Advice: Giving my 2012 Hyundai i20 CRDi a new lease of life

As far as I remember, the engine oil has been replaced only during the 1 month service internals in the absolute beginning.

BHPian brt_mhn recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello fellow BHPians. I know this thread will absolutely hurt all of us to the core. But I hope we can give this trusty 2012 i20 CRDI a new life.

I found a post by BHPian beejay in which he gave his parameters for writing off a car as abused. As you will see, this i20 satisfies all the parameters.

About the car:

This is a 2012 Hyundai i20 CRDI Asta pre-facelift model. We bought the car in Feb ‘12 and it had been in constant use till August 2021 when we finally retired it as our daily car. This ol’ reliable machine has done 61,716 km at the point of writing this. Current running is around 70-90 kilometres per week thanks to my driving lessons.

My father was a very conservative and sedate driver and never stressed the car too much while driving. He never even remotely attempted to close a gap in traffic. In all my years as a passenger, I have never seen him cross 2000 rpm more than 6-7 times. My dad is the kind of guy (please believe me, this is 100% true) to drive at 40 in 4th while going uphill! Add to that the fact that we use the AC once in a blue moon, it is safe to say that he is one of the most efficient drivers out there. Fuel efficiency you ask? 20 kpl in the city! Every time we calculate this, he comes away amazed (as if he’s been rally racing the car).

What went wrong?

To bring it down to 2 words, cost cutting. My father never believed in manufacturer recommended because he always thought of them to be very optimistic. As far as I remember, the engine oil has been replaced only during the 1 month service internals in the absolute beginning. Coolant was replaced once 4-5 years ago along with the battery. Other fluids and components have never been changed. And since wear and tear is very gradual, none of us in the family never even noticed anything. All this changed after two events in the past 6 months. The first one being that we moved into an MG ZS EV and the second one being me starting to drive.

What are your preliminary observations?

• My Numero Uno observation in the i20 was that the ride was very jittery and I could easily diagnose that the suspension was worn out.
• The second thing was that the car was pulling to the left. The service centre has diagnosed that the steering rack is busted and that they want to replace it which I believe to be true as the car used to squeal every time I reversed with the steering wheel completely turned to the right (In retrospect, is it just an alignment thing?).
• My third observation is aimed at the brakes that squealed every time I depressed the brake pedal mildly. This disappears as soon as you press it down a little more though. I think I should get the brake pads replaced.
• My last major observation is that there is a bit of resistance when I try shifting into 2nd from 3rd. This does not happen for any other gear.

Apart from this, there are various scratches and dents (I managed to remove a few) picked up over the years and other things like the struts for the boot failing to keep it upright. The bonnet is also a little loose leading to noise and vibrations at idle.

I intend to replace things like bumpers and a broken tail lamp lens myself and leave the mechanical components to an authorised service centre.

I have always proclaimed myself as an enthusiast but most of my knowledge was only market related coming off Autocar India and more recently, Team BHP. I am truly humbled upon realising how much I do not know after joining this wonderful forum. I am now slowly learning the nitty-gritty of engines and various other “Quirks and Features” (any Doug DeMuro viewers out there?).

I request the esteemed members of this forum to suggest various amendments to be made.

And also, we will be strictly adhering to manufacturer recommended replacements and checks for the ZS EV. Complacency? Not on my watch.

Thanks and regards,

Brt

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Your car sure does look like its been used rough, but it's not too different from "beater cars (Beater Cars: The unsung heroes! And advantages of owning one)" which many BHPians have. My own Sunny has a lot of battle scars as we put it through all kinds of rough usage.

Good thing is:

• Your i20 has only done ~60,000 km. It's built to good standards, so there is hope. What you need to do is have a competent independent mechanic give it a full checkup, and then fix all the important stuff.
• You are learning how to drive and a cheap, old car like this is the perfect companion for the purpose.

Here's what BHPian PaddleShifter had to say on the matter:

First, are you aware of any trusted FNG in your city? Get the car’s engine compartment inspected from them properly. The service centre “might” try to fleece you in the name of “restoring” your car that has not been serviced as per schedule. Depends upon the service centre really. I was made to sign a document in 2014 by FIAT ASC that I am refusing steering column replacement suggested by them and I will be responsible for the consequences. The steering column is working fine as of 2022. I just need to top up the power steering oil every few months.

Are you sure engine oil was changed only once during the initial service? Or am I misinterpreting?

Regarding servicing, leave body work for the end. First see if there is any major fault with the car mechanically. Once you have ascertained that the money to be spent is reasonable, start with the basic service and then drive the car for 2-3 months without changing the steering or suspension. Once a low running car is put to use, the aged components generally seek attention within the initial few months. Once you know it is working fine and is taking higher usage nicely, go to step 2.

Step 1. Get the basic servicing done ASAP in which you replace all oils/fluids (engine oil, transmission oil, brake oil, coolant) and filters (air filter, fuel filter, cabin AC filter, oil filter).

Step 2: Ascertain the parts that need replacement (You have already done that):

• Get suspension and alignment work done together. Once the suspension and alignment is fixed, get the work on steering column done.
• Get brake pads and discs replaced together (I dont recommend changing the pads alone in your case unless the discs seem fine enough to run another 40-50k Kms). Discs replaced now would most probably work for the rest of the lifetime of the car.
• Get miscellaneous parts replaced: boot struts, tail lamps, bumpers. Rejuvinate the exteriors from a local body shop. I think your 60,000km driven i20 will serve you well.

Here's what BHPian sagarpadaki had to say on the matter:

For starters, replace all the fluids and filters in the car:

• Coolant.
• Gear oil.
• Engine oil.
• Diesel filter.

Fill in Shell Rimula R4(5L) with a new oil filter.

The left pulling looks like a alignment issue. Get it checked at a reputed alignment center in your city. Change tyres if they are more than 7 years old. Also, check the front brakes for binding.

Go for the cosmetic corrections only if the car is mechanically correct. No point in spending money on new bumpers and painting if the car does not drive properly.

PS - We have a 12 year old i20 CRDi done 1.4 Lakh kms. It is one of the most well built cars of the era. They do not build like them anymore.

Here's what BHPian boniver had to say on the matter:

I'm sorry, what? I'd change the engine oil every year even if the car has just been sitting. I don't think BHPians run beater cars for 10 years without changing the engine oil.

OP, forget the suspension change, please change your engine oil. I have personally experienced one such occasion before this, again, a BHPian's 2014 Swift diesel, where the car had been driven 33k kms without changing the oil. Basically, his parents used the car for 5 odd years without getting it serviced, and we only learned about it when we both turned 18 and got our hands on the car. At that stage itself, what came out of the drain hole was pure gunk, so I shudder to think what'll be the situation in your case. Don't think about sludge formation in the engine, just do this first.

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