Hyundai Matrix CRDi / Diesel Variant

[niky]

Right now, overhaul and long-term maintenance of the Hyundai CRDi engines is unknown. In general, though, diesel engine blocks are stronger than gasoline blocks, so the overhaul interval should be longer. It's the turbos that are a cause for concern, as they require a lot of TLC (tender loving care).

In my opinion, as long as you practice adequate warm-up and cool-off time (or buy a turbo-timer, so you don't have to think too much about cool-off), the turbos should last the distance. You should always bear in mind that these are not regular engines that you can just start up and turn off any time you feel like it.

In the hands of careless drivers, I've seen merely three year old turbodiesels die an awful death. On the other hand, there are those that are still going strong after many years with no major problems It all depends on the cool off time, and a strict adherence to maintenance schedules.

I.E.: It's all up to you.

[mikey177]

Yes, I'm also a practitioner of turbodiesel TLC protocols since the Sedona is also a turbodiesel. Tinakot nga ako nung Wheels casa nung isang buwan nung sinabing kailangan na palitan yung turbocharger assembly ng Sedona (it's a 45 month old vehicle with 127,000-km on the odometer) to the tune of over 30,000 pesos. Buti na lang di ako kumagat at nakita ko na ang problema lang pala ay isang air filter hose na na-disconnect kaya sya maingay.

To top it off, I'm not always the person driving the vehicle since my wife has a driver on weekdays, although I explicitly repeat the turbo warmup and cooldown rituals to him every so often

I guess I have to bring out my calculator and compute for fuel savings vs long-term maintenance costs... pinaka-hate ko pa naman ang math

[happymeal]

Big leap talaga yong pagkakaroon ng common rail turbo diesel engine ng Hyundai Matrix. Sa interior space ang galing din. Ito ang nag-convince sa akin na kumuha ng Matrix. Nasubukan ko ng mag-load ng assembled stationary bike, mountain bike, malaking semi-auto washing machine, mahahabang pieces of wood (baseboards), at yong mga cabinets na almost 6ft ang taas na ikaw na ang mag-a-assemble sa bahay (habang naka-box pa na almost 6ft ang length). Kasya lahat. Nasa diskarte lang ng pag-slide, tumble, recline mo ng front at rear seats. Ang dami pang mga compartments, may food trays pa sa likod ng front seats. Di ka mauubusan ng cup holders hehe. Idol talaga! The best sa space kahit i-compare pa sa Jazz. Lakas pa ng makina.
Ang ayaw ko lang sa Matrix ay ang di magandang driving visibility. Napaka-lapad ng A-pillars tapos wala pang triangular na salamin sa bottom nito na katulad ng City, Jazz, Innova o Starex. Meron tuloy malaking blind spot during turning na kung matapat doon ang isang approaching na sasakyan o tao ay makaka-aksidente ka. Kailangan mo pa tuloy pahabain ang leeg mo na parang pagong para lang makasigurado. Yong side view mirrors naman, compared sa Honda ay di masyado wide angle ang view. May mga sasakyan na mag-o-overtake sa iyo na pwedeng mapunta sa blind spot at di mo makita. Hirap din mag-reverse parking kasi di agad makikita sa side mirrors ang mga katabing sasakyan na naka-park, unlike sa mga Honda. Kaya kung gabi at bagong lugar ang pupuntahan namin, Honda pa rin gamit namin. Pang-daylight lang ang Matrix sa familiar places (home - office). Yong pinagkakabitan din ng towing cable sa front chin ay ang baba. Madalas sumabit sa parking bumps kung facing the wall ka mag-park at kung mabilis ang takbo mo pa-descent sa incline. Di ito naging problema sa Honda. Madali ding matuklap ang undercoating - ang nipis kasi. Dapat magpa-undercoat ka habang bago pa.
Considering 3rd evolution na ang CRD-i Matrix sa Pinas, wala pang naging improvement sa driving visibility at yong iba ko pang nabanggit sa taas. Ito ang nakita kong poor sa design ng Matrix. Balik ako Honda next year o Toyota na siguro.

