[sagarpadaki]

120k is too long for any transmission oil. I would suggest you replace it ASAP. What is the spec of the transmission oil that Kia specifies? If it is GL4 then I strongly recommend petronas tutela gl4+ from boodmo. Makes a huge difference in gear shifts.

Regarding AC condenser cleaning, any decent FNG with water wash facility should be able to remove the bumper and water clean.

[Sreesh1009]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Kia recommends changing transmission oil at 120k kms. Nonetheless, will send it to the service center next week.
Any suggestion for a FNG who can help with the job? Or even a AC guy who will do all the needful without overselling?
.

Would suggest you take look at Engineering Exponents in Whitefield. You can get the AC cleaned and also get an opinion about the hard gearshifts.

I only recommend them after reading some really good words about their workmanship. Especially Rajeev Raj's thread about his 10 year old Vento.

Otherwise any good AC specialist will be of help to you.

[ashis89]

75000 kms up!



January to early Feb, Coyote barely saw the roads. Had sent him to Epitome for the AC and gearshift check. They found nothing wrong in either. AC cuts off around 7.9 degrees in my car vs. a new Seltos which did 8.5. Clutch bleeding and some greasing helped improve the shifts a lot and now it is occasionally notchy with mild judder. I will get the transmission oil changed during next service. Got a new pair of wiper blades as well since the existing one had started streaking. Total bill Rs. 933 including a FOC pick up and drop. Apart from this, only did few city errands and added a hundred kms.

Last weekend started with a late night drive to Rasta Cafe Ramanagara. A day later, it was a pre-dawn drive to Ranganathitu to observe the migratory birds before they fly back.

Taking inspiration from @abirnale’s recent post about early morning boat ride, I started off around 4:40AM and reached the sanctuary by 6:50AM. There were two cars already there when we reached. Booked a boat and started off for a hour long ride. Spent another hour going around the garden + watch towers and spotted few more birds there.

In all, we saw a variety of Storks, Spoonbills, Pelicans, Egrets, Bee-eaters, Flycatchers, Kingfishers, bats, doves and peacocks. Unlike the last visit to the sanctuary on a Dec afternoon in 2019, this was very pleasant and we ended up sighting a lot more species.

Had a nice breakfast at food court within the sanctuary and then drove back. I was home by 12:30PM.

[stormy]

Hi Ashis,

I too own the same model but with AT transmission in white. Its 3 years old and 40K Km, planning a tyre change and happened to come across your ownership. Brilliant thread, have been reading through it for last of couple of days. I am awe struck with the amount of time and effort you have put in to maintain this thread. Thank you for all the information, found answers to many of my queries. Cheers!

[ashis89]

Temple run and foodies woes

Another month of no activity until this weekend when I took to the Mysore highway again. I had heard a lot about Sri Venugopalaswamy temple but never got a chance to visit it yet. So when friends visiting us wanted to see places near Bangalore, I locked on this.

Even after applying speed limits on the new expressway, most of the traffic is speeding beyond 100 kmph. And accidents continue to happen (I saw two). Took us 2hr 45 mins on a Saturday afternoon to reach the temple. Except for the last 2 kms to the spot which is broken, rest of the road is excellent. Spent 45 mins within the temple complex until it was closing time.










Next, we spent another hour near the Kaveri backwaters, driving right upto the water edge. Spent some time enjoying the sunset and skipping stones of the water surface. Others took a short coracle ride as well while I was the guiding light!

This 4wd Fortuner was lazing in the water and then left with the slightest wheelspin. Told my wife that we could have enjoyed the sunset hanging from the boot over the water. She laughed and reminded that bank doesn't fund daydreamers


So I kept quiet, enjoyed the view instead


And posed with my car happily




A little later, this coracle guy arrived and everyone wanted a ride. So I became the guiding light *wink*






First the fog lamps were enough


As they went farther, I fired up the headlights as well




Away into the horizon.....the bugs were loving it


Stopped at Rasta Cafe on the way back, for dinner. We were disappointed. The food was cold and not tasty, not a single dish. A couple of cold coffees were good, others were below average. After all the disappointment, we reached home by midnight.


