i20 Asta ABS 1.2 Petrol - An Overheating Engine!

Dear All,

This is my first post in Carwale (though I have been a long time visitor) and I wish this could have been a much more cheerful post than it is.

I bought my i20 Asta 1.2 from Modi Hyundai, Thane on 24th July and though I already knew about the A/C and power output issues of the car, I was overall happy with the build quality, space and look of the car.

Problems started when the car was about 600 odd kms old... I suddenly found my car (in heavy mumbai traffic) overheated and knocking about. Shocked, I somehow managed to park the car and called up the dealer for help... He gave me Hyundai's road side assistance toll-free no., which I dutifully called and found that this was a call center in gurgaon and was assisted by a executive who didnt know Mumbai from Bombay.... Anyways, he promised me a tow truck within an hour... well, no tow truck ever reached me.

I somehow managed to get the help of a local mechanic who showed me that the coolant had evaporated and the fan was not working. We filled in water in the coolant compartment and i in a stop and go fashion, somehow reached a Hyundai dealer who dutifully took the car in for a "thorough check"

Later in the day, I was told that they are replacing the radiator since it had a lot of clogging! Wonder how... anyways, happy that the problem was minor, I took possession of my car and carried on my merry ways...

Another 5-600 kms later... la viola! car overheating again! This time I took it back to my dealer's workshop who did a "thorough check-up of the electricals" and found nothing wrong... Next day, again the same overheating issue... Took it back and they worked on the earthing... thank you Sir! no luck yet.... next day, again in traffic, again a problem of overheating... Stale news... so what else is new I thought.

Tomorrow, I am again taking it back to the dealer... hope they will do something "thoroughly" this time.

The car works well in normal free flowing traffic.. once you get into stop-go traffic or stop the car, the car heats up. After the first time, now the coolant is not leaking or evaporated out... is filled to the brim... 

Can any Petrol head here tell me whats likely to be wrong?

Is there a way I can get the car replaced? The car has run approx 1800 kms so far.

Will certainly appreciate your inputs. 

Regards,

Arup Ghoshal

I think it is the radiator fan or more probably its relay. This relay may be loose causing it to intermittently shut down the radiator fan. Basically any loose connection/break/corrosion in the electrical wiring/connections related to the fan will cause this.

I don't know how it is in i20 - but if there is only one fan then this is the radiator cum AC condensor fan, and checking it is relatively easy and quick - start the engine and then the AC - the fan should come on almost instantly and should produce a strong air flow - if the fan seems to produce a weak flow or intermittently loses speed there is a loose connection/fault. It may also be that the fan is good but radiator or condensor are clogged so much that they impeded air flow.

If there are two fans then the fan close to the larger radiator is the radiator fan(the other looks like a smaller radiator and is the AC condensor). Checking the fan in this case will require you to wait till the engine heats up and then check for air flow.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INJURE YOURSELF WHILE CHECKING THE FAN'S AIR FLOW.

^^ Rightly said. Just two clarify, the i20 has two fans separate for condensor and radiator. Just hope the radiator fan was checked before the entire radiator was replaced. Or else, it indicates how bad the people were in diagnosing the probem.

Thanks for musing over it guys... today we are first going to start with the fan, i.e, replacing the unit with a new one then test it out, then go on to the thermostat if the problem doesnt get resolved and keep going from there... Thats what the manager said we will do.

Will keep you guys posted on what happens.

So far they have not been able to diagnose the problem and are practically working on a trial and error method.

Who knows, perhaps its just one small part which is creating this problem or perhaps the engine is faulty? Really disillusioned by Hyundai... This is my second Hyundai car, the first was a Santro (2004) which I drove for over 85k kms without any issues... My Dzire ZDI which I bought in 2008 is still going strong without even a aqueak!

Dont get me wrong, i like the i20 but this issue is seriously affecting my love for it. Next car I buy will definately not be a Hyundai

Just wondering here... if the relay is loose, then it should shut off the fan even on normal/ high speeds isnt it? The car works perfectly in open traffic/ roads... Only when I am in stop/go traffic or idling the car does the engine heat up.... 

You see, the fan will not be permanently on. When the car is moving with a good airflow reaching the radiator blades, the fan is not used. When the car becoes stationary, due to decreased air flow, the coolant temperature starts rising. This triggers the thermostat or the BCM to switch on the Fan, which controls the motor through a relay. So, the most vulnerable link could be the relay, followed by the thermostat. Hence, if either is malfunctioning, then the fan cannot do its job of cooling down the engine.

Thanks pal. Its good to be informed when you are dealing with the workshop. I feel much more confident. Appreciate your input.

Hi Guys,

I handed over the car this morning as mentioned to you and the workshop just called up. It seems I have a blown gasket which is leaking coolant on to the pistons which is why its heating up when the car is idling or slowed down.

This probably could have happened when the first time the engine went hot and the coolant had evaporated and I had taken some time to get the car parked on the side of the road??? well thats the explanation they are providing me with.

They say, this will solve the problem once and for all. They also say that they will take a week to open up the head of the engine and do the work.

What do you think guys? Do you think this would be the problem and will it finally put me out of my misery?  

I am not from this field.

But once when I saw TATA mechanic changing my collant I felt amazed and he explained it to me it keeps engine cool.

Usually in slow traffic every car's engine gets heat up, that is evident when temperature gauge comes to middle between cool and Hot ends. But once when you are in top gear for 2 minutes engine reltively " cools " down on temerature gauge.

Even since I changed by collant with new one, I saw temperature gauge relatively shows more " cooler " temperature than it was before. Coolant water ratio they used was 1 : 1.

When your i20 was heating - overheating, did you notice arrow in temperature gauge ?

Hi Dr Rajesh,  Well as soon as you get stuck in traffic or are idling your car, the gauge keeps gradually going up till it is near max... Well I usually shut off the engine when it nearly reaches the RED line. 

As soon as you get into clearer air, the gauge starts dropping back into normal territory and stays there. 

These days, i watch the heating gauge more than the bloody road