[mikey177]

Heretic and happymeal,

Kamusta naman ang top speed at ease of overtaking ng Matrix. Since I will do mostly highway driving with this vehicle, I am curious as to how it performs on the long open stretches of highway.

• Mayroon bang shudder or unusual noises at high speed?
• How's the ride comfort on long trips?
• How fast have you driven these babies and for how long (sustained speed)?
• How easily can they overtake other vehicles that around going at around 60-70 kph?
• Kumusta yung stock tires... pinalitan nyo ba kaagad at anong brand ang recommended nyo?

[happymeal]

Mikey,

Wala namang shudder ang sasakya at high speed. Kung high speed sa concrete, lumalakas ang cabin noise.

Ride comfort is ok. Di nga lang yata bagay kung mataba kasi malalim ang front seats.

Magallanes interchange to Calamba exit at 80-120 kph at 1 AM. ok naman. kailangan mo lang mag-doble tingin bilang caution sa blind spots.

Madali namang mag-overtake kung naka 70 ka.

Di pa ako nagpalit ng stock tires eh.

[marv0083]

how far can you go with a single liter of diesel?

does it really go up to 20km normal driving?

[Heretic]

• Mayroon bang shudder or unusual noises at high speed?
• How's the ride comfort on long trips?
• How fast have you driven these babies and for how long (sustained speed)?
• How easily can they overtake other vehicles that around going at around 60-70 kph?
• Kumusta yung stock tires... pinalitan nyo ba kaagad at anong brand ang recommended nyo?

I didn't hear any weird noises and shudder at high speeds except for the "wind noise" courtesy of the Matrix's broad windshield.

Shifting gear is "love it or hate it." Some of my friends find it too loose and "rubbery," some find it light and easy.

I took her to La Union for her break-in (try searching for a post I made some time ago) and measured her fuel consumption at 20+ km/l with the aircon on, with an average of 2,000rpm; 12+ km/l on city rush hours. She could go for 17+km/l on highways at 3000+ rpm.

Ride comfort was definitely better than our 1.6 Altis; she did a better job of absorbing potholes and bumps. I dunno, perhaps because its suspension is fully-independent or the seats are placed a little higher. The AUV-like space inside is relaxing especially for the passengers on the second row compared to a compact sedan.

Our Matrix can do a 0-100km/h burst slightly faster than our Altis which is not too shabby considering that the Matrix is 550+ pounds heavier. She however loses at "peak speed" maxing out at 170 while the Altis could breach 180. I haven't tried a sustained speed of 170 but have done a 140 at NLEX.

I live in Tivoli Greens Subd. here in Commonwealth so I get to encounter a handful of reckless drivers at 60+kph everyday. Once you get the hang of the Matrix's torque, you'll be able to easily overtake them. However, the left mirror is flat - you could see things the way they are distance-wise but you lose out on seeing them at a farther distance. This creates a blind spot. Other than the left side mirror, I didn't have any problems regarding her visibility.

I've replaced the stock Hankook Optimo 185/65-14's with Bridgestone Turanza 195-65-14's. The stock tires reminded me of our "retired" Corolla XE's Goodyear NTC-3's - very noisy on conrete pavements. Handling seems to have improved as well.

Once when I was parking in Gateway Mall, Cubao, there was this tall, 35+ year old guy with a Toyota Landcruiser seemingly waiting for someone. Apprently, he was waiting for me because he wanted to ask me about the Matrix. He was amazed as to how quiet the engine was. He told me that he needed a spacious sub 700k car for "picking up the kids." According to him, he knew Pocholo Ramirez and that Ramirez recommended him the Matrix because of its space, efficiency and power. I dunno if the guy was bull$hitting me or posing of as someone with "street cred" lol but he seemed sincere.

