[lifeinpune]

Hello Everyone,

I gave my 2018 Hyundai Petrol AT for it's servicing today. This is the 4th service and is a paid service after the first 3 free visits. Please find attached the service estimate



Would like some help with the various cost itemisations.

Parts Cost
----
What is the difference between Air Filter Assembly and Air Filter Cleaner ? If the Air filter is being changed, what does one need the air filter cleaner for ? Also is the bardahl engine oil flush really needed ? The SA mentioned that after draining the oil, this is needed to flush the remnant sludge.

There was an item under parts called MATERIAL - AC EVAPORATION COIL CLEANING that costed around 2.5K. I got it removed as I have never seen this in the past for any of my cars ( 2010 Punto Emotion D and Vento TSI Highline ). The SA said dust accumulates here and its better to get it cleaned else it might have to be replaced at a higher cost in future.

Labour Cost
-----
Periodic Maintenance Service cost In my understanding, this should include the labour charges for all the standard tasks like changing oil, various filters etc. But then there is a separate item for replacing the AC filter. So does this mean replacing the AC filter is not included as part of the standard maintenance ?

Rear and Front Brake Cleaning/OH I find the costs to be higher than what I had expected. In the past with my FIAT Punto, the rear brake liner cleaning used to be listed as a separate task. I don't recall the front brake pad O/H being charged separately but I could be mistaken. I thought of taking the front brake O/H out but then brake being a critical part didn't do so. Is this necessary or is required to be done based on an assessment ? What is the best practice ?

Anti-Microbial Smoke Sanitation - Since COVID is prevalent, this is a standard recommended task by Hyundai. I just let it slide.

I asked the SA to show me some document where Hyundai has itemised the parts and labour for periodic maintenance. I can understand the costs vary over time and may even vary across regions, but at-least the what needs to be done part can be a published reference for each schedule. The SA didn't have anything to share. He just opened the app in the computer and showed the details for my Vehicle and said that these things come preloaded for this model and this schedule. On this front, I actually felt FIAT and VW were more transparent.

I was expecting the total service cost to be around 7-8K making allowance for the CRETA being a slightly bigger vehicle and the price category it fits in. Did I have the wrong expectation ? OR are some of the part/labour items listed out unnecessary ? I always thought NA petrol cars would have low servicing cost. BTW, the service cost estimator on the Hyundai website shows me total cost including parts and labour to be ~ 4900 excluding GST.



Including GST it should come close to 6K. This might be a dated estimate so making allowance it shouldn't go beyond 7-7.5K.

Would appreciate some insights from more experienced members.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

What is the difference between Air Filter Assembly and Air Filter Cleaner?

Filter - Air Cleaner = This is the air filter placed in the engine bay for engines clean breathing (28113-A0100)

Filter Assy - Air = This is nothing but an A/C filter or cabin air filter (97113-A000).

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

If the Air filter is being changed, what does one need the air filter cleaner for?

Answered above. Hope it solves the confusion.

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

Also is the bardahl engine oil flush really needed? The SA mentioned that after draining the oil, this is needed to flush the remnant sludge.

Not at all required if all the oil changes etc are done on time. I know this is the first paid service so honestly, I don't think there is a need for this job to be done on the car. A waste of money, just a tactic to inflate the bill.

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

There was an item under the part called MATERIAL - AC EVAPORATION COIL CLEANING that cost around 2.5K. I got it removed as I have never seen this in the past for any of my cars ( 2010 Punto Emotion D and Vento TSI Highline ). The SA said dust accumulates here and it's better to get it cleaned else it might have to be replaced at a higher cost in future.

Good, you got it removed. It is a way to inflate bills so that can recover some money from less-suspecting customers.

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

...So does this mean replacing the AC filter is not included as part of the standard maintenance?

+

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

Rear and Front Brake Cleaning/OH I find the costs to be higher than what I had expected. I thought of taking the front brake O/H out but then the brake being a critical part didn't do so. Is this necessary or is required to be done based on an assessment? What is the best practice?

Should have been included in the Periodic Maintenance cost and NOT charged separately. Caliper pins are opened, cleaned and greased generally (25g grease sachet - 08M9858100 is used).

[amit_purohit20]

A 25 gram packet is used to grease caliper pins - Fine! From when did 25 gms of grease costs 155 Rs without GST? That means grease costs 6200 Rs per Kg. and with GST Rs 7316.

I personally feel they are using a very costly grease!.
A quick amazon search lands me with a cost of Rs 350
for 1 kg. ie for general purpose grease for wheel bearings from reputed brands.

