[Tony2298]

Hello all!
Wish everyone a happy Festive season ahead in advance and hope you all have a good time during this auspicious month!

As we all know during this season we all enjoy and buy stuff for our loved ones, I too ended up doing the same for my SUV, which in this case is a Phantom Black 2021 Hyundai Tucson GLS 4WD A/T, it has taken me to many places in uber comfort and utmost safety with an extremely enjoyable drive experience each time I get behind the wheel. I've done a massive JH-MH road trip a couple of years ago spanning 2500kms in about 72hours time crossing OD,TS,KA! Apart from that I did a very enjoyable Gujarat trip going to places like Statue of Unity, Anand, Baroda, Ahmedabad and Surat, also recently I did a trip to Indore and Ujjain!

All these long road trips aside my regular commute frequently involves up/down via Mumbai-Pune e-way and NH48(which is in a horrendous state now sadly). Therefore as you can make out my SUV is more on the highway as compared to urban conditions therefore I always like to keep it in fully tip-top condition and absolutely don't pinch pennies for it.

Gift #1

My first expense started off when one fine day my car refused to start, called up the RSA, it was diagnosed to weak battery, changed it immediately with Amaron which has offered 48months unconditional warranty plus 48months pro-rata warranty. Old battery was of Korean make and bought back by Hyundai for Rs2500.
Old Battery


New battery


Gift #2

Next up, I decided to prepone the service even though interval was 3000kms/3months away since I had driven it continuously upto 18hours at a stretch to Indore and 12hours to Vadodara! Additionally most of my drive comprises highway/e-way non-stop up/downs 180km one way. Therefore carried out the service, the old oil(Shell fully synthetic) was completely charred to thick black sludge and was replaced with fresh Shell Helix Ultra fully synthetic, apart from that Adblue was topped up and thorough cleaning was carried out both inside and out. Overall the service experience had been EXCELLENT, typically Hyundai!

The final bill for service


Gift #3
After service and batteries it was time for new shoes, my SUV has had been literally crying for new sets of tyres, I felt this especially for past couple of months when excessive tyre noise was filtering in the cabin making the drive experience that bit less enjoyable, even though the outgoing tyres had a bit more juice left I still opted to change the tyres since I couldn't push it to what it was capable since the tyres somewhere held it back.

This gen of Tucson comes with OE Tyres of rather odd size of 225/55R18, only other car in India to share this size is the Jeep Compass ModelS, a rare sight itself therefore not many manufacturers make this tyre, only choice I had were the Bridgestone Turanza T001(OE Fit in Jeep) and Apollo Vredestein Ultrac Vorti. One of the original Nexen tyre was defective and was replaced with Turanza early in its life by Hyundai themselves under warranty. Therefore wasn't very keen on repeating the Bridgestones, regarding Vredestein, yes they're relatively good but not as much since one of my friend has it fitted on his car and he is not too happy with those. Therefore decided to upsize the tyres, asked out DBHPian NikhilB, he recommended me upgrading with 245s instead of 235s, with the former I was very keen on getting the Pirelli PZero Rosso(F1 fanboy things), sadly however the dealer didn't have adequate stock of it and didn't know exactly when fresh stocks would arrive. Therefore my next best option were the Michelins, the dealer had fresh stocks of the same and offered me a cool discount and complimentary WA/WB too which sealed the deal. The Michelins are very soft, comfy and completely silent!

Pirelli v/s Michelin


New Michelins, completely suit the car's character IMO!



Gift #4
After testing all sorts of fuel including XtraGreen, BPCL, TurboJet, Reliance and Nayara have completely switched to Shell, preferably the V Power Diesel, yes it costs a bomb but is completely worth it, CRDi loves VPower and delivers its optimum performance with the same.

Shell V-Power+Michelin+Full service= The grinning face of Tucson says it all !


