[Masalawheelz]

Ownership report of my 2022 Venue SX Diesel Manual

Hello to everyone reading this! I’m grateful to now be a part of this community where I have been lurking about for the last 10-15 years.
Cars have always been one of my biggest passions in life and I’ve always enjoyed my time with them!

My car ownership started in the year 2016 where, after two years as a lawyer, I earned and saved up a little bit to buy a pre-owned Honda Brio in May 2016. It was a fantastic little car which came with only 5000km on the ODO. Although my wife and I loved it and we took it everywhere we went, including on some beautiful long drives from Chennai (different trips to Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg, Ooty, Kotagiri, Coimbatore, Salem, Yercaud, Yelagiri, etc), I was always apprehensive that this variant (S) didn’t come with airbags. We sold the car after about 1 and a half years, after adding just 15,000km to the ODO and brought home a spanking new VW Polo GT TSI (1.2L) in December 2017. My dad and I bought our cars together, where initially we were to get a Polo GT & Vento TDI but my dad ended up picking the Ford EcoSport Titanium TCDI instead and enjoyed it for 5 years.



My own tryst with the GT TSI was a dream. The car preformed like a miracle for 4 years and about 45k km with multiple trips to Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg, Wayanad, Madurai etc. One I learnt to adapt to the nuances of the engine and gearbox, I was easily getting 12kmpl in the city and about 17-18kmpl on the highway, despite never being slow! She was a fantastic little beast which taught us valuable lessons on German engineering and refinement.



The first issue of noise and heaviness from the steering of our GT TSI led to the entire steering rack replacement on warranty. The second issue creeped in at the end of 4 years and worried me quite a bit as the flooring on the driver’s side started getting damp. I kept checking and the dampness kept growing within a month. A detailed inspection by two VW ASCs didn’t yield any results and a known FNG indicated that it was with the condensation of the AC. Being in a coastal city and having seen the havoc caused by Rust, I bid farewell to the baby beast – our dear GT TSI with a heavy heart in December 2022 knowing that it would be quite impossible to replace her!

In the same year, my wife and I had also made our biggest purchase in our lives. Our own little house by the beach in Chennai. We dumped in all our savings into the house purchase and renovation of our flat and so there was literally no budget for a new car! Out went our dream of upgrading to a Taigun 1.5 GT. As our budget was a very tight 11 lakhs, I didn’t mind sacrificing the convenience of an automatic to get a good engine, which I wouldn’t get bored of within a couple of years. I also wanted delivery of the car at the earliest as I was without one after the sale of our beloved GT TSI.

In came the Venue SX Diesel Manual. It made immense value for money to get a 1.5 diesel with all the basic features for 9.99 Lakhs Ex-showroom in Chennai. I always liked the blocky and geometric design of the Venue as well which sealed the deal. What I didn’t like were the unnecessary Sunroof, the ugly looking tripod instrument cluster, the weird looking wheel caps and the patchy Bluetooth connection of the infotainment system. The lack of Rain sensing wipers and auto dimming IRVM was a compromise as our GT had them 5 years ago! As this was more of a head over heart decision, we decided to go with the flow. While I wanted to go in for a white shade as usual, the wife demanded Red and so we ended up with the Fiery Red shade.





We got delivery of the car within a month of booking as the Factory is in Chennai and so we brought this fellow home in February 2022. He is definitely not a good looker with clean lines but damn he is immensely practical! The Diesel heart meant multiple long drive plans without too much fuel budgeting and the torque of a diesel has been fun to play with.
So I returned to a manual after 4 years with the GT TSI.

The second head over heart decision was whether to invest on the stock alloys which were 35K or invest in better tires on the stock styled steel wheels. The car came with Ceat tires which I wasn’t fond of and so, in another head over heart decision, got the tires changed on the day of delivery to Continental UC6s which, in retrospect, was a good decision as the stock tires were of lower quality and quite noisy.

