Santro AT - Major problem

travellite · 18th March 2011, 18:24

Hello,

I am writing to you with regards to a major issue with the following vehicle.
Car Model : SANTRO eRLX, AT
Purchase / Reg date : 22-05-2006
Total Kilometres done on date : 24,600

I purchased this from second source around Feb 2010, and the car had done about 20,000 kilometres. The car was fairly well maintained and going by the prevailing market prices, I paid about Rs.3 lacs INR for the car.

The car is driven by my wife, and she works with HP, and the car was purchased with the sole intention of a hassle free commute to office, which is about 16 KMS from home and for the first two months, she used it regularly for home to work commute and was very happy with the vehicle performance and ease of driving in Bangalore traffic.

Subsequently, she took a break from work and the car was used very less, about 5 kilometres a day at best and mostly short distances. Around Oct 2010, the car developed a snag in that, the auto gear would not engage at all. It would just de-couple from transmission and stall. The ignition, cranking and start were fine, but no motion if engaged into Drive D, or 1 / 2 / L / R -. This happened during a short drive from my home and I was close to the Advaith Hyundai service station at Banashankari 2nd Stage and hence requested to leave the vehicle during non-working hours since it was a Sunday. I reported this to Advaith (Banashankari ) Bangalore, and they refused since this is an AT and asked us to take it their main service centre on Mission road. Advaith, Mission Road told me AT vehicles need more time to analyse and took about three days and then mentioned one of the Inhibitor switches was cleaned and then car seemed fine.

In a span of three months, Dec 2010 - the car developed the same issue and had to be towed to the same service centre, and this time, they promised to analyse the details and come back to us. This took about a week or more, and finally we were informed that the gear box of the vehicle has been physically damaged, and needs a total replacement. Also, I was informed that the cause of the damage has been owing to the bad quality of transmission oil, which came to me as a total shock and surprise. The vehicle was analysed just a couple of months ago and this problem / advice should have been informed. The estimated cost of the replacement seems to be a mind boggling Rs.1,80,000 INR, which is now close to the value of the vehicle itself.

Having come to this juncture, I feel totally helpless and also quite disappointed at the level of confidence in Hyundai's product. You will agree that it makes no sense to spend this sum of money on the car – or alternately no other option either. I believe that the product quality has been compromised to see such a failure at hardly 25,000 kilometres of running.

Currently we are being advised to replace the auto trans, which costs close to 1.8 Lacs / Or switch to manual which costs about 1 Lac. This almost seems like a devil or deep blue sea option.

Could someone please advice what is a practical solution here.

Thanks
Ajay

Dippy · 18th March 2011, 18:43

Sad to hear about your problem Ajay and it gets really frustrating when service centres come to such conclusions. I do not know much about Bangalore but maybe you should get it re checked by some independent workshop who can work on auto transmissions. Are you sure that there was no transmission oil leak? If there is a leak all it may need a change of the oil seals.

Hope some of the Bangalore can help you with a workshop

Recompose · 18th March 2011, 18:46

I'm sorry that this has happened to you. 1.8 L? Goodness me! You're getting milked, either by the Advaith or Hyundai. Its a shame that the car has developed such a major problem within 25K of running. Have you been able to find out how much it really costs to replace the gearbox from another dealer? (Members here might have an idea) Regardless, the part will have to come from Hyundai, who have been a topic of some discussion here. Hope you can get something positive from the members here.

OT: And this was your first post. :(

Mpower · 18th March 2011, 19:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by travellite

Currently we are being advised to replace the auto trans, which costs close to 1.8 Lacs / Or switch to manual which costs about 1 Lac. This almost seems like a devil or deep blue sea option.

Firstly, get a second opinion.

Next pull the car and the trans out of there. Get a MT from Gujjri for 10K and keep using it. In the meantime hunt around for a AT from another source or get a rebuild kit for it.

Jaggu · 18th March 2011, 19:14

I second this ^^ get a second opinion. A good shop that deals with imported cars should be able to give you a decent diagnosis. Then see if the box can be repaired, who knows it is the same actuator switch mentioned by you that is at fault. Only issue is will Hyundai sell this child part?

