OEMs inform service centres to ban dashcams: Is this fair to customers?

I visited Chandra Hyundai, Coimbatore for getting my wife's Santro serviced yesterday. The ASM asked me to remove the dashcam if I need to get the car serviced.

BHPian smrtdvl recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I know Bhpians like to see pictures, snaps or pictorial description of things happening with our cars but unfortunately I won't be able to provide those in this post. Read on to know more.

Hyundai India is no longer the customer centric company that it used to be. It has now issued an official statement to its service centers that no photos or videos allowed inside. I even saw the internal circular in print. Why is this new rule being implemented and Could this thread be the reason for this new rule?

I visited Chandra Hyundai, Coimbatore for getting my wife's Santro serviced yesterday. The ASM asked me to remove the dashcam if I need to get the car serviced. I politely refused & said that in case of any mishap to the vehicle during service the footage from dashcam acts as a evidence in the court of law as well as insurance companies in case of a claim. So I was taken to AGM Mr Suresh Kumar who was so arrogant & disrespectful and said this is a private property and you cannot film here using a dashcam. He also questioned my morality by saying that they have lady staff working in their concern and I might doctor the footage of the dashcam having them in the video feed and I might use it for other illegal purposes. My wife hearing this felt humiliated and asked me to remove the dashcam and leave their premises leaving the car for service. There was a point where Mr. Suresh was implying remove the dashcam and get your car serviced or take your car and leave as it's Chandra Hyundai's private property.

I tried reaching out to Hyundai Customer Service through call and twitter but it is being redirected to Chandra Hyundai CRM Mr. Shanmugam who doesn't seem to understand my concern at all. My trusted Vista's replacement next year was either i20 or Altroz but Hyundai themselves have solved my confusion. In 11 years of Vista & 7 years of XUV ownership never ever have I faced even a 10% of such harsh & rude treatment at their respective service centers.

Were any other fellow Hyundai car owners forced by your respective service centers to take off the dashcam in order to get the car serviced?

Here's what BHPian ninjatalli had to say on the matter:

I think you are giving it more importance than it deserves - especially for something that is happening across dealerships across automobile brands (my experience was for MASS outlets). Some of it are taking it as a stringent rule (like the one you experienced), other are much more relaxed. Yes, it's a pity they aren't allowing the dashcams to be on - but it is their property and they can refuse service if they feel so.

The Maruti service center that I take my car to in Bangalore also asked me to remove the dashcam. On pointing out that it was not-removable, he suggested this was a rule now and he couldn't take my car for the repair work with the dashcam on.

I suggested he could remove the usb-power cable instead and that was sufficient for him. The other alternative discussed was to remove the memory card (which was discarded against the earlier option).

On a different day in a different service center (one in Chennai), they noticed the dashcam but didn't bring it up probably because I had only gone for a quick check-up.

Here's what BHPian phamilyman had to say on the matter:

This is blatant farce. Any big dealership has CCTV cameras for the SAME usage.

Please tag Hyundai publicly. The staff you spoke to, are following strict orders and therefore they cannot reason. Better, deal with them in the only language they understand - power.

Shame Hyundai into acting.

Near monopolistic dealerships do not care. Brands do.

What I would do is for them to then provide videos over WhatsApp of every major item - oil change / air filter change etc.

Ford and Toyota allow my driver to film on their service center floors for exactly this reason.

Hyundai ORM team, if you're reading this - please reassure the community. What does Chandra Hyundai have to hide?

Here's what BHPian shankar.balan had to say on the matter:

My friendly service advisor in Mahindra Sireesh asked me to remove the memory card in the dashcam when the car was being serviced (routine oil change and all).

I said I cant / wont do that. And anyway whenever I am servicing any of my cars, I am usually standing right there watching them doing the work. So he smiled and let it be. Anyway I have a good relationship with them and they do serve me very well indeed.

My dashcams are set up so that they work only when the vehicle is on and being driven. They are not connected to the battery so as to be Live at all times.

Unless of course there is an impact or sudden shake when stationary in which case the emergency recording is triggered and this uses whatever stored battery power is there only.

I think the dealerships by and large dont like records of what all goes on inside.

Also, they may not want dash-cams filming the insides of their workshops and the processes they follow for fear of the images and videos going to their competition, for analysis.

In the Cooper while there is a dashcam I havent encountered any objections because I do not take it to BMW Service, vastly preferring my friendly garage Aeon Motor Works instead.

And I havent put a dashcam in my Gypsy yet.

Here's what BHPian MSC had to say on the matter:

When I went for service, instead of asking to remove the dashcam, they simply twisted the lens upwards so that only thing it captured was the roof of car.

Today's Hyundai is not the one which most customers loved and were proud off.

It's just simple thing, it's my way or the highway. They don't bother at all. The things are even worse where there is a single dealer/ service centre in entire town.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.