[silver-stand]

After the AFT replacement, I took the car delivery in the evening. While driving back, the AC wasn't cooling the air, not even a bit. Concerned, I called the service advisor, who suggested an inspection the next day.

After the inspection, they said the compressor had failed, required replacement, and par cost 25,000/-.

I quickly researched on Team-BHP and asked the advisor whether replacing the compressor was good enough or if the entire AC system needed replacing. He said as the car is somewhat older (~7.5 years), it's better to replace the whole AC system (~ 60,000 including labor) because any black soot formed in the AC system can damage the compressor again if only the compressor is replaced.

Then, I began talking to a couple of close friends. Friend 1 suggested getting the issues diagnosed with 3-4 different car AC specialists. Friend 2 suggested raising an escalation.

I have initially escalated with the feedback call. Someone senior from the dealership called and said the AC system, as it is electronics, can fail at any time. And said that the ATF replacement has nothing to do with the AC system. As a goodwill gesture, he is ready to waive the labor charge for the compressor replacement.

My friend 2 said: how come the AC system failed at the service center while it was working okay when you gave the car? His intuition was something had happened at the service center, and they were smartly trying to brush off the responsibility. And he recommended escalating this issue further.

I wrote the following email to Kun Hyundai Service Head and Hyundai Territory Parts & Service Manager as follows:

On 11-03-2024, I gave my Hyundai Verna (TS11 EH 4913) to Kun Hyundai Gachibowli for ATF (Gear Oil) replacement.

In the evening, I was handed over the car after ATF replacement. While driving to my home, I observed that the Air Conditioning system wasn't cooling the air.

Upon asking the respective Service Advisor, NIMMATURI VAMSHI KRISHNA, about the same, he asked me to get the AC system checked.

On 12-03-2024, after the AC system was checked at the service center, the service advisor said the compressor failed and a replacement was required.
My escalation is how the compressor failed when my car was at the service center. The AC was working fine when I handed over the vehicle for service.

I strongly believe something has happened in the service center that led to this issue.

On the following day, I received a call from the Service Manager, Kun Hyundai Gachibowli. He acknowledged the issue and said he would personally oversee the inspection once again.

After a day of inspection, he said it might mostly be an issue with the compressor valve. They will change the part, which will cost under 3,000'/-, and keep the car under observation for a day.

The following day, I received the delivery, and the AC has been working fine.

As a debrief, I asked the Service Manager, Kun Hyundai, the following:

Me: How did your service advisor recommend compressor replacement while it was compressor value?
SM: The compressor valve is a child part. While replacing it has fixed the issue, there's a chance that the compressor might fail in the future. That's why our advisor recommended compressor replacement.

Me: How did the AC fail while the car was at the service center?
SM: Mechanical parts could fail at any time. We can't do much about it.

In the end, he told me to call him if I had any issues. I told him I would check the AC system for 15-20 days and see if anything came up.

[silver-stand]

I sold my 2016 Verna 1.6 VTVT S AT to Cars24 last month for 4.67L, which they have listed on their sales site for 5.29L. While they got the most details right, their listing had some inaccuracies.

I did some research. I was expecting anything above 5L to be good as the car is in good condition with only major repairs with accidental damage to dicky flooring. I was the second owner, ODO at 68K km, and recently spent 22k to replace OEM ATF.

A friend suggested directly going with Cars24 or Spinny as OLX posting will attract scammers, and I didn't want the hassle of selling to individuals.

I also posted my query to the Verna Owner's group. And a few chimed in and said not to expect more than 5L.

Then, I asked Claud.ai to probabilistically estimate the car's value by describing its condition and other details. It said:

1. 40% probability of the value being between ₹4 lakhs and ₹5 lakhs
2. 45% probability of the value being between ₹5 lakhs and ₹5.5 lakhs

Cars24 gave 4.55L after inspection, which they bumped to 4.67L after a couple of days, for which I sold.

Why did I sell?

I replaced the front brake pads, rear wheel cylinders, and brake liners on my first visit to an FNG.

It was an FNG with a glorious review and its own thread on team-bhp. I also visited them the second time and was satisfied with the work.

While I was returning from this second visit, almost ~10 km from my home, the brakes started fading; they were only biting and braking in the last ~2 centimeters of brake-pedal travel. The Verna AT usually has a long brake-pedal travel. They usually bite well near the midway point or at 30%-40% travel.

I wasn't sure what was happening, but sensing something amiss, I increased my following distance and ensured I wasn't too close to traffic in front before braking.

Then I got to an empty stretch ~2km to home, increased the speed, and braked hard. The car did slow down for the speed breaker ahead, but brake-force and feel were amiss.

I climbed a small slope, and while going down, I needed to brake, and oh man, the brakes were gone!

Thank God I was at a slow speed. I immediately turned on the hazard lights and used the handbrake to slow down, avoiding rear-ending a car ahead.

I slowly moved the car to a safe spot and informed the FNG, who said they would immediately send help.

Then, I slotted the AT in manual/sport mode and selected 1st gear, which only upshifts automatically when I reach top-end RPMs to prevent gearbox damage. With hazard lights on and at a snail's pace, I slowly drove to my society's visitor parking and safely parked with the handbrake.

I got help after 3 hours at 9 p.m., which is commendable as the FNG was 30km away. They did some initial diagnosis and returned the next afternoon to fix it.

What did go wrong with brakes?

1. The rear-right brake fluid link had developed a minor leak due to loose tightening of a screw.
2. The rear-left wheel cylinder has failed and developed a major leak.

Looking back at this, I think the brakes were going to fail from the day I changed those wheel cylinders. As I applied the brakes more and more, the eventual leaks got bigger, and before I could notice, led to a full loss of brake fluid 1000km after the initial replacement job.

While doing this job, I clearly told them to use reputable parts and not compromise on cost too much. But I'm very thankful the brakes didn't fail completely when I was at high speeds.

I specifically chose this FNG, even though it was 30km away from home, because of the good reviews on tea-bhp and Google and my earlier sore experiences with other FNGs and an ASC.

1. My ATF Replacement Experience at ASC (Review: The 2015 Hyundai Verna Facelift (2nd-gen)) and how, when I inquired, some FNGs showed no interest or wanted to replace with a wrong grade ATF.
2. How an FNG screwed up the Spark Plug replacement (Review: The 2015 Hyundai Verna Facelift (2nd-gen))

While they fixed the brakes to my satisfaction, I no longer had the confidence to drive this car for the long term. And given that I did not have a good experience with pre-owned car repairs or finding a reliable garage, I decided to sell it.

[drive2eternity]

Hello Guys, cannot believe it is almost 10 years since I brought the Verna home. It has been a true companion and never let me down or left me stranded. However, now I am on the verge of selling it and have shortlisted the Alcazar as the replacement. Hyundai's reliability, service quality and the overall finesse of their product line up have a major role in my decision of sticking with the brand.

I have contacted Spinny and Cars24 for the evaluation and will be posting the farewell of my car when it happens.