[ganesc]

Can feel the pain of the owner. Easy to talk about being practical but it can be emotionally disturbing.

Surprising to know that the dealership/Hyundai agreed it as a manufacturing defect the very next day! Not sure if we can be happy about it or sad that they already know about this and going ahead case to case basis (overthinking?).

Would advise to get the car fitted with a brand new engine, get the engine number endorsed in RC by the dealer themselves, get it in writing that the engine was replaced due to manufacturing defect (tough), demand the max extended warranty free of cost. Forget this and move on.

Highly unlikely getting the same engine number (legally?) or erasing the engine replacement from service history.

[AMG Power]

An unfortunate engine fault happens at 1400 kms. It’s bad luck and happens with any car from Mercs to Marutis.

The company looks at it and says it will replace the engine. This is what an automotive company is supposed to do.

So what is there to discuss?

[BMvW.Rajat]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

An unfortunate engine fault happens at 1400 kms. It’s bad luck and happens with any car from Mercs to Marutis.

The company looks at it and says it will replace the engine. This is what an automotive company is supposed to do.

So what is there to discuss?

Isn't one of the main purposes of TeamBHP to share personal experiences of owning a vehicle with others and get opinions on how to move forward or if there is something more one should look at or do in such situations?
I'm sure it's a once in a life time experience for most to have faced an engine failure on a brand new car and the person who posted is already feeling horrible. Discussions like this is what makes me come back here and we'll probably get to know what the actual issue for the engine failure could be. Like many have pointed, could be a manufacturing defect or wrong fuel put in the car.
I'm not trying to start something here because I don't know you personally but I don't see the point of your apathetic post and quite frankly find it a little arrogant.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by praveen789

I feel the owner is blowing it out of proportion with such statements:

"and when being towed away like this (as if the bank is ceasing our car forcefully), it was such a moment of shame and insult to our family. We were unable to face our neighbours after that. Embarrassing!"

-- really? technical issues do not happen? what is to be embarrassed about that?

This depends on the neighborhood & neighbors actually. If you bought a new car and it attracted lots of attention (lots of congratulations, sharing sweets etc) AND this happens, it is definitely embarrassing.

But if you are in a neighborhood where you hardly know the neighbors or if i20 segment cars purchases are common AND this happens, no big deal.

[MartinVirage]

Wow! This is why I love Team BHP biases of opinion - Keyboard warriors. Please take what I say with a pinch of salt, don’t mean to offend anyone.
1. I20 is supposed to be a premium car from well a so called premium car. We are paying a lot for RSA - so yes I expect them to send a flatbed, inclusive in the package. I am sorry, IMHO I don’t agree to usage of the traditional towing services at least under RSA.
2. Yes as rightly pointed out, you cannot have the same engine number. But, atleast Hyundai Workshop should have the courtesy to change it in the registration.
3. About the dirtying the car, push for the company to carry out the cleaning services. I mean there is nothing you can do. Your car is going to be parked in the service center for over a month, so we’ll no one is going to clean your car daily.
4. Yes, I don’t know if embarrassment is the right word, but when I chose Hyundai over many other brands *cough cough* VW (hahaha), and something like this happens, i think a little more professionalism and respect should be shown to the customers - Just the same amount of professionalism while you showed me while selling me the car with a nice inflated warranty premium
5. My advise in such cases, be calm, try to push for a loaner car. These warranty replacements take time, don’t rush it. Let them do their job well. Remember to check everything post replacement. A service center cannot give you the same quality of work like the factory, but atleast you can demand it to be as close as possible.
6. This is a very difficult task and probably they won’t give you this - get a document stating they have replaced the engine under warranty because of a manufacturing defect.
7. To end my rant, all I would say again is. Yes failures do happen, but it’s how the company handles it is important

Surprisingly I just read the post again. I thought this is the GDi engine, but it is the more reliable NA motor. I would really like to the diagnosis of what actually happened?

[som9729]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

Thanks to Santanu Kumar for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!



Source: Hyundai India i20 Owners Club

Points to note -

I speak from experience of sending multiple legal notices to TATA dealership (DETROIT MOTORS, Hyderabad)
I had an Indigo XL, which had multiple issues, including turbo not picking up, loss of engine pickup and what not!

Anyway, coming to the point-

1) Properly document everything. Casually, Do talk to a lawyer regarding what your rights are.
2) Do proactively email Hyundai
3) DO not actually send a legal notice unless you have no option left.
Its an unnecessary escalation and does not serve any purpose, other than to waste time as the dealer/Hyundai can also easily lawyer up.
4) Document everything with photo evidence.
5) Don't accept verbal assurances. Everything in writing. Either whatsappmsg/sms/email
6) ask them to be specific regarding the resolution offered, and cross-check it with them at the time of delivery of vehicle!

Good luck!

Originally Posted by BMvW.Rajat

Isn't one of the main purposes of TeamBHP to share personal experiences of owning a vehicle with others and get opinions on how to move forward or if there is something more one should look at or do in such situations?
I'm sure it's a once in a life time experience for most to have faced an engine failure on a brand new car and the person who posted is already feeling horrible. Discussions like this is what makes me come back here and we'll probably get to know what the actual issue for the engine failure could be. Like many have pointed, could be a manufacturing defect or wrong fuel put in the car.
I'm not trying to start something here because I don't know you personally but I don't see the point of your apathetic post and quite frankly find it a little arrogant.

Seconded!
Also, learning the process of warranty replacement. The hoops the owner had to jump thru, as well as the potential issue, all help in broadening one's own knowledge of cars!

Granted, this know-how has academic value, as I don't picture myself opening up an engine anytime soon!
But, tat's one of the points of TeamBHP's forum, isn't it?

2nd, it also ensures that we don't fall into the same potholes this owner might've potentially encountered, especially when dealing with the company!

