[Aejaz]

Hi BHPians,
This is just my second post here on TeamBHP and unfortunately, it ain't a happy one for me. It will also be a long post, but please bear with me.

I have been a happy owner of the Hyundai i20 Turbo DCT Asta (O) for a year and a half now. I have been kind of cribbing about how I couldn't get an N-Line as it launched barely 6-7 months after I bought my car. But I did love my car nevertheless.

I usually take my car for long drives once in at least 3-4 months and keep my car in excellent condition by getting regular checks done. I had been to Chennai about 3 weeks back, driving from the western coastal city of Mangalore. The roads from Bangalore to Chennai are usually very good and although it's a little boring driving on a straight highway, it's better than driving on the pathetic road from Mangalore to Bangalore. The ghat section and the roads leading to the ghats and away have been having road works since time immemorial.

So anyway, after the week-long holiday with kids and family, as I was returning back from Chennai, I had a tyre blowout! This happened around 4 pm. For a second, I couldn't figure out what had happened. It was in a fraction of a second, and before I could get to grips with what went wrong, the car veered to the left and I hit the concrete road blocks which are kept as a divider on these concrete roads being laid around Hassan.

It was quite chaotic. The impact was on the front left and fortunately, the airbags deployed, and I was safe. My family and kids were in the rear seat and got tossed around but thanks to God, we could walk out of the car after the crash. We were fortunate enough not to have any serious injuries. There was a slight drizzle, and I and my family are stranded on the highway, but fortunately around a town where people came to our help immediately. On-lookers had noticed the front left tyre burst and asked me if all of us were ok.

Now, coming to the car. As is the case in a crash, BlueLink has this Auto crash notification facility, and the car made an automatic call to BlueLink. To my utter disdain, the call never connected/ I didn't get a response!!. I manually called for RSA/ BlueLink SOS from the BlueLink buttons on the IRVM and again no response. After like the 4th attempt, I got a response and the receiver asked if we had any injuries etc. and before I could tell him my location, the call disconnected!! Mind you, this is on an open highway, in a town, so I really feel there was no issue with the network.

I was getting frustrated with this useless BlueLink, and I proceeded to first get my family to safety as the rain was also getting heavier. As I said earlier, people around that area were very kind, and I could get my family to rest in a house on the other side of the road. With the help of locals and a friend of mine (I had to make numerous calls to coordinate), I could get a tow vehicle and also a taxi to get me and my family back home to Mangalore. I got my car towed to Kasaragod Hyundai (where I got my car from).

The other big disappointing question now was, HOW DID THE TYRE GIVE WAY? I had done 27k kms on the stock CEAT Secura Drive tyres and I had just filled fuel an hour prior to the accident and had also checked the tyres. Could the tyre have got a crack earlier, which I failed to notice? To be honest, I never really felt confident about the stock tyres from the start. Grip levels weren't really great. I have attached pictures of the tyre and the car. The tear on the tyre is seen.
Now comes the most disappointing or rather insulting part...

I got a call the following morning at 9 am. With the trauma of the crash still fresh in my head, I realised the call was from the BlueLink head office, and the operator says, "Sir, we see you had an accident yesterday at around 4 pm, both airbags have deployed. Are you safe? Would you like any assistance?" I really lost it at this point. First of all, they never responded during the crash and to add insult to injury, they called the next day and ask if I required assistance! Heights of callousness! I blasted him over the phone and hung up.

I was leaving for the Hyundai service centre at Kasaragod by then. I narrated the whole story, filled up the insurance papers and everything and gave an account of the very disappointing experience with BlueLink.

I escalated the matter to the service centre, and they sent a mail; I spoke directly to the Regional Head Office in Ernakulam regarding this pathetic behaviour and to this date, there hasn't been any communication received, I don't see the point why we pay so much money for all this connected car tech and stuff, and when it really matters, it turns out to be absolutely useless.

My car is still waiting at the service centre. No work has started as the parts haven't reached yet. There was a lot of damage and a lot of parts need to be replaced.

