Hyundai Terracan Problems

The fuel tank on your car has a capacity of 75 litres. With an official combined fuel economy number of 10.3 litres per 100km, that should give you a range of around 700km before you need to start looking for a service station.

A lack of power from the battery to the starter motor can be caused by a range of things starting with the physical stuff like the cabling, terminals or ignition switch, and winding up with a fault in the immobiliser or the on-board computer, for instance. Sluggish performance, meantime, can be any number of things, and just to list them all would take hours.

So, before you go out and spend more money replacing components that may or may not be at fault, have the car scanned at a workshop and see what fault codes it throws up. From there, you’ll have a much better idea of what’s going wrong.

It’s on the driver’s side kick panel inside the cabin.

The light is indicating that there is a problem. To find the cause of that problem take the car to a Hyundai dealer or a mechanic and have them run a diagnostic check on it.

Isuzu is renowned for its diesel engines and I would have no hesitation in going in that direction, particularly for towing, although there is little savings to be had given the low mileage you're doing. Generally 4WDs hold their value better than equivalent 2WDs. For alternatives you could look at the Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe.

Have the cooling system flushed, making sure the radiator is clean, and replace use quality coolant. Also check that the fan is actually working when it should be.
 

We asked Hyundai for an answer to your question and we were told that it's ok to tow in top gear in your car, but I would advise you use the best gear for the situation you find yourself in. Use top gear on the flat, but instead of waiting for the transmission to change down when you hit a hilly section, anticipate it and pull it back manually to negotiate the inclines. That way the engine won't be labouring and the transmission will be under lower load. Hyundai also told us that they recommend a different service schedule for cars being used for towing, and that you can find out all about it in your service book.

THE overhead indicators are just that, indicators. They have a tolerance, which means they are not 100 per cent accurate. They can also be inaccurate if not checked regularly, so they must be taken as a guide only. The speedo reading in your Terracan fits with what I would expect: it is within the permitted accuracy of plus or minus 10 per cent. I'd suggest you make the same check against the freeway indicators to build up confidence in the readings they're giving you. If they are consistent over a couple of weeks I'd accept them as being accurate and drive accordingly.