End of day after cruising on the Mysore highway and idling at Kaveri bank


I had to make it up to them so we went to Shetty's Lunch Home, Kormangala on Sunday. The ghee roasts, neer dosa, majjige dosa, pulimunchi and gudbuds was a delight for the visitors and they decided to forgive me for the previous dinner




Fastag swaps

Coyote was delivered with a Paytm fastag and I have been a happy users all these years. Easy to recharge and trouble free tag experience, I never intended to change it. But RBI had other plans which impacted mine. With the deadline approaching and central bank clear about no respite to the Tag service provider, I looked for alternatives.

Our other car was delivered with an ICICI fastag so I wanted one for this car as well. I could have one wallet or app to recharge both tags. Tried to apply but the site won't let me. My car has a OD number while my ICICI account has a Bangalore address. They won't ship the fastag for a OD car to a KA address! Gave it pass and ordered a HDFC fastag instead which was delivered in less than a week.

I went through a lot of post about fastag removal and understood that IPA was best. Took the bottle of surgical spirit and some cotton with me. I wiped the existing tag with cotton dipped in IPA and then pulled it off. Then rubbed copious amount of IPA on the remnants with cotton and microfibre, with some use of finger nails as well. Took me about 10-15 mins to remove the tag and an old parking sticker. Then let the area dry for few hours, cleaned it again before sticking the new fastag in the same location. The tag worked perfectly during the Mysore drive. I need to figure out there's an app where I can stay logged in and track my fastag. Currently I am aware of their website where I need to login each time.








Battery

The stock battery is 4.5 years old. And these days, Coyote remains untouched for 2-3 weeks at a stretch and frequently. While the car cranks normally without any hint of struggle, I see a significant dip in cabin lights when cranking. Thinking of changing the battery proactively.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Fastag swaps
Our other car was delivered with an ICICI fastag so I wanted one for this car as well.

Battery

The stock battery is 4.5 years old. And these days, Coyote remains untouched for 2-3 weeks at a stretch and frequently. While the car cranks normally without any hint of struggle, I see a significant dip in cabin lights when cranking. Thinking of changing the battery proactively.

Nice updates.

I closed my Paytm Fastags of both our cars last week and got the refund as well. Went ahead with ICICI as my primary account is with them.

Haven't decided on how to remove the old tag as I have the front sunfilm installed. Need to check whether they have a cut-out else will take it to the shop and remove it.

4.5 years is a stretch. Even I stretched it to 5 years. It's better to get it replaced ASAP as the battery can die all of a sudden (Experienced this once when we were out for a movie).

[ashis89]

It had been some time since we had unplanned family outings. So on Saturday, post lunch we went on a short drive to Bili Betta in the hope of catching a setting sun. While some low lying clouds spoilt the full sunset, the experience was still good. A small hillock with a couple of hundred steps to climb and arrive at a temple and a 360 view of the villages/fields beneath.

I made the mistake of taking the Panathur road (stuck for 20 mins) - Gunjur Mugalur road - Malur road. Onward trip took 2 hours. On the return leg, I simply hit the highway and it was a breeze then. With the long weekend, city traffic is very less.

Having heard some good things about The Terminal cafe near Hoskote, we stopped there for dinner. It did live upto the feedback, the food, ambience and service were very good. Took me less than an hour from there till Bellandur.





















I had done a Proklear waterless cleanup on Saturday morning itself but the car was coated with a thick layer of dust by the time we reached the temple.


The car was water washed 3 months ago, by self while in Bhubaneswar. Since then it has been under duster or waterless wash regime. The next wash will only be when our city receives good rains and the water table increases.

[ashis89]

Back from a 1600 km drive to the coast with Coyote, in this sweltering April. It had been a few months since we went on a trip and birthday being an occasion, we made it happen. This trip was also to learn the basics of a camera that I got a week before. Destinations were Dandeli and Karwar, with planned trips to Gokarna, Yana caves and an impromptu lunch drive!

As for trip preparation, I had done a basic waterless wash of the glasses and dusted off the air filter a day before the trip. I realized I didn't experience the hesitation around 1.5k rpm that prominently. The gearshift stiffness didn't recur and the AC worked very well (mostly kept at speed 2).

Performance and FE
No particular driving style this time, just enjoyed whatever I felt like. Slow highway cruise, crawling through village roads or fast corners in the Yellapur-Gokarna section. Given the sweating, the AC was in use 100% of the times as always but at full chill mode and even when the car was idling for long durations. The overall FE was a shade above 16 kmpl, with two tankfuls at IOCL and Jio BP.


