[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

We are at the cusp of Automatics being preferred more than manual transmission. So better to have some information on how to mechanically keep them as new for a long period

Hi, here are a couple of threads that are related to your question/comment above:


https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...automatic.html (Tips on driving an Automatic)


https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...m-wrongly.html (DSG Mechatronics Failures: Are we driving them wrongly?)

[ankitsharma]

Bumping up an old thread , my boss asked my advice on how to maintain his 2009 Hyundai i10. This car is parked in the garage for most of the time and has clocked less than 5k kms until now. The car is taken out usually once a year.

What all checks / things to be done in order to maintain the car in working condition ?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by ankitsharma

Bumping up an old thread , my boss asked my advice on how to maintain his 2009 Hyundai i10. This car is parked in the garage for most of the time and has clocked less than 5k kms until now. The car is taken out usually once a year.

What all checks / things to be done in order to maintain the car in working condition ?
:

I have had three cars in storage for 7-9 years that only got used once a year if that. A lot depends on how the cars were put away and if they have been maintained properly during those years.

I would do the following, as a bare minimum:

Check the fuel, at least smell it. If it smells bad, don’t even start the car, drain it, replace all fuel filters and refill

Check the brakes, see if they still move
Check proper operation of the hand brake.

When was the last time the following was done:
- Cooling liquid replacement
- Oil and filter change
- Brake oil replacement

If you don’t know, do them all. All of these liquids will deteriorate over time, don’t risk it.

Check the battery, charge or replace.

Check the tyres, cars that sit idle for such a long time, often suffer from square tyres and after ten years, even though not worn, they tyres really need replacing due to aging.

If the engine starts check that all the electrical systems work. E.g. check all the lights, indicators, etc. Standing still often leads to corrosion of contacts, earth etc.

Drive very carefully the first few miles, test the brakes work properly before you speed up. When you get up to 50 km/h try and emergency stop. See if the car brakes in a straight line or pulls to one side.

Good luck,

Jeroen

[Anuj 6227]

Hi All
Recently, while changing the spark plugs on my Swift Dzire 2008 model, which has done 36000 kms till date I noticed that there was oil on one of the spark plug thread, (first one from the passenger side) the ceramic part was completely dry and there was no oil on the plug boot as well, I also inspected the plug well and it was bone dry as well.

The first thing which occurred to me was the tappet cover gasket and the spark plug gasket, but then I thought that if the oil is leaking from spark plug gasket then it should leave traces on rubber boot and spark plug well, which were absolutely dry in my case. Is it the gasket or something else??

Thanks in advance

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Firstly, let me explain where I am coming from:

1. Maruti 800 serviced at MASS -> From 0 to 500 kms post servicing -> car runs smooth like butter -> After 500 Kms -> Smoothness starts to disappear and drive starts to become rough (Especially the pick up).

2. Hyundai Venue (12,000 kms) -> serviced at an authorised Hyundai service centre in Toronto -> Pick up is restored after servicing but the car (kind of) struggles to take-off after ~2500 kms after servicing.

Note : Venue's pick up is completely restored just after a routine service which did not include the fuel injector / fuel lines / EGR / Throttle body etc. (=usual suspects) cleaning

Question : What exactly is done at the time of servicing due to which the drive becomes super-smooth. I understand that it includes an oil / oil filter change, Air filter cleaning / Replacement, Fuel filter cleaning / Replacement, Spark plug cleaning / Replacement etc.

Is there anything DIY that can be performed instead of visiting the mechanic at frequent intervals.

[ButterRider 7]

Drive with care every day and your car will reward you with longer intervals without repair. These are some tips to keep your car in good condition with less maintenance costs:-

1.Do not race your car’s engine during start-up. This is a quick way to add years of wear to your engine, especially if it’s cold outside.
2.Accelerate slowly when you begin your drive. The most wear to the engine and drive train occurs in the first 10 to 20 minutes of operation.
3.Warming the engine by letting it idle in the driveway is not a smart idea. The engine doesn’t operate at its peak temperature, resulting in incomplete fuel combustion, soot deposits on cylinder walls, oil contamination, and ultimately damaged components.
4.Put less strain on your engine and automatic transmission by shifting to neutral at red lights. Otherwise, the engine is still working to push the car even while it’s stopped.
5.Avoid driving at high speeds and accelerating quickly, especially when it’s very hot or very cold outside. Such driving behaviour will result in more frequent repairs.
6.Extend the life of your tires with careful driving. Observe posted speed limits. Avoid fast starts, stops, and turns. Avoid potholes and objects on the road. Don’t run over curbs or hit the tire against the curb when parking. And, of course, don’t burn rubber.
7.When turning your steering wheel, don’t hold it in an extreme right or left position for more than a few seconds. Doing so can damage the power-steering pump.

[Pancham]

Hi guys!