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Loba_Andrade

Am I the only one who feels that the carbon deposits on the piston head are off the charts for a 4 month old car with hardly 1500 kilometers on the odometer?
Also, the deposits look soft and wet to me so part of the reason could be faulty piston rings but faulty piston rings on all 4 pistons is highly unlikely IMO. Eagerly waiting for Hyundai's diagnosis on this one.

Looks like the engine is not able to handle low sulphur content BS6 fuels very well?

[vishy76]

Noticed something off about the image posted by the O.P

The compression on the 4th cylinder (from the top of this image) might have already been very weak or the cylinder might have been running a lot richer. Look at the exhaust valves. They are relatively much cleaner on the first three cylinders (as they should be), but are pitch black in the case of the 4th one, although this doesn't directly explain why the engine would just seize.

Unless this is just the light playing tricks in the photo, I think it is an anomaly. Experts can clarify.

[--gKrish--]

Originally Posted by vishy76

The compression on the 4th cylinder (from the top of this image) might have already been very weak or the cylinder might have been running a lot richer. Look at the exhaust valves. They are relatively much cleaner on the first three cylinders (as they should be), but are pitch black in the case of the 4th one, although this doesn't directly explain why the engine would just seize.

I believe there is also quite a bit of pitting on both the intake and exhaust valves on that cylinder.

[ZenMaster]

Originally Posted by praveen789

I feel the owner is blowing it out of proportion with such statements:

"and when being towed away like this (as if the bank is ceasing our car forcefully), it was such a moment of shame and insult to our family. We were unable to face our neighbours after that. Embarrassing!"

I understand where you are coming from, but isn't it also the right of the owner to feel embarrassed. Not everyone ties their image or social acceptance to the car they own, but some people do and there is no law against it.

If owning a car is considered a matter of pride(which is true to a large extent in India), being embarrassed about getting it towed away on two wheels is not out of bounds either.

The owner is in his right to claim it irrespective of what he actually feels. Probably everyone advised him to buy a Maruti and he went a bought a Hyundai instead and is suffering for it now. I'm sure its a very good way of communicating to Hyundai that they are dealing with a disgruntled customer and they Should deal accordingly or risk -ve word of mouth among his social circles who can clearly afford to buy their products.- which he has all the right to do.

[Antonyooty]

So engineering defects do happen to Hyundai also, had this happen to an Indian manufacture ( read Tata motors). The company would have been roasted alive by our keyboard warriors.

[PaddleShifter]

Engine failure this early is a definite heart break. But at the same time, a few things:

1. The owner should have refused towing by this vehicle and demanded a flatbed. I did the same in 2013 when the clutch slave cylinder of my Punto broke and a tow truck came instead of a flat bed. I just softly spoke about my rxpectation of a flatbed and the tow service person complied. He was just trying his luck. Fiat has no role in that.

2. I am not sure if flatbed would have fit in that road since it looks a bit tight (could be how it looks in image only though).

3. Same engine number is very difficult to ensure but not impossible. One of my friend had got the entire engine of his 2011 XUV500 replaced and the engine number was kept the same IIRC. I will check with him and revert back here.

4. Legal system will keep you hanging for long. If you get a new car and suffer very minor dent on the pocket (maybe only few thousands or couple of grands), go ahead and see what you are more comfortable with.

[caffeineAM]

Embarrassment due to a brand new car being towed is a bit too emotional in my opinion. My Linea was towed home within a few months due to a broken clutch cylinder way back in 2009. The dealer sent somebody home the next day and they fixed it free of charge.

I don't see anything wrong in towing a front wheel drive car like that as long as they don't damage the car.

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by BMvW.Rajat

Isn't one of the main purposes of TeamBHP to share personal experiences of owning a vehicle with others and get opinions on how to move forward or if there is something more one should look at or do in such situations?
I'm sure it's a once in a life time experience for most to have faced an engine failure on a brand new car and the person who posted is already feeling horrible. Discussions like this is what makes me come back here and we'll probably get to know what the actual issue for the engine failure could be. Like many have pointed, could be a manufacturing defect or wrong fuel put in the car.
I'm not trying to start something here because I don't know you personally but I don't see the point of your apathetic post and quite frankly find it a little arrogant.

Can't agree more with you. For any issue, a person goes to the showroom, we can all comment - you went to the service center, what is there to discuss? A person buys a car not many times in a lifetime. It's definitely a pain to see something go so terribly wrong. I had a small vibration in the IRVM and it bugged the sleep out of me for more than a week. I can understand the pain a failed engine can cause.

[igemini]

This is definitely shocking. Especially the 1.2NA engine, I thought it would be super reliable and to be honest I didn't heard of Hyundai Engine failures at 1400 odd Kms.

Though we can understand the feelings of the owner, some of his demands might not be practically possible like keeping the engine number as the old one, erasing service history etc. Regardless of that, even if we would be in his situation, we may all wanted get the car replaced considering how new the car actually is. I do hope Hyundai India will replace his car and not just the engine. If not I am 100% sure the owner could never trust that vehicle ever.

Using a tow truck, maybe for some people it would be okay but don't expect everyone to have the same mindset. If I'm the one I would definitely be wanting a flat bed. The mud splash, his embarassment etc. though sounds silly to an extent considering the actual issue, the owner might have his own sentiments.

I agree cars are just machines etc. But when your car breakdown, it is not the same as just another machine. At least for me, even though I am engineer myself. Because, many people have an emotional attachment towards their cars. That's why some of us got really annoyed while seeing even minor scratches on our cars. Back to the point, I really hope Hyundai India will show some respect to the customer and replace the car if not replace the engine with an absolute close to factory setup and with some compensation like free extended warranty or free service for a couple of years etc.