Autobroker
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- May 10, 2022
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I have a business associate who owns a 2012 Hyundai Sonata with a 2.4L 4 cylinder motor. The car wouldn't start, so she had AAA come to jump start it. They told her the engine is frozen? The car has a little over 106K miles, so it shouldn't have locked up. She had it towed to the Hyundai dealer and they confirmed that the motor is locked up. I remember hearing about Hyundai and Kia having problems with their 2.4L 4 cyl motors, so I did a Google search and sure enough, they had class action lawsuits against them. Here' s a summary of the problem:
When the motors were built in the Alabama factory, they didn't do a thorough job cleaning the metal shaving from the machining, so they break loose at random times and destroy the motor. Millions of cars are affected and were supposed to be recalled, per NHTSA. They were recalled due to safety issues - the car could shut down in the middle of traffic, so it's not safe. NHTSA told Hyundai/Kia to replace the motors, however their brilliant legal team found another solution. During the second class action, Hyundai was able to trade off the replacement of motors for a lifetime warranty on the motor. But there's a stipulation - Hyundai/Kia would install this KDSS software modification, which uses the knock sensor to "look" for other noises. When it finds the right one, the car is thrown into a limp home mode. The purpose is to keep the motor from locking up, thus no more safety problem. Here's the kicker; IF the owner does not have the KDSS software installed, the owner is cited for gross negligence and the lifetime warranty is voided! To me, this doesn't make sense, because the purpose of the KDSS software update is to keep the car from stopping in traffic. Once the motor is damaged to the point where noises are sensed, it's too late - the motor is wrecked. Cylinder walls, crank mains, connecting rod bearings, wrist pins, valve train, cam bearings, etc.
When I told her this, in her layman's terms, she said the KDSS system is like a whistle. When it detects something is wrong, it blows the whistle and the thing that controls the engine/transmission will put it into a mode to get you home safely. The car is already ruined, but at least you're not going to get into an accident. I was impressed, she summarized it better than I could.
Here's the stinky part. Hyundai/Kia company knows they didn't build the motor correctly. To sidestep their responsibility, they claim that the owner is being grossly negligent for not installing the KDSS software update. In fact, the owner is being so negligent that they claim it now voids the warranty given in the class action! Really???
So, Hyundai refused to honor the warranty on her car and she was stuck paying for the repair herself - no help from Hyundai! In the last six months, I've had two other clients complain about their Kia cars - again bad motors. The first was a 2017 Kia Soul. 101K miles and the compression was bad and the CEL threw. The dealer tried to get her for $10K for a new long block. I told her to complain and be the squeaky wheel. It worked and they put a used motor in the car. Of course, they told her it was okay and she can depend on the car now. Funny thing, when she first brought the car in and asked if they could fix her motor, they said no. When she asked if they could put a used engine in, they said no. $10K for a new long block or she'd be wasting her money. Then they throw in a used motor!
The second one was pretty bad. He bought a 2017 Kia Sorrento used a few years ago. Since he's the second owner, he doesn't get the 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. He only gets the 5yr/60K warranty. As you can guess, 69K miles and his 2.4L 4 cyl motor throws a CEL. The dealer checks it and cylinder 4 has 20 lbs of compression. They throw a scope down the spark plug hole and the cylinder walls are scored pretty badly. Another $10K repair is needed. They can't rebuild the motor, nor can they put a used one in. The dealer tells him that those two solution will make the car dangerous to drive! He must get the new long block. He's fighting them, but I don't have much faith in the company.
People gave me a hard time when I told them I'm buying a Ram Truck - most didn't know it's a brand, so I told them it's a Dodge Truck! Oh boy, the snarky remarks were flying. You're in the business and you're getting a Dodge? They're the worst company - why are you doing this? I once had a Dodge and I'll never buy one again! On and on and on!
So tell me, when was the last time you heard about a Dodge, Ram, Chrysler or Jeep product losing a motor at 69K miles? Or 101K? Or 106K. How about three in six months? How about Dodge, Ram, Chrysler or Jeep snubbing NHTSA and shirking responsibility for building a defective vehicle? Screwing their own clients, because they made a bad vehicle?
People think these Hyundai and Kia vehicles are so great. Wake up folks, the internet is full of horror stories of motors blowing up, the company running from their responsibility - they made a bad car, then fix it! Be honorable! Repent! Nooooo, instead they use the court system to trick the judge into creating a loophole, where they can escape responsibility! Organizations like Consumer Reports and JD Powers must think this type of action is okay, because they rate Hyundai and Kia as near the top. And they think Genesis is better than Lexus!
Okay, let's look at Lexus for a minute. We've owned four Lexus cars. My mom has owned two. My sister one. Our daughter one. 200K miles - no sweat! Here's how good Lexus is. In 2017, we received a notice that Lexus will replace our dashboard, because they've received complaints that the material gets soft. Oh, by the way, this is for a 2008 RX 350 that had a 4 year/50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. We're 5 years out of warranty at this point. Oh, our car had over 160K miles too. I called the local Lexus dealer to ask if this was for real. He set up an appointment to inspect the car. Long story short, he authorized a new dashboard - they ordered the part and when it was in, I dropped the car off and they installed it! $0! They even offered a loaner, but I couldn't take it! When we got the car back, they washed it for us too!
Story #2. Our daughter has a 2006 Lexus IS 350 with over 160K miles. She told me it smells like gas after driving the car, so I told her to take it to the mechanic. She's been busy, so she's driving her other car. Then I received a notice in the mail. Lexus IS cars have some sort of fuel issue, where a part cracks and gas fumes come out. Note that this is a 16 year old car with 160K + miles. Lexus wants the car back, so they can inspect it and repair the system! Unbelievable! And they'll tow it too!
