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Hyundai Grand i10 completes 1 lakh km: Air-con & suspension overhaul

28th August 2024, 17:04 by Brij Gawde

Post the suspension work when I took the car for a spin, there was a marginal increase in ride quality.

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1 Lakh kilometer update

Time flies, and so do kilometers

My Hyundai Grand i10 has recently crossed the 100k mark. This meant that it was the perfect time to give the car some much-needed TLC.

The first thing that needed looking into was the AC which had become severely weak over the years, accelerated due to the rat attack which happened as the car was garaged for 2 years during the COVID-19 restrictions. I got the AC first checked at Hyundai A.S.C at my place. However due to the unavailability of parts (I needed the car ASAP as there was a marriage coming in the family) decided to take the car to Guwahati and get the job done there. I had my own questions regarding the AC works as I had heard horror stories on how dashboards would rattle post AC work as they'd have to be opened. But every odd thought was laid to rest when I got the car back post all the work. Heck, forget new rattles, the one rattle that I had from the steering column area also died. This is mostly because they opened the dashboard in parts. Firstly, the central console was taken off. Then the steering column and its bits. And at last the rest of the dashboard.

The parts that needed replacement were:

Condenser
Ambient Sensor

The condenser has an ecosystem of its own. The cost of the new condenser was at the thereabouts of Rs. 4000 ballpark

Ambient sensor. Do note that it's cost is Rs. 1357

Dashboard taken off in a single piece

Next, I replaced the spark plugs which also had a lot of miles under their belt. The DIY route was taken for this job.

Spark plugs new vs old

The old spark plugs had been used to their fullest. There was a huge change in how the car reacted to throttle inputs post this work. It was a Sunday that ended well for me.

Next in line was some work regarding the suspension. There was no difference in ride quality. The only sign that I got that indicated the suspension needed some looking into was the minor creak from the suspension every now and then, and obviously the body roll. Ride quality was as absorbent as ever. This is why I had a minor heart attack when I got to know that the front dampers were totally dead. I guess the ''I know my car'' theory isn't very applicable when it comes to suspension

The parts that needed replacement were:

Suspension mount. All the sounds were coming from here.
Damper. Had become fully dead.
Caliper pin. Thought to get this changed as well as there would be a faint screeching noise every now and then while braking.

Decided to take the FNG route as when I asked Hyundai A.S.C to take a look into the suspension when my car went in for a routine oil change at 106k, they blatantly gave a generalized statement that the car had a lot of kilometers under its belt and all the suspension components would need replacement. They just didn't want to touch the suspension unless there was a huge bill involved.Thought there was no point in debating with them and my displeasure would be reflected in the feedback call which I got later from them.

Old mount from 2017.

Parts cost

Random pic from FNG

106k service. One rear ABS sensor was replaced. Also got the drums cleaned. The shoes were fine.

Post the suspension work when I took the car for a spin, there was a marginal increase in ride quality. The car would go over potholes and bumps in a more mature manner. However, my biggest surprise was while I took it to sharp bends and inclines. I had a huge grin plastered across my face. Don't get me wrong. It's still a Grand i10 at the end of the day, but I totally forgot how it used to handle corners during the earlier stages of its life. This reversed the age of the car by 3 years at least in my brain

Also decided to extract the most out of this situation by getting two new front tyres as the old Michelin Energy XM2s lasted a bit over 70k kilometers. Due to the unavailability of Michelin in 14-inch size, decided to get Continental CC6 (initially wanted UC6 but they too weren't available in 175/65 R14 size

The cost of tyre was Rs. 5400/piece

4 wheels in the air

Final alignment and balancing check

Also got the Skyshop internal TPMS installed which I had lying around for quite some time.

The car also went in for paint correction as the stock paint had started to show its age in some areas. A friend and fellow member of the forum BHPian rphukan Dada did an excellent job in restoring the paint to its former glory.