Gift #5
This time when it came to renew my insurance premium got extra add-ons of Zero-Dep, RTI, Loss of Personal Belongings etc inflating the premium quite a bit, yes I didn't purchase Zero Dep and RTI right from beginning since I've never ever filed a claim till this date therefore didn't feel the need initially but nowadays I see too many cases of mishaps on our roads therefore as a peace of mind updated the policy.

TidBits
Since my SUV completed its 3years with me, the standard warranty of 3years/unlimited kms expired, thus got the Extended Warranty of 5years/140k kms. Additionally BlueLink free subscription also expired which I subsequently renewed for 2years now. RSA was renewed too.

Apart from that, very happy with my Tucson and look forward for many more long, unending road trips!


Thank you
Tony!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[argho]

Hi.

I too have a Tucson Diesel GLS.

Curious about your tyre upsizing from 225/55 R18 to 24/50 R18.

Have you faced any problems at all ?

While taking an U Turn, with full lock, does the tyre foul with the wheel well ?

Do let me know.

[argho]

Also, were you able to fit the new size tyres on the existing rims ?

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by argho

Hi.

I too have a Tucson Diesel GLS.

Curious about your tyre upsizing from 225/55 R18 to 24/50 R18.

Have you faced any problems at all ?

While taking an U Turn, with full lock, does the tyre foul with the wheel well ?

Do let me know.

As I mentioned in my post I did take an advise from DBHPian NikhilB about the upgrade, also even if you yourself check on a tyre upsize calculator the difference is marginal with 245s as compared to 235s, plus once the fitment was done, dealer himself double checked the fitment and everything turned out to be fine. Additionally the very next day of getting new tyres I did a 180kms one way up/down journey, didn't find anything unusual or bothersome. The steering didn't feel heavy, the turning radius ain't affected and if anything the feedback has improved by MILES!

Originally Posted by argho

Also, were you able to fit the new size tyres on the existing rims ?

Yes it was a PERFECT fit, felt as if the rims were originally designed for 245s itself !

I remember reading your article a couple of years ago, where you complained your Tucson's Nexen tyres did away within a meagre 11k kms or so causing you a hell lot of trouble. To be Honest, after reading that whole saga back then I really didn't expect you would've retained your Tucson till now. Happy to know you're still holding on to it!

Thank you
Tony

[argho]

Thanks Tony.

Very useful info. Will keep in mind for my next tyre change.

Yes, I have still retained my Tucson. Its a great vehicle. Still enjoying driving it.

The vehicle should not be blamed if poor quality tyres are fitted on it :-)

[ghodlur]

I gifted myself and my steed the Harrier the following gifts this festive season

1. Riggear Ventilated car seat for driver side - 6.5K
2. Garware Artic cool shield sun film for windshield, window glasses except rear - 11k
3. Blaupunkt 55W, 6k Lumens D5S low beam - 9.5k

Add to the above a nice exterior wash + interior care.

[ams43]

I'm looking to buy used Tucson within 17L,2021 model.

If I find, is it worth to buy in 2025.

[trailsndirt]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

Hello all!
Wish everyone a happy Festive season ahead in advance and hope you all have a good time during this auspicious month!

Nice write-up.

I got a used 2017 model (4WD plus AT).
Runs like a locomotive with all the torque from the motor.

One of the "gifts" I got seems to an issue with the transmission going into 4th gear while in Auto mode, irrespective of the engine mode. And its only in that one gear, and only when the vehicle is started and run 1st thing on a cool day. Once I've driven 15 to 20 mins thru the gears or whatever gear the speeds and traffic allow, its butter smooth.
The trans fluid has been changed but the issue persists just for that one gear and only when the system is not up to the temps... might be overthinking.

Have you had any such niggles?

Also, mine is running on Pirelli Scorpion Verde (235s) which seems to have been installed by the previous owner. Good all-weather rubber and some trails where Tucson can get to.

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by trailsndirt

Nice write-up.

Have you had any such niggles?