Lexus tried to repair cars that are WAYYYY out of warranty, however Hyundai/Kia finds a loophole so they don't need to honor their warranty!
Sorry for the long rant, but I'm very, very, very disappointed with Hyundai/Kia. And after this fiasco, I'm not buying one!
I'd love to hear if you had the same thing happen.
When the motors were built in the Alabama factory, they didn't do a thorough job cleaning the metal shaving from the machining, so they break loose at random times and destroy the motor. Millions of cars are affected and were supposed to be recalled, per NHTSA. They were recalled due to safety issues - the car could shut down in the middle of traffic, so it's not safe. NHTSA told Hyundai/Kia to replace the motors, however their brilliant legal team found another solution. During the second class action, Hyundai was able to trade off the replacement of motors for a lifetime warranty on the motor. But there's a stipulation - Hyundai/Kia would install this KDSS software modification, which uses the knock sensor to "look" for other noises. When it finds the right one, the car is thrown into a limp home mode. The purpose is to keep the motor from locking up, thus no more safety problem. Here's the kicker; IF the owner does not have the KDSS software installed, the owner is cited for gross negligence and the lifetime warranty is voided! To me, this doesn't make sense, because the purpose of the KDSS software update is to keep the car from stopping in traffic. Once the motor is damaged to the point where noises are sensed, it's too late - the motor is wrecked. Cylinder walls, crank mains, connecting rod bearings, wrist pins, valve train, cam bearings, etc.
When I told her this, in her layman's terms, she said the KDSS system is like a whistle. When it detects something is wrong, it blows the whistle and the thing that controls the engine/transmission will put it into a mode to get you home safely. The car is already ruined, but at least you're not going to get into an accident. I was impressed, she summarized it better than I could.
Here's the stinky part. Hyundai/Kia company knows they didn't build the motor correctly. To sidestep their responsibility, they claim that the owner is being grossly negligent for not installing the KDSS software update. In fact, the owner is being so negligent that they claim it now voids the warranty given in the class action! Really???
So, Hyundai refused to honor the warranty on her car and she was stuck paying for the repair herself - no help from Hyundai! In the last six months, I've had two other clients complain about their Kia cars - again bad motors. The first was a 2017 Kia Soul. 101K miles and the compression was bad and the CEL threw. The dealer tried to get her for $10K for a new long block. I told her to complain and be the squeaky wheel. It worked and they put a used motor in the car. Of course, they told her it was okay and she can depend on the car now. Funny thing, when she first brought the car in and asked if they could fix her motor, they said no. When she asked if they could put a used engine in, they said no. $10K for a new long block or she'd be wasting her money. Then they throw in a used motor!
The second one was pretty bad. He bought a 2017 Kia Sorrento used a few years ago. Since he's the second owner, he doesn't get the 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. He only gets the 5yr/60K warranty. As you can guess, 69K miles and his 2.4L 4 cyl motor throws a CEL. The dealer checks it and cylinder 4 has 20 lbs of compression. They throw a scope down the spark plug hole and the cylinder walls are scored pretty badly. Another $10K repair is needed. They can't rebuild the motor, nor can they put a used one in. The dealer tells him that those two solution will make the car dangerous to drive! He must get the new long block. He's fighting them, but I don't have much faith in the company.
People gave me a hard time when I told them I'm buying a Ram Truck - most didn't know it's a brand, so I told them it's a Dodge Truck! Oh boy, the snarky remarks were flying. You're in the business and you're getting a Dodge? They're the worst company - why are you doing this? I once had a Dodge and I'll never buy one again! On and on and on!
So tell me, when was the last time you heard about a Dodge, Ram, Chrysler or Jeep product losing a motor at 69K miles? Or 101K? Or 106K. How about three in six months? How about Dodge, Ram, Chrysler or Jeep snubbing NHTSA and shirking responsibility for building a defective vehicle? Screwing their own clients, because they made a bad vehicle?
People think these Hyundai and Kia vehicles are so great. Wake up folks, the internet is full of horror stories of motors blowing up, the company running from their responsibility - they made a bad car, then fix it! Be honorable! Repent! Nooooo, instead they use the court system to trick the judge into creating a loophole, where they can escape responsibility! Organizations like Consumer Reports and JD Powers must think this type of action is okay, because they rate Hyundai and Kia as near the top. And they think Genesis is better than Lexus!
Okay, let's look at Lexus for a minute. We've owned four Lexus cars. My mom has owned two. My sister one. Our daughter one. 200K miles - no sweat! Here's how good Lexus is. In 2017, we received a notice that Lexus will replace our dashboard, because they've received complaints that the material gets soft. Oh, by the way, this is for a 2008 RX 350 that had a 4 year/50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. We're 5 years out of warranty at this point. Oh, our car had over 160K miles too. I called the local Lexus dealer to ask if this was for real. He set up an appointment to inspect the car. Long story short, he authorized a new dashboard - they ordered the part and when it was in, I dropped the car off and they installed it! $0! They even offered a loaner, but I couldn't take it! When we got the car back, they washed it for us too!
Story #2. Our daughter has a 2006 Lexus IS 350 with over 160K miles. She told me it smells like gas after driving the car, so I told her to take it to the mechanic. She's been busy, so she's driving her other car. Then I received a notice in the mail. Lexus IS cars have some sort of fuel issue, where a part cracks and gas fumes come out. Note that this is a 16 year old car with 160K + miles. Lexus wants the car back, so they can inspect it and repair the system! Unbelievable! And they'll tow it too!
Lexus tried to repair cars that are WAYYYY out of warranty, however Hyundai/Kia finds a loophole so they don't need to honor their warranty!
Sorry for the long rant, but I'm very, very, very disappointed with Hyundai/Kia. And after this fiasco, I'm not buying one!
I'd love to hear if you had the same thing happen.
