[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by HOTROD

dai a very nice review da..seats now look very good.The color matches the interior too..How does the component sound compared to jbl and stuff..will come over tomorrow and have a look

Thanks man.
I havent heard jbl s much, but I do think the polks clarity was much more appealing to me than the infinity reference.

A general question to anyone who might know - Are the doors built to stand the extra weight of damping material? Would the door start to sag over time if the hinges are not able to support the weight?

[pras.oct25]

And my poor baby takes another hit :(

Tidel park signal yesterday evening, was hit on the rear right door by a purple minivan who kept moving to the left even after signal was red. To stop him from going off I went a little ahead and stopped the car at an angle in front of him. BIG MISTAKE. He gets out, and starts to fight with me saying that I was the one who cut in front of him, look at the angle of your car. Was thoroughly mortified with the happenings.

Damage: Purple paint marks on the fender and door beading. Removed with rubbing compound. Paint loss on the beading. Scratch marks on the door.

More bad news is that there is rust formation on the left side rear fender panel where I had the dent removed in the areas where the paint had already chipped. Looks like I have no option but to see if I can get that panel sand papered and painted cause a touch up will look terribly ugly.

Will be visiting ignite today evening.

Will teflon coating help in these scenarios to minimize paint loss and scratches?

I wish these guys would just leave me alone :(

Apart from that the car seems to be running perfectly fine after the 30k service on 9th September. I should have run around 5000km by the time 3 months is done since service with a couple of long trips scheduled this weekend and the next.

The clutch judder is gone, but am finding it tough to balance the clutch and throttle at lower rpms. The release is very late and I have to hold the clutch longer than usual.

I think the pedals need lubricating since they have started to make squeaking noises when depressed or released. I hope this is just a normal thing.

After hearing updates yesterday on the i20 steering rack issue I need to have mine verified during next service too.

Interior cleaning and steam wash and polish is pending for the post monsoon season. For all those planning to buy beige interiors cars - DONT! Its a real pain to maintain and inspite of the best efforts over time you just cant maintain the same colour unless you get it done professionally every few months.

[pras.oct25]

An update after a long time!

Completed 40k service. Vehicle spent 6 long days at the service center awaiting parts for a steering oil leak and insurance claim for having the rear bumper, rear left door and rear left quarter panel repainted.
Was supposed to also claim for front bumper and a broken fog lamp assembly but that has to wait for some more time. KUN hyundai has done a great job with the paint matching.
The second oil change with the shell rimula oil has done wonders to the performance. Vehicle felt better than ever before.

Then disaster! Much to my dismay, the leaking oil seal for the power steering which was replaced last week started leaking again
Squeaking noises from the steering turned into a steady whine and then a grating noise when the vehicle was running.
I opened the bonnet after getting home last night and saw the power steering fluid below the min mark, and there was oil visible in the engine bay. Today morning by the time I reached the service center the oil had almost completely disappeared in the container! Steering had become heavier, there was a constant "krr krr" noise from the engine during idling and and even louder grating noise while running.
I have asked them for a complete rack replacement and maybe even the column if its found faulty, since the vehicle has been at the service center again and again for this issue over the last month. The wheel bearings are also going to be replaced.
All this is covered under warranty till october. I shudder to think what would be my situation after that if all these issues crop up.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

...To stop him from going off I went a little ahead and stopped the car at an angle in front of him. BIG MISTAKE....

That is right...I have also tried such stuff, but only when in my Gypsy, probably not in the Alto .

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

...I opened the bonnet after getting home last night and saw the power steering fluid below the min mark, and there was oil visible in the engine bay. Today morning by the time I reached the service center the oil had almost completely disappeared in the container! Steering had become heavier, there was a constant "krr krr" noise from the engine during idling and and even louder grating noise while running. ...

I would not drive around when I am aware that the vehicle is loosing any fluid (brake/steering/engine-oil/gbox-oil/engine-coolant). The only exception would be the wind-shield-washer-fluid . Always better and much safer to park the car, and make arrangements to have the fluid topped up, before continuing.

[CliffHanger]

Pras, how are you?

Did the insurance guy oblige to honour the insurance claim? Because, as far as I remember they dismiss it saying the damages are accumulated.