Tyres
First time in years when I topped up the tyres at the nearby fuel bunk and it was a big mistake. Their machine has a lot of error and I ended up with over-inflated stiff tyres for almost half the trip. Even though the tyres were topped up 9 days before the trip, they lose very little air and hence, remained over-inflated until I corrected them at Karwar.

Also after covering ~38k kms, these tyres seem to have a fair amount of thread left. They have seen every kind of roads without any complain so far. But they are noisier now. Might last another year before needing replacement.



Dandeli

On a Sunday, we started from home at 5 AM and reached Apoorva Resort by 8:40 AM.









After a yummy Davangere Benne dosa, we proceeded towards Kali Adventure Camp, our stay for the night. Wife wanted something different than the boring highway, so I took the Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Tattigere route - slower but scenic as she likes. Right after leaving NH48 and taking the Tadas road, we found this marsh land with a lot of water birds. Stopped there for some camera learning sessions. By 12:30PM, we had reached the camp.













After a small safari that evening and river rafting the next morning, we moved on to Old Magazine House, our stay for the next day. Post lunch birding sessions were intense but a new experience for a newbie like me. Next morning, we drove down to the Timber depot where we spotted few more birds in action.









The gears, one for each of us



Post a late breakfast, we checked out and proceeded to Sterling Karwar.

Karwar
The drive from OMH to Karwar is via the Anshi National park. Beautiful dense forest, average to good roads, some ghats and a sneak peak at the Supa dam. The road ends near Majili beach. Spent the evening at Tagore beach watching the sunset and then retired for the day at the hotel.

Saw this vehicle gathering data for Apple Maps


While wife was admiring the view from a watch tower along the road, I was admiring the roads


The smarter half had done some research and had found about boat ride via the Kali river estuary into the sea where one can spot dolphins if lucky. Only one operator provides this service - Prafulla boating. After some back and forth, we managed to book a ride for the next morning. While we didn't spot the dolphins, the ride itself was worth it. After a 2 hr ride, we were free by 11AM. The next itinerary was a visit to the beach in the evening and so we could retire for the afternoon and chill in AC.

OR, what if we grab some nice lunch? We couldn't make it to Martin's Corner during the last Goa trip and I thought that was a nice getaway for the afternoon. So off we went to Goa for lunch.
The border was just 8 kms from our hotel


As usual, beautiful winding roads in Goa! But beware of speed cams waiting at corners


Everything chilled was welcome



On the return leg, we stopped at Galgibaga beach for some time and then returned to KA. As expected, my car was flagged at the KA border post. The officer asked me where I was coming from and why. So I told him we were tourists staying at Karwar but had gone 70 kms to buy some good lunch. He looked at me for a couple of seconds, then smiled and asked me to leave without any further checks. I heard him explaining my reason to his colleague who was waiting to check my car.


Super bright Sun



After a tricky beach trek to Tilmatti beach and catching up on the sunset, we retired for the day. Reaching the beach can be tough but once there, it's so beautiful!



Next day was long. Post breakfast, we visited Vibhuti falls and Yana Caves. Then we went to Namaste Cafe (over-hyped and not at all worth the visit) for lunch. Plan was to catch the sunset on a beach nearby but the trek to the falls and caves on a hot-n-humid day had taken its toll. So we returned to Karwar. But sunset is important, isn't it? Took a detour to Belekere beach and spent an hour enjoying the sunset.

I must have been drenched in sweat half a dozen times if not more


Gave up exploring Om beach further


Next day was working for both of us. And we worked. Didn't get a chance to catch the sunset that day. But we tried two local food joints. The falooda lover in me found Taj Food Corner, for some chat and falooda. For dinner, we tried some local seafood dishes at Swetha Lunch Home.


I had noticed a few car washes in the hotel vicinity. So I got the car washed as well, after 4 months. Job well done and for 500 bucks only. Vacuum also removed all the sand from the cabin.







That was the end to the trip. Checked out the next day around 12PM, sticking to Yellapur - Hubli this time. One refueling break post Hubli and one coffee+benne dosa break at Apoorva Resorts. I had high hopes to see some rains atleast in the coastal belt but it was only fulfilled near Chitradurga where we got some heavy rains briefly. Reached home by 9PM.