As it is a diesel which shockingly did not come with insulation under the hood, and as the door panels were vibrating a bit with increased sound, we got the doors damped with Dr. Artex Iridium damping sheets and the Hood damped with heat and noise reducing damping sheets. This made a world of difference and I would strongly recommend anyone getting a diesel, or a Hyundai, or any of the Japanese kids (Honda, Suzuki, Toyota) to get damping done on the doors for better quality of the stock audio and a good decrease in road noise.

We got window tints for the 4 windows and the read windshield along with 3M CR70 for the front windshield and the sunroof glass. We also got Ceramic Coating done on the car in June 2022 as the Red shade actually had depth which was fading due to routine maintenance. A friendly neighbourhood garage did the Ceramic Coating as we were looking for budget friendly options for it. Both – sunfilms and ceramic coating were mainly because the car is parked on the road during the day and in the open, inside the building at night and is therefore subject to all elements of nature through the year.





Just after the ceramic coating was done

The engine has good tractability and pulls cleanly from low RPMs. While I do feel that this engine has much more potential (Read – Remaps), I’m a little worried about its effect on the long term life of the engine and the fact that the braking is absolutely not confidence inspiring. I have therefore left the engine bone stock. My biggest grouse with the car is the stupid single Horn given by Hyundai which is loud but sounds pathetic. (I don’t understand the step brotherly treatment when they can give a good Horn on the Creta). As it is a single Horn, most of the accessories stores say that they will not convert the Horn to the Skoda, VW, Audi Horns which sound awesome. Members – please throw light on possible solutions to this!

I have always found the clutch on Hyundai to be inaccurate. The clutch is light and has little play but the exact level where the clutch engages/disengages is always a mystery and is not progressively noticeable like in other cars. I also regularly drive my colleague’s 2021 Ertiga petrol which also has a light clutch, but the action and engagement is precise compared to Hyundai. Have any other members felt or noticed this or is it just me?

This car is truly a silent workhorse which hasn’t caused a single DPF issue since the date of purchase. The engine is very refined, especially at higher speeds and we have clocked 26k KM in 20 Months which isn’t too much running but was definitely more pleasurable in a Diesel. The total ODO includes trips from Chennai to Bangalore, Mysore, Thekkady, Cherai Beach, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Trichy, Karur, and a wonderful 2500km trip to Goa and back this year. The full black interior, although claustrophobic, are a breeze to maintain and the 3D mats that Hyundai sells for just 3k are absolutely worth it!

My daily runs are about 30-40km – 5 days a week and the Venue gives an average of about 15kmpl in the city. On our Highway drives, I have seen averages of between 18kmpl to 22kmpl depending on the average speed, traffic, number of passengers in the car and extent of use of cruise control. This is very good mileage as my dad’s EcoSport, in comparison used to give about 15kmpl in the city but never more than 17-18kmpl on the highway. The AC deserves a special mention – it is an absolute chiller and I have realised that keeping it on Auto mode actually improves the average mileage – not sure how though!

The Conti UC6s have made a world of difference in our long drives. This coupled with the fact that we have been carrying out wheel balancing, tire rotation, nitrogen air refilling only at our neighbourhood MRF outlet. I was surprised to find out that the “Nitrogen” air advertised by most fuel outlets are not really Nitrogen. Best part is that we top up free Nitrogen at the MRF outlet once every 3 months or 3000km as I retain 33psi which goes down to 30-31PSI only after 2000-2500km.

For general cleaning and maintenance, I use a non-waxed duster to wipe the top layer of dust off the car and then use Proclear Raw Extreme CX (initially) and Proclear Raw Extreme CRC (presently) for daily maintenance and this given a good clean and shine on the car. Once every 2 months, I have the car pressure washed at the same neighbourhood garage, and once every 6 months, I get a maintenance coating done for the ceramic coat.

Got the 3 free services completed at 950km, 8900km & 18,000km in a period of 14 months based on consequent trips planned in the car. The Service, I would say has never been accurate. Yes, they are prompt in follow up and pick up but there is no clarity from the Service Advisor on what is involved in the service, how much time it would take or the specification of the engine oil (I wanted fully synthetic engine oil and not mineral oil). I tried two service centres based on proximity – Kun Hyundai & V3 Hyundai and both were pretty similar in service. In fact, during the 3rd service, one of the guys soiled the sun shade and roof liner at a couple of places with his greasy hands which could never be fully removed.

