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Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - FiestaOwner

After seeing recent posts by SLO and ORB on their cars, I thought I would post about my experience of the Hyundai I20 1.2 SE I bought last year and owned for 10 months.

The reasons I bought this car were:

1) Excellent 5 year unlimited mileage warranty.

2) Excellent equipment levels (inc: Cruise control, Air con, Parking sensors, DAB, Bluetooth, Chilled glovebox, Electric heated and adjustable mirrors, Front and rear electric windows etc). Don't know why anyone buying an i20 would feel the need to buy a higher spec car than the SE.

3) Space saver spare wheel and the well was big enough to take a full size steel spare.

4) Sensible sized tyres. 185/65 R15.

5) Proven 1.2 84BHP 4 cylinder engine. Performance as I expected.

6) Generous 50 litre fuel tank.

7) Spacious interior and boot. Comfy seats.

8) Price. The car was registered just prior to the launch of the face lifted model.

However despite all of the above I could not recommend this car (certainly not the example I had).

The car had the complete clutch and flywheel kit replaced twice (under warranty) in the space of 6000 miles. Had 2 different Hyundai garages do this. Each garage said they had fitted a modified clutch/ flywheel kit.

The problem with the clutches was a judder when pulling away. The judder got worse with time. The 1st time the clutch was replaced it was worse than it was before the garage "fixed" it.

The car had 6 trips to Hyundai dealers for this one issue and they had the car for 16 days. And they still couldn't fix it.

I have friends and relatives who have (or had) Hyundai's and not had any problems with them.

However in my experience I found that the excellent warranty wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. Have owned various Fords, Nissans, VW, Renaults (over 32 years) and this is the only car to give any significant trouble.

Looking around online I see various people have the same issues with i10 and i20 clutches and despite the replacement of clutches and flywheels, the problems persist with these cars. This issue was being reported for years (it's not just the current models which are affected).

I know that Hyundai are often recommended on this forum due to the warranty. I won't be buying another.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - KB.

I can certainly sympathise having had similar problems with the clutch on my first i10 in 2009/10. It juddered from cold when the car was just a few weeks old. Ultimately they changed the clutch BUT not without a fight.

And that was then. The OP is having the same sort of problem in 2018/19.

I admit it didn't stop me from buying another i10 in 2011 but this time it was an auto. The gearbox has been OK BUT instead of clutch judder I had a pronounced vibration at 3,250 rpm (which equates to 70mph). They, again, put up a fight but ultimately sent an engineer down from Head Office who determined it needed a factory modified drive shaft, which they duly made (in the factory in Chennai) and installed. The vibration was marginally improved but is still there to this day as soon as you get to 70mph..

What a mystery that they haven't been able to fix juddering clutches in all that time. It was / is a well recognized problem and the forums were full of it.

Amazingly I would still consider another Hyundai but I would be wary of another manual - and the automatics are now DCT (Dual Clutch) which may or may not be good thing (remember I also have a DSG equipped Yeti with the DQ200 dry clutch). At least you would hope that the 5 year warranty on a DCT might cover any problems (ditto the DCT transmission on the KIAs, and with a 7 yr warranty you would, again, hope to be covered.

But clearly the manual Hyundai owners have no chance once it gets a few months old as they'll say it's just 'user error' and you won't be able to do anything about (except vow not to buy another).

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - SLO76
You’ve been unlucky but in truth the most common complaint I hear about Kia’s and Hyundai’s is clutch related. Judder from cold is very common but they’ll usually try to fob customers off with suggestions that it’s just a characteristic of the car or it’s down to the customers driving style.

If it was a characteristic then it would’ve done it from new. But clutch replacement doesn’t usually fix it as I believe it’s oil seeping in via the input shaft oil seal, possibly condensation, I’m no mechanic though. This contaminates the clutch and causes judder until it burns off. A new clutch won’t solve it without fixing the leak or the basic design flaw causing it.

I’ve had this twice, once on a VW Caddy and the other on a Honda CRV. Both identical faults but local VW dealer properly diagnosed it and replaced the seal and the clutch. Result, no further issues. The Honda dealer simply replaced the clutch which was soon juddering away. I just lived with it after that. To be fair if only juddered for a few starts then was fine.

Hyundai and Kia have came on leaps and bounds over the last two decades but their cars are still a step behind the best Japanese makes for quality and durability, especially underbody rust protection which is what ultimately kills most of them.


Not bad cars but ultimately they’re bought on price before anything else and are regarded as disposable cars by the trade once that warranty is up and are valued accordingly.

Need to change your name to ‘Disgruntled Hyundai owner’ now.

