Hi all,
After reading lots of reviews on MS and road tests, finally I have decided to go for Santro XL eRLX on 26th Aug. from Baltic Hyundai, Faridabad.
I wud say all the things in the new Santro is very good and I liked it very much whether being interiors or exteriors.
But on the day of the delivery itself its steering started to make a wobbling noise over the pot holes or if the road is broken. I cud feel the vibration in the steering due to that vibration inside the steering. On the plain roads it is absolutely fine.
I get it checked the very next day at the MGF Hyundai Workshop. They told a very non-technical reason that this sound comes from the Santro Xing since it is having a collapsiable steering but in your car the sound is much louder. They tried to fix up the problem by tightening the screws of the steering from the console right behind the steering. Imagine seeing opening your new brand car the very next day of the delivery. The problem was rectified upto 80% and the noise sticked to big pot holes or very bad roads. But it was still there. There was no vibration in the steering as earlier but that sound was there intermittent.
Finally I called up Hyundai Motor Plaza, Delhi (Regional Office, Co. owned Workshop
& Showroom) and talked to some senior service manager who handles these problems. I went to HMP for the problem and that person agreed that there is some problem with the steering. He adjusted some play in the steering and we had a road test again but that sound was still there. Finally he told that we will change the whole steering assembly which includes the complete set of Rack & Pinion.
After changing the complete assembly, the noise reduced to 50% but still makes a noise at bad roads. The same person told me that the rest 50% probability of sound will remain there, we have reached our red mark and if we adjust the steering more than this you will face problem while driving, steering will become harder.
He told that this much noise will come but it is not necessary everytime. It all depends on the speed of the vehicle, load of the vehicle and the condition of the road. He said you can test this thing on any other santro car. Every car makes such a noise but its probability is very less and it depends on the above mentioned factors.
I have driven it for around 250Kms till now but the noise is still coming in between. It is not consistent as it was on the first day. I am getting an average of 12 in the city with AC on. I think it is less for the new eRLX engine and as per the reviews say.
Please let me know if the Hyundai people are right in this that every car makes some noise or other in the steering while going over bad roads and if any one has experienced the same noise in the steering. May be I can catch it early since I m listening this noise from the first day itself.
Thanks & Regards,
Kapil