Odo stands at 77k



PS: Speed checks were going on once I entered Goa. Two spots in the 50 km highway span I covered.

PPS: We were stopped what felt like more than 10 times, at Election checkpoints. Some enquired about the starting point, destination, travel reason and contact numbers. A few looked into a couple of bags before letting us go. On one occasion, the cop checked for all the 6 bags and even under the spare tyre - an honest job done. One guy asked me if I was carrying beer in my coffee flask!

BTW, I was stopped and car checked when I was on my way to the HAL vegetable market on Sunday morning!

[ashis89]

Last month and a half saw little activity, thanks to some travels and work. Coyote ran 300 odd kms including an airport run. One day driving through some torrential rains had cleaned all the dust from the car so I wiped off all the rainwater to get a gleaming car - cheat code for car wash.






Few hours later, I had to step out again in the rains and the car was soiled. Another fine Saturday evening, I felt like going on an impromptu drive. Post lunch, couldn't decide on a destination so thought of trying the new Satellite Ring road as I had never been there.







On the ring road, I try pull the wiper stalk to clean the windshield and all I get is only the wiper brushing against the windshield, no water jet. I try again it is the same thing. So the tank must be empty (would be a first, that is). Found a spot, parked the car and popped the bonnet to refill the water container. A litre of water and some shampoo later, I tried but there was still no jet of water. And so I discovered the first rat bite. Called my SA at Epitome Kia and booked an appointment for next day for a fix. Next day, I was in and out in 15 minutes, and without being charged a rupee. Since the rat bite was on one end of the pipe (near the wiper), the technician cut the end and reused the same pipe itself.



Two days later, I was starting for the airport and needed to the windshield. Again no water jet! The rat had bitten it off. I had no patience so I cut off the bad end of the pipe and fixed it again. Now, the rat menace needs a permanent fix. Odo stands at 776xx kms.

[ashis89]

With 5 adults and boot-full of luggage for 5 days, Coyote trekked off to Munnar. It had a long time since we had we had moved full house and this trip brought back few observations.

- The middle spot on the rear bench is slightly uncomfortable as it is raised from either of the side seats. That said it was still manageable for a 10 hr trip and the occupants kept swapping places (with me sticking to the driver seat).

- With careful packaging, the boot could hold 2 big strollers, 2 gym/hand bags, 2 big laptop bags and a bunch of small bags. I had removed the rear parcel tray for easy access but all the luggage stayed below the rear seat back.

- With full load, the lack of power is felt at times. It is more evident as we gained height and on those steep but narrow hair pin bends where I needed to shift to 1st gear. And the lag is felt when launching from standstill on such slopes.

- Temperatures were hovering between 36 - 39 degrees on the plains and the AC was more than adequate at speed 2. The rear vents help a lot.

- Some of the roads were very bad. All that ground clearance of a crossover helped and the car escaped without scraping its underbelly.


The Continental tyres have run 39k kms and still have a lot of life. But they have turned hard now and a tad noisy. That said, I haven't felt any loss of grip so far. I did crash into couple of potholes including a very nasty one on the Thoppur ghat but the tyre survived. They might last another 10-15k kms.

Two tankfuls returned 15.5 kmpl and 14 kmpl. The engine and AC were left running wherever we stopped as my mom didn't prefer stepping out much.


This was my third trip to Munnar and this time, we explored two different ends of Munnar - Suryanelli and Marayoor. Visited Kollukumalai peak and spent rest at the time at the beautiful home stays at the respective locations. Also worked for few hours everyday with either of the properties having WiFi. On the onward journey, breakfast break at the usual A2B Thoppur and lunch at Thalapakatti Batlagundu. On the return leg, lunch was at The Residency Karur and tea break again at A2B Thoppur.

Now for some pictures:

Crossed 78k on the way


Palani hills can be seen on the way


Stopped at Chillberg Resort for some tea but they refused saying that it was lunch time at 3PM




Day 1 ended with 500 kms on the clock


The access to the first homestay - Planters Bungalow, is not motorable. The caretaker asked us to park the car at Kollukumalai public parking and sent a jeep to take us to the property


The property is situated at a hilltop and surrounded by tea gardens. It is very very windy at the top. Most of the times, it sounded as if we were in the middle of a storm. Weather remained cloudy and windy most of the times, but no rains




Jeep ride to Kollukumalai is back breaking. Last time, it was just me and my wife who had made it and witnessed a beautiful sunrise. Because of the recent rains and cloudy weather, they had stopped sunrise trips and one could go after 9AM. Parents and sister-in-law complained about the jeep ride until they reached the top and witnessed the view!