Yesterday while my car was parked in a stacked parking I noticed this. The car is a 2011 i20 Petrol. The area looks completely wet. Any idea what this could be? Is this some kind of a leakage? It could be difficult to tell from the picture but any ideas would be really helpful. The car drives fine btw.

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by Pancham

The area looks completely wet. Any idea what this could be? Is this some kind of a leakage? The car drives fine btw.

That’s definitely a leak. However, pray it’s just a torn/ripped CV boot and what you are seeing is just grease which has leaked out from it. Replace the boot, clean the CV axle, refill the high temp grease & you’re on your merry way.

If it’s engine oil, you’ll have to diagnose the source of the leak using UV leak dye and then fixing the leak is a whole new chapter depending on where the source is.

Look above the location of the leak to find the potential source. Check the engine oil quantity to verify it isn’t the obvious culprit.

Good luck!

[BNG-motorhead]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Hi guys!

Yesterday while my car was parked in a stacked parking I noticed this. The car is a 2011 i20 Petrol. The area looks completely wet. Any idea what this could be? Is this some kind of a leakage? It could be difficult to tell from the picture but any ideas would be really helpful. The car drives fine btw.

Whats the texture? Greasy, watery(AC outlet?), or watery+odour(coolant)

[aditya.bhardwaj]

Hi guys. I have a 2009 Hyundai I10 1.2 done 90k kms. Been hearing this sound from the exhaust from the past couple of days. Can't figure out if it's an exhaust leak or something else. The car seems to be driving fine. Any idea what this could be?

https://youtu.be/3aJh4rpKblw

[Motard_Blr]

Hello.

I am looking for recommendations on a good place in South Bangalore (Jayanagar, JP nagar, Bannerughatta road and surrounding areas) to get my car seats cleaned.

I specifically want to get them shampoo wet cleaned to remove dirt and stains from the fabric upholstery.

I looked at the 3M car care website and found out that they only offer some dry foam type cleaner, that doesn't seem to be very effective. So 3M is ruled out. Many other people claim to offer interior cleaning but I don't know if they have an upholstery shampoo extractor machine. That's the best way of deep cleaning.

I want to have the seats cleaned soon while the weather is hot and dry. That will help with quick drying.

Please help! Thanks!

PS: I didn't find any vendor in our Bangalore vendors list that meet my criteria - location, service.

[Indian2003]

This is my 2002 VW Multivan 2,5 TDI. It just passed 400,000 km. I keep it in shape and things are fixed before they break down.
I do all repairs myself other than the timing belts which is done by the VW dealer.
I have done many long trips around Eastern Europe and it has never missed a beat. My favourite places to travel to are Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. The car has seating and sleeping place for 5 persons.
I have a Eberspächer engine parking heater for those cold winter days. I have also a Eberspächer air heater that heats up the compartment when I park to sleep in the car for the night. This is powered by a 100A Lithium battery that also powers the fridge/freezer.
The roof can be tilted up for the double bed underneath.

Originally Posted by aditya.bhardwaj

Hi guys. I have a 2009 Hyundai I10 1.2 done 90k kms. Been hearing this sound from the exhaust from the past couple of days. Can't figure out if it's an exhaust leak or something else. The car seems to be driving fine. Any idea what this could be?

https://Youtu.be/3aJh4rpKblw

The engine is not firing on all the cylinders. It could be a faulty spark plug and or coil if you have one coil for each plug.

[sanchari]

I was recently driving from Bangalore to Hyderabad. At one of the diversions, there was no warning signs and there was a road hump(twin humps, two next to each other). I was driving around 90kmph and my Honda Jazz went over it and the whole car vibrated, the wipers actually wiped the screen once due to the vibration and the glove box door opened etc. After that, the car drove without any issues and drove home for around 250+kms.

I am a bit worried whether it will affect suspensions/engine mounts/wheel bushes etc in any way. Should I look out for anything, or will the car be designed to absorb that much amount of vibrations etc going over the hump? Just wanted to verify once .

[Zezé]

I'm unsure if this is the right thread to post this query. Have done a number of searches on the forum to find a post by a member with a similar problem. But I have been unsuccessful.

But last week whilst driving the air conditioner suddenly stopped working. After shutting it down, I continued to drive and stopped to pick up provisions. On returning to the car, I noticed a puddle of water under the front left side of the car below the radiator. Initially, I presumed it was condensation from the a/c unit.

Yesterday, I again drove the car and didn't switch on the a/c. But again I noticed water dripping on returning home.

Can some one throw some light regards this leakage.

[Sabareesh]

Originally Posted by Indian2003

This is my 2002 VW Multivan 2,5 TDI. It just passed 400,000 km. I keep it in shape and things are fixed before they break down.

Now that's a neat looking Van. It's amazing to see a spotless example thay has covered 4 lac kms. How about starting a separate thread on your ownership experience. We'd love to hear more about the Van.