Edited by SLO76 on 05/06/2019 at 22:23

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - FiestaOwner

Thanks KB and SLO for your replies. Don't disagree with anything you've posted.

The 2nd dealer had been in touch with Hyundai (for authorisation) and they knew the clutch/ flywheel had already been replaced (I had told them this). I would have expected the dealers to have been on the lookout for contamination from a failed oil seal. Perhaps I'm giving them too much credit though.

I can't help wondering if there was something out of alignment (or running off) with the engine or gearbox. The car had a total of 3 clutch and flywheels (original fitted by Hyundai and 2 replacements fitted by 2 different dealers). Don't believe all 3 were faulty or fitted badly.

SLO you're right about the characteristic bit. The service manager at one of the dealerships put it down to a characteristic of the 3 cylinder engine. He sounded a bit sheepish when I advised him the the 1.2 was actually a 4 cylinder.

Price was certainly a factor in buying this car. The i20 was also Pre-Reg which helped bring the price down. I always recon the more you spend on a car, the more you'll lose.

I have seen GB posting similar comments about the lack of rustproofing on Kia's and Hyundai's. I think Hyundai have upped their game now. Looking under the car and under the wheelarches there seemed to be quite a liberal coating of underseal.

"Need to change your name to ‘Disgruntled Hyundai owner’ now."

Perhaps my user name should be "Disgruntled EX Hyundai owner". i20 traded in for a Pre-reg Yaris 1.5


It's a pity though, in all other aspects the i20 was an very good and practicable car.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - SLO76
“Perhaps my user name should be "Disgruntled EX Hyundai owner". i20 traded in for a Pre-reg Yaris 1.5”

Or “Wise Yaris purchaser”
Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - FiestaOwner
“Perhaps my user name should be "Disgruntled EX Hyundai owner". i20 traded in for a Pre-reg Yaris 1.5”

Or “Wise Yaris purchaser”

Or "Should have kept the Fiesta". The car before the i20!

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - Avant

This clearly affects some and not others. Elder daughter is on her second manual 1.2 i10 - the current one is four years old with 33,000 miles - and no problems with either. Someone mentioned 'alignment' so maybe there is some sort of crucial tolerance in the manufacture which is sometimes exceeded?

This may be one for her to flog before the 5-year warranty expires.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - alan1302

This clearly affects some and not others. Elder daughter is on her second manual 1.2 i10 - the current one is four years old with 33,000 miles - and no problems with either. Someone mentioned 'alignment' so maybe there is some sort of crucial tolerance in the manufacture which is sometimes exceeded?

This may be one for her to flog before the 5-year warranty expires.

Had my i10 for just over 5 years - was 9 months when I got it and after 94,000 miles it is still going well...clutch has been fine...power steering failed at 4 years old but covered under warranty...no other issues....has been a reliable car and cheap to run.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - Auristocrat

On our previous 2012 i20 1.2 we first experienced clutch judder when the car was three years. The dealer replaced the clutch and gearbox oil seal under warranty. Our 2015 i20 1.4 has been fine - no clutch or warranty issues to date.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - FiestaOwner

Auristocrat, Alan1302 & Avant

Had a i10 (4 year old) in the family which I drove on a number of occasions and I really rated this car. Gave no problems and understand why you like them.

Another family member has a i20 (also 4 year old) which hasn't given any problems.

The positive experience with the above cars helped persuade me to buy my i20.

I know the logical thing is all manufacturers produce a few faulty cars. However if you buy one and have problems with it, it puts you off that brand. Next time you buy a different brand and hope you don't get a faulty one.

Of course the other thing is the dealers don't seem interested in diagnosing and fixing the cars properly. If mine had been fixed properly at the beginning, I would still have it and would consider another in future. It's the usual though, once the sale has been made, the customer doesn't matter.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - Ethan Edwards

I would have recommended the new Suzuki Swift. 1 litre turbo SZ5 an economical rocket ship. I'm so enjoying it.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - daveyK_UK
Hyundai / Kia group have never been able to master gearboxes and clutches, it’s the one area they have always had problems with on a variety of models
Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - corax
Hyundai / Kia group have never been able to master gearboxes and clutches, it’s the one area they have always had problems with on a variety of models

Very strange, since they have produced some good diesels. Surely they can learn from other manufacturers and design a decent gearbox and clutch.

Hyundai i20 1.2SE - Experience - Auristocrat

As with any marque, dealers do vary in terms of customer service, etc, and there are good dealers and bad dealers out there.

When we had clutch judder on the previous i20, it took one visit for the diagnosis, clutch and seal replacement, and warranty claim - which is how it should be.