My SUV hasn't been driven very high just around 50k clicks on the odo as of now but till now I didn't face any issue as you described, even though both our SUVs have TCs only but mine is the facelift model which got the updated 8speed unit but still I would be watchful if any such issue crops up, also regarding transmission oil, according to owner's manual Hyundai has advised not to touch the box and have clearly mentioned there's no need to top-up/flush AT oil, still have seen some people doing so for their cars, so I wanna ask you did you get it through Hyundai ASCs only and do they allow such things to be done, also would it affect warranty? I don't wanna take any risk at all, considering how well my SUV is running, also I've taken the Extended Warranty too and therefore wouldn't be tinkering any such technical stuff at all.

mine is running on Pirelli Scorpion Verde (235s) which seems to have been installed by the previous owner. Good all-weather rubber and some trails where Tucson can get to.

Yes many of the Tucson owners including some of the BHPians too have 235s Pirelli rubber only but after my short conversation and some research I found the 245s to be the better choice for my usage scenario, also as I mentioned I really wanted to get Pirelli Rosso's only, sadly Pirelli doesn't import tyres of this size too much, therefore the dealer ran out of the same, also upon speaking with the Pirelli Performance Centre at my city, he was able to provide me MY23 tyres at best, also he charged an extra 10k above and over what I was paying already, also WA/WB wasn't complimentary from his side, therefore chose the Michelins, quite happy with the same.

Thank you
Tony

Originally Posted by ams43

I'm looking to buy used Tucson within 17L,2021 model.

If I find, is it worth to buy in 2025.

Diesel model, certainly yes, only if you get one! Just be watchful the spare parts etc would be quite expensive, also even with the diesel don't expect very high fuel efficiency, apart from that it's a brilliant SUV to own and drive!

Thank you
Tony

[trailsndirt]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

My SUV hasn't been driven very high just around 50k clicks on the odo as of now but till now I didn't face any issue as you described, even though both our SUVs have TCs only but mine is the facelift model which got the updated 8speed unit but still I would be watchful if any such issue crops up, also regarding transmission oil, according to owner's manual Hyundai has advised not to touch the box and have clearly mentioned there's no need to top-up/flush AT oil, still have seen some people doing so for their cars, so I wanna ask you did you get it through Hyundai ASCs only and do they allow such things to be done, also would it affect warranty? I don't wanna take any risk at all, considering how well my SUV is running, also I've taken the Extended Warranty too and therefore wouldn't be tinkering any such technical stuff at all.

The trans fluid change was done by a local garage which ran a diagnostic and suggested that be done as no errors showed up.
Hyundai service center reported nothing wrong (no surprise).
If the 245s fit and don't rub when at full lock, then those will be explored in the coming year when changes are needed. Btw, still have the O.E Nexen spare in the boot.

[Tony2298]

Giving some much needed cleaning and minor repair job to my beloved SUV

Hello all, updating the thread to input some useful information and few minor jobs I carried out to keep my SUV as much fresh as possible.

Job #1- Alignment and Balancing

Since fitting the new Michelins which have been performing fantastic on my SUV, I'm loving to gobble up miles with it, therefore covered excess of 7000kms in just a couple of months and therefore decided to carry out the WA/WB work even though I didn't face any pulling issue but it's better to be safe considering each tyre costs a bomb and I really don't wanna spend a fortune on new tyres for my Tucson anytime soon.

Alignment in process, the technician informed me camber was just a little bit out nothing serious.


While roaming at the store saw this rather nice picture of Michelin man(Bibendum) meeting his Grandpa, this reminded me of my late grandpa, he was so caring and loving to me, really miss him very much!


Job #2- Pedicure to my Tucson- Deep Cleaning of alloy wheels

Since this store also offers washing services decided to get the alloys deep cleaned when they were removed from the car during balancing, they charged me a bit extra for that but believe me it was worth every penny, they liberally used soap solution and jet washed all the dirt that accumulated over all these years, the results were fantastic, the alloys and tyres became squeaky clean post that and have made it a point to do deep cleaning of alloys at least yearly.

