Hyundai Verna: AC conks off after transmission fluid change at the ASC

Someone senior from the dealership called and said the AC system, as it is electronics, can fail at any time. And said that the ATF replacement has nothing to do with the AC system.

BHPian silver-stand recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I recently replaced ATF with Hyundai ATF SP-III from Kun Hyundai Gachibowli. This is how my experience went.

I first read the owner's manual when I bought the pre-owned car (5 ½ years old); the manual said to replace ATF every 120,000 km or six years.

• FNG 1: This is my usual go-to place. They said ATF quality is good and doesn't require change in two instances. Upon asking the third time, they said it was better for me to get changed from an ASS. Now I abandoned them as they screwed up my spark-plug replacement.
• FNG2: They wanted to go ahead and replace the ATF with a different grade. I asked them to use only SP-III compliant ATF only. They insisted that what they had in stock I used for all ATF replacements, which left me dumbfounded.
• FNG3: This is a well-known tuning workshop. They said they would source OEM ATF based on VIN, but they don't do it and keep delaying, hoping I will leave them. This is a bit negative because they're unwilling to admit what they can't or won't do.
• FNG4: They couldn't source the required ATF grade.
• FNG5: Same saga as FNG3. They said they will source ATF SP-III but won't do it and don't admit that they won't.

JSP Hyundai, Madhapur: Uninteresting response over the phone.

Laxmi Hyundai, Madeenaguda: They said stock is unavailable and were unresponsive over the phone when I asked if they could source it.

Kun Hyundai, Gachibowli: I directly visited them. They sourced it in a week and replaced the oil in a day. By then, the car was almost seven and a half years old and had the original factory-filled ATF.

The price of the HYUNDAI ATF SP-III was INR 2454/-. Before doing the job, the advisor said it could take 7 ~ to 9 liters, and my Gearbox is filled with 7 liters. The vehicle's listed capacity in the manual is 6.8 L.

He also said they could extract only 4 liters of old ATF. The advisor showed me a picture of a leak and said the developed leak was very slow, leading to minor gear oil loss over time. But this didn't lead to any damage to the Gearbox. Also, he said that the ATF filter was in good condition and that there were no metal particles in the old ATF.

They charged labor of 3,500 + GST. And ATF replacement totally costed around 22,200/-. But bizarrely, when I took the car delivery, while the Gearbox performed better than before, the AC didn't blow cool air.

I again checked with them. After an AC inspection, they said the compressor had failed and required replacement.

I have escalated the issue of why the compressor failed, and the AC stopped working, even though it was doing okay before I gave it for ATF replacement. They are rechecking the issues, and I'm awaiting a resolution.

After the AFT replacement, I took the car delivery in the evening. While driving back, the AC wasn't cooling the air, not even a bit. Concerned, I called the service advisor, who suggested an inspection the next day.

After the inspection, they said the compressor had failed, required replacement, and par cost 25,000/-.

I quickly researched on Team-BHP and asked the advisor whether replacing the compressor was good enough or if the entire AC system needed replacing. He said as the car is somewhat older (~7.5 years), it's better to replace the whole AC system (~ 60,000 including labor) because any black soot formed in the AC system can damage the compressor again if only the compressor is replaced.

Then, I began talking to a couple of close friends. Friend 1 suggested getting the issues diagnosed with 3-4 different car AC specialists. Friend 2 suggested raising an escalation.

I have initially escalated with the feedback call. Someone senior from the dealership called and said the AC system, as it is electronics, can fail at any time. And said that the ATF replacement has nothing to do with the AC system. As a goodwill gesture, he is ready to waive the labor charge for the compressor replacement.

My friend 2 said: how come the AC system failed at the service center while it was working okay when you gave the car? His intuition was something had happened at the service center, and they were smartly trying to brush off the responsibility. And he recommended escalating this issue further.

I wrote the following email to Kun Hyundai Service Head and Hyundai Territory Parts & Service Manager as follows:

On 11-03-2024, I gave my Hyundai Verna (TS11 EH 4913) to Kun Hyundai Gachibowli for ATF (Gear Oil) replacement.

In the evening, I was handed over the car after ATF replacement. While driving to my home, I observed that the Air Conditioning system wasn't cooling the air.

Upon asking the respective Service Advisor, NIMMATURI VAMSHI KRISHNA, about the same, he asked me to get the AC system checked.

On 12-03-2024, after the AC system was checked at the service center, the service advisor said the compressor failed and a replacement was required.

My escalation is how the compressor failed when my car was at the service center. The AC was working fine when I handed over the vehicle for service.

I strongly believe something has happened in the service center that led to this issue.

On the following day, I received a call from the Service Manager, Kun Hyundai Gachibowli. He acknowledged the issue and said he would personally oversee the inspection once again.

After a day of inspection, he said it might mostly be an issue with the compressor valve. They will change the part, which will cost under 3,000'/-, and keep the car under observation for a day.

The following day, I received the delivery, and the AC has been working fine.

As a debrief, I asked the Service Manager, Kun Hyundai, the following:

• Me: How did your service advisor recommend compressor replacement while it was compressor value?
• SM: The compressor valve is a child part. While replacing it has fixed the issue, there's a chance that the compressor might fail in the future. That's why our advisor recommended compressor replacement.
• Me: How did the AC fail while the car was at the service center?
• SM: Mechanical parts could fail at any time. We can't do much about it.

In the end, he told me to call him if I had any issues. I told him I would check the AC system for 15-20 days and see if anything came up.

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