Hyundai Santro Xing engine overhaul at less than 38000 km

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Thanks Sankalp.

I have a Hyundai Santro Xing XG bought in March 2005, it has done < 38,000 km. A couple of days back when I went for pollution check the car emanated black soot. Today when I took the car again to the service center at Austin Hyundai in Baishanabghata Patuli township in Kolkata black fumes emanated again and the engine oil seemed black as the service advisor indicated. He has taken the car and indicated that an engine overhaul is needed and piston might be needed. The estimate given is Rs. 25k and would take 10 days plus.

My thoughts are that at  less than 7 years and less than 38,000 km, an engine overhaul reflects very poorly on Hyundai Santro. The car has been serviced regularly, the most recent being Sept 2011. I'm trying to get any contact from Hyundai also with whom I can check but to no avail. There website has a form which I've filled but the service center is not listed out there.

Anyone experienced in this regard and any suggestions please?

What was the explanation given for the overhaul? Its very early for a piston to fail unless the engine was badly treated before. However, as you have said that servicing was regular, I think there could be some other problem. I would suggest you to insist upon an ECU scan. There might be a problem with the O2 sensor, provoking the ECU to run a rich mixture of fuel leading to soot formation. Its better you take an opinion from another service centre.

The advisor called again earlier and he indicated that several parts like piston ring, oil seal, bearing, valve guides, valve head - this would cost 14k. Around 3k would be for labour and another 3-4k for lathe. The lathe amount cannot be confirmed now.

He mentioned that it is normal wear and tear and that in a typical usage at 20k km per yr, the car would have done 1.2l km and hence an overhaul would have been needed. And that this is not due to any manufacturing defect etc.

The car came to Kolkata via Agarwal packers in Sept 1st week but there had not been any problem earlier. It has always been driven by me and have never employed a driver for this car. However in Kolkata I'm not sure how the oil is - I've read elsewhere that this can cause issues.

I will check for the ECU scan? Can soot formation cause the engine oil to go black?

Not always will the engine oil go black due to soot. Even regular usage will turn it brown and sometimes black. What I dont understand is the need for Engine overhaul at such an early mileage reading. Its better you take a second opinion from another place. By the way, you said it has run 38k kms. The advisor states a usage of 20k km a year. How do they relate? Overhaul is purely distance related and not related to the age of the engine very much. Only if it is too old, the rubber parts would have surpassed their life. We see cars which have one 40 k kms in ten years and still run fine. So, I dont think time plays a factor here.

+1 to Sankalp. Get the car to another garage, preferably not a hyundai "ASC". In all probablility its the catalytic converter or the O2 sensor. Do you see a "check engine" light on the dash? If yes then the probability of a bad O2 sensor are high. If no then chances of a bad catcon are high.

All said, engine overhaul is needed only if the smoky exhaust is accompanied by other symptoms like low power/pick-up, missing and or otherwise unsatisfactory engine behaviour.

Thanks Rohit and Sankalp.

I did some checking on the internet.

From what I understand it seems the advisor is servicing for http://autorepair.about.com/od/troubleshooting/a/TS_exhaust_2.htm as he mentioned replacing valves and piston rings.

I guess what you are mentioning is http://autorepair.about.com/od/troubleshooting/a/TS_exhaust_4.htm.

I'm still confused if the advisor is right because to me it looked more like black smoke than bluish or greyish smoke. I will call the advisor and ask him if the ECU scan has been done. For now taking the car and going to a different garage doesn't seem an option as am tied up with office work for next few days.

In the meanwhile keep an eye on coolant and engine oil levels. Also pay attention to the car's behaviour - see if the engine can pull the car from standstill in 1st gear with only clutch release (without pressing accelerator).

when was the latest servicing and oil change done? I think this is some oil seal damage case (oil getting black) and not an engine overhaul unless you have pickup and mileage loss. How is the engine noise? Any change?