[ajay0612]

Originally Posted by ramraman

Quick and urgent query:
Today I noticed a liquid dripping from the bottom of the car, clkose to the front, almost vertically down from where the windshield meets the bonnet. It is not oily nor viscous and has no smell. It is almost like water. None of the warning lights are flashing. I also noticed many other cars in the society have a similar liquid puddle, though smaller than mine. Interestingly, after 2 hrs, the dripping frequency had reduced and then fully stopped. Any clues what this is and anything to be worried about?

Relax. That is nothing but condensed water dripping out from outside of the AC pipeline. That usually happens after using AC .

[mdsaab]

As @ajay rightly said. Its nothing but condensed water dripping from the ac line, just like its suppose to. Its much like water dripping from the outlet pipe of your split air con at home. Nothing to be worried about.

[ramraman]

@ajay, @mdsaab: thanks, that had me a bit worried!

[ramraman]

Just got the baby back from the service centre - the report.

Went back to Shreenath Hyundai service centre in Jogeshwari - there was a 10 day waiting period so had to book well in advance. Odo stood at 5615 kms, 5.5 months.

Reached the service centre at 9.00 AM; no crowd and so was attended to promptly (need to keep this in mind!). Explained the 4 key problems:
1. Dicky does not shut properly
2. Rear wiper is not aligned properly
3. Pick up seems a bit low
4. One tyre has a manufacturing defect - pinholes, that cause a puncture a day

For #4, I was advised to get in touch with Apollo Tyres for warranty claims. The other 3 would be looked into.
The SE informed me that the engine oil would be changed and the AC filter would be cleaned and a sanitary spray applied. Cost would be about 900 and 850 respectively. Maybe it was waking up early on a holiday that made me groggy, I didn't grasp it when he said 'A/C sanitiser spray'. This is not part of the regular maintenance checklist and I should have caught it, but then...

Got a call at 2.30 PM that the car is ready. Reached the service centre by 3.30 and in five minutes, the car was given to me. Did the ritual inspection and all was ok. The wiper was functioning properly, the dicky door shut ok. The SE also informed me they tuned the engine, but pickup was ok. Will do a few more test runs as suggested by ajay and mdsaab.

Total bill: Rs 1,690 of which nearly half was the 'A/C sanitiser spray'. I should have been careful when the SE informed in the morning itself, but I can't complain now. So paid the price of not being alert.

Overall experience, except for the A/C sanitiser bit was good. Brought the baby home in good purring condition; bad traffic and hence couldn't let go of the throttle. Will do some long distance over the weekend and report back.
Until then, drive safely and stay alert, when in the vicinity of SE's!

[ramraman]

Photos are here, finally! These were long pending, but got tied up with work. Even these are taken in a hurry, hence the poor quality. Have tried to highlight the excellent job done by the seat cover guy, this is NOT a factory fit job, it is a mod job. The dual tones of the covers match the interior tones well.
Have also uploaded some night shots, my favourites.

[DMehta]

Great pictures! and the seat covers, too look awesome and perfectly blend in with the interiors. And the blue, lighting looks ambient and cool. and so does the leather wrapped steering.
For how much did you get the seat covers?

[wildon]

Nice color combo of seat covers. Where does the back seat center seatbelt gone ?!

[ajay0612]

Excellent pics. Especially the night ones. The car looks fabulous inside out :-).

[mdsaab]

Hate it when the service guys do things like that. Anyways since you agreed there is not much to say. It is only because of the ac spray that your bill has gone up. This has bumped it up almost to civic territory. Next time be a bit more alert and dont let them do anything extra other than what you want them to do.

The seat covers look fantastic and the fit and finish look great. Goes very well with the car and gives an upmarket look. Also loved the night interior pics a very soothing feeling just like our civic. Infact the i20 is so loaded it might even have a few more feautures than the civic. LOL!