We visited the Periya Canal waterfall as we were told it had good flow. But it did not. Weather kept changing and fast, so we called it a day and returned (parked the car and took the jeep trek to the bungalow).


Next day, on the way to Marayoor, we wanted to cover Aravikulam National Park but one look at the vehicles parked along the road much before the national park gave us an idea about the crowd inside. Skipped and moved on towards Marayoor.


Hill roads mean 60 kms will take 2 hours and will leave the driver's hands aching and others with a spinning head


Mudhouse has proper parking. There was another Seltos at the property


Coyote was under surveillance full time


While it enjoyed views like this


While I worked for the next 2 days at the property, others took a jeep ride to the waterfalls and view points nearby.


I ate a lot


and the worked some


We also trekked the hill behind the property every evening to watch the sunset. Spotted a lot of birds at the property and kept practicing photography.


And then it was time to leave :(


While adjusting the vent away from me, a small piece broke off! First casualty in the cabin


My love for falooda continues, at Hotel Recidency. Mutton biryani and Chicken Kothu Parathas are must haves!


Tea break at A2B Thoppur


End of the 1000 km trip



Yesterday, got Coyote washed at a new detailing centre nearby. Decent job done. Out in the light, one can see a bunch of stone chips that the car has picked up with time.











Odo stands at 78810 kms. Time for the next service.

[ashis89]

The odo was at 79k and I had booked the 100k service for Monday.

On Sunday June 2 2024, Bangalore received record level of rains. However my area had not received as much rains. So when I stepped out in the evening, I didn't expect the Bellandur storm water drain to be overflowing (and to such extent). That and the being on the wrong side of the culvert means I had to drive through 2-3 feet of water.

Around the 35 second mark, the fog lights are under while water level can be seen reaching near the headlights

https://youtu.be/_jaSYmqyGjM?si=BfI1LSslK_S6QC5V

So when I sent the car for service, I asked them to replace the transmission oil (per schedule this is done at 120k kms) and check the serpentine belt as well which had a mild squeak post the water wading.

As promised, the driver arrived at 7:30AM and picked up the car from my place. By 9, I received a call from the service advisor asking for my complaints and by 9:30, the work had started. A WA group was formed where I was added and I started receiving images of the work done and also discussions. Apart from the belt and the transmission oil, I asked the alignment to be checked, suspension check for any leakage, air filter and cabin filters to be changed and complete rat repellent treatment. Also asked them not to apply any polish on the car - neither inside nor outside.

7.8k kms since the last service


Car was picked up


Then received a series of pictures once it arrived at the service centre



100k service entails the coolant to be replaced as well. So 7 litres of premix was added.


Transmission takes in 1.6L of oil - SAE 70W API GL-4 TGO-9


I was informed the rear wiper was on it's way out which I had noticed during the Munnar trip. So gave a go ahead to replace it.

One of the cells of the battery was found to be slightly weak - expected as the battery was stock and 55 months old already. However, the SC quoted 8.2k for a new one post exchange. I had done my due diligence and knew it was available outside for ~6.5k and so asked them not to touch it.
























Got the bill around 5PM, 6.7k. I had service plan so the routine service items were FOC this time. The effective cost of this major service was 14k. The car was delivered around 8PM.


I had spoken to the nearby Exide dealer and he had the 60AH battery available. So I got that replaced as well and paid 6.5k. In comparison, some online aggregators are delivering this for another 100-200 less. Exide Mileage MLDIN60 comes with 30+30 warranty

[ashis89]

80,000 kms done, and in 4 years 7 months 18 days.



My usage has reduced considerably since the past year. Coyote goes on a long trip every 2-3 months and sees very little run in city in the interim.

I came back from a 1700 km solo trip with Coyote. Drove down to Vijayawada and back. The two tankful of diesel returned returned 19.5 kmpl and 17 kmpl respectively.

The 100k service was done a week before the trip where, apart from the usual service, they changed the coolant and the transmission oil. While I didn't notice any difference due to the new pink coolant (stock one was green from factory), the new transmission oil did make its presence felt. Other occasional stiffness is gone and all the shifts are smooth.

