[jbh500]

Hi everyone, had my 2010 i30 1.6 CRDi CW since new and it has only covered 16,000 miles. Very much enjoy driving the car and it is giving very good fuel economy - over 55 MPG on a 450 mile round trip to London last weekend! The issue that I am now having is this - in the centre of the instrument cluster is the LCD panel that shows a graphic of the car when doors are open plus it shows the odometer mileage plus trip readings etc. The panel always used to illuminate quite a bright blue and was easily readable in all lighting conditions. Just recently the LCD panel has gone dark when driving in daylight with no headlights on. The first thing I noticed was that the backlight on this panel started to flicker on and off when turning the headlights off. It seems that there may be two methods of illuminating the panel because during the day it is dim, but when I switch the headlights on and the rest of the instruments illuminate it is brighter, I can then adjust the brightness on the illumination level rheostat wheel control. I think the backlight that is designed for daytime running has failed but I'm not 100% sure! The car is still under warranty so I guess it's a job for Hyundai but I don't want them to simply replace the instrument cluster and then have an inaccurate mileage on the odometer. Does anyone know if this backlight issue can be sorted by removing the instrument cluster and replacing a bulb? Or is it possible for Hyundai to replace the instrument cluster and program the old mileage into the new cluster so the odometer stays correct? Any thoughts much appreciated ........ !

[Phil №❶]

Unfortunately, the LCD display you are describing is an integrated display, similar to a mobile phone display and therefore does not use bulbs at all.

If the problem is not simply a loose wiring connector, (I hope it is), Hyundai's policy is simply to replace the whole unit and a notation of the distance traveled, is made in your owner's manual. I accept that this is not ideal, but AFAIK, this is how it is dealt with.

[jbh500]

Hi, thanks for the reply! I talked to Hyundai yesterday and they pretty much confirmed what Phil has already said. They are going to look at the car on Monday 17th February 2014 and check for loose connections, if they don't find any loose connections they are going to order a new instrument cluster complete. They have confirmed that this will mean the odometer will start again at zero and they will make a note in the cars service book. I would have preferred not to have an odometer reading incorrectly but it's better than having the illumination flickering on and off I guess! Not quite sure how this will affect things like the mileage recorded at MOT tests etc., as it could well flag up an anomaly with the mileage suddenly going back 16,000 miles!

[Phil №❶]

That's why the notation will be stamped with a dealer stamp to prove the authenticity for MOT purposes.

[eye30]

Hi, thanks for the reply! I talked to Hyundai yesterday and they pretty much confirmed what Phil has already said. They are going to look at the car on Monday 17th February 2014 and check for loose connections, if they don't find any loose connections they are going to order a new instrument cluster complete. They have confirmed that this will mean the odometer will start again at zero and they will make a note in the cars service book. I would have preferred not to have an odometer reading incorrectly but it's better than having the illumination flickering on and off I guess! Not quite sure how this will affect things like the mileage recorded at MOT tests etc., as it could well flag up an anomaly with the mileage suddenly going back 16,000 miles!

Not an mot problem.

Had this with a car many years ago and when i p/x it just produced certs and service book..

Got good p/x deal as originally priced at lower mileage

[jbh500]

Hi, I took the car in to Hyundai as arranged and I managed to talk to the technician as he drove the car into the workshop. I wanted to ensure he understood exactly what the problem was. The technician said he had seen the problem on quite a few other i30's of this type and the solution was a replacement instrument cluster. After the car had been in the workshop for half an hour the verdict was that there were no loose connections, meaning a new instrument cluster was required. I asked again if this meant that the mileage would start again at zero and they confirmed this would be the case. A note and dealer stamp will be put in the service book to verify the total distance and change of instrument cluster. Not an ideal solution but better than an annoying flickering display I suppose! The part has been ordered up and Hyundai say they will be in touch to arrange fitting once the part is in stock. Interestingly, while the car is in, they are also going to replace the stop light switch as part of a Hyundai programme, it seems a potential problem has been identified with the switch? Anyone heard of this before?

