Customers who are planning to buy any CKD Hyundai like Tucson, Kona or the Ioniq 5 to think twice before taking the plunge.
BHPian LONG_TOURER recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
My sincere apologies for the delay in updating this thread. I have been swamped with personal matters and just haven’t had the time to post. I’m sorry for keeping you all waiting.
After three months, from December 28, 2023, to March 24, 2024, I finally got my vehicle back from the workshop. I’m incredibly grateful to TeamBhp for bringing attention to my situation on this forum which increased visibility to a very large audience including officials of Hyundai Management. After my post got attention from various social media, a senior executive from Hyundai reached out to me. They assured me that my vehicle would be repaired as quickly as possible and that any pending spare parts would be sourced without further delay.
Here is a summary of the work done on my vehicle, along with the associated costs:
- Air Cooler Gas: ₹487.28
- Amaron Battery: ₹5,156.27 (The original OEM battery was weak and needed replacement)
- Catalytic Converter: ₹2,41,308.60
- Tappet Cover: ₹16,793
- Engine Oil (BS6 Diesel): ₹2,882
- Fuse (15A): ₹39
- Head Gasket: ₹1,072
- Nut & Rust Klene: ₹205
- Oil Filter: ₹413
- Timing Chain: ₹6,825
- Turbo Charger: ₹1,00,045
The total cost for these parts amounts to ₹3,75,226, excluding GST. Labour costs are additional as well.
Wrong Engine Oil Episode
Regarding the confusion about pouring the wrong quantity of engine oil, where 5.5L was used instead of the recommended 7L, I reached out to the Hyundai service executive for clarification. They assured me that no such error had occurred and that the correct type and quantity of diesel engine oil had been added during the service. To further address my concern, they provided a screenshot from their internal portal confirming that 7.6L of engine oil had been used, not 5.5L as I was initially told verbally.
Given this new information, I’d like to sincerely apologise for any confusion caused by my earlier remarks about this engine oil mix-up.
If at all, the service centre had poured 5.5L of engine oil instead of the recommended 7L, it is likely that the vehicle’s instrument cluster would have displayed an error message showing low oil levels. However, I didn’t experience any such warning, and the vehicle was operating normally. This further confirms that the right amount of oil was used during the service which actually justifies the assurance provided by the Hyundai service executive. It might just be a coincidence that the check engine light appeared shortly after the service.
I am however very happy to report that all related expenses were covered by Hyundai’s warranty. The only expense that went out of my pocket was the battery replacement.
Expensive cost of Spares from Hyundai
The cost of spare parts for the Tucson is indeed quite high. As shown above, the total cost of parts alone exceeded 3.5 lakh INR, excluding labour charges. When you factor in labour costs and GST, the total expense could easily reach 5 lakh INR. It is worth noting that the catalytic converter had already been replaced once before when the Odometer was around 25,000 km. This high cost of repairs and the repeated replacement of major components can be a concerning factor for Tucson owners and many other CKD-based Hyundai products like Kona and Ioniq. The point to be noted here is that the parts are mostly not readily available within the country. Heck, even there is a wait time for the rear wiper as well.
Conclusion
The vehicle is driving smoothly now, and all the abnormal noises have been resolved. However, the Hyundai technicians forgot to install the battery cover after installing the new battery, raising concerns about their competency and sincerity of work. After reaching home, when I questioned them about it, they admitted having intentionally left the battery cover off because the new Amaron battery is smaller than the OEM ones, resulting in extra space after the new battery installation. They assured me that the battery’s voltage matched the OEM battery, so I shouldn’t worry about electrical issues.
Since there’s still one year left on the car’s warranty I have decided to keep the vehicle for the time being unless it starts acting up again. Although it is very concerning to see a lack of competency from Hyundai technicians.
I once against request all the potential customers who are planning to buy any CKD Hyundai like Tucson, The Kona or the Ioniq to think twice before taking the plunge. I am sure there are better models from other brands that will give you a better product with better reliability. Now some photos after the vehicle delivery.
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