Wishing you only but the best with your beauty.
Drive safe

[ramraman]

@DMehta, @ajay0612, @wildon, @mdsaab: the seat covers were worked on by a mod shop in Malad - run by a Sardarji family. Cost about 6.2k all inclusive. And thanks for the remarks on the pics - wanted to take better ones- took it to Inorbit mall parking lot, but it was so crowded I couldn't get any panning shots and the basement car park in my building only afforded night shots! Will take better ones on the next long trip!
@mdsaab: fully agree with you - knowing that service centres are like this only, I should have been more careful - lesson learnt!

[ramraman]

I had posted in one of my earlier reviews that I had a problem with my tyre. Am not having a very good experience dealing with the guys at Apollo Tyres and need advice from experienced BHPians. Here's the download.

I did not change the stock tyres: Apollo tubeless radials. Within about 25 days of getting delivery, realised that the tyre pressure on the left rear wheel dropped by 3 - 4 psi every 3 - 4 days. When I checked, it had a puncture. Went to the neighbourhood puncturewallah and he identified 3 punctures. None of those had any foreign object like nail or pin etc., Got them fixed. Within a week, the tyre pressure was again down by 3 - 4 points. After a week or so, checked with the same tyrewallah and found 1 puncture. Again, no foreign object. Hoped for the best, but within a week, started rapidly losing tyre pressure. When I checked this time, there were 2 punctures, again, no foreign object. Got this fixed. Again started losing pressure quickly. This time, I simply replaced it with the spare tyre. From then on, no problem!

Key observations: all these were like pin holes, except one, which looked like a small tear. All of the punctures were in the tread, and not on the side walls. Also, none of the punctures were in places where the holes had been fixed.

Initially I had a doubt that the puncturewallah was doing mischief - maybe piercing the tyre after fixing the puncture. So, the last couple of times, just before he was to fix the wheel back, I told him to re-check for puncture in the water tank and there would be no puncture. Also, I dont think it is that easy to pierce a hole in a steel belted radial. So that is ruled out.

By this time, the car had covered about 3,000 kms and 1st service was done and about 2.5 months had elapsed. When I took it to 2nd service, complianed to the SE and he informed that the tyre is covered by tyre manufacturer's warranty and I should contact them.

So I rang up Apollo Tyres office in Mumbai and they asked me to speak to the Regional Technical Head - Mr G. Mr G suggested that I meet him in person. After a week (he was not available), I met him at the Apollo Tyres office in Andheri West. I thoroughly explained the problems faced and told Mr G that Apollo should give me a replacement. I reproduce the conversation.

Me: So Mr G, so many punctures, within 3 months, in a new tubeless radial, can only mean a manufacturing defect. So please replace the tyre.
Mr G: It is not a manufacturing defect. If it was a manufacturing defect, all other tyres in the car should also have the same defect.
Me: But it is possible only this piece has the defect and not others.
Mr G: Sir, do you know the manufacturing process? Also, if there is a maufacturing defect, it causes peeling of the tread or bulging of side walls, not punctures. There is no warranty replacement for punctures.
Me: Then how do you explain 7 punctures in 2 - 3 months?
Mr G: Maybe you drove over a bad patch.
Me: Then why didnt all 7 punctures surface at the same time? Why one by one? And if it was such a bad patch, why only 1 tyre, why not others?
Mr G: Maybe puncture wallah is doing some mischief.
Me: <Here I explain to him how I ensured this is not the case. Also ask him if a tubeless radial can be penetrated that easily?>
Mr G: It could be due to driving habits. If you corner badly etc., it can happen.
Me: So my driving habits changed immediately after I changed to the spare whee?
Mr G: It could be that the route you take has some bad patch.
Me: I have only taken it to office everyday, and by same route. If it was due to bad patch, the punctures should have continued after I changed to spare tyre?
Mr G: Maybe someone in you society or office parking is doing mischief.
Me: And they decided to stop the mischief as soon as I changed the tyre?
Mr G: Sir, I cannot convince you - you can keep on coming up with explanations like that.
Me: I am the aggrieved party and I have come to you for a solution. You are trying to find justification and not giving a solution.
Mr G: Sir, for puncture, there is no warranty replacement.
Me: But so many punctures in shuch a short time? You are not able to give me any explanation.
Mr G: Is there a puncture now?
Me: Yes.
Mr G: Let me check.
Then proceeds to pour water on the tyre with a bottle and concludes there is no puncture.
Me: Let us take it to a puncture wallah and get it checked.
We take it to a nearby puncturewallah and there is indeed a puncture. It looks like a small tear in the tread.
Me: So Mr G, what do you have to say to that?
Mr G: Sir, you should have contacted us earlier. After 7 punctures, the company will not accept it back. Warranty is voided. the puncture wallahas dont know how to fix it properly. We have trained some dealers to fix it from inside.
Me: So every time there is a puncture, you expect me to run to Apollo Tyres office. Is that even practical?
Mr G: Not every time, but after 2 - 3 you should have come to us.
Me: Yeah, but the 7 punctures were identified over 2 - 3 sittings only.
Mr G: But sir, once you fix a puncture yourself, warranty is voided.
Me: Do you expect me to come to you the very first time there is a puncture? Only because there are 7 punctures I realised there is a manufacturing defect.
Mr G: Sir there is no manufacturing defect, it is puncture. If it was manufacturing defect, other tyres in batch should have same problem.
Me: In each batch a few thousand tyres are produced?
Mr G: Yes.
Me: So are you telling me that in a batch of 5000 or so tyres there is not a single defect? Even GE has not achieved that level of 6 Sigma perfection.
Mr G: Sir, I cant convince you.
Me: You are not even giving me an explanation. I want a solution.
Mr G: Sir, when warranty is voided, company does not accept. All I can do is speak to my superiors and on customer goodwill basis ask for a replacement. However, you may have to bear part of the cost.
Me: I want a full replacement, have already spent over Rs 1000 getting punctures fixed.
Mr G: Sir, typically they ask customer to bear 50% of cost of new tyre. I will escalate and revert within 4 - 5 working days.