In conclusion, this guy is a sensible and frugal mile muncher who goes about quietly doing his work. All he wants is some highway action every now and then to keep his internals clean (DPF) and periodic maintenance to ensure he is in top shape! Looking forward to more mile munching with this guy with a 1200km trip planned in two weeks.

Cheers!

[SmartCat]

Interesting! My 8 year old daughter discovered that the speedometer has markings 0/10/20/30/40, with a gap of 10 kmph. After that, it is marked 60/80/100/120/140, with a gap of 20 kmph.



She asked me why it is so. I said I'll check with automotive experts (Team-BHPians) and get back to her. What should I tell her?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Interesting! My 8 year old daughter discovered that the speedometer has markings 0/10/20/30/40, with a gap of 10 kmph. After that, it is marked 60/80/100/120/140, with a gap of 20 kmph.

She asked me why it is so. I said I'll check with automotive experts (Team-BHPians) and get back to her. What should I tell her?

This is the so-called "non-linear speedometer" which is very common in VW cars too. It is already discussed in a separate thread at length: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...edometers.html (About Non-Linear Speedometers)

Short answer: This non-linear speedometer helps in reading lower speeds more accurately with higher resolution in lower range, without cluttering the whole dial (if the high resolution is used throughout the range, the dial will be very cluttered). The lower speeds in the range of 0-80 km/h are more relevant in city driving and following city speed limits, and higher resolution helps there.

[aarnav_b]

Originally Posted by Chrome6Boy

Has anyone changed the wipers on their 2019 Hyundai Venue 1.0 SX DCT? Please can you tell me the size you bought? There are conflicting reports on the internet and I don't want to buy the wrong size.

I was thinking of buy the Bosch replacement wipers from Amazon. Thanks in advance.

Bumping up this post as I'm also looking for replacement wipers for my 2019 Venue S DCT. Also, can anyone tell me the headlight bulb specs for this model as it uses normal halogen bulbs and they are quite poor and want to replace them as well. Thanks in advance!

[ashivas89]

Originally Posted by aarnav_b

Bumping up this post as I'm also looking for replacement wipers for my 2019 Venue S DCT. Also, can anyone tell me the headlight bulb specs for this model as it uses normal halogen bulbs and they are quite poor and want to replace them as well. Thanks in advance!

Just measure the blade (stretched straight) with a tape measure and get the closest size. I would recommend boodmo, see if you can get valeo blades for the required size (you most likely will). The Bosch blades sold on amazon are absolute manure and degrade after moderate use.

[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by aarnav_b

Bumping up this post as I'm also looking for replacement wipers for my 2019 Venue S DCT. Also, can anyone tell me the headlight bulb specs for this model as it uses normal halogen bulbs and they are quite poor and want to replace them as well. Thanks in advance!

I ordered wipers from Amazon after measuring them, but I unfortunately don't remember the brand name (it wasn't Bosch). They were "Made in the US". They have worked well for the past year.

[iamtheguy]

Originally Posted by aarnav_b

Bumping up this post as I'm also looking for replacement wipers for my 2019 Venue S DCT. Also, can anyone tell me the headlight bulb specs for this model as it uses normal halogen bulbs and they are quite poor and want to replace them as well. Thanks in advance!

It is h4 bulb type (both high and low beam built into one).

[Masalawheelz]

Originally Posted by srivatchsan

I bought a 2 years old from Hyundai Promise and first thing I did is changing the head and fog to LED's I went with Blaupunkt and Gnome economical and serves the purpose.

Hi Srivatchsan! Is your venue's headlamp the projector variant? If so, could you please share the model and price of the LED bulbs that you went for? How would you rate their performance? I'm also looking to change to LEDs due to the poor throw of the High Beam although the low beam spread is quite decent.

Also, what is your take on the visibility of LEDs in the rain?


Thanks!