We are sailing in similar boat (link), but my loss is nothing compared to yours!

sagarpadaki · 18th March 2011, 19:17

Transmission damaged to bad oil?No way!The transmission could get damaged with such a low mileage on the car.They are one of the toughest built components.And also what physical damage are they talking about?I strongly feel that they have messed up the gear box while opening and analyzing and now putting the blame on bad oil blah blah blah.Write to Hyundai demanding an explanation on the premature failure of gearbox and ask them to replace it under goodwill.At the same time take a second opinion.

Seems like a lot of problems are coming up with Hyundai lately! I wonder, has their quality gone to dogs ?

noopster · 18th March 2011, 19:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by travellite

I reported this to Advaith (Banashankari ) Bangalore, and they refused since this is an AT and asked us to take it their main service centre on Mission road.

Ajay- sorry to hear about your AT woes. As a fellow AT owner I feel your pain. I don't know why companies launch models they cannot support in this country- this is just ridiculous. Also, am no tech guru but 1.8lac worth of damage caused by transmission oil however poor in quality doesn't sound right. Take the advice of others here and get a second opinion.

Hyundai service used to rival or even better Maruti's back when I was an Accent owner (>4 years ago). Sad to see them degenerate like this.

IQBAL VEERJI · 18th March 2011, 19:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by noopster

Ajay- sorry to hear about your AT woes. As a fellow AT owner I feel your pain. I don't know why companies launch models they cannot support in this country- this is just ridiculous. Also, am no tech guru but 1.8lac worth of damage caused by transmission oil however poor in quality doesn't sound right. Take the advice of others here and get a second opinion.

Hyundai service used to rival or even better Maruti's back when I was an Accent owner (>4 years ago). Sad to see them degenerate like this.

Ajay sad to hear about your situation, as there is a beleif that it is AT can be repaired only at A.S.S.its wrong there are plenty of humble EXPERTS in unauthorised garages who repairs them.

Dont just listen to the nonsence of A.S.S. and about bad transmission oil damaging the whole AT, ha ha ha its a joke , worse come to worse bearings get damaged.

My friends OMINI was submerged in 2005 mumbai deluge and after that he replaced th engine oil only forgot to replace the gear oil.

After 1 year he did FULL detailed service of replacing all luricants ,during that time he saw for the first time the colour of the gear oil, it was mustard .
But the gear box was not giving any problem even after that.

dhanushs · 19th March 2011, 11:37

I seriously doubt the price quoted. Can somebody else please confirm, or did you enquire in any other service centers?

Tathagat · 19th March 2011, 12:31

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't 1.8 L a bit too much for just the transmission considering the car cost less than 5 L when new?

SirAlec · 19th March 2011, 23:28

Price quoted is ridiculous. My advice is to get it check with an independent expert. You are lucky you live in a big city.

Check our Directory section for trustworthy garages in Bangalore.

mdsaab · 20th March 2011, 00:16

I was aware that korean products do occasionally have reliability issues when i went in for a daewoo matiz. But such a major component packing up at 25k seems outrageous. As mentioned in previous posts a second opinion must definately be sought. Also the after sales horror stories of hyundai.india are on the rise, maybe you could get an opinion from a reliable independent garage.

travellite · 20th March 2011, 11:05

Thanks everyone for the valued comments. Will assimilate your feedback and try and take a direction from here on. Just so you know, we took this issue with hyundai corporate and other than sweet talk and patient listening, there was no practical solution at the end of the day. Just that we lost close to a month and a half, and then got something like 5K discount on a 1.8 lac bill.

I have tried to scout for local expertise and landed a couple of names, again, most online reviews varied from unreliable to unethical and fleezing experiences. Any specific references would really help here. Guess, its time, with such a large user base, even small - mid size private garages must have some accreditation that would vouch for their track and expertise. Afterall, the aftermarket pie is growing at such a rapid pace and customers like me, should have some one point access to reliable info,

Will come back with my results of my pursuit

Cheers until then

vigsom · 20th March 2011, 11:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by travellite

Hello,

I am writing to you with regards to a major issue with the following vehicle.
Car Model : SANTRO eRLX, AT
Purchase / Reg date : 22-05-2006
Total Kilometres done on date : 24,600

The ignition, cranking and start were fine, but no motion if engaged into Drive D, or 1 / 2 / L / R -.