I'm really struggling without my car, and I really don't expect that the work will be completed in another month at least. Even after repeated requests for a spare car, I was denied saying it is company policy that they cannot provide a spare car for accident cases. The Hyundai service centre has been keeping me updated but to be honest, there is no significant update till date. Neither have I received an explanation about the BlueLink incident, nor has any work started on the car.
BHPians, kindly guide me through with how I should proceed. Should I send a mail directly to Hyundai about this?
And what about the tyre?

[Sman999]

Good to hear that you were all safe with out any injuries. S*** happens! Forget connected car tech, even the RSA wont respond 24x7. Its always a hit or miss. You are among the unfortunate ones to experience such a thing.

IMHO No point in wasting energy blasting at the Bluelink's failure. Hope you have BTB nil dip insurance. Just proceed with the Insurance claim smoothly and ensure everything that needs to be fixed is properly done at the SS. Try to get the damaged parts replaced instead of SS mending and fixing them back to cut insurance cost. Visit frequently to check what work is being carried on and how precise/properly its done. If there is any problem with the SS replacing parts then raise a complaint with Hyundai about that.

These days there are packages with BTB insurance for such incident with tyres. Hope you get your vehicle back ASAP.

[shancz]

Glad to know everyone's safe.

Tyre blowout(sidewall failure) in a 1.5 year old car isn't something I normally expect.
Had/Did you hit something at speed on this trip or earlier ? Although very difficult to do that given the location of the cut.

Do check when was that tyre manufactured from the sidewall info. Also cross check from the owner manual as they usually mention the tyre make and models fitted to the car.

The experience with BlueLink was an ordeal and a failure in its primary objective.
Isn't this a paid service where you have to renew the subscription after X years of purchase ?

Originally Posted by Aejaz

- Should I send a mail directly to Hyundai about this?
- And what about the tyre?

- Definitely, they provided a SOS service which failed to meet its expectations and has the guts to ask 1-2 days after an accident involving the deployment of two airbags that do you need assistance. Shameful stuff from Hyundai.

- At 1.5 years isn't it still under warranty for sidewall failure ?

Even if it isn't check with your ASC to contact the manufacturer as such failures should require a free of cost replacement.

[bharanidharang]

Glad you and your family are safe.

1. Proceed with insurance and get your car fixed.

2. Bluelink or otherwise is a facility given by Hyundai. Escalating to Hyundai will only get an explanation saying why it did not work (I am sure they will have a million reasons). My suggestion, write your experience and raise a stink on the same directly with Hyundai. Something happens out of it, we well and good. Nothing happens, move on.

3. In your previous service with Hyundai, was there a evaluation on the tyre ? Very difficult to say why it happened. Have a tire dealer check if its a production fault or a freak cut which has happened leading to its burst. If you feel unsafe with the remaining 3 tyres, please change to a good brand outside. The forum has multiple recommendations.

Best wishes to you and the family to move on from this ordeal.

[Cyborg]

Glad all of you are fine after what happened, that’s the main thing. I would suggest forget the anger and irritation about the Hyundai Bluelink support, nothing will come out of it. If anything it will only aggravate you further when nothing happens. Don’t waste your life in the follow up.

Just focus on getting your car repaired, getting it back to you and put this entire incident out of your mind. Get back to normal life, choose peace of mind over everything.

Cheers

[Nalin1]

I would have been shocked only if it had worked seamlessly!.

All these are 'good to have on paper' features. Practically don't have high expectations.

Tata's IRA app has an 'immobilize my car' feature. Tried it for fun. App said 'Immobilization initiated'. Will get a call and SMS with more info. I was under the impression that the car is now immobilized and stuck right where it is.

But no!. Could unlock and start the car as usual. Had no idea what it was.

Next day, a call comes. "Did you raise a request? Sorry we work from 9 to 6. You had raised a request at 7, hence we are calling now. Was that a mistake from you and do you want us to take further action? (sorry we are in the process of operating 24/7)".

I informed them to ignore

[AjinkyaP]

Glad you and your family are safe !

Pardon my limited knowledge of tyres but isnt the only USP of tubeless tyre by design is to prevent these type of fatal tyre bursts ?

