[petrolhead345]

Hello all, my family owns a 2014 Hyundai grand i10 AT which has only covered 20k kms in 8 years. We hadn't given the car for service since nov 2020 and just a week ago when my dad took it out, the car ran for like 500m away from home and my dad noticed that the a/c did not work so he tried pulling the car to the side of the road to check and while doing so the car switched off and refused to start.We called a local mechanic that we found through google and upon inspection he said that the alternator belt was torn and that coolant tank was completely empty. we had no other option but to tow the car to the Hyundai service centre. The mechanic had offered a tow truck from his known contact but when my dad called the Hyundai service center, we explained the whole situation and they offered to help us and informed our situation to their emergency response team. So we decided to take Hyundai's help as it would be with experienced hands or so we thought. This incident happened at 3:30 and my dad had urgent work that he had to complete so he parked the car to the side of the road and left to finish the work. We hadn't heard from the Hyundai emergency response team till 5 and after trying to contact them multiple times they said that they were taking care of another breakdown so they would attend to us after they took care of the other breakdown. Since the car was parked somewhat safe to the side of the road we didnt mind it and went home. After almost 2 hrs we get a call saying that the morning guy's shift ended so they would send us the night shift guy and we were fine with it. By 8 p.m we lost our patience and after we gave them a lecture, they sent the guy finally. My Dad and I went to the car's location and were waiting for him. After another long wait ,to our surprise the guy comes in a Santro. We were shocked and furious as we specifically told them that we need a tow truck and that a mechanic had already checked the car's condition. The Hyundai service mechanic said that they hadn't explained our situation to him at all! Then we asked him whether he can get a tow truck and he was like we don't tow cars and that we had to arrange one on our own. We were again back to square one. My dad then called the local mechanic who then called a tow truck and finally at 9 the tow truck had reached the car's location and took the car to the service center.

So the moral of the story is that never trust Hyundai Road Side assistance as they are useless and don't provide any support whatsoever.

The next day they topped up the coolant and replaced the belt and went for a test drive to notice any other issues which were none according to them. We also opted to change the engine oil and general servicing as it had been more than a year since it was serviced along with wheel balancing.

Now there were 2 questions that was left to be answered, that is:

1. Why was the coolant tank empty as it had barely been driven 2000 kms in 1.5 years.

2. How did the alternator belt tear suddenly out of nowhere as again the car was driven less and is driven by my dad and mom who are sedate drivers.

I asked these questions to the service advisor and his answer was that the car is old and wasn't serviced for a long time but me being a bhpian(a new one) myself, i wasn't satisfied with his answer. This is where i need your opinion, bhpians.

Any suggestions on what i should do is welcome

P.S:- The car was back from the service center 2 days ago but haven't taken it out yet. Also please excuse me of my mistakes as this is my first big post on Tbhp.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Even if the car wasn't driven a lot. 8 years is sufficient time for weathering on belts. When was coolant last checked? Being a bhpian, You may not be happy with the service centre's reply but basic things need to be checked on a regular basis. Look for some leakage with a radiator hose or some elbow. Being a petrol i10, water pump shouldn't be an issue.

[sunikkat]

8 years is a long time for these kind of issues to crop up, be it any brand car. So as long as it’s running fine now, it should be okay.

But the terrible thing here is in a city like Hyderabad Hyundai could not arrange a tow truck even after almost 6 hours. Now there is no excuse for that. That’s a shady customer service.

[shancz]

Do check for indications for external damage like rat bites. That could explain both your issues.

I don't expect the coolant reservoir to go from full to empty in 2 years unless there's a leak. Do check for the same.
Usually the coolant (non long life) change happens at 20k kms / 2 years in most cars and the reservoir is more or less at the same level when last filled.

No idea on the alternator belt though but you should get some indications before the belt wears out completely/breaks but not sure on this.
Could be ageing as mentioned earlier.

Do remember that any RSA although pitched by the manufacturer is handled by local parties and their level of professionalism can vary across regardless of manufacturer. But the responsibility rests with the manufacturer since they sold you the package in their name.
Do raise a complaint for the same.

[petrolhead345]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Even if the car wasn't driven a lot. 8 years is sufficient time for weathering on belts. When was coolant last checked? Being a bhpian, You may not be happy with the service centre's reply but basic things need to be checked on a regular basis. Look for some leakage with a radiator hose or some elbow. Being a petrol i10, water pump shouldn't be an issue.

I don't think the radiator hose could be an issue because we also had our bumper repaired as it had scratches and scrapes which happened during our 8 years of ownership. The service center would have noticed it if there was any leakage?