It has been 12 working days, but no revert so far. When I called him back today, he claimed he lost my mobile no and my business card and has promised that someone from his office will call me back in 2 days. I am completely exasparated. Can experienced BHPians help me please? I want to know who I should contact and whether the warranty is truly voided even though it is clearly a faulty piece?

[mdsaab]

Is this mr g thick skinned or what! Its so clear that somethibg is definately wrong with the tyre. I think you need to escalate this matter higher up. Also i feel hyundai should have helped you out in this matter. I feel coming from hyundai all mr g would have said is gee ha and replaced your tyre immediately and probably thrown in a small free gift. I just hate it when we the customers get taken for a ride.

[ramraman]

Hi all, I had started my earlier posts on completing 5 months and 5,000 kms. And now, am back with a 10 months and 10,000 kms report.

Time is such a strange animal - when you are waiting for your car to be delivered after the booking, it moves ever so slowly. Once you start flooring the pedal, it whizzes past before you can say Horn-OK-Please!

Though this is my first car ownership (and driving experience!), must say I have gone through a lot! Dont get me wrong - I have loved every moment of owning and driving my 'Berry', as I call my berry red i20, but the last 10 months have put me through the entire ownership experience that many would go through over a matter of years. That includes fights with the service centre (I won), tyre suppliers (I won), more than a minor accident (I dont know who won, I only paid the bill), driving on every major road leading out of Mumbai (also came back, by the way, if you are wondering!), every kind of terrain (except snow; most Mumbaikars will know what I am talking about), all kinds of weather (other than snowfall, hurricanes, tsunami) and all sorts of traffic.
The result? Awesome! Condition of the car? Couldnt be better! (Touchwood... please knock your head... thanks)

Let me first get into the driving experience, and then in subsequent posts, the specifics of the accident, fights etc.,

Key stats:
City driving: about 75% of the odo
A/C on: mostly
Traffic: heavy to bumper to bumper 50% - 60% of the time
Driven by: self
Driving speed:
- In the city: higher of 60 - 80 kph or whatever traffic permits;
- On the highway: 80 - 100 kph
Driving style:
- In the city: anyone who drives slower than me is an idiot and anyone who drives faster than me is a madman (you get the drift);
- On the highway: fast, careful, disciplined. i.e., if I can see the bumper of the vehicle in front at eye level, its time to remember the saying "apne aukaat mat bhoolna".