Lets say Hyundai recommends high temperature grease for Brake caliper pins, still the cost is very high that I can digest. Are they really using such a high quality grease for brake caliper pins?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

I personally feel they are using a very costly grease!.

Let's say Hyundai recommends high-temperature grease for Brake caliper pins, still, the cost is very high that I can digest. Are they really using such high-quality grease for brake caliper pins?

Hyundai is as always costly in terms of spares and service costs. Unrealistic in certain places I say!

I have been using TVS Girling Caliper Grease Sachet's that I purchase from Boodmo. The cost is ₹12 per sachet, I purchase 10 sachets which is sufficient for a long time.

[lifeinpune]

I got fleeced for close to 4-5K extra on labor charges alone. In my 13 years of car ownership of multiple brands - FIAT, VW with a total mileage under belt of 230KM ( Palio 52K, Punto 130K and VW 55K ) - I have never felt cheated like this. I was not really feeling well today and wanted to rest and didn’t want to go to the dealership. But looks like I will need to be very careful with Hyundai servicing in future. The problem is not really with dealership but with the brand. Shudder to think what would be cost of ownership after warranty expires. I don’t see myself keeping this car for long. Don’t feel like trusting Hyundai anymore. Caveat Emptor couldn’t be more true.

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

I don’t see myself keeping this car for long. Don’t feel like trusting Hyundai anymore.

I have a 12 year old Indica Vista out of which 4 years it was serviced in Authorised service centre. My running is quite low for a diesel vehicle 52k kms only till date.

I have been servicing my car from local garages. I am yet to find that "Friendly" neighborhood garage. Nobody is friendly, all find ways to fleece money out of car owners. A reputed authorised service centre can have a lazy/untrained mechanic with chalta hai attitude.
Authorised service centres are better than local garages but not by a substantial margin. The advantage they have is the expertise they have developed (if any) by servicing the same vehicles repeatedly of the same brand and the service bulletins they get from the Design/Service department. Parts used are genuine parts.
Hence any big repair which has to do with Engine, transmission my car would straight away go to the oldest authorised service centre with the highest experience and a good dedicated SA.
Our cars hardly develop issues with Engine and transmission frequently. For all other issues we can easily rely on good local garages.

I make a point in being with my car during the whole service period.I bring all the genuine replacement parts. I know what is supposed to be done in that particular service ( Do my homework) and get it done specifically.

Till now the only thing which can be blamed on local garages is my experience of FNG using normal water while filling coolant. Probably it was boring water. Add to it my diesel vehicle stays idle for long periods. All this led to my radiator tubes getting clogged big time during my long Gujarat trip. Out of 32 tubes only 9 were functional. In my location its difficult to find a premixed coolant, hence FNG used coolant concentrate with water ( hard water most probably from boring or even government supply) and it screwed up big time. The car overheated, luckily my head gasket survived.

Lesson learnt -
Never trust anyone to do a good job in local garages. Be there and get it done! I dont trust the authorised ones too but more reliable than local FNGs

Always used demineralised water (available for Rs 100 in petrol pumps) or premix coolant in car.

Cars which do not run much are more prone to sludge formation in cooling system.
If you have a vehicle which is not used much, make sure you change your coolant quite often before the sludge forms and use your car for long trips till the engine reaches operating temperature and stays there for a sufficient long time. Sludge formation has to be avoided.

Do preventive maintenance but don't overhype it. Go by what is mentioned in service/operator manual. Slight relaxation on the preventive maintenance intervals does not result in severe consequences. Most preventive maintenance schedules are decided by keeping a big safety margin, very unfavorable driving conditions and poor maintenance and care taken by the owner. If your car hasn't faced such harsh environments its ok to relax on preventive maintenance schedules but not by a big margin.

If your car clocks high mileage then be conservative on maintenance schedules.

Do not extend Engine/Gearbox oil change intervals. Infact I change my Engine oil at 8000 kms and prefer to use a mineral oil and change it often than using a costly synthetic oil and changing it at 15 to 20k kms.

The benefits of doing the hard work- Substantial savings in maintenance cost as high as 1/4th to 1/3rd of the cost incurred in Authorised service centres.

I also follow the principle (not for preventive maintenance) "If it ain't broke don't fix it". It has worked for me till now probably as my vehicle clocks less kms/year. But it does go for its yearly 3-4k kms interstate trips.

So don't sell a car because its costly to maintain. Just put some efforts and you would be able to reduce maintenance costs.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

I got fleeced for close to 4-5K extra on labour charges alone.

I agree. You should have paid more attention (no offence sir)!

