ECU replacement needed for older Santros !!!

mithun · 2nd April 2007, 05:24

When I was hunting for an used Santro for my friend, an ex-Hyundai engineer told me that it's better to stay away from Santros(manufactured upto the year 2002) since most of them needs costly ECU replacement/repairs. The problem pops up when they have cloaked near to 70K KMS.

Infact, I've found lots of Santros in the hands of used car dealers than Zens/WagonRs and the resale value was less when compared to WagonRs. And also some Santro owners confided me the same problem and they have sold Santro before this golden mark !!!

So what's the experience of T-BHPians who owns older Santros ?

tadukuttan · 2nd April 2007, 10:02

Had a 1999 model one, which I used past the 70K mark in three years before selling it. Never ran into any of these issues. In fact, never ran into any issue at all with the car.

And the good experience from that Santro is what prompted me to buy another two Hyundai s down the line.

sreedotk · 2nd April 2007, 13:06

There was a article about the ECU going bad in one of the Santros and the Owner complained through one of the Auto Mags. (it was either overdrive or AutoCar). I am also not sure if it was this months edition or last month. I will hunt them an post an update (hopefully in the near future)

Hyundai offered him a 10% discount as a good will. The article did mention hyundai as quoting that ECU did not go bad it was electrical spikes due to poor maintainance / busted fuese that caused it. Hyundai also mentioned that if you notice dimming of interior /exterior lights or fluctuations get your car's electrical system checked . It could lead to ECU getting damaged .

rks · 2nd April 2007, 13:33

I have a 2000 model Santro. Done 46500 kms so far. No problems, except that there was a clutch shudder issue at about 38000 kms. Garage people told me it is the first sign of clutch wear. But when I recently upgraded to 5" alloy wheels with the stock-size tyres, car pick-up increased slightly and the clutch shuddering has greatly reduced. In fact it is almost non-existent now, only appears mildly after prolongled drive in start/stop traffic, whereas the shuddering was fairly severe earlier. My guess is that the ECU is now giving a more stable response. So at 60-70 K kms, issues like clutch shudder may appear because of the inability of the ECU to adjust. In some cases clutch shudder problem has been solved by reprogramming the ECU or even replacing it (google "clutch shudder" ecu). The Hyundai engineer may have had something similar in mind.

DieselFan · 2nd April 2007, 14:33

I had a Santro LS 2001 model till recently and had no problems what so ever with it till I sold it @ 58000 KM. I am already having problems with ECU of my new Swift Diesel. I presume it is all luck.

normally_crazy · 2nd April 2007, 15:08

I had a 1999 Santro Dx , which I gave away in 2002 after about 85000 kms. No problems with anything , if anything the suspension was just beginning to make some noise.

jkdas · 2nd April 2007, 18:17

another rumor! mine was 1.10lac when i sold it. still got a good price too.

mithun · 4th April 2007, 05:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

another rumor! mine was 1.10lac when i sold it. still got a good price too.

One of my friends who had bought a used 2001 Santro which had cloaked about 60K KMS had to shell out Rs.35,000 for the entire ECU Replacement about 6 months ago.

v1p3r · 4th April 2007, 05:27

Mine had zero problems for 5 years. Some of it was pretty rough on the car, too. Mithun, used is a different ballgame. You never know what sort of abuse and (lack of) maintenance the car has been through.

2nd April 2007, 05:24	#1
mithun BANNED Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cochin Posts: 2,195 Thanked: 268 Times	ECU replacement needed for older Santros !!! When I was hunting for an used Santro for my friend, an ex-Hyundai engineer told me that it's better to stay away from Santros(manufactured upto the year 2002) since most of them needs costly ECU replacement/repairs. The problem pops up when they have cloaked near to 70K KMS. Infact, I've found lots of Santros in the hands of used car dealers than Zens/WagonRs and the resale value was less when compared to WagonRs. And also some Santro owners confided me the same problem and they have sold Santro before this golden mark !!! So what's the experience of T-BHPians who owns older Santros ?
	() Thanks

2nd April 2007, 10:02	#2
tadukuttan BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 241 Thanked: 24 Times	Had a 1999 model one, which I used past the 70K mark in three years before selling it. Never ran into any of these issues. In fact, never ran into any issue at all with the car. And the good experience from that Santro is what prompted me to buy another two Hyundai s down the line.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2007, 13:06	#3
sreedotk BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 248 Thanked: 90 Times	There was a article about the ECU going bad in one of the Santros and the Owner complained through one of the Auto Mags. (it was either overdrive or AutoCar). I am also not sure if it was this months edition or last month. I will hunt them an post an update (hopefully in the near future) Hyundai offered him a 10% discount as a good will. The article did mention hyundai as quoting that ECU did not go bad it was electrical spikes due to poor maintainance / busted fuese that caused it. Hyundai also mentioned that if you notice dimming of interior /exterior lights or fluctuations get your car's electrical system checked . It could lead to ECU getting damaged .
	() Thanks

2nd April 2007, 13:33	#4
rks BANNED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ?? Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 18 Times	I have a 2000 model Santro. Done 46500 kms so far. No problems, except that there was a clutch shudder issue at about 38000 kms. Garage people told me it is the first sign of clutch wear. But when I recently upgraded to 5" alloy wheels with the stock-size tyres, car pick-up increased slightly and the clutch shuddering has greatly reduced. In fact it is almost non-existent now, only appears mildly after prolongled drive in start/stop traffic, whereas the shuddering was fairly severe earlier. My guess is that the ECU is now giving a more stable response. So at 60-70 K kms, issues like clutch shudder may appear because of the inability of the ECU to adjust. In some cases clutch shudder problem has been solved by reprogramming the ECU or even replacing it (google "clutch shudder" ecu). The Hyundai engineer may have had something similar in mind.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2007, 14:33	#5
DieselFan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,584 Thanked: 259 Times	I had a Santro LS 2001 model till recently and had no problems what so ever with it till I sold it @ 58000 KM. I am already having problems with ECU of my new Swift Diesel. I presume it is all luck.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2007, 15:08	#6
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 537 Times View My Garage	I had a 1999 Santro Dx , which I gave away in 2002 after about 85000 kms. No problems with anything , if anything the suspension was just beginning to make some noise.
	() Thanks

2nd April 2007, 18:17	#7
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,493 Times View My Garage	another rumor! mine was 1.10lac when i sold it. still got a good price too.
	() Thanks

4th April 2007, 05:27	#9
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR / DXB / LON Posts: 5,353 Thanked: 7,061 Times View My Garage	Mine had zero problems for 5 years. Some of it was pretty rough on the car, too. Mithun, used is a different ballgame. You never know what sort of abuse and (lack of) maintenance the car has been through.
	() Thanks