[mikey177]

Thanks for the feedback on the Matrix, Heretic. I'll definitely check this vehicle out when I visit the Hyundai showroom in Dagupan City. Sana may test drive unit sila.

[mikey177]

Update: I checked out the Matrix at the Hyundai Dagupan showroom today. I think I can live with the blind spots, and the driver's position (not seeing the hood) is the same as with my Sedona. I'll probably get backup sensors installed if ever we decide to get the unit.

New question: I asked the technician there about the turbo cooldown time for the engine of the Matrix and he said that these new diesel engines were so high tech that there was no need to cool them down anymore before turning the ingition off. Sabi nya na yung coolant ay dumadaan na rin sa loob ng turbine kaya di na sya kailangan palamigin Totoo ba ito o ini-istir lang nya ako?

[mikey177]

Thanks for the additional info, happymeal. Dang, I hate your avatar... nakakagutom

[happymeal]

17-18 Km lang. Combined highway at start-stop driving. Refuel up to auto stop lang.

[mikey177]

Yeah, some things sound just too good to be true. Tapos hanep yung hype nila sa brochure ng Matrix... "Get as much as 25.1 km/liter on long drives." Uhuh, anong klaseng driving style naman kaya ginamit dun? I know that the engine of the Matrix is thrifty, but I think that's an exaggeration already. Still, I'm going back for a test drive in a few months

[niky]

I believe it... kung yung 2.0 na Euro na turbodiesel ng Ford kaya ang lampas 20 km/l, kaya naman siguro ng 1.5 na Hyundai.

*sigh* kung mayroon lang Focus na diesel...

[alexzkhy]

* Heretic
hey bro! I'm also considering Matrix for our 2nd car. I'm glad i saw this thread. Your first hand opinion is very much appreciated. Just wonderin why you did not consider getting a 15" when you replaced the stock? Tingin ko kasi medyo mababa yun matrix. I think it deserves a wider/bigger foot print. Musta pala plastic quality sa loob?

btw, i'm from La Union

[Heretic]

* Heretic
Just wonderin why you did not consider getting a 15" when you replaced the stock? Tingin ko kasi medyo mababa yun matrix. I think it deserves a wider/bigger foot print. Musta pala plastic quality sa loob?

I was still living in Marikina when I bought our Matrix and I used to go through the Tumana short-cut everday. The road sucks and our 1.6 Altis with 1.8 tires/rims (195-65-15's) seemed to take more punishment compared to its former tires/rims (185-70-14's). I decided not to change the rims and just to increase the tires' size a little bit.

Plastic material used was similar to the "gray" plastics found inside the Vios and Altis. I just wish that Hyundai had chosen black instead of light gray.

[sp@rk]

guys, can you also give comments regarding the gas variant particularly model 2004? any idea about its km/L? engine performance? etc.. thanks..

[happymeal]

Yong 'insan ko, bumila last year ng bagong gas variant. 10 Km/L as of now. OK din naman ang torque paakyat tagaytay kahit lima ang sakay.

[sp@rk]

Yong 'insan ko, bumila last year ng bagong gas variant. 10 Km/L as of now. OK din naman ang torque paakyat tagaytay kahit lima ang sakay.

hmm.. so 2005 yung sa insan mo.. ganyan din kaya yung model 2004? baka kasi ang lakas lumamon ng gas.. gusto sana namin gawin pang everyday na sasakyan to and from office., pamahal ng pamahal pa naman ang gas ngayon.. baka tumaas pa ng P2.. tsktsk..

[happymeal]

Folks, basahin nyo nga pala ang thread na "Toyota D4D engine woes" dito rin sa category ng Diesels, SUVs, Mini-SUVs, AUVs and Trucks forums. May problema ang commonrail engine ng Toyota (fuel pump) sa diesel quality ng Pinas. Potential problem din sa Matrix. Popular thread ito. Good inputs, nakakatakot lang huhu.

[RSR_23]

guys feedback nmn sa matrix crdi ilang km/l ang kaya ng matrix? and handling suspenion etc..?