I avoid any sort of Value Added Services (VAS) like injector cleaning, Decarbonisation, A/C cleaning etc at the ASC even if means loss of warranty. I don't let them touch any critical parts. I make them prepare the job card in front of me, I sign, make them also to sign, click a picture of the job card and only then I hand over the keys of my car to be taken inside.

The problem I see in all ASC's be it Hyundai or Tata or Maruti etc, the customer is not bothered to check what goes on the job card and whether it is generally done in reality or just gets billed so the ASC can recover some money from the customer. At the end of the day, the customer is frustrated seeing the higher service costs thinking about what is happening here.

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

But looks like I will need to be very careful with Hyundai servicing in future. The problem is not really with the dealership but with the brand. Shudder to think what would be the cost of ownership after the warranty expires. I don’t see myself keeping this car for long. Don’t feel like trusting Hyundai anymore.

+

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

I have a 12-year-old Indica Vista out of which 4 years it was serviced in an Authorised service centre. My running is quite low for a diesel vehicle 52k kms only to date. I have been servicing my car from local garages. I am yet to find that "Friendly" neighbourhood garage.

I have a 2017 Creta 1.6L CRDi SX(O) - the last time my car went to ASC was sometime around Jan 2019. Since then I have been servicing it myself. I buy all the required parts from MOBIS in my city and once I have everything in hand, me and BHPian interc00led do the servicing either at home or go to the FNG we know and use the space there. I have the service manual with me and follow what the manual says for every service hence I am a happy man in terms of how my car is being taken care of!

At the ASC, one is not allowed to enter the service bay and I am asked to wait at the customer lounge and peep from there looking at my car. I am not really sure what the mechanics are up to and whether all the said jobs written on the job card are done or not is another question mark I have always hence after a word with the manager that I want to be beside my car and he disagreed, I took the keys of my car and walked out. Never after that have I entered the premises. It has been 2 years since I am doing things DIY (in terms of servicing) and for complicated jobs like Timing Chain change etc, my FNG is worthy and capable so no worries on that aspect too.

Thanks to Boodmo and MOBIS in my city who have been genuinely helpful always, with no issues in parts sourcing, one call and in 4-5 days the part is ready if it is not a commonly used item. Filters, oils etc are readily available.

[Blackjack]

I recently had a terrible experience with the periodic maintenance on my 2011 i20 Petrol. I had absolutely no complaints and asked them to do a regular service. In their estimate, they noted that the brake pads were to be replaced on all tyres, which I agreed with. They ofcourse asked to do engine flush and cooling wire replacement which I denied - why should I when it was worked extremely well.

Guess what, when it came back in the evening, the AC blower was making a loud squeeling noise. I asked the SA to explain, and he was like "well, you asked us to not touch the AC and we did not. What you have is your own problem".

Over the top, the brakes jammed in 4 days and I found out that the pads had.not been changed. In fact they broke in the discs and got stuck. I complained and they gave me another lame excuse.

I am done with Hyundai ASS on my 10 year i20. It has been maintained immaculately and I will now prefer a local garage or gomechanic for the ASS. Hyundai is pathetic, will not go to them again.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

I agree. You should have paid more attention (no offence sir)!

At the ASC, one is not allowed to enter the service bay and I am asked to wait at the customer lounge and peep from there looking at my car. I am not really sure what the mechanics are up to and whether all the said jobs written on the job card are done or not is another question mark I have always hence after a word with the manager that I want to be beside my car and he disagreed, I took the keys of my car and walked out. Never after that have I entered the premises. It has been 2 years since I am doing things DIY (in terms of servicing) and for complicated jobs like Timing Chain change etc, my FNG is worthy and capable so no worries on that aspect too.

Generally, at small centers HASS allows the owner to remain present, but not at large centers. I do insist that oil change, diesel catrige replacement etc happen in my presence only. One friendly mechanic, few months back, suggested me to get the diesel catrige replaced at his home at lesser price. I inquired, how do you manage at that price, and then he said what I had guessed. Not replacing the catrige in other car and stealing it to home. The owner could not figure out, if the catrige is replaced or not. Hyundai recommends replacement of catrige at 10k interval. I do it at 20k. Once I forgot at 20k, and then replaced it at after 35k km. Only difference was drop in FE.

Same could happen to other parts as well. We should be very careful to ensure that we get all that we paid for.

Thanks

[bwildrd#1]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

I was expecting the total service cost to be around 7-8K making allowance for the CRETA being a slightly bigger vehicle and the price category it fits in. Did I have the wrong expectation ? OR are some of the part/labour items listed out unnecessary ? I always thought NA petrol cars would have low servicing cost. BTW, the service cost estimator on the Hyundai website shows me total cost including parts and labour to be ~ 4900 excluding GST.

