My brand new car is dead!!!!!!!

[Pakrat 1,043]

OK well the short story is the brand new 2012 Elantra that I just bought Memorial day weekend blew up, the engine is dead before I made my 2nd payment! Curious about getting some opinions.

 

The more detailed and involved story goes like this. On Friday the 22nd I brought the car in for it's first oil change and tire rotation as per the optional dealer lifetime powertrain warranty where this needs to be done every 5k miles give or take 1k. The car had 5700 miles on it already and I was leaving early the next morning for Asia so it stayed in the driveway since then until my wife used it to go to a very important court date on Monday morning. I get a disturbing phone call from her at 1am China time, suddenly every warning light came on at once and the car just died and left her stranded on the highway about 30 miles from home. I had her call the Roadside assistance and demand they take it to my dealer and not the closest one and that they need to pay for the extra charge incurred since I suspect that this has something to do with an improper procedure on my first oil change from the 22nd and not just some coincidence.

 

As I wake up this morning after little sleep and start reading thru info my wife has sent me overnite it seems as of yet that I don't have a clear answer as to what actually happened or what is to blame, only that the the engine is dead and needs to be replaced, this will only take a couple of days to do but the time frame on getting a new engine is undetermined. I can't really say what is right and wrong via my warranty until I return home and have a chance to read thru it in detail but I assume replacement of the engine is considered standard policy in a case like this. Yet considering that we are talking about a car that was just recently purchased and in fact has had only one payment made on it thus far I have to say the thought of having what was a brand new car now being a Frankenstein of sorts is a bit concerning to me and not very comforting or desirable. This honestly doesn't quite feel fair regardless of if it is right by the warranty and I can't help but believe that it devalues the car some how vs. say a car that had the same problem a few years later and 40k miles down the road. My first instinct is to demand a new car instead or at the least some type of discount/kickback/settlement of sorts to additonally compensate me but practically I know that is not likely to happen.

 

With no real time frame they can offer they are arranging a rental car for the time being which is fine for now but as I understand it so far the current choices are not quite equal to my car in regards to the MPG's ( A Ford Escape or Minivan) and so if this is still the case when I return on 8/4 then I see this as a problem as well. My commute is a good 800 miles a week and a car that gets far less MPG's is going to equate to a considerable extra out of pocket expense for me that I really can not incur nor do I feel I should have to.

 

Aside from all the stress and aggrevation I am beside myself right now on what I can and or should do about all this and curious as to what any of you would do once the initial anger and shock wears off. There is a grateful side to me that my wife wasn't hurt or that the baby wasn't in the car also but right now I am pretty furious about it all and feel that no matter what I am pretty much at their mercy and not going to like what they are probably in their rights of doing.

[zach69grande 25]

Wow.

first thing I would want to do is talk to the garage myself. My wife is pretty car savvy but sometimes things get lost in translation. A lot of mechanics that i've worked with still have a generally dismissive attitude toward telling ladies what's up with a car or the process, and after a day or so they might have a better feel for what they can get done and in what time frame.

the next thing I would do is call the guy that sold it to me, or possibly go straight to the head of sales or the dealership manager - stay cool - explain the situation and your concerns and see what they offer. then work from there. let them know it will only get ugly if they make it ugly, write out all your concerns first and keep working the list - don't let them sly talk you off topic..

I think I would also start looking at my state's lemon laws and talk to a lawyer, unless you're comfortable with all the legalese in your warranty contract.

Good luck!

[70mstang 11]

That sucks Pak. I think the dealer gets a few attempts at repairing the vehicle before the lemon law would kick in. In this case they want to replace the engine. I don't think it would devalue the car since it was not a wreck just a warranty item .. a big ass warranty item.

 

They should provide a loaner car until a rental is provided.

 

I agree with zach69grande, stay cool but be sure they know of the inconvienince to your family and how you had chosen their product over all the others on the road and if they want to keep a satisfied customer they need to get busy. Then call the Better Business Bureau.:biggrin:

[Max Power 74]

Better Business Bureau is worthless, especially for a major corp. Most people never even look when going to a local dealer.

 

Lemon Law covers repeated attempts to fix the same problem. Not first time ones.

 

Not sure what "engine = dead" even means, but it sounds like you are getting a replacement engine on the first visit, so I don't think there is really any issue with the service. The warranty calls for repair, so I don't think you can get a new car as a replacement unless the dealer is feeling charitable.

 

As far as a loaner getting = gas mileage? Hey, you got a loaner. It would be impossible for a dealer to duplicate every owners wants and needs in their loaner program.

 

Best of luck, don't sweat it. This isn't that unusual.

[Pakrat 1,043]

This would all be a lot eaiser if I was home or even going to be home sooner than the next 9 days. The fact that I have to try and deal with this half way around the world on a 12 hour time difference is very frustrating.

