[leorcid]

The Turbo Scare!

Eight years and 120K kilometers past, my 2013 Verna 1.6 CRDI still feels like the first time I took the test drive. I strictly adhered to the authorized service center schedule until the mandatory services were over so as not to void warranty, then moved on to my local car workshop owned by my nephew. Although in his early 20s, he’s brilliant, fast and neat.

Over the period of ownership, replaced clutch, PS motor, lower arms and trail arm bushes at around 100K. The car has been virtually trouble-free. Though there are a bunch of cons I could point out, like the terrible ground clearance, soft springs, some ridiculously costly consumables – rear pads cost a whopping 5.6k against the bigger front pads at 1.5k! – this has been an absolute delight to drive. Be it a four-lane highway, or a windy steep, she takes it with grace.

The most remarkable feature is its power, packing 128 horses under the hood, which you can feel as you release the clutch. And past 2K RPM, there’s this mad rush and you’ll find yourself digging the seat, as the Garrett A/R .44 turbocharger kicks in.

For about the past two weeks, I had been feeling that there’s something amiss, there was no turbo kick. With the odo where it is and remembering stories I’ve read here and elsewhere, there was no doubt that my turbo was blown. Knowing that the turbo could cost anywhere from 70K to 90K, I started searching for alternatives.

But when I took it to my nephew, he wasn’t very much approving of my diagnosis. He pulled apart the exhaust system, manifold, the turbocharger, intercooler, EGR and cleaned them spotless, boy, were they dirty! But to my dismay, the turbo still didn’t kick.

Over the next four hours, he went on a diagnosis spree, I got bored in between and went home. By evening, he called me up and asked me if I want the car washed. I was surprised, and asked him to bring it right away, I couldn’t wait to check her out. Even before I revved past 2K, I knew the turbo would kick, and it sure did!

The culprit was the pressure converter solenoid valve, somehow it had a minor block, a little bit of cleaner spray was all it took.

Verna has a VGT set up – variable geometry turbocharger to mitigate turbo lag. There are a series of vanes inside the compressor chamber, each turn on its pivot to alter the effective volume of the compressor, thereby optimizing for a wide range of exhaust flow volume.

At low RPMs, the vanes close, reducing compressor volume, thereby speeding up the turbines even at lower exhaust gas volumes. As the engine is revved up, the vanes open proportionately to handle the increased exhaust gas volume.

Usually, turbochargers control boos by means of a wastegate, but VGTs optimize internal volume to achieve the same result while addressing the menacing turbo lag. The boost is controlled by means of manifold vacuum and a solenoid needle valve driven by a PWM signal from the ECU. As the engine starts, the vanes go into a closed position, and as RPM picks up, the solenoid valve bleeds atmospheric air into the vacuum as decided by the ECU, thereby precisely controlling vane orientation.

So next time you rush to buy a turbo, look under the hood twice.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing! This should be a big help to owners of VGT cars, including Verna / Creta / Elantra owners.

Originally Posted by leorcid

then moved on to my local car workshop owned by my nephew. Although in his early 20s, he’s brilliant, fast and neat.

How about sharing his name, number & shop address?

The culprit was the pressure converter solenoid valve, somehow it had a minor block, a little bit of cleaner spray was all it took.

You're lucky to have this guy. If you'd taken it to the dealer - with their replace instead of repair mentality - you'd be staring at a quote of 1+ lakh rupees.

[paragsachania]

The only time my car (Ertiga Diesel) ever showed up the CEL on the MID was narrated here.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

[*]Engine Malfunction Indicator for the first time in my ownership:

Co-incidentally, I could zero in on the culprit and it was was the Turbo Control Valve Actuator that I replaced soon after.

Unlike your case, I had a different experience to share wherein in the middle of a highway run, after doing some good speeds when I slowed down to have a gap to overtake and pressed the throttle again, the CEL lit up and the Turbo kick was almost absent.

I pulled over the car, checked the engine bay for any broken wires, punctured plumbing lines etc but everything was fine, including essential liquids.

I crank the car again and the car behaved absolutely normal, but the CEL remained till I reached home and hooked up the OBD Adapter to check for the fault code.



I also cleared the fault and started the car again and the CEL disappeared indicating that the issue was perhaps temporary. Not wanting to take any risk, I enquired for the part at an MGP store and decided to replace it over the weekend. The car during the next 4-5 days behaved absolutely normal till I replaced the TC control valve.

[leorcid]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks for sharing! This should be a big help to owners of VGT cars, including Verna / Creta / Elantra owners.



How about sharing his name, number & shop address?



You're lucky to have this guy. If you'd taken it to the dealer - with their replace instead of repair mentality - you'd be staring at a quote of 1+ lakh rupees.

He's located in Kottayam, Kerala - but if you still want it to be shared, it's my pleasure.

[Jeroen]

If anything this shows why you should always diagnose properly before starting taking thing apart, rip and replace.

On any modern car, it means : hook it up to a proper manufacturer specific OBD scanner. In these sort of cases it takes out all the guessing and would have pointed straight at the culprit!

Everything else is just a complete waste of time. As far as I am concerned, a good mechanic is not just the mechanic who eventually fixes the problem. A true mechanics excels at diagnostic skills and knows how to use an OBD scanner. Even a generic scanner is a thousand times better than to just start unbolting stuff!