AC worked well throughout and I kept it between 1-2 speeds throughout. Even with temperatures crossing 40, my father found the AC too cold if the blower speed was beyond 2 or the thermostat left at the coldest setting.

The tyres are 41k kms old (first time a set has lasted beyond 40k kms). And they are no longer silent as earlier. I might want to change them sooner even though they have quite some thread left. Grip wise, they do the job but these Continentals still take bad roads and abuse very very well.

Off-late, I felt that the suspension rebound has increased. As if the car has developed a spring in its step! There's a hint of nose dive when I brake hard and a bounce when I hit a dip in the road. And of course, there's increased body roll. The service center had certified that the suspension is good. Maybe it's the upsized tyres.

The DRLs are slowly turning yellow from the inner ends. Need to check if that's covered under the extended warranty (the broken AC vent wasn't!).



Now, the trip report - I started on a Saturday morning 5AM from Bangalore, taking the usual Chittoor (7:30AM) - Tirupati(9:30 AM) - Naidupet(11 AM) - Ongole(2PM) route. Reached Vijayawada by 4PM. The Tirupati - Naidupet stretch is being 6 laned and the work is progressing at a good pace. I was driving on it after 6 months and half the roads are ready.

79k


Given the improved roads on the Tirupati Naidupet stretch, avg.speed and FE weren't affected much


Clicked only 1 pic


Reached Vijayawada



Did some errands during my stay there. Also got Coyote washed as Coyote had returned as greasy animal from the service center post service. Good work for 400 bucks



Return was to be on a Tuesday. But I preponed to Monday. I have always liked night drives - peaceful dark well-lit roads, no local traffic to worry about, no cattle, no road rage and no heat. But security is also a concern at night and so I stick to known and busy roads for any travel after 9PM.

While I have done the Naidupet - Tirupati stretch several times, it was always in broad daylight, in morning or afternoon. It was also deserted at times. Doing this stretch post midnight seemed like a risk. On the other hand, route via Hyderabad was well-versed but longer too. Played safe and chose the latter.

I had my dinner and started around 9:40PM. Reached Ramoji Film city by 12:40AM. Took some break on the ORR to clean the bugs off the windshield.






Most of those bugs had struck while on the Hyderabad ORR







A little after roads cuts off towards Mahbubnagar, there was a massive road jam on the highway. Road work + randomly placed concrete blocks had led to a small accident and also narrowed down the road. I was a sitting duck for a good 20 minutes there before I escaped. Traffic on the other side of the road had also piled up for a couple of kms


Crossed Kurnool around 4AM and got some rains here. Then crossed Anantapur around 6AM and took a power nap. I did have another couple of small breaks as well








Empty roads are a bliss


It was 9:40AM when I got stuck at Hebbal junction. I had averaged ~80 kmph in spite of the road jam earlier and not crossing 100-110 all along.


Reached home by 11AM after wriggling my way through the morning traffic. The 800 km drive wasn't tiring at all

[srvm]

Its been a pleasure to read the updates in this ownership thread. As always wondeful pictures in addition to the updates.
Wish you many more safe miles.

[ashis89]

Coolant scare and a short albeit long drive

Coyote stayed under covers for most of the last 4 weeks. I did do a brief wash and wax session before putting him under cover. For a weekend trip to Nagarhole - Bandipur, we took my brother's Honda City instead.







Since rats had been visiting my car off late, I kept checking the rat-kill cakes regularly, placed near the tyres/underbody. One day, I popped the bonnet open as well for a quick survey. While rat presence was not seen, I observed the coolant level was near the 'L' mark on the tank. Was it leakage or some other issue? The coolant level was near the 'F' mark when Coyote returned from the service center. The temp gauge had remained at the usual 40% mark during the Vijayawada trip. And I hadn't checked it in between, until that day.



I called up Epitome Kia immediately and Goutham, the Service Manager offered to send someone home later that day to top-up the coolant at my place. Or if I could drive up to the service center then, they can do it immediately. He said after the old coolant is flushed out of the radiator and new one is added, it can take some time for the coolant to circulate through the radiator and hence, the coolant level comes in the tank. This is normal and a top-up will take care of it. I went to the SC same day and they added about couple of hundred ML pink coolant. They assured me a leakage check was not necessary as leakage would have drained the tank and the system completely. Made sense!