Hyundai usually charges premium for Creta and Verna. Spare parts price comparison charts for all models will be available in authorised service centres. I have visited three different service centres and usually this chart will be posted on walls in customer waiting lounge. Even if you refer that chart you can see higher price for Creta when compared to other cars from Hyundai's stable for similar parts. We even checked with our SA and he acknowledged the same. This is how Hyundai has priced it and service centres are charging from customers.

Regarding AC coil cleaning you can just ignore it. I recently got the coil replaced for our 10 year old 1st gen i20. You have to keep your front passenger footwell area clean since air is getting sucked for recirculation from this space. I got to know this when I asked my SA the reason for replacement. This is how it works in i20 and I believe it should be same for creta as well.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

A 25 gram packet is used to grease caliper pins - Fine! From when did 25 gms of grease costs 155 Rs without GST? That means grease costs 6200 Rs per Kg. and with GST Rs 7316.

I personally feel they are using a very costly grease!.
A quick amazon search lands me with a cost of Rs 350
for 1 kg. ie for general purpose grease for wheel bearings from reputed brands.

Shell company grease costs 265/kg(S1V160) and 277/kg(S2V150) for the dealer. Am talking about the dealer purchase price including GST. The markup by dealer is too high.

[iamkapilb]

How much did you pay for this service? It's not visible in the bill uploaded.

[Ravi Parwan]

I do believe this has been discussed elsewhere in the forum, but just reiterating for the benefit of everyone. All service centres are under a lot of pressure from the COVID situation to make up for lost revenue from the last 1-1.5 years, primarily because of the following reasons:

1. Lockdown resulted in straight loss as service centres were closed while the bills kept on piling
2. Cars running came down as many people stayed indoors and travel got reduced. This has resulted in lesser number of cars coming in for servicing

Now to overcome the losses as well as stay afloat, every service centre is trying to pad up the bills for customers. This is not a new practice but has got exacerbated due to the factors mentioned above.

Most service centres have escalated service charges from last 2 years, plus pushing on unnecessary services) Engine flush, AC cleaning, engine bay and underbody coating, door and window lubrication. So my advice would be to very cautious in approving any extra services.

At the same time, some of these are useful. If your AC is not blowing enough Air, it is blocked and you will need to clean the evaporator. If your doors and windows are squeaking, lubrication with silicon grease is probably a good idea. If your brakes are making noise, the copper brake grease is really recommended.
Engine flush remains a bad idea though...

While I am fully sympathetic with the plight of businesses trying to stay afloat in this crisis, I do feel that Car purchase and maintenance has become a joke in India. Cars business model is moving towards use and throw, where the service costs will push you towards buying another car as soon as the warranty ends.

[Amsdoc]

I agree with above. I think the dealerships are desperate to get more cars in. I get a call from my local Hyundai dealer every month or so saying, Sir, why don't you bring your car in for a routine checkup? I said, my servicing is not due for another 6 months and everything is running fine, why would I bring it in?
On a side note, if you have extended warranty which I do, do they insist on servicing at the authorised dealers only or can you get it done locally at a FNG without voiding the warranty?

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

Shell company grease costs 265/kg(S1V160) and 277/kg(S2V150) for the dealer. Am talking about the dealer purchase price including GST. The markup by dealer is too high.

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

A 25 gram packet is used to grease caliper pins - Fine! From when did 25 gms of grease costs 155 Rs without GST? That means grease costs 6200 Rs per Kg. and with GST Rs 7316.

I personally feel they are using a very costly grease!.
A quick amazon search lands me with a cost of Rs 350
for 1 kg. ie for general purpose grease for wheel bearings from reputed brands.

Lets say Hyundai recommends high temperature grease for Brake caliper pins, still the cost is very high that I can digest. Are they really using such a high quality grease for brake caliper pins?

Caliper grease is a special grease and not same as any other grease. It is formulated to retain lubrication properties at very high temperature that the brakes operate at. Using normal grease on calipers will result in seized calipers and decrease in braking efficiency.

The Hyundai caliper grease comes in 25g pouch. And 25 grams is not needed to lubricate the caliper guide pins. Just 5 to 10 grams max to cover all 4 pins of the front brakes. The HASS by default bills this item even though they use the grease from an already opened packet for other car. The TVS caliper grease suggested by Anurag is as good as the Hyundai one and lot cheaper. 1 pouch is around 5 grams and sufficient for both front brakes.