Jeroen

[drhoneycake]

I own a dec 2014 Fluidic Verna CRDI SX(O). In January this year, I had a check engine light come on. Also the car went into some sort of limp mode wherein it wouldn’t revv beyond 3k RPM. Also there was zero turbo kick.

Once the free services were over, I always went to my FNG for all services. Well this time I thought I would take it to Hyundai A.S.S for a diagnosis. The guys at HASS plugged a scanner, it threw out an error code as follows:-

P1186 Fuel Pressure Monitoring-Minimum Pressure at Engine Speed Too Low

They cleared the error and told me it was good to go. On the way back home, the CEL comes back on and the car goes back to limp mode. Absolutely incompetent. They also told me that there could be an issue with the fuelling system and the turbo and that I can expect a huge bill for repairs.

Took it to my FNG and the guy diagnosed it to be a Fuel Pressure Regulator Valve. Got the part, fixed it in and she’s purring like never before.

ODO now stands at 2.5L kms in 5years 10 months.




This was the part:-

Part Number: 31402-27010 | 0928400750


This is the only time I’ve had a check engine light come on. She’s bone stock, still on stock clutch and suspension.

[Rocketscience]

Thanks a lot for sharing, as an owner of a Creta 1.6D myself this is helpful, i myself am noticing a bit of reduced turbo kick and slight hesitation (accompanied by a minor jerk) when accelerating from lower revvs (say from 1700 to 1900 or so),
The exact problem is a bit hard to replicate as it arises when i accelerate and then take my feet off then accelerate again (typical behaviour in traffic), if only i could find a great FNG place who can look into the matter for me, in the meanwhile i gave it the italian tuneup and revved it to redline in third (for a few seconds) and that seemed to have addressed the jerk somewhat, but i still do feel the lack of kick. (My car has run 50,000 Kms)

[Sedate]

Originally Posted by leorcid

He's located in Kottayam, Kerala - but if you still want it to be shared, it's my pleasure.

Please do share the details. Many reliable mechanics in Kochi or near by regions closed down. Many were reaching their retirement age and COVID was the last straw for them.

Young, sensible and reliable mechanics/workshops are in short supply. Most new workshops are by automobile enthusiasts who claims to know about cars, but really lack understanding or heavily lack customer service.

[Manan9876]

Originally Posted by leorcid

The Turbo Scare!


The culprit was the pressure converter solenoid valve, somehow it had a minor block, a little bit of cleaner spray was all it took.

So next time you rush to buy a turbo, look under the hood twice.

Oh wow that is really concerning, glad that your issue was resolved. Could you figure out the cause of the block?

My place is semi rural with lots of unmetalled roads and I am concerned if dusty conditions could accelerate and aggravate such an issue.

[leorcid]

Originally Posted by Manan9876

Oh wow that is really concerning, glad that your issue was resolved. Could you figure out the cause of the block?

My place is semi rural with lots of unmetalled roads and I am concerned if dusty conditions could accelerate and aggravate such an issue.

Originally Posted by Sedate

Please do share the details. Many reliable mechanics in Kochi or near by regions closed down. Many were reaching their retirement age and COVID was the last straw for them.

Young, sensible and reliable mechanics/workshops are in short supply. Most new workshops are by automobile enthusiasts who claims to know about cars, but really lack understanding or heavily lack customer service.

His name is Amal - Alpha Car Care - Ettumanoor.
+919605577709

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The only time my car (Ertiga Diesel) ever showed up the CEL on the MID was narrated here.

Co-incidentally, I could zero in on the culprit and it was was the Turbo Control Valve Actuator

Attachment 2082895

This thread will be an help to all VGT owners from Hyundai as well as Maruti too.

I have never had my check engine light glow so far in my Ciaz VGT (1,28,000km) but Nexa service guy replaced the solenoid valve at the 120k service citing that it may become an issue sooner.

Glad it was replaced. Here is the part.



Those rare few times I felt the turbo kick to be lesser during my 5 years of ownership, the EGR cleaning got it back to perfection.

[leorcid]

Originally Posted by Manan9876

Oh wow that is really concerning, glad that your issue was resolved. Could you figure out the cause of the block?

My place is semi rural with lots of unmetalled roads and I am concerned if dusty conditions could accelerate and aggravate such an issue.

External debris should not be an issue because this opens to intake pipe after air filter. In my case, rubber tubing gave in, small chipped pieces clogged the needle valve.

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by drhoneycake

Took it to my FNG and the guy diagnosed it to be a Fuel Pressure Regulator Valve. Got the part, fixed it in and she’s purring like never before.

Could you please let us know which FNG this is? Thanks!

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by leorcid

The Turbo Scare!....
So next time you rush to buy a turbo, look under the hood twice.

Even before I was halfway through the post I knew it was you.

Do share your long term ownership report of the D200 in the MC section when you find the time.

Cheers!
A.P.

[landcruiser123]

Thanks for sharing - Such genuinely honest people are a rare find in today’s world where replace seems to be mantra. I’m glad you got away with a small repair bill.

If I were you, I’d change the oil every 7500-8000 km if you’re doing mixed driving. Enjoy the Verna for many more miles.