Just look at the difference between the dirty and clean alloys!


Job #3- Brake cleaning and degreasing

Since the tyres were out I decided to use the residual can of brake cleaner spray which was bought by me during the tyre purchase saga, therefore carefully sprayed them over the guide pins and the caliper assembly, the results turned out to be rather nice with quite a bit of brake dust removed.


Also decided to use my WD-40 spray which arrived today itself on the steering rack boot, shocker, bush etc and on the lug nuts too, got my hands totally dirty to an extent that visitors to the tyre shop thought I was a mechanic and started asking me about tyres and other stuff .


Job #4- A good wash

To round off today's session gave my Tucson a wash at the tyre store itself as they gave me some discount too. Yes it took much time cause there was a single cleaning guy and my SUV is a size large.


Sadly I've some outstation work and busy schedule for a couple of months therefore Tucson would see a massive drop in running but I promise the moment I'm relieved I'll take my SUV to what it loves doing the most, looooong highway trips!

Thanks
Tony

[Bimmerhead557]

I don't think it is wise to spray WD 40 on rubber parts, you can use silicone spray for that. Any degreaser like WD 40 will degrade rubber over time. Although it gives a good shine, it is penetrative in nature. Great post by the way!

[Tony2298]

MAJOR SERVICE UPDATE

Even though I mentioned in my earlier post that I would not be able to drive my car as much but some last minute changes in my schedule made me use my personal vehicle again and therefore covered a couple of thousand kilometres and since it was almost 8k kms since the last service I decided to get the service done since I'm a bit uncomfortable with stretching the service interval to entire 10k kms.

Apart from the usual oil and filters change, SA recommended me to get the brake pads changed for both the front and rear wheels, he also shared a couple of photos too and since I've a rather good rapport with the entire workshop for quite some time now I never doubt them and allowed the job to be done.

SA also told me there was some left pulling issue and he wanted to get the WA/WB done and even though I mentioned I did carry out the WA/WB recently he insisted me on redoing it and upon his strong suggestion I gave him the go ahead. Upon carrying out the job he found out that steering rack has some play and it's better to get it changed to avoid future troubles, upon asking for the part cost he quoted a steep 50,000INR for the same upon which I was literally ! I asked if he could repair the same or no to which he honestly replied he won't risk doing so considering its a rare issue that too in a rather expensive car.

I insisted him to contact the warranty team and investigate the matter since it's usually unheard for an entire steering assembly to have some defect so early. A couple of days after service I got a call from warranty team who asked me to just share the current odo reading so that they can enter it in the system to order the part under warranty! I was overjoyed to hear this fantastic news and thanked my SA for putting up the word with the concerned people and get this huge job done without damaging my wallet. The part is currently in transit from Korea and would arrive in a couple of weeks time.


The service itself was typically Hyundai, which is to say, excellent! All the jobs were done properly and vehicle was ready in time. I would share the bill too which is expensive, yes but totally justified IMO, also do note I intentionally opted for add-ons like A/C disinfection, brake cleaning and 3M interior foam cleaning since I believe in keeping the SA happy ensuring my car is serviced perfectly.



First Puncture

One fine morning when I took the car out for my regular highway shuttle, I noticed the TPMS warning flash for front right tyre, pulled up at BPCL COCO pump and topped up N2 for all the wheels and continued my journey. The TPMS warning didn't return back.

Next morning during my return trip, the TPMS warning for the same wheel flashed again which led me to believe there's some defect with the tyre, therefore refilled the air, drove very slowly and reached the tyre shop from where I purchased those since I didn't want anybody else to touch the tyres and possibly cause any warranty issues.

