Chai Thandi Soda Garam Service

            Its been couple months that I have written something but my recent experience with car servicing pulled me back to pen this down. Its been over 8 months now that all of us were under lockdown and most of us trying to avoid any physical contact with unknown person as much as possible. However, few incidents tend to get past this. It had been over a year that I had Grey Wind in good shape and shine. So, I decided to get it serviced at the regular workshop with Sharayu Hyundai at Juinagar/Turbhe. Since I reside in Navi Mumbai, and with no known good garages, I get my car serviced with them. Two weeks back I scheduled a service appointment however, that was cancelled on my end and I asked the attendant to schedule me for next week. When no one came to pick up the car the other week, I called up and was told there was no appointment scheduled for Grey Wind. I insisted on getting the appointment sometime on Monday this week.

             Come Monday the driver came over and picked up the car while I was busy with some urgent office work. Since I had the car ready without any valuables and papers, it was all good. Once the car was at the workshop, the attendant called in to ask if any issues and I told him the work was needed on left front and right rear signal light, coolant needs to be filled in as its almost empty, the interior roof required cleaning and other routine check-up with oil change, oil filter, air filter and air con gas check and battery check. Nothing major required just the basic stuff. The estimate provided was apt and the final bill was in fact Rs. 500 less than expected. When the car was delivered the next afternoon, I checked it as I always do and found a few discrepancies. The interior roof was not cleaned at all as requested, the hand brake was loose, the coolant box seemed different and some rattling noise from the rear of the car. Before making any payment, I checked with the attendant and I was assured that 3M guy would come tomorrow morning around 11am to clean it up. I paid the bill and took the car for a spin. The engine did not feel refined as always and hand brake was making a bit sound since it was loose. I messaged the service attendant on coolant issue and was told, the work is done. I felt something was not right about it and hence, checked on the coolant thing first thing in the morning. The colour of coolant was almost transparent with a touch of brown and that made me sceptical. As a basic knowledge, I know for sure, coolants are either green, blue or pink in colour with the cars that we have around. So, I opened the coolant box and the coolant texture was watery and odourless. I messaged the attendant and asked a straight question, what did you fill in, coolant or water? And the reply was yes, its filled in. I was sure the attendant was trying to avoid the question. I double checked the same with the HVK folks and many had their doubt about the same as well. With the folks in the group, I was advised to check the content in radiator. With the radiator check, it was confirmed that the service guy filled the radiator and coolant box with water only. There was barely any residue of coolant may be from past but mostly water.

water filled coolant box

            I was furious since this affects the longevity of the engine and just because the workshop wants to save a couple bucks, they try to fool customers and mess up the vehicle completely. Had I not checked this, the engine would have surely taken a toll and cranked up at some point. If not, it would not be smooth and would not last as it should. Not to forget, the 3M guy was supposed to come clean the roof in the morning which he did not, and the attendant kept on insisting that due to emergency, she is not in the workshop. Now there were ample reasons for me to be disappointed as I was taken for granted on various levels. I decided to escalate the matter and sent a video and picture of coolant box asking the attendant if this looks like coolant and still, I was rewarded with some fake assurance. The next morning i.e. Thursday now, I blasted on the attendant since the matter was still being pushed ahead with no concrete answer and after speaking with the manager, I was told the guy would reach my place in an hour to fix the coolant issue, hand brake and clean the interior roof. After an hour at 3pm, the guy calls up stating he would come around 6pm instead since the other guy who works on hand brake is on a scheduled duty somewhere else. The only thing I told him was how will he work on these many issues after daylight? And he said, sir ho jayega. It was too much after several calls and being taken for granted, I told the manager to return my money and I will get it done somewhere else. To which, the guy was there at my place in the next 40min.

Concentrated coolant/anti-freeze

One was the 3M guy to clean the roof and the other to work on coolant issue. While the interior was being cleaned up, the coolant was checked and he confirmed, that its water and there is no coolant in the engine. He checked the radiator as well and it was all water. I did my homework on how to flush the water off radiator, thanks to HVK folks and the service guy barely knew a thing. Looking at his body language I knew he does not have hands on experience on this issue. When I asked whether this is a ready mixture or needs to be diluted with water, he did not know a thing and I knew isse na ho payega. With only a pakkad in his hand, the guy was trying to open a nut at the bottom which drains the radiator. Without any toolkit or tray to collect the drained fluid, he said sir gaadi ramp pe chadana padega. The recklessness of the workshop guys was getting on my nerves and I decided to reach the workshop first thing in the morning tomorrow. I took an appointment when the workshop opens at 9.30am and the guy said, sir aap ye coolant rakh lo and he kept it in the passenger side. The next morning i.e. Friday, I was all ready and left for the workshop. After 2 min into the drive, I noticed the fluorescent green thing on the passenger side. This worsen my mood even further since the car was cleaned up like not even a day before and the coolant is now flowing all over the passenger side area. I stopped and cleared up as much as I could and went on cursing not a good start for the day. Adding to this, not even 50mtr before the workshop, the service road was all JCB ki khudai and I had to reroute for a few kilometres.

Once I met the executive, I insisted on getting the work done in front of my eyes and informed her that the passenger side is filled with coolant since the guy kept the bottle with a loose cap and half the liquid was flowing on the floor. Another facepalm moment for her, she assured the car will be cleaned when the work is sorted for coolant and hand brake. In a few minutes, the car was on ramp, the water was all drained out and I could see there was barely any drops of coolant into it. Once the water was drained, the guy was about to refill the duct with coolant, and I stopped him right there. I insisted on flushing the radiator with clean water first, run the engine for a few minutes, drain again and then fill it with coolant. Again, a moment where the expression says it all, ye yahan pe kyun hai?! Once the flushing was done, 1.5ltr of coolant was in the radiator and the rest was topped with water. Started the engine and after wiggling the pipe, the air bubble was cleared, and the car was ready. While the supervisor decided to take Grey Wind for a spin, he asked me to join so I could point him where the sound was coming from the rear. A couple minutes into drive, I asked him to sit in the rear so he could hear it better. We nailed the issue with the rear tray as one of the locks was missing. After reaching the workshop, he tried to neglect the lock thing and insisted that one cannot get it without buying the entire tray. I insisted its not my concern as everything was good when the car went in for servicing and I want the lock back in tray. The radiator was checked again, few bubbles released, and coolant box cleaned with more coolant and water. The lock was replaced, passenger side cleaned, and hand brake checked for no more play.

It was almost 1.30pm and I was all set to make a move, things always end with a feedback form before you exit the place. After numerous calls and banging my head through various hurdles, I still gave a 9/10 since the rating was 1-8 as poor, 9 as good and 10 as outstanding. After all of this, the executive expected and insisted on 10/10 rating without flinching an eye to which I felt like saying, 10/10 toh kabhi school mein nahi milte the, kaam mein toh bilkul nahi milte. 10/10 wala appraisal toh barely kisi ka hota hai. Anyway, 9/10 was still more than what they deserved. Few things learned from this experience, always get your beast checked up thoroughly especially under the hood. Just like humans, always judge a person by his heart and not by the looks. Similarly, what’s under the hood matters the most.