2 lakh for annual maintenance for the same. Is it reasonable. I won't mind maintaining it for its reliability.

During your next TD, you should check the following :

1. Drive on a highway and take the car to 120 kmph or more. Listen for abnormal noises from engine, transmission and suspension. Keep music off throughout TD. Watch for steering wheel vibrations at higher speeds.
   
2. Drive up a steep incline with and without AWD lock.
   
3. While accelerating, keep an eye on RVM and watch out for smoke from exhaust. If possible, ask a friend to follow you on another car / bike to watch exhaust.
   
4. Watch for car pulling to one side on straight and level road.
   
5. Try hard braking from 80-90 kmph.
   
6. Watch for steering wheel play.
   
7. Try all gears.
   
8. Check opening / closing of all doors and windows. Check all lights, wipers and other electricals.

The overall condition of the car does not seem to be very good. It will certainly not be advisable to take this car to Ladakh or similar treacherous destinations before you get a good feel of it over at least 5,000 km of driving.

Do speak to the SA / mechanics of the ASC where this car is maintained. Ask to see the maintenance history.

IMHO, you should not pay more than 4 lakhs for this car.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Is the car's age healthy enough to be taken to Leh/Bhutan, or should I look at different kind of 4X4.

As Digital vampire and debuda have already mentioned, this one does not look good enough. Stay away.

BTW, I just came back from Ladakh trip. Tucson did very well in spite of being >8 years old and with >1,20,000 km on the ODO. So I would say, more than age, it's all about how the vehicle is maintained.

Anoop - huge thanks to you for the PCV tip. As I probably mentioned before, I got the PCV valve changed before the trip and that took care of the oil loss - Tucson did not loose any oil throughout the 6500km trip

[debuda]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

BTW, I just came back from Ladakh trip. Tucson did very well in spite of being >8 years old and with >1,20,000 km on the ODO. So I would say, more than age, it's all about how the vehicle is maintained.

Heartiest congratulations to you and your Tuc for successfully completing the Ladakh trip. Waiting for details / TL.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by debuda

Heartiest congratulations to you and your Tuc for successfully completing the Ladakh trip. Waiting for details / TL.

Thanks debuda.
I will put together a TL soon. I read yours just before leaving for Ladakh, it was very nice and helpful too. Kudos to you too on doing this trip. BTW, we never bothered to wash the car at all, in fact it's still carrying all the Ladakh sand

[anandpadhye]

Ladakh drive deserves a proper travelogue.

While I put it together...

To the Heroes of Rezang La:



Somewhere along Barlacha La:




Along the way back:

[sudev]

Waiting for the TL. Car looked good crossing Baralachala

[K a s h]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

BTW, I just came back from Ladakh trip. Tucson did very well in spite of being >8 years old and with >1,20,000 km on the ODO. So I would say, more than age, it's all about how the vehicle is maintained.

Congrats and Welcome back Anand :-)
Looking forward to your new travelogue.

[s_pphilip]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I uploaded the trip plan (route, things to carry) at:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3127840

hey Anandpadhye, I tried to read your thread on the Ladakh trip in the Tucson but could not open it, not sure why,

I went to the announcements section under Forums and still could not figure out,
it is the following link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ravelogue.html

Is there some special privileges needed to view the same?

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by s_pphilip

hey Anandpadhye, I tried to read your thread on the Ladakh trip in the Tucson but could not open it, not sure why,

I went to the announcements section under Forums and still could not figure out,
it is the following link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ravelogue.html

Is there some special privileges needed to view the same?

Hi,

They want me to use assembly line feature where I can edit the thread offline and then publish it. I am working on it and will let you know once it's ready. Thanks for reading and sorry for the inconvenience.

[s_pphilip]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hi,

They want me to use assembly line feature where I can edit the thread offline and then publish it. I am working on it and will let you know once it's ready. Thanks for reading and sorry for the inconvenience.

oh, so this thread is still in formation, I thought this may be some privilege issue that my account picked up, I was trying to figure whether I should reach out to the mods, so thanks for clarifying,
this also means I am waiting patiently and really very eager to read it as soon as is posted.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by s_pphilip

this also means I am waiting patiently and really very eager to read it as soon as is posted.

Hi, I really appreciate that.

Personally, I prefer to write "as we talk" - it creates opportunity for some interesting observations and conversations. A fully "pre-written" travelogue generally overwhelms the readers and many interim discussions on some finer points eventually never happen (from my experience as a reader). But anyway, I will complete it ASAP and let you know.

[anandpadhye]

After coming back from Ladakh, today I got the engine oil, oil filter and diesel filter changed. Also, triggered by the discussions (that happened during the Ladakh trip as well as on the forum in the context of the Ladakh travelogue) about Tucson's clutch based 4WD system and TCS, I thought it's a good time to test the 4WD system and capture a video.

So we lifted the Tuc on the ramp, started the engine and engaged first gear. ECU immediately activated the 4WD mode and sent power to the rear wheels:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8CG0Xe6FSk

The rear wheels were rotating as fast as the front ones. So the transfer case, in deed, seems to be capable of spliting the drive 50:50 between the front and rear - as claimed . Nice to see that the 4WD really works.

An interesting observation: TCS, TCS OFF and ABS Warning lamps turned on. For a moment I thought the technician pressed TCS OFF button on the dash, but he hadn't. He told me, this always happens. If you lift a 4WD on the ramp and put it in gear, those errors show up (mostly because ECU thinks something is seriously wrong as both front and rear have lost grip!). He told me that during real driving when at least 1 wheel is on the ground, these errors won't show up. We then connected the scanner, which showed "front right wheel speed sensor error". We cleared it and I happily drove out with this good feeling that I have a real 4WD.

[anandpadhye]

Here is the complete video of the test where ECU got confused and threw TCS and ABS related warnings...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWgM7Y6xTtA

4WD works flawlessly though .

So Tucson has a pretty good 4WD drive-train, I think. Only if Hyundai had given it a low range gear-box to tackle the high altitude breathlessness, especially in the lower RPMs when the turbo is not yet active...


Cheers!

[s_pphilip]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

4WD works flawlessly though .

So Tucson has a pretty good 4WD drive-train, I think. Only if Hyundai had given it a low range gear-box to tackle the high altitude breathlessness, especially in the lower RPMs when the turbo is not yet active...
Cheers!

Forgive this noob question, but will the Tucson transfer power to the other wheels when 2 wheels are in the air and other two on the ground, basically replicating a scenario when the rear wheels have traction and front are slipping or when any one side has traction.
I believe it wont as it has open diffs on both axles, just to clarify, is TCS capable of doing something here, don't think it has any other electronics at work.