The issue was diagnosed of a nail which pierced the tyre and got deeply inside the tyre so much so that they had to remove the rim from the tyre to fix the puncture. Thankfully the tyre wasn't losing significant amount of pressure which I guess is an advantage of it being a silica compound though I must say Michelins are a bit too puncture prone in general since I've been driving my other car in the same route with Continental UC6 tyres which didn't even lose a single point of pressure ever without any punctures or leaks!

The puncture from outside, the nail is deeply inserted inside the tyre.


The criminal in question


At the tyre store
Apart from that looking forward towards a long road trip to a hill station in the coming months since I badly need a vacation as I've got a bit too overwhelmed from my tedious routine as of late.


Thank you
Tony

[Tony2298]

Warranty Update

Hello all

As I mentioned in my previous post that during regular service the SA suspected some issue with the steering and thankfully due to a very proactive Warranty team of my trusty old Hyundai ASC, they agreed on changing the whole steering gear assembly under warranty!

A few days later the warranty head asked me to visit the ASC as they wanted to send some report to Hyundai regarding the issue and push for warranty. I obliged and reached the ASC early so that they could attend me first and we both could be relieved soon.

After test driving the car, recording some footages and clicking some photographs of the axle, steering and other components they let me go, upon asking the GM whether the warranty was approved or not, his exact wordings were "If I have promised you something I'll deliver it, rest assured!. This just made my day!

Perhaps a week later, was informed by my SA that the part had arrived, subsequently booked an appointment for early morning next day and guess what that day happened to be none other than Valentine's day! So in a way Tucson recieved such a nice token of love from Hyundai this Valentine's! In addition I too decided to gift my SUV and the proactive dealership something from my side too by asking them to carry out some optional stuff viz interior polishing, detail exterior cleaning since more than anything else it would definitely keep the SA and dealer happy, although the ASC was very kind to throw in detail wash as complimentary!

The car was delivered to me on time and squeaky clean as if it was brand new and had just rolled out of showroom !

The bill after repair. It just includes the optional stuff I asked them to do.


Went for a long night drive on the expressway to end the day and thoroughly enjoyed the drive as usual!

Just a couple of days ago went for a short day trip to Matheran. Really appreciated the hushed cabin, everything including tyre noise was kept so low even on the notoriously noisy and rough surface of the expressway,thanks in no small amount to superbly quiet Michelins, I loved the entire journey even though I've been through this e-way infinite number of times! The engine also is SUPERB in terms of NVH control, at 100kmph it's just ticking a shade over 1600rpm or so which is just a bit above idling rpm and I guess you get how refined the engine is behaving at those speeds!

I could go on and on about my thoughts but my intention towards creating today's post was to share my extremely pleasant experience with Hyundai's ASC and extremely nice behaviour of all the concerned people so much so that I made it a point to visit them and thank them for their excellent service after I had driven my car post the steering change. This specific ASC has been handling all Hyundai cars in our family we ever had dating back to my grandpa's 2000 Hyundai Santro and is in fact the oldest Hyundai dealership of the city!, and these people have become more like my friends and it's a pleasure to speak with these guys each time my car drops in for service.

Things like these instill confidence towards the brand and make existing customers like me so much delighted that why would I go to some other brand whenever I'm in the market to buy a car, Hyundai will obviously at the top of the list, their cars viz Creta(especially N Line), Alcazar etc are quite good and desirable in the first place, a hassle free service experience only tilts things to their favour and they've duly earned it!

I'm not in any way a PR person of Hyundai or some other brand, in fact I don't want to self praise myself, I intentionally don't start a YouTube channel and review cars to gain popularity and favour of brands even though my automotive knowledge surpasses these so called freelance journalists and vloggers since I'm very much involved in my own profession and wish to live my life in privacy. I just want to share my experience and my personal impressions regarding to automobiles, good or bad so that others could benefit from it and add their own as well. It's just that I've been a loyal customer of Hyundai and they've truly lived to their name and delivered me a pleasant service experience each time I visit their ASC to carry out repairs of my car(s).




Thank you
Tony