Seems you have not been exactly lucky with your ride. May be time to change the ride??!!

[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Pras, how are you?

Did the insurance guy oblige to honour the insurance claim? Because, as far as I remember they dismiss it saying the damages are accumulated.

Seems you have not been exactly lucky with your ride. May be time to change the ride??!!

Hi Muthu I'm doing good.
Yes they did honour it no problems what so ever. They paid the full amount for the rear left door and quarter panel. They paid half the amount for the bumper. Total bill was 9000 bucks inclusive of tax and the processing fee. I paid 2k out of that.
My SA asked me to wait for another month before claiming for the front bumper and fog assembly so that they will close this file and open a new one.
And no plans to change my ride! Compared to a lot of the other CRDi owners on the forum I have run very less in 2.5 years so my vehicle is still brand new. Wouldnt exchange her for any other vehicle in the market

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

That is right...I have also tried such stuff, but only when in my Gypsy, probably not in the Alto .

I would not drive around when I am aware that the vehicle is loosing any fluid (brake/steering/engine-oil/gbox-oil/engine-coolant). The only exception would be the wind-shield-washer-fluid . Always better and much safer to park the car, and make arrangements to have the fluid topped up, before continuing.

Senthil this has been an ongoing issue for ages. I had already had an agreement to change the entire rack with my SA at the end of this month. Sadly the part failed within a week of the previous repair so I had to leave it today. Besides, it seems that the only way to have warranty claims done smoothly at times from hyundai is when you go to them with a part that is going haywire and making lots of noise

[AutoIndian]

Hi Pras, gone through all your posts & thanks for sharing your experience. Hope the leaking oil seal issue from the power steering has been sorted out for once & all. I am writing to you because I want to know the first hand experience of owning & maintaining a Verna for long term. Besides the PS oil leakage issue, did you face any other problem? Are the spares of Verna reasonable priced compared to other C segment cars? I am very much fascinated by the new Verna RB that is going to be launched shortly. Please guide me if it would be worth going for the new Verna RB.

[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Hi Pras, gone through all your posts & thanks for sharing your experience. Hope the leaking oil seal issue from the power steering has been sorted out for once & all. I am writing to you because I want to know the first hand experience of owning & maintaining a Verna for long term. Besides the PS oil leakage issue, did you face any other problem? Are the spares of Verna reasonable priced compared to other C segment cars? I am very much fascinated by the new Verna RB that is going to be launched shortly. Please guide me if it would be worth going for the new Verna RB.

Hi autoindian,
The issue has been solved. The entire steering assembly (rack and pinion) was replaced under warranty. The oil does not leak anymore and the vibration from the steering has also stopped.

The verna is a lovely car. The current generation verna needs a tire upgrade to get better stability. Apart from that no issues what so ever. Cost of spares can be a little bit upward. For example the steering assembly that was replaced under warranty costs more than 20k. My average service bill ranges anywhere between 4k to 6k including engine oil which I buy from outside.

The new verna certainly seems a mouth watering prospect. But we wont know till it is launched and we have a test drive. If the old verna is anything to go by, the new version should be a mind blowing car.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

Hi autoindian, The issue has been solved. The entire steering assembly (rack and pinion) was replaced under warranty. The oil does not leak anymore and the vibration from the steering has also stopped.

Thanks Pras for your quick response & good to know that your steering oil leakage issue has been fixed.

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

The verna is a lovely car. The current generation verna needs a tire upgrade to get better stability. Apart from that no issues what so ever. Cost of spares can be a little bit upward. For example the steering assembly that was replaced under warranty costs more than 20k. My average service bill ranges anywhere between 4k to 6k including engine oil which I buy from outside.

The regular maintenance expenses seem to be reasonable. The new Verna 2011 is supposed to be sporting 16" wheels 195mm wide (if I am not wrong). Would that help improve the stability of the new Verna?

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

The new verna certainly seems a mouth watering prospect. But we wont know till it is launched and we have a test drive. If the old verna is anything to go by, the new version should be a mind blowing car.

Eagerly awaiting the first test drive report on TBHP.

[pras.oct25]

The stability will also depend on the kind of suspension setup they have. But yes, I am guessing 195 16" tires should mean that the vehicle should be fairly stable.