[supremeBaleno]

My colleagues Santro is 4.5 years old and done around 38000 kms. Recently he noticed some issues with the car like dark smoke from exhaust and heavy vibration of the car when in 3rd and 4th gears. When brought to the notice of the Hyundai service centre, they said that the engine needs to be overhauled.

Estimate given was 25K for labour and if parts to be changed it could be another 10K or more.

My doubts :
1. Why would a petrol engine need to be overhauled at 38K kms ? We know of cars that easily run a lakh kms and more without needing any overhaul.

2. Is the estimated cost looking OK ?

3. Any other Santro owners have faced this issue ?

I have asked him to take it to Electra Hyundai to get a second opinion.

[rks]

I am surprised too. My Santro has just crossed 40500 kms and the engine is really going strong. Shouldn't really need any overhaul till maybe 70-80 K. I suspect that the owner may have used bad petrol/oil and also possibly not been too careful with oil changes. Or may be the car was not run in properly (these things come back to haunt you) or revved too much -- did he use it for racing by any chance?. I even remember reading the opinion of an expert that you can add 100000 miles to your engine life if you take care to idle the car for 20 secs before engaging the gear -- I myself started doing this properly only after my car had done about 10000 kms or so.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

My doubts :
1. Why would a petrol engine need to be overhauled at 38K kms ? We know of cars that easily run a lakh kms and more without needing any overhaul.

Adulterated fuel seems to be the culprit...

[ajmat]

Has he had the car from new ? If not, maay be the odometer readining may not be correct.

Has he been using the car for short runs before engine has warmed up ? This shortens life tremendously

Does the car consume a lot of oil ?
What colour is the smoke ? If bluish, it is burnt oil.

If so - an overhaul may be required

[theMAG]

Thats one fishy Santro. No engine today needs to be overhauled before 1-1.5 lac kms - bad driving included. Even the old Amby/Padmini engines lasted till 70-75000 kms before requiring an overhaul.

I'm stating with utmost clarity that the engine in this Santro is not a properly assembled one if the car was bought brand new; or if 2nd hand the odometer has been manipulated with the car having run extensively before that.

Of course, if the diagnosis received from Hyundai is incorrect and something else might be the issue, my earlier points are voided.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Adulterated fuel seems to be the culprit...

He uses it mostly within Chennai and fuels up at decent pumps (highway runs could cause fuel issues, but he does not do much of that except the rare Tirupathi run).

Originally Posted by ajmat

Has he had the car from new ? If not, maay be the odometer readining may not be correct.

Yes, bought new.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Has he been using the car for short runs before engine has warmed up ? This shortens life tremendously

Dont know whether he waits for a few seconds for engine to warm up before starting off. Even assuming that he does not, 38K kms is too low for an overhaul. I never used to warm up my old car before learning about this on tbhp, yet did not have any issue.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Does the car consume a lot of oil ? What colour is the smoke ? If bluish, it is burnt oil.

He mentioned dark smoke. Not sure whether it is blue.

[Sideways]

It's probably nothing more than a faulty sensor. Replacement of the same might sort out the issue. Also ask him to get his engine flushed at electra. If you need help, you know how to get in touch with me. Will be happy to help.

[nitrous]

I have asked him to take it to Electra Hyundai to get a second opinion.

I was just about to say that.
Also, does he have a teenage son??

[LandCruiser]

When I sold my Santro it had done 53000 kms. The engine was as good as new and smooth. I think it would have gone more than 1L kms easily. No need to overhaul.

Not sure about this specific case.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Sideways

It's probably nothing more than a faulty sensor. Replacement of the same might sort out the issue. Also ask him to get his engine flushed at electra. If you need help, you know how to get in touch with me. Will be happy to help.

Thanks, Farhan.
The problem is that the car is currently at Hyundai Motor Plaza for accident repair. On the ECR, a biker going in the opposite direction lost control, skidded across to his side of the road and before he could do anything, the car's front right tyre ran over the bike (the biker luckily did not come under the car). These repairs are over, but the car is still there for overhaul work, which is not started due to lack of parts.

I asked him to get the car after just paying for the accident repair work and take it to Electra. But those guys have told him that if he uses the car, the engine will seize and thus he is afraid to take it out.

Originally Posted by nitrous

Also, does he have a teenage son??

No, just a cute baby girl, that does not drive. And he does the driving himself and is a normal driver (no racing / revving etc) and has done all services on schedule.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Estimate given was 25K for labour and if parts to be changed it could be another 10K or more.

1. Why would a petrol engine need to be overhauled at 38K kms ? We know of cars that easily run a lakh kms and more without needing any overhaul.

30- 35k for overhaul 38k kms after buying the car???

My friend is having loads of issues with the Santro, but thats cause he doesnt serivce it until something goes wrong... But, even such an abused car didnt need overhauling, and it has crossed about 40k...

[namit]

No way ... overhaull at 40K is unacceptacble and defies logic.

Either he is an amateur driver and not properly serviced or also could be that car has been left stranded for long times on often basis. I mean no usage for many days bcoz that can also harm the engine.

Otherwise bad piece.

[cmoraes]

I had a similar experience. I took my Santro for a regular service at 30K kms and the Kothari A.S.S. told me that my engine had to be overhauled because "oil was coming up from the dip stick". They said that it would have to be done immediately or else the engine would seize. Cost quoted was 35 K.

The explanation sounded strange and coupled with the fact that the car had never given me any problems and was very smooth, I suspected something was not right. On questioning the Service advisor in more detail, I realized that he couldn't really explain what the problem was or show me how he found that there was some problem with oil leakage.

Finally he said that there had to be a problem because I had not serviced my vehicle in 2 years. He had looked at the service record in the car manual and did not find an entry after Dec 2003 (and so assumed that that car was not serviced). Actually I had been servicing my car every 5-6 months but had not got the book updated.

Well to cut a long story short, I didn't get the engine overhauled. Took it home and checked the oil level every week or so for the last 6 months. So far the car is still running perfectly fine with absolutely no signs of any oil leakage / reduction in the engine sump.

So my advice is definitely go for a second opinion - the car may have a problem but it may not need an engine overhaul.

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I asked him to get the car after just paying for the accident repair work and take it to Electra. But those guys have told him that if he uses the car, the engine will seize and thus he is afraid to take it out.

Okay, that makes it clear. The workshop guys are taking your friend for a ride.

[cmoraes]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

But those guys have told him that if he uses the car, the engine will seize and thus he is afraid to take it out.

They told me the exact same thing - verbatim. Look like this is a standard operating procedure.