Hyundai i20 Gearshift Issues?

shankaranand · 26th April 2010, 12:09

Yesterday, I took a test drive of both i10 and i20 at Advait Hyundai on outer ring road, Blr.

While i10 gearshift was silky smooth, and drive was good, i20 failed to impress.

Gear shift was pretty bad, Clutch had a fairly long play. The person suggested that I push the clutch all the way down. The gearshift quality in comparison to i10 was glaring. While I was very impressed with the interior quality and space, this seriously damaged my impressions of the car.

The salesman gave some feeble excuse that this is because the car has run 35000 km. That does not make sense since I would like to use the car for at least 100000km and if this car progressively degrades, I definitely would not like to buy.

My question, is this an exception rather than the rule?.. Has others experienced the same?.. Can i20 owners please comment.

holysmoke · 26th April 2010, 12:28

My I-20's gearbox is "makkhan"

roms · 26th April 2010, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankaranand

My question, is this an exception rather than the rule?.. Has others experienced the same?.. Can i20 owners please comment.

More of an exception than a rule. 35000 kms on a test drive vehicle is equivalent to maybe double (or even more) of that mileage of a well driven and well looked after vehicle. How the test drive vehicle is maintained is completely left to a particular dealer and finding a well maintained test drive vehicle is IMO more of an exception than a norm.

When I went for a test drive of the i20 at Continental Hyundai, Mumbai, I found the car vibrating at idle and I thought that it was unacceptable for a premium hatch. But subsequent test drives later - with other dealers and on a friend's car, these vibrations were completely missing.

I suggest you don't reject the i20 just yet. Get a drive from another dealer and then check if your impressions are the same.

tsk13 · 26th April 2010, 13:14

I agree with holysmoke, i20's gearshift is great. See the test drive vehicle has been tortured by all sorts of people who want to do the max possible in a TD vehicle and this results in many problems which otherwise won't happen in a well maintained vehicle.

nikibusa · 26th April 2010, 13:18

I own a 1.2 Asta and so far i have been impressed with the gearshift. It is smooth.

poloman · 26th April 2010, 13:19

shankaranand, I had the same experience. I was not able to slot the gears properly in i20.Found the gear shift in Figo and Polo much better. Polo being the pick of the lot.

starter · 26th April 2010, 13:26

I test drove the silver i20 asta of advaith hyundai when the odo on that car was reading 27K kms (a couple of months back) and it was Silky Smooth.
My friend bought a silver Asta himself and i've been driving that regularly.
His car's odo reads 2000 kms now and it is really smooth!
The car that you test drove, was it a petrol or diesel?
I found the clutch and gears on the diesel a bit rough.
Cheers,
Deepak

shankaranand · 26th April 2010, 14:22

Thanks for all the feedback.

The manager from Advait Hyundai called this afternon. After I shared my experience, he has offered to arrange another vehicle for test drive tomorrow. Will drive and post my comments.

Over all, Customer responsiveness of Hyundai is truly impressive. They attended promptly when i visited the showroom. Test vehicle was ready and available in minutes. Staff were courteous.

Contrast this with Pratham Motors on the ORR. I have been there 3 times, only to find nobody to attend, price lists which have been Xerox copies of what was once a good copy.

Folks at Pratham just dont care. I have heard good comments about Bimal, will check it out shortly.

car-dent · 26th April 2010, 14:39

even i felt that the gears were not smooth during the test drive of i20 crdi. particularly the first gear wont engage easily. also i found that the clutch had to be pressed a long way down..

vnabhi · 26th April 2010, 15:48

I don't own an i20, but had a pal's with me for 2 weeks last year. I felt the gear shift was top class, as good as my Fiesta's.

fusion123 · 26th April 2010, 16:50

I own a i20 Magna Petrol and haven't faced any problems with the gear shift. Sorry for being out of place, but I would like to add that in my recent visit to the Hyundai Motor Plaza for my car's first service (last week), there was a team of engineers who had come directly from the plant and were taking feedback on the i20 from random users. I was quite impressed with the detailed feedback they took from me about the gear shift, transmission problems, if any etc. The clutch is a genuine concern and the pickup in 2nd gear is a bit of a letdown. I was informed that in September, Hyundai is coming out with a revamped engine for the i20. Guess Polo & Figo have had a big impact on Hyundai.

karmania · 27th April 2010, 05:05

Was it the gear shift or the clutch release that you had an issue with... It maybe something to do with the clutch play. If you are not used to a long clutch play in a car you may feel the shift to be a little rough... especially if you are already throttling the accelerator while the clutch is not fully engaged.
As you mentioned, try your test drive on another car for a better feel.

wildon · 27th April 2010, 08:08

I found the gear shift is very smooth in i20 , but some times its difficult to shift in to reverse gear.

ahuja365 · 27th April 2010, 09:35

Except the santro and i1o i have never liked hyundai gearbox as i had a verna diesel and the gearbox was killing the brilliant engine

mvj1976 · 16th May 2010, 18:53

I own a i20 CRDi and the gearbox is pretty smooth. There is a little hesitation when slotting from 1st to 2nd. But everything else is silky smooth. Since my car has only seen 1 servicing so far, I am hoping that will also improve after the 2nd servicing.

The clutch does have a long play and that is something you need to get used to. But it is a matter of driving it for a few days and then you don't even notice it.