A bag with naptha balls can be seen as well


1 day at Hyderabad!

We had a wedding to attend at Hyderabad, a city where I look for a reason to keep visiting. It was on Sunday, yesterday. I did some research and figured that bus ride on Friday night out of Bangalore and a return flight on Sunday night from Hyderabad would be the most practical option. Wife was on board. So we opened the laptop, selected the bus and flight options, entered the details and were at the payment page when, something didn't feel right.

After a pause, she asked if we could drive down instead, on Saturday and return on Sunday. Came as a surprise for me but who am I to turn down such an offer! So the payment page was left to expire and I called up my friend to inform of our changed arrival timings!

So the day before, Saturday, we started around 4:45AM and reached Lingampally by 12:55PM. Apart from one stop for breakfast and another for diesel, we went uninterrupted. Pleasant cloudy weather throughout without any rains.





Some brisk driving this time


Went to a couple of places later in the evening and then called it a night.

Yesterday, after attending the wedding at Tirumalagiri, we left the place by 2:30PM. Took me an hour+ to traverse through the city before hitting the Bangalore highway. Unlike the day before, it was very gloomy with occasional light drizzle. By the time it was 4PM, it started raining and the rains accompanied us all through the next 500 kms. Had dinner at Pista House Anantapur and reached home by 12:20AM.

We both had decided that we would change out of the ceremonial dresses and into something comfortable before driving back but we barely got a chance to step out of the car with all the rains. Drove back as is!




We saw a black Defender and wife was too impressed by its lights. She started clicking the car all the time it was following us until it overtook and disappeared


Tea break after Kurnool, followed by refueling


And dinner


No respite from rains


But they made the drive beautiful



The both of us were expecting this trip could be very tiring and we might have made a mistake by changing the plans. But no! We loved every bit of it and arrived fresh after covering 1300 kms in 2 days.

The car doesn't look like it has been driven through 500 kms of heavy rains. I guess the Meguiars Ceramic Wax job kept it slippery from all the muck. This was the first long drive in heavy rains after several months and Continentals continue to do a very good job to keep the car planted.



My wipers continue to give up every 6-9 months! The passenger side has been streaking since some time. I might finally look for something aftermarket although these OE ones are not too expensive.



Odo stands at 82052.

[ashis89]

An insurance claim and a key fob scare

What started off as a Sunday drive for a sneak peak at Mallalli falls, ended up with an unscheduled visit to the service centre.

It was just the two of us. Started off leisurely with the plan to reach Mallalli falls, spend some time and then drive back. After a sumptuous breakfast at Dhruvathare, we resumed our journey. About 20 kms later, tragedy struck - a dog jumped onto the road and got hit.

Started off like this


I went through the dashcam footage multiple times before I figured out what went wrong. A white dog was standing on a white divider and barking at dogs on the other side of the road. It was standing at such an angle that it gelled with the white pillar behind it. After their bark fight was over, the dog decided to retreat and jog across the road (right to left). Neither the dog saw me coming nor I could see it on the divider until it was too late. I tried to avoid but the dog still hit one end of the front bumper, got deflected on to a grass patch beside the road. From the look of it, it ran off from there as I could find it after I stopped. Hopefully it wasn't a major injury, if at all. We were unscathed, Coyote wasn't.

End result - a hit to the front left side and a cracked bumper.


Looked some more and found that the wheel well cladding was partly broken and fallen off. The side trim had broken some clips and the fog lamp clamps were partly off. Checked the radiator and intercooler but they seemed unaffected. No leaking liquids, only the wheel cladding was rubbing against the wheel. Thought for a while if we should continue to Mallalli but then decided against it.



Notice the threads?


Fog lamp mount and connectors damaged


Odo



Called Gowtham, the service Manager at Epitome Kia to check if they are open on Sunday. First thing he did was check for our well being after the accident. Then he checked where I was since he was on a personal trip on the Hassan highway itself and offered to return to help us. I told him there was no liquid leaks or mechanical damage so the car was driveable. So he suggested to drive back slowly and drop the car at the service centre and he can take care of the repairs the next day.

