Owned 2 Grand i10 NIOS' over 4 years: Overall reliabilty & part costs

Parts service life is on the lower side. The Hyundai mechanics said the average part-life is around 40,000 kms for items like spark plugs, drive-belt, etc.

BHPian themonster recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello Everyone!

There are about 2-3 Grand i10 Nios' Sportz AMT among my friends circle. I wanted to share some of their experiences here (positives, negatives, and some solutions). I have personally driven 2 of them.

Things I like:

• The drivability of the car is good, it is a very good point-A to point-B car.
• Small footprint, perfect for city/urban use.
• The aqua teal paint, especially after a wash and wax.
• Hyundai's flexible warranty and extended warranty options.
• Good packaging. I was able to take 2 large suitcases in the boot with 3 passengers including myself for an airport run.

Things I do not like:

• Low back pain when driven over long distances, not just for me but also for my friends the owners who are the average built population (5 feet 6-8 inches and thin to medium built)
• The tin-can thin roof, which not only transmits all the sound into the cabin but also the heat.
• Service costs are on the higher side.

The 2020 model Grand 110 NIOS Sportz AMT- Aqua Teal Colour

ODO: around 23,500 kms

• Finished all 3 paid services and 2 paid services.
• Sparingly used, about 10kms a day; and there was a period it was hardly used 500kms a month.
• This car is almost always parked under the shade.
• The drive belt, i.e. the belt on the outside of the engine had to be changed around the 20,000kms mark, which was around 4 years of ownership.
• Since the car had projectors for the headlights and the foglights, the owner had upgraded the lights to LEDs. The throw has improved, and there is no glare to oncoming traffic.
• This car was running on Apollo Amazer tyres from the factory and they still have a lot of thread life left in them.
• This car mostly runs on the coastal Karnataka roads.

The only 2 Complaints:

1. Gear selector issue. At times, after starting the car, the gear refuses to slot into 'D' or 'R'. The only solution is to turn off the car and wait for about 1-2 minutes and then start the car.
2. Early morning 'Jerk' while starting the car from a standstill, in both 'D'and 'R' modes.

2. The 2021 model Grand i10 NIOS Sportz AMT - Aqua Teal colour

Almost identical car to the above, except the year of manufacturing. (mentioning this in particular cause this car had quite a bit of issues

I have driven quite a bit in this car over the last one year (~15,000 kms or so)

Currently ODO is a little over 37,000 kms.

• Has completed the 3 free services and 2 paid services.
• The owner of this car also upgraded the headlights to LEDs.
• Car was running on Ceat tyres from factory. Its on its last legs now, maybe another 5,000 kms or so for them.
• This car is almost 80% parked under direct sunlight or under trees.
• The paint quality is sub par. As others have mentioned, there is bubbling of paint, and small paint chips have already begun rusting.
• Rattles from the dashboard and near the steering column. Some of these are more like thuds and metallic sounds. During the last service the dealership had changed the link rods and a steering clumn bush and lubrication (done free of cost under warranty). This initially helped the sounds, but they came back within 500kms. My friend does not have the time to regularly visit the ASC. Will check if the above resolve in the next service.
• The gearbox was super jerky. The jerk when starting the car in the mornings was very pronounced in this car. It was so bad, that one would need to accelerate for a bit to get the car moving. Present in both 'D'and 'R' modes. The shifts in 'D' mode were also very jerky. In continuation with the above, while reversing in 'R', the car was very jerky.
• For the above 2 complaints, we had gotten the injectors and throttle body cleaned (service advisor advice) and changed the gearbox oil (request from our side). Voila! Both the above issues disappeared. My friend had gotten so used to the above 2 issues, that he thought it was normal behaviour of the AMT gearbox.
• Spark plug was changed in the previous service. (ODO was around 27,000 kms, and the service advisor showed that the ceramic part of the plugs were discoloured)
• Cleaning the throttle body, injectors and changing gearbox oil together improved the mileage of the car also. It was averaging between 13-15 kmpl, now its getting 15-17 kmpl. The engine Air filter was changed along with the spark plugs.
• Air Conditioning was sub par. Summer heat was well felt into the cabin and even on the lowest settings, the cabin was just okay. Had topped up the A/C gas from an outside A/C service tech shop, cleaned the AC condenser (by pouring water) and had put Garware sunfilm on all windows and front windsheild (with 20% tint) (it was the Icecool or ice shield i think). The cabin is significantly cooler after the above minus the heat radiating from the roof. It will definitely need both sound dampening and thermal insulation (A discussion for another thread).
• Battery was changed around 34,000 kms or 2.5 years. Switched to Amaron 40Ah with 72 month warranty (36 month + 36 month prorata) , which cost around Rs.4000 after buyback of old battery.
• This was just a one-off event, the car had refused to start after it was parked on an incline. It took multiple cranks and pressing the accelerator to get the car started and then to move. It was constantly getting stalled, with the engine rpms hovering around 800rpms and then back to zero. Again, this was a one-off event, and just happened once. It did not repeat itself. Happened when the ODO was around 35,000 kms.

Other points:

• Parts service life is on the lower side. The Hyundai mechanics said the average part-life is around 40,000 kms for items like spark plugs, drive-belt, etc.
• A funny incident happened during the service of the 2nd Grand i10. (I had taken the car for both the paid During the first paid service around 27,000kms, the service advisor had advised changing the drive belt of the car, claiming it to be towards the end of its life, I had a look, it was not cracked or anything and decided against it and planned to get it done for the next service. For the next service, around 36,000 kms, different service advisor, I had mentioned the drive-belt to be changed. The mechanic had a look and told me there was no need to change it and it looked good. I had asked whether he was sure and he was definitely, it can run many more kms.
• The ASC scams have moved on from engine dressing and teflon coating; to items like suspension lubrication, brake pedal bush, etc. ASC and their targets sigh.
• The gear oil brand was Servo, quantity used was about 2.5 L. The previous gear oil looked bad and was blackish. (I did not take photos) The cost came to around Rs.3000.
• ASC asked whether we would like to change to fully synthetic oil from their side, Servo brand. The cost was around Rs.3000 or so.
• The new Facelift, although might not appeal to everyone in terms of looks, they have added 2 essential features, Cruise Control, and 6 airbags.

This is all the information I have to share, hope this information helps other owners.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.