[Masalawheelz]

Has anyone here tried converting the terrible sounding but loud single horn to a double horn without splicing the wires (i.e., without creating a warranty issue)? A solution would iron out one of the biggest drawbacks of this vehicle as the horn is truly irritating!

[Masalawheelz]

By way of update, my Venue went in for the 1st paid service - 30,000km service at 26,250km as I have been carrying out all the services a bit early. As the last service was done at about 17,750 in April 2023, I gave the car for service last week at V3 Hyundai - Chennai.

Service updates:

Went ahead and requested the service advisor to use Synthetic Oil this time as the regular change is Mineral Oil. The cost was almost double (Rs. 3950 for 4.8 Litres) but I am hoping for long term benefits - lesser friction, vibrations and longer life. Also had the air filter, oil filter and the cabin filter changed.

I was told that the EGR cleaning was mandatory for the 30k service so got that done along with the service and also got the AC cleaned as a lot of dust had accumulated (AC has never been cleaned in the last 18 months). The service advisor spoke to me and showed the insane amount of rust on the silencer (I live really close to the beach in Chennai), so gave him an earful for Hyundai Quality which had accumulated so much rust within two years, and then went ahead with the anti-rust silencer coating for Rs. 1,200/-. The scraped the entire silencer with emery sheets, removed the rust, and applied 2 layers of the anti-rust coating which is silver-grey in colour. I am told that this would protect the silencer for atleast 2-3 years.

Took the opportunity to speak to the accessories guy at the service centre and also got the Horn changed to a dual unit (they call it Skoda Horn but it sounds only 50% like a VW unit). The accessories guy also told me that we could change the headlight bulb inside the projector to LED for Rs. 5,500 but I have deferred it for now as I believe that the yellow lights work better than white, especially for rain.


Hoping to update here more regularly! Cheers!

[srivatchsan]

Originally Posted by Masalawheelz

Hi Srivatchsan! Is your venue's headlamp the projector variant? If so, could you please share the model and price of the LED bulbs that you went for? How would you rate their performance? I'm also looking to change to LEDs due to the poor throw of the High Beam although the low beam spread is quite decent.

Also, what is your take on the visibility of LEDs in the rain?


Thanks!

Hello, Masalawheelz. I hope all is well!! Initially, Hyundai suggested going with GNOME 90w, which wasn't great in terms of visibility, and later, I got it changed directly from GNOME distributors to 150W, which I would say is great! During Rain and normal days, superb visibility, no hassle at all!

For Fogs, I went with Blaupunkt. It's okay; there's not a huge difference, though.

[KeeepDriiiving]

We’ll soon be owners of a Venue turbo DCT S(O) black. Year end discount in Bengaluru is 70k on the on-road price. The agency didn’t reveal breakup of the discount, and we didn’t have the option to change the insurer. FYI there’s no financing involved.
We made a few phone enquiries, but didn’t shop around extensively as it was close by our home, and seemed good enough. Colour choices were limited as well, but black is a safe one.

[iamtheguy]

Did anyone opt for extended warranty ? Mine is 2020 model and I have been given quote for 16500 for additional 2 years warranty. Also @2019 owners : did anyone renew the Bluelink subscription?

[Masalawheelz]

Originally Posted by srivatchsan

I got it changed directly from GNOME distributors to 150W, which I would say is great! During Rain and normal days, superb visibility, no hassle at all!

That's good to hear Srivatchsan! 150W sounds super bright! Hope the stock wiring will bear the load and there are no issues with Hyundai warranty! Could I trouble you for more details like the warranty period and the price for the bulbs please?

I'm looking to change the lights in January and am confused between Osram 55W 4200 LED and the Genome 150W as the Osram would be a bit warmer but may have better throw of light on the road, especially with oncoming traffic.

[srivatchsan]

Hello there, Happy New year!!! I paid 8k. The actual MRP on the box is 9.8k. I got it directly from the dealer who came home and fitted this. He assured me that he has done this for many cars in the past couple of years not heard of any issues. On the box, it says 2 years of warranty. Hope this helps!