[Shambles]

I think they mean the brake light switch. Lots on the forum about it, if indeed that's the one

Great news about the cluster

[eye30]

Interestingly, while the car is in, they are also going to replace the stop light switch as part of a Hyundai programme, it seems a potential problem has been identified with the switch? Anyone heard of this before?

Yes.

Our ozzie friends have mentioned this...

[Asterix]

I got a letter from Hyundai 4 weeks ago about the same.

Well known fault, replaced free of charge and the car is 6 years old.

I hope Hyundai have added the option to recode the cluster in newer models. Other brands have had that option for many years.

[Phil №❶]

It really does surprise me that Hy don't have an electronic solution to re-calibrating odometers, after all it's just an impulse counter, with memory.

[jbh500]

I'm pretty sure the stop light switch is Hyundai speak for the brake light switch! With regards to reprogramming the correct mileage into a replacement instrument cluster, I think later models should be OK. As I understand it, on my model of the i30, the mileage is purely stored in the instrument cluster memory. On later models (and on some other makes of car) I think the mileage is stored in the ECU as well - they have to tally, which means a new instrument cluster has to be coded to the car and the mileage has to be matched up to the ECU mileage. Looking around the internet I have discovered firms who claim to be able to correct the mileage stored in the instrument cluster EPROM chip, they do list my model of i30 as a car where mileage correction is possible! It looks as though they remove the instrument cluster and connect directly to the EPROM chip with a special bit of hardware / software. If my car wasn't under warranty, I think I would buy a secondhand cluster off eBay for £50 and try one of these firms to see if they could correct the mileage to suit the car!

[Phil №❶]

$50, I don't think so. 

[eye30]

So long as the service book has been completed correctly i would not be bothered about it showing a low mileage rather than the true mileage.

[jbh500]

Well the new parts are in stock at my local Hyundai dealer, just arranged to have them fitted on March 17th 2014. They have got a new fleet of courtesy cars, all brand new i20's so I am looking forward to borrowing one of those for the day to see what they are like! The flickering instrument display is getting worse now, it flickers nearly all the time and is quite annoying so I will be glad to get is replaced.

[Dazzler]

 

[jbh500]

Well I had the car in at Hyundai yesterday (17th March 2014) for the new instrument cluster to be fitted. They also replaced the brake light switch while the car was in. I was loaned a very nice 6 month old i20 1.2 petrol, I was very impressed by how smooth the i20 felt and how easy it was to drive! When I picked up the car after the cluster had been replaced it was nice to see the display nice and bright again, although it was odd to see the odometer reading zero miles! As I drove away from the dealer I pressed the trip button to toggle the display but nothing happened - the display didn't respond! I stopped the car and tried again but unfortunately the button was having no effect on the dash display. I was only half a mile from the dealer so I turned around and went back in. They took the car back into the workshop and about 10 minutes later they brought the car back out, with the trip button working OK. There was a problem with a connector not fully fitted apparently! All was well on the drive home so hopefully that problem is now sorted. The dealer stamped the service book inner cover and added a note explaining that the cluster had been changed, noting the mileage and date.

[rustynutz]

Result! 

Bit ordinary that they hadn't checked that it was all working properly before signing off on it though..... 

[Dazzler]

Exactly 

[AlanHo]

My guess is the technician installed the panel and thought all was OK when it illuminated with the correct data when the ignition was switched on. He clearly didn't think to check whether the trip button worked.  I bet he has learned a lesson from this - or I hope so.

[jamesfurze]

Same problem on my 2011 i30 - reassuring to read that Hyundai are replacing foc.
Dealer has said "it's out of range so he will have to contact to get advice". Judging by earlier postings previous reported defects were on pre 2011 cars.

[jamesfurze]

Pleased to advise that the faulty Instrument Dash Panel LCD Screen  has now been replaced free of charge.
Note that the mileage was reset to zero and the warranty book noted accordingly.

[Phil №❶]