Fuel economy:
- In the city: 12 (for A/C on, bumper to bumper traffic)
- On the highway: 14 + (A/C hardly on)
- Elsewhere: Yet to be tested; I have an eye on the Mahindra Thar

Problems:
Cant think of anything major or worrisome, hence will get into trivial stuff. Wife thinks I am paranoid.
Divided the issues into 2 categories - (A) those generally with i20s, (B) those specifically (I think) with my car and (C) those specifically (others think) with me - outside the scope of this forum.
Category A - generally with i20s:
- horn is a bit feeble; am deciding between getting a more powerful horn and getting my ear checked at the ENT
- decent amount of road noise filters in, particularly at higher speeds. Aha! That means I dont need a visit to the ENT, right?
- throw of the high beam leaves much to be desired; once on the unlighted and rainy Mumbai - Ahmedabad highway, had to drive in the beam of a truck for several kms; needless to say, the truck's horn got overworked
- throw of the A/C in the rear seats is on the lower side (though the cooling is pretty quick and effective)
- A/C vents that send a stream of cool air to the back of my head (last time I checked my head is screwed on right, so this cant be a Category C problem)
- obstructive A-pillar that on several occasions contrives to disprove the hypothesis of my head being screwed on right
- petrol pump attendant unfriendly spare wheel that has to be unscrewed and taken out every time to fill air
OK. Now for the serious stuff.
- lot of body roll - this makes cornering particularly unnerving. On an adventurous afternoon, I tried cornering in the 40 - 60 kph range and at the higher end, I really thought the car would roll over
- for a car this loaded, the 1.2 L engine feels a bit low power. This is great for city driving and even the highway spin, but really pulls you back while overtaking (need to downshift to 3rd) and going up inclines fully loaded (2nd it is). It really galls me to see Maruti Zen overtaking me on a crowded incline / starting off from zero at toll booths. Ofcourse, once the baby starts coursing, it accelerates rather fast. Maybe the 1.3 L thats used on the Getz would have given the added power?
- the passenger door can be opened even with central locking on. It is not only foolish to have it this way, but dangerous too, if there are children in the front seat.

Category B: specifically with my car

- strange plastic rattling noises, that disappear as mysteriously as they appear (after thorough testing, I have concluded that these are not cauesd by the umbrella in the boot or by the coat hanger on the front seat)
- I have read of several users complain of steering column rattling noises, but thankfully, I haven't had any problems in that
- mileage that fluctuates a fair bit - I tank her up from the same pump everytime and take the same route to work. In largely similar traffic conditions, mileage tends to vary by as much as 1 kmpl (measured by the full tank to full tank method)
- a slightly mis-aligned front wiper that lets out a farting sound (no kidding) with every sweep; lately, it even leaves a semi-circular streak bang in front of the driver - should I get the rubber blades replaced?
- flapping sound from the front right hand side tyre on a recent highway spin. This bothered me for a while and then it disappeared. Am yet unable to figure out what this was.

Cant really think of anything else, will add in later posts if I come up with any.

Now to my favourite topic - aspects of the car that I like:
- overall, the car is very responsive, and very very driver friendly. Its a joy to drive this car (having subsequently driven a Maruti 800, Chevrolet Tavera, Ford Ikon and Indigo, I can certainly attest to this fact)
- gear shifts are smooth and effortless (except for the first gear, which sometimes does not slot in fully)
- excellent gear ratios for city driving - can lumber along at a snail's pace at 2nd gear
- I find the steering wheel pretty responsive - remember I started driving with this car, so this is my real benchmark. However, several people tell me that the steering feedback is low. I find however, that it would be nice if the EPS tightened more at higher speeds
- very smooth clutch, that is not heavy at all
- fly by wire controls (brakes, throttle) that are effortless to work, making even long drives joyful (have done as much as 250 in one go)
- height adjustable driver seat - this is really a boon - has to be experienced

What else? Cant really think of much more. Its 5 AM and my brain is getting into idling mode. Better sign off here. More in the next post!

Until then, drive safely.
PS: Drive safely even after that, ok?