 

I sent the tech guy an email similar to my original post, as of yet no response. My wife says in the last conversation they said the engine is defective, I assume dead means completely ceased up, whatever dead means if I had to choose between repair or replacement I guess I would choose replacement. This car is only made in two plants, Korea and Alabama, an engine will need to be pulled form the production line and sent to the dealer, thus no time frame for that to happen. In NH the lemon law as I understand it is you basically need 3 strikes and then you are out and they have to be within a certain time frame. I know the warranty is there for things like this I just can't help but feel engine replacment at this stage is simply going to be the tip of the iceberg and lead to a plethora of things to go wrong as a result.

 

I'd be more likely to send a letter to the Attorney General and to Hyundai themselves before the BBB and I am not getting a loaner, I'm getting a rental from Enterprise, a rental that probably gets maybe 20mpg compared to the 40mpg I was getting this car. X 800 miles a week times lord knows how many weeks is a lot of extra cash to be out of pocket in my eyes on top of making car payments on a car I don't even have. They can and should get me a car that is equal or pay the difference in my eyes, at the very least I should be the one to sifdfer as little inconvienience as possible while they make thinsg right.

[Max Power 74]

If I may ask, why do you get a rental that only gets 20mpg? Almost every rental company has sub-compacts in the same class as your car.....

[Pakrat 1,043]

I didn't make any choices, they hooked up my wife with Enterprise down the street and are having it put on their account. Enterprise told my wife they only had 2 cars currently available, an Escape and a Minivan, I don't think she has made a choice or picked one up yet so far.

[DRASTiK 22]

I have not worked for Hyundai, but I have worked as a tech for GM and Toyota. I've seen both of those companies bend over backwards for a dissatisfied customer when that customer contacted the corporate offices, instead of only settling for the local dealership service manager. Kickbacks are possible, as well as a new vehicle (same model).

 

During the last decade, Hyundai has worked very hard to change its reputation as a cheap throw-away car builder. In my opinion, if you're dissastisfied with the recent events occurring with your brand new car, you should contact their corporate offices to give your concerns about the quality and safety of their product. They're the ones who pay the dealership for warranty services and they dictate which warranty operations are approved/not approved. You should be able to obtain the appropriate contact information from the dealership if you cannot find it in your paperwork.

 

If restoring your confidence (as their new customer) in their product is a priority, then there's a good chance that something can be worked out here. They want loyal customers who will buy another Hyundai later down the road and they should know that one dissatisfied customer will go out of his/her way to inform everyone he/she knows about it. Use that information to your advantage. Good luck Pak!

[Pakrat 1,043]

Well, the new engine has been apparently installed and the car returned but this dealer continues to lose my confidence in them.

 

Dealer called my wife and told her it was ready on Friday, she had a doctors appointment and said she would schedule a time to pick it up as soon as she could. She comes home from the appt and finds the car in the driveway with the key in the ignition.

 

As you may recall the dealer originally told her straight out that the service had nothing to do with this and the engine was defective. Later that afternoon the dealers insurance company called and wanted her side of the story, after telling them what happened she asked the insurance agent why they were involved and if they new what happened to the car. Now bare in mind this is what my wife said they told her and she isn't really sure of the details, I have an appointment to talk with them myself when I return from trip so I can get all the details straight before I go tear the dealer a new one. They said that this particular engine has a dual reservoir system and the second reservoir did not get filled and that the cap was left off, the complete loss of oil is what caused the engine to seize.

 

WTF?!??!?!?!? I know the 2011 hasn't been out for much longer than the 12 but OMG, I didn't take this to Joe's Amercian oil change and asked for service on my import, this is an F'n dealer for christ sake, if they are not aware of the proper procedure than who the hell would be. I had a scheduled appt for this and rotation and it took a fricken hour and they didn't even vacuum my floor mats or nothing, I mean geez.

 

They better damn well come thru with a hell of a lot more than just this engine swap for me to keep quite or I'm going to start shouting from the top of the mountain. I plan to start by talking to the head guy at the dealership and if I get no where I will go to Hyundai Corporate, The Attorney General, the local press, every Hyundai forum I can find etc... they can do this the easy way or the hard way, I'm prepared to fight. I still haven't filled out my satisfaction survey from the service or the one from Hyundai on my new purchase and I demand to be further compenasted somehow.

[70mstang 11]

I'd pick up a phone recording device .. it sounds like the dealer is trying to hide their screw up and it's getting into a place that sounds like insurance fraud. The old style are only a few bucks and may plug into an mp3 player.

[DRASTiK 22]

I understand that people make mistakes, but covering them up with false information is just a baaaad idea. Good luck Pak, let us know how it comes out.

[Fordrevhead 29]

This sucks Pak! I have heard on other forums of someone getting 5 qts in their new 8 qt 5.0! I would be livid! I once jumped the chain at a Sams club and grabbed the air hose when a monkey was over torquing my lugs with the air then putting the torque wrench on it and of course it would click everytime! Anyway, crap like this gives dealers a bad name. Good luck!