I was afraid the loose pieces like side trim and cladding with make a racket or fly off when I start driving. I wanted to tie them but wasn't carrying any rope. Looked into my boot and pulled a few strands off the old Josapu duster, tied them together and made small rope pieces. Then tied off the loose ends. A good Samaritan who was travelling with his family, saw me and my wife standing beside a car with popped bonnet and immediately stopped. He suggested I take it to a roadside garage who can fit a couple of screws to the broken pieces and then we can continue to Mallalli. While it made sense, we chose to return.

From the rear, there was no sign of any accident


The 150 km drive back to Bangalore was uneventful and the car drove as if nothing happened. Went to Epitome and they were okay to accept the car. But I had to come back on Monday when the Insurance team would be present (only skeletal staff on Sundays) to start the claim process. Since the car was driveable, we took it back. To change the mood of the bad day we were having, I booked tickets for Deadpool & Wolverine (The English Movies Thread (No Spoilers Please)) on the spot and that movie helped end our day on a much better note.


This was my first experience claiming a car insurance. Drove over on Monday morning, carrying my DL, RC, PAN and Insurance policy as instructed. Gowtham was there too and took a look at the vehicle. A young chap named Anoy was there was to help me with the insurance process and body shop repair. He clicked the pictures of the damage and informed me that the clips of the headlight were broken too. I asked him to repair the dent on the door (out of my pocket) which I had been delaying all this time. I filled the form, submitted copies of the documents and was out in less than 30 mins. Within an hour, a WA group was formed by him and including the service team. Promised delivery was in 7 days which was quicker than I expected.

At the time of submitting for repair


Clips on the headlamps gone with the bumper



Over the next 3 days, I kept getting regular updates, calls and estimates from Anoy. On Thursday, I got a call from Anoy that the car is ready but they are awaiting the liability settlement from Tata AIG. On Friday evening, they received the final approval and I collected the vehicle on Saturday morning. Five day turnaround time was seriously impressive! He had even swapped over the HID bulb onto the new projector and handed over the halogen bulb which came with the new set.




Car ready for delivery, with the all the parts which were replaced


Paid 12.5k of my own, for the door repair/repaint, compulsory deductible and a set of wipers, while insurance paid 38k for all the accident related damages.


Quality of work is good. The paint match on the door is almost perfect to the untrained eye. Not bad for a 5 year old car. A new bumper has reset the list of scrapes and scratches that the old one had gathered all these years.









A few things that I learnt from the repair experience:

1. The DRL section and the projector headlamp are a single unit. All this time, I thought them to be separate. They cost 17k each (expensive if paying out of pocket).

2. Bumper comprises small pieces which are available as separate SKUs. Six such pieces were replaced in my car (total worth 6.6k) and rest of the pieces were retained as they were not damaged.

3. The halogen projectors are 3.6k/piece. In comparison, the LED fog lamps on our Brezza cost 3k/unit.

4. The plastic trims can be replaced individually. Cost 500-1000 per piece and are fixed with clips.

5. The old parts are broken up and documented before insurance clears the bill for the service centre.

6. Multiple approvals and clearances from the insurer can delay the repair work.

7. Having insurance from a company which has cashless tie-ups, makes the repair process easy (have had terrible experience with non-cashless medical insurance claim).

Asked them to replace the front wipers as well. Looking at the Wiper Blade thread, I couldn't arrive at unanimous positive feedback for any particular brand of aftermarket wipers so stuck to OE again.

I did notice a small tear on the passenger seat base but can't be sure if it happened while the car was at the workshop. Need to pay a visit to Shiva's shop.


Key fob scare

On the day of the accident itself, I had noticed key low battery warning on the MID. It came on only once and never later in the day. I had forgotten about it. When I received the vehicle on Saturday at Epitome, they mentioned about the key not getting detected because of low battery. The access button was not working and I had to start the car by pressing the Start Stop button with the fob. But I could lock-unlock the car with the fob. I had a bunch of Duracell CR2032 batteries at home so I took the car and went back home.

Changed the battery and tried but the car still wouldn't detect the fob. Took my spare key and even that wasn't detected. So it wasn't a key or battery problem. So it would have something to do with the car detecting the key. Called up Epitome and drove back to them. Even though it was 5:30PM, they accepted my car and first, tried replacing the battery with KIA OE one. That didn't work and put back my Duracell into the fob.

Next they suspected the key might have been 'forgotten' by the car. It can occur if one is driving for long time with a fob with weak/dead battery and the car is not getting signal. So they tried reprogramming the key and that did the trick. In and out in 15 minutes flat.