26th April 2010, 12:09	#1
shankaranand BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 164 Thanked: 23 Times	Hyundai i20 Gearshift Issues? Yesterday, I took a test drive of both i10 and i20 at Advait Hyundai on outer ring road, Blr. While i10 gearshift was silky smooth, and drive was good, i20 failed to impress. Gear shift was pretty bad, Clutch had a fairly long play. The person suggested that I push the clutch all the way down. The gearshift quality in comparison to i10 was glaring. While I was very impressed with the interior quality and space, this seriously damaged my impressions of the car. The salesman gave some feeble excuse that this is because the car has run 35000 km. That does not make sense since I would like to use the car for at least 100000km and if this car progressively degrades, I definitely would not like to buy. My question, is this an exception rather than the rule?.. Has others experienced the same?.. Can i20 owners please comment.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 12:28	#2
holysmoke BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 233 Thanked: 51 Times	My I-20's gearbox is "makkhan"
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 13:14	#4
tsk13 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,256 Thanked: 362 Times	I agree with holysmoke, i20's gearshift is great. See the test drive vehicle has been tortured by all sorts of people who want to do the max possible in a TD vehicle and this results in many problems which otherwise won't happen in a well maintained vehicle.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 13:18	#5
nikibusa BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Vikhroli - (Mumbai) Posts: 717 Thanked: 29 Times View My Garage	I own a 1.2 Asta and so far i have been impressed with the gearshift. It is smooth.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 13:19	#6
poloman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,331 Thanked: 6,091 Times	shankaranand, I had the same experience. I was not able to slot the gears properly in i20.Found the gear shift in Figo and Polo much better. Polo being the pick of the lot.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 13:26	#7
starter Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: My city Posts: 1,139 Thanked: 930 Times	I test drove the silver i20 asta of advaith hyundai when the odo on that car was reading 27K kms (a couple of months back) and it was Silky Smooth. My friend bought a silver Asta himself and i've been driving that regularly. His car's odo reads 2000 kms now and it is really smooth! The car that you test drove, was it a petrol or diesel? I found the clutch and gears on the diesel a bit rough. Cheers, Deepak
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 14:22	#8
shankaranand BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 164 Thanked: 23 Times	Thanks for all the feedback. The manager from Advait Hyundai called this afternon. After I shared my experience, he has offered to arrange another vehicle for test drive tomorrow. Will drive and post my comments. Over all, Customer responsiveness of Hyundai is truly impressive. They attended promptly when i visited the showroom. Test vehicle was ready and available in minutes. Staff were courteous. Contrast this with Pratham Motors on the ORR. I have been there 3 times, only to find nobody to attend, price lists which have been Xerox copies of what was once a good copy. Folks at Pratham just dont care. I have heard good comments about Bimal, will check it out shortly.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 14:39	#9
car-dent BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NOIDA Posts: 294 Thanked: 522 Times	even i felt that the gears were not smooth during the test drive of i20 crdi. particularly the first gear wont engage easily. also i found that the clutch had to be pressed a long way down..
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 15:48	#10
vnabhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: DC -> DC Posts: 5,998 Thanked: 2,425 Times View My Garage	I don't own an i20, but had a pal's with me for 2 weeks last year. I felt the gear shift was top class, as good as my Fiesta's.
	() Thanks

26th April 2010, 16:50	#11
fusion123 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 15 Thanked: 2 Times	I own a i20 Magna Petrol and haven't faced any problems with the gear shift. Sorry for being out of place, but I would like to add that in my recent visit to the Hyundai Motor Plaza for my car's first service (last week), there was a team of engineers who had come directly from the plant and were taking feedback on the i20 from random users. I was quite impressed with the detailed feedback they took from me about the gear shift, transmission problems, if any etc. The clutch is a genuine concern and the pickup in 2nd gear is a bit of a letdown. I was informed that in September, Hyundai is coming out with a revamped engine for the i20. Guess Polo & Figo have had a big impact on Hyundai.
	() Thanks

27th April 2010, 05:05	#12
karmania BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Bhubaneswar Posts: 62 Thanked: 8 Times	Was it the gear shift or the clutch release that you had an issue with... It maybe something to do with the clutch play. If you are not used to a long clutch play in a car you may feel the shift to be a little rough... especially if you are already throttling the accelerator while the clutch is not fully engaged. As you mentioned, try your test drive on another car for a better feel.
	() Thanks

27th April 2010, 08:08	#13
wildon BANNED Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,442 Thanked: 1,252 Times View My Garage	I found the gear shift is very smooth in i20 , but some times its difficult to shift in to reverse gear.
	() Thanks

27th April 2010, 09:35	#14
ahuja365 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jamshedpur Posts: 216 Thanked: 16 Times	Except the santro and i1o i have never liked hyundai gearbox as i had a verna diesel and the gearbox was killing the brilliant engine
	() Thanks

16th May 2010, 18:53	#15
mvj1976 Newbie Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11 Thanked: 0 Times	I own a i20 CRDi and the gearbox is pretty smooth. There is a little hesitation when slotting from 1st to 2nd. But everything else is silky smooth. Since my car has only seen 1 servicing so far, I am hoping that will also improve after the 2nd servicing. The clutch does have a long play and that is something you need to get used to. But it is a matter of driving it for a few days and then you don't even notice it.
	() Thanks