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Even if the car wasn't driven a lot. 8 years is sufficient time for weathering on belts. When was coolant last checked? Being a bhpian, You may not be happy with the service centre's reply but basic things need to be checked on a regular basis. Look for some leakage with a radiator hose or some elbow. Being a petrol i10, water pump shouldn't be an issue.

Will check for both my cars from now on. Thanks

[gandharjc]

I hope your car is up and running again soon.
Another point I'd like to make, please be sure to stick to the oil change intervals. Especially if the car runs low, oil tends to sludge over time. Granted you're only 6 months over the year mark, but better safe than sorry.

[Livnletcarsliv]

8years and just 20K kms is more than enough reason for the wear and tear of parts. And Especially the alternator belt. Regarding the coolant issue, sounds like there was a leakage, which probably is due to rat damage as the car was not used for a long time.

Being a Bhpian, WE are in fact more responsible to follow the maintenance schedule of any automobile and manage it wisely.

[Tgo]

BHPian or not, there’s no way rubber left out in the open for 8 years is going to give you reliable performance. It is a degradation prone part. You might also want to check the tyres which could be cracked and dry by this time.

Keep an eye on the coolant level or leaks below the car for sometime. It can dry up depending on the original composition (water/coolant mix) that was maintained earlier and also if the coolant tank cap was open/loosely fit. More surprisingly, coolant can leak into the cabin through a damager/cracked heater core. The car will smell sweet and your carpet below the dash near the centre console would be wet if this is happening.

[AKSarkar1]

Regardless of the running certain small things like maintenance need to be taken care of otherwise they would cause bigger problems in the future, end of the day even your car is a machine. It is even more important that you send your car for a general check up if it has been standing for a while. Did the car not throw up any error signs e.g. low coolant at the time of problem?

I don't think there is much to blame Hyundai for apart from the logistical fiasco they caused.

[narayans80]

When was the car last taken out? I am surprised a coolant leak can go so unnoticed. Am an A->B commuter, but I do check coolant, dipstick, tire pressure and signs of leak once a week when not in regular use.

The coolant reservoir doesn't simply go empty overnight without leaving signs. The parking spot below should show wet spots. I expect a slow leak/rat bites as a probable cause.

If I remember my 1st gen i10 manual correctly, Hyundai recommends service every 6 month interval or 10000 km whichever comes early. As others mentioned, replace the tyres if they are not changed in 8 years. It doesn't matter what kind of a driver you are, there are some maintenance that have to be done on a regular basis regardless of the usage.

[cherub]

My thoughts on why the coolant chamber could be empty:
All the coolant could have evaporated if someone left the coolant fill box cap or radiator cap unsealed/open. If the coolant mix was evaporating you should have felt some strange smell form the engine area. This evaporation sign could have been missed if there was just water instead of the coolant mix in the system and the weather was hot enough that steam was not visible.


Regarding the engine belt problem: I have faced engine belt failure twice in the recent past and both were due to service center's negligence.

Case 1: In my Ciaz diesel, the alternator belt has to be changed every 30k kms as per service schedule, which the service center missed and the belt failed at around 45k kms. The repair cost me around Rs.4000 with towing, new belt and labour charges. The cost of the belt was just Rs.700.

I am not sure if this damaged the car's hybrid system, but within 1.5 years of this incident, the hybrid electronic system required replacement (costing around Rs 13k) and then the hybrid alternator/motor failed costing me around Rs.45k. I had not purchased the extended warranty package as my previous WagonR1.1 (10years, 115k kms) never gave any issues and I falsely assumed the same would be true for the Ciaz.

Case 2: My Etios had just come from its 70k service. I had used the pick & drop service and during the test drive at the time of drop-off, I noticed some strange noise from the engine bay area and found that one of the belts had metal strands loose and was visually worn out. The service center should have inspected all the belts for any sign of damage during the service visit. They charged me for the belt and no labour charge.


Oil change interval recommendation: The oil thickens over time even if driven for a short distance over the year. The change in engine oil's flow characteristics and colour can be felt on the dip stick. So you should stick with yearly oil change. And I have felt that this change in oil thickness and flow is quite sudden after its usable lifespan. I have looked at a few graphs on engine oil performance and there a very sharp and sudden exponential decline in performance towards the end of it's usable lifespan.


I always use Pick and drop service for regular maintenance at service centers and inspect the oil change, belts and fluid levels at the time of drop-off. Now I will add coolant to the inspection list, not just the level but also the actual colour.

Thanks for sharing.