Could someone please advice what is a practical solution here.

Thanks
Ajay

My advise would be to look for an independent in Bengalooru/Chennai/Kochi/TVM.

If you don't find any,you could get the car transported to Mumbai and then rectified by a competent independent there(there are excellent independents in Mumbai) - it will still cost you way way less than the quotes you've got.

mohan41 · 20th March 2011, 17:47

I am highly concerned to read this as I own a 2007 Santro AT. How can one see early warning signs of transmission failure?

Ajay: Did this issue happen all of a sudden, were there any signs of problem with transmission e.g., transmission slip or high temperature on the guage during normal running?

I came across this article about auto transmission fluid. How often should the automatic transmission fluid... — Yahoo! Autos. After reading this I wonder if our city conditions (very frequent gear changes) cause the transmission fluid to heat up quickly and hence require frequent replacements? This article also says that transmission overhaul can go upwards of $1500 which is about INR 70k.

18th March 2011, 18:24	#1
travellite Newbie Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4 Thanked: Once	Santro AT - Major problem Hello, I am writing to you with regards to a major issue with the following vehicle. Car Model : SANTRO eRLX, AT Purchase / Reg date : 22-05-2006 Total Kilometres done on date : 24,600 I purchased this from second source around Feb 2010, and the car had done about 20,000 kilometres. The car was fairly well maintained and going by the prevailing market prices, I paid about Rs.3 lacs INR for the car. The car is driven by my wife, and she works with HP, and the car was purchased with the sole intention of a hassle free commute to office, which is about 16 KMS from home and for the first two months, she used it regularly for home to work commute and was very happy with the vehicle performance and ease of driving in Bangalore traffic. Subsequently, she took a break from work and the car was used very less, about 5 kilometres a day at best and mostly short distances. Around Oct 2010, the car developed a snag in that, the auto gear would not engage at all. It would just de-couple from transmission and stall. The ignition, cranking and start were fine, but no motion if engaged into Drive D, or 1 / 2 / L / R -. This happened during a short drive from my home and I was close to the Advaith Hyundai service station at Banashankari 2nd Stage and hence requested to leave the vehicle during non-working hours since it was a Sunday. I reported this to Advaith (Banashankari ) Bangalore, and they refused since this is an AT and asked us to take it their main service centre on Mission road. Advaith, Mission Road told me AT vehicles need more time to analyse and took about three days and then mentioned one of the Inhibitor switches was cleaned and then car seemed fine. In a span of three months, Dec 2010 - the car developed the same issue and had to be towed to the same service centre, and this time, they promised to analyse the details and come back to us. This took about a week or more, and finally we were informed that the gear box of the vehicle has been physically damaged, and needs a total replacement. Also, I was informed that the cause of the damage has been owing to the bad quality of transmission oil, which came to me as a total shock and surprise. The vehicle was analysed just a couple of months ago and this problem / advice should have been informed. The estimated cost of the replacement seems to be a mind boggling Rs.1,80,000 INR, which is now close to the value of the vehicle itself. Having come to this juncture, I feel totally helpless and also quite disappointed at the level of confidence in Hyundai's product. You will agree that it makes no sense to spend this sum of money on the car – or alternately no other option either. I believe that the product quality has been compromised to see such a failure at hardly 25,000 kilometres of running. Currently we are being advised to replace the auto trans, which costs close to 1.8 Lacs / Or switch to manual which costs about 1 Lac. This almost seems like a devil or deep blue sea option. Could someone please advice what is a practical solution here. Thanks Ajay
	() Thanks

18th March 2011, 18:43	#2
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,561 Thanked: 2,470 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem Sad to hear about your problem Ajay and it gets really frustrating when service centres come to such conclusions. I do not know much about Bangalore but maybe you should get it re checked by some independent workshop who can work on auto transmissions. Are you sure that there was no transmission oil leak? If there is a leak all it may need a change of the oil seals. Hope some of the Bangalore can help you with a workshop
	() Thanks