[lina]

Originally Posted by AjinkyaP

Glad you and your family are safe !

Pardon my limited knowledge of tyres but isnt the only USP of tubeless tyre by design is to prevent these type of fatal tyre bursts ?

Tyre bursts from punctures yes. But this looks like a weakness that resulted in the burst. I would guess that this is a manufacturing defect.

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by Aejaz

Hi BHPians,
My family, kids were on the rear seat and got tossed around but thanks to God, we could walk out of.

And what about the tyre?

I am not sure if this variant of i20 has TPMS. If not,I suggest you to get one installed. Over filling is one of the reasons for blowout and pressure gauges at some places may be inaccurate .
I would not also be over reliant upon gimmicks such as blue link ( just personal opinion).Another thing that would be life saving is to ensure that everyone in car is buckled up.

[fordday]

Sorry to hear about your accident and at the same time glad all of you came out unscathed. These are some of this things that are not in our control, so take it in the chin and move on.
Hope you get your repaired and get it to tip top condition again.

Originally Posted by Aejaz

I get a call the following morning at 9 am. With the trauma of the crash still fresh in my head, I realised the call was from the BlueLink head office and the operator says, "Sir, we see you have had an accident yesterday at around 4 pm, both airbags have deployed. Are you safe? Would you like any assistance?" I really lost it at this point. First of all, they never responded during the crash and to add insult to injury, they call the next day and ask if I require assistance! Heights of callousness! I blasted him over the phone and hanged up.

You should have told the bugger that you are still in the driver's seat 17 hours after the accident eagerly waiting for the call.

[Atul Kolekar]

Can't really say what I feel about this whole episode but thank god you and your family is safe.

You mentioned checking air pressure before this incident. Does your vehicle have TPMS? I suspect extreme high / low pressure might be the cause of burst. I have come across one fuel station auto inflation system in past which behaved erratically and pumped my tire to 70 psi once while setting was around 30!

[sandeep108]

Tires always heat up after running, even more so after long runs. That is why recommended pressures are always for cold tires. If recommended is 32 cold, during highway runs this can go up to 38-40. Tires are accordingly designed for this. When you checked and put the tire pressure back to 32 on very hot tires, effectively this made the cold pressure say around 24. Now with load, speed and running, the tires do not have enough pressure as designed. This results in extreme flexing of the tire sidewalls which then get heated way beyond tolerable temperatures and which abruptly give way as a burst.

Many cars/tire manufacturers recommend higher cold tire pressures when under load and/or speed.

Mods/techs please correct if I am wrong.

[kosjam]

After looking at the cut on the tyre right next to the wheel, two things come to mind.

1. The cut could have been the result of damage to the tyre earlier if there may have been some running with low tyre pressure and going over an unexpected speed bump or similar.

2. With the above mentioned damage or even without, the cut could be a consequence of the impact with the concrete block (the impact was quite severe as per the pics), the rubber being caught between the rim and the concrete block.


These new fangled high visibility items such as the blue link and fancy gadgetry is a trickle down effect from the more mature European and American markets, but manufacturers do not create the robust back end necessary to maintain these connectivity options. This issue is not limited just to automobiles, but since this is an automotive forum, we will limit our discussions to that.

[FiatDiesel]

Trust me you should be happy that you & family are safe. Rest all is secondary and will get sorted.

Please always belt up the folks on rear bench, make it a habit. It saves during such scenarios or harsh braking. Tossing around in car can result in severe injuries.

In reference to Hyundai, I would strongly advise to fight it out the logical way. If you will attach emotions, it will be painful for you, no one else.

[s.sriram1989@gm]

Sidewall tears can come if the tyre went in deep potholes/ down the footpath and a hard object rubbed against the wall. They start small but grow with time, most of the times not noticed if its on inner wall. With high speeds and heated compound it can burst. Also if the car is kept for a long time with flat tyre, then it can occur. Applying any oil on rubber materials do not work well, if oil is applied on rubber and dried in sun, cracks may appear, chances of this is less but can happen.