18th March 2011, 18:46	#3
Recompose BHPian Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Home Posts: 180 Thanked: 106 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem I'm sorry that this has happened to you. 1.8 L? Goodness me! You're getting milked, either by the Advaith or Hyundai. Its a shame that the car has developed such a major problem within 25K of running. Have you been able to find out how much it really costs to replace the gearbox from another dealer? (Members here might have an idea) Regardless, the part will have to come from Hyundai, who have been a topic of some discussion here. Hope you can get something positive from the members here. OT: And this was your first post. :(
	() Thanks

18th March 2011, 19:14	#5
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem I second this ^^ get a second opinion. A good shop that deals with imported cars should be able to give you a decent diagnosis. Then see if the box can be repaired, who knows it is the same actuator switch mentioned by you that is at fault. Only issue is will Hyundai sell this child part? We are sailing in similar boat (link), but my loss is nothing compared to yours!
	() Thanks

18th March 2011, 19:17	#6
sagarpadaki Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,213 Thanked: 5,881 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem Transmission damaged to bad oil?No way!The transmission could get damaged with such a low mileage on the car.They are one of the toughest built components.And also what physical damage are they talking about?I strongly feel that they have messed up the gear box while opening and analyzing and now putting the blame on bad oil blah blah blah.Write to Hyundai demanding an explanation on the premature failure of gearbox and ask them to replace it under goodwill.At the same time take a second opinion. Seems like a lot of problems are coming up with Hyundai lately! I wonder, has their quality gone to dogs ?
	() Thanks

19th March 2011, 11:37	#9
dhanushs Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,282 Thanked: 10,181 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem I seriously doubt the price quoted. Can somebody else please confirm, or did you enquire in any other service centers?
	() Thanks

19th March 2011, 12:31	#10
Tathagat Newbie Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New Delhi Posts: 10 Thanked: 0 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't 1.8 L a bit too much for just the transmission considering the car cost less than 5 L when new?
	() Thanks

19th March 2011, 23:28	#11
SirAlec Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: zxc Posts: 3,393 Thanked: 726 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem Price quoted is ridiculous. My advice is to get it check with an independent expert. You are lucky you live in a big city. Check our Directory section for trustworthy garages in Bangalore.
	() Thanks

20th March 2011, 00:16	#12
mdsaab Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 1,624 Thanked: 453 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem I was aware that korean products do occasionally have reliability issues when i went in for a daewoo matiz. But such a major component packing up at 25k seems outrageous. As mentioned in previous posts a second opinion must definately be sought. Also the after sales horror stories of hyundai.india are on the rise, maybe you could get an opinion from a reliable independent garage.
	() Thanks

20th March 2011, 11:05	#13
travellite Newbie Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4 Thanked: Once	Re: Santro AT - Major problem Thanks everyone for the valued comments. Will assimilate your feedback and try and take a direction from here on. Just so you know, we took this issue with hyundai corporate and other than sweet talk and patient listening, there was no practical solution at the end of the day. Just that we lost close to a month and a half, and then got something like 5K discount on a 1.8 lac bill. I have tried to scout for local expertise and landed a couple of names, again, most online reviews varied from unreliable to unethical and fleezing experiences. Any specific references would really help here. Guess, its time, with such a large user base, even small - mid size private garages must have some accreditation that would vouch for their track and expertise. Afterall, the aftermarket pie is growing at such a rapid pace and customers like me, should have some one point access to reliable info, Will come back with my results of my pursuit Cheers until then
	() Thanks

20th March 2011, 17:47	#15
mohan41 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 527 Thanked: 217 Times	Re: Santro AT - Major problem I am highly concerned to read this as I own a 2007 Santro AT. How can one see early warning signs of transmission failure? Ajay: Did this issue happen all of a sudden, were there any signs of problem with transmission e.g., transmission slip or high temperature on the guage during normal running? I came across this article about auto transmission fluid. How often should the automatic transmission fluid... — Yahoo! Autos. After reading this I wonder if our city conditions (very frequent gear changes) cause the transmission fluid to heat up quickly and hence require frequent replacements? This article also says that transmission overhaul can go upwards of $1500 which is about INR 70k.
	() Thanks