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Hyundai

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Hyundai • Brakes • Stalling • Transmission • "Just Everything" • Airbags • Engine Failure • Fires • Sludge Problems --- News • Iowa Woman Says Hyundai Dealer Forced Car on Her • Lawsuit Says Hyundai Airbags Fail to Deploy • Feds Step Up Rusting Hyundai Investigation • Feds Study Hyundai Airbag Failures • Feds Investigate Suspension Failure in Hyundai Santa Fe • Rusting Hyundai Sonatas Prompt Federal Probe • NHTSA Probes Hyundai Air Bag Failure • Hyundai to Tap U.S. Sport Sedan Market • Hyundai Drops Back Into Minivan Market • Hyundai Drops Out of Minivan Market • Airbag Problems Plague New Hyundais • Hyundai Offers $85 Million to Settle Horsepower Suit • Hyundai Aces J.D. Powers Survey • Horsepower Overstated

Hyundai got a lot of good press when it extended its drivetrain warranty to 10 years or 100,000 miles. But those who owns these troublesome little rattletraps have many tales of woe about the warranty, not to mention the transmission, the engine and just about everything else. On top of that, the company now admits that it overstated the horsepower on more than a million Hyundai and Kia models.

More recently, Hyundai and Kia raised eyebrows when they finished unexpectedly high in the J.D. Powers Initial Quality Survey. The Powers Survey is highly regarded but perhaps "initial" quality isn't the problem? Check the complaints listed to the right and judge for yourself.

Here are a few recent arrivals:

Wendy of Broadalbin NY (10/26/06)
I bought a 2002 hyundai accent new. I took care of everything but at 89,000 the transmission burnt up. Hyundai would not honor the warranty. Now there was no warning everything was fine it just went. I've had alot of cars over the years never has a transmiision just gone.They claimed the transmission was black and had never been changed. Well if a transmission burns up what color would the transmission fluid be.even if it had been changed the week before. You don't have to be a mechanic to know that. I will never buy A hyundaii agian . Whats the sence of having a 100,000 mile warranty if they don't honor it. Who's even heard of a transmission going at that mileage?? Except on a hyundai.

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Christine of Omaha, NE August 14, 2006

Christine of Omaha NE (08/14/06)
We bought a used 2000 Hyundai Elantra for our daughter. We had the car 1 day and the driver's window refused to go up. We replaced the motor then the power locks stopped working. Had the car in the shop for the 3rd time. Was told nothing was wrong with it. Drove the 6 miles home and the window would not go up again. The mechanic is either lousy or the Hyundai is.

Errin of Newark, OH August 13, 2006

Errin of Newark OH (08/13/06)
I purchased my 2000 Hyundai Sonata new. It has been garaged 95% of its life and gets washed regularly. Last week my husband felt it pulling to the side and after further inspection realized the front right tire was leaning in at the top. The entire engine cradle has rusted out! The car is no longer safe to drive and no one seems to know what might have caused this. The car has 68,000 miles on it and has never had water damage. Hyundai, of course, is not taking any responsibly for this defective part. I have no idea where to go with this problem so we will be involving an attn. Can you please send an email shedding some light on how or why this would rust out and what our rights are or how to proceed.

Danny of Aynor, SC July 10, 2006

Danny  of Aynor SC (07/10/06)
On 3/31/06 our car went up in flames sitting in the driveway. The key had become stuck in the ignition the day before and smelled funny while running. We suffered a total loss but can not seem to find out if there has been any problems with this model or any reports. It was a 2000 sonata. Please help us find out if there was a problem with the manufacturer. We had only a few payments left and after it was totaled and paid off we only got a little more than 100.00.

Jennifer of Bulrington, KY July 5, 2006

Jennifer of Bulrington KY (07/05/06)
Please Hyundai; Honor your HPP Warrantee! I bought a Hyundai Santa Fe before I got married, and have had some problems regarding my extended warrantee. It began when I first purchased my car one August weekend in 2002. I signed a bunch of papers with an agreed-upon interest rate and happily drove off with my new car, leaving my old car on the lot as a trade-in. On the very next Monday I received a call from the dealership saying that the bank I was supposed to be going through somehow fell through (no reason was given).

The salesman said not to worry, and that he had me all “fixed-up” and got me financed through another bank. He had the new contract waiting with every signature line conveniently high-lighted. He did not point out that the new interest rate was higher than the first, and that the payments were now stretched out over six additional months! These were not the terms I had agreed upon when I bought the car. It was also not the third day yet following the business transaction. When I said to forget about it and that I wanted my old car back, they shuffled my fiancé and me into an office. That’s where we renegotiated the price of the car (to off-set the new interest rate).

That’s also where we purchased the extended HPP (Hyundai Protection Plan) Warrantee which extended my “bumper-to-bumper” coverage to 100 thousand miles. Later on Hyundai made amends for overstating the power of my car by offering different warrantee products. I opted for the 120,000 mile extended power-train warrantee because I already had the bumper-to-bumper coverage to 100,000 (one of the other settlement options). As it happens, beyond the 60,000-mile mark (at about 72,000) my car required a service beyond the maintenance schedule that my car had to date enjoyed. The dealership told me that I was out of warrantee (beyond 60,000 miles).

Four years after purchasing my car and the HPP, Hyundai had no record of my extended warrantee. When I called the Hyundai Customer Assistance Center regarding my missing HPP enrollment, the representative could issue me either a warrantee card, or any sort of proof that my car carried the HPP. She told me that the only proof I had was contained in the original purchase contract on the car.

She did give me a file number referencing my problem. (I did find a copy of my HPP contract following that phone call, and contrary to what I had been told on the phone, the contract does in fact, have a number!) Meanwhile, at the dealership/shop where my car was being serviced, the computers were “down”, but finally we got it straightened out. I had to sign an affidavit and submit a copy of my driver’s license when I picked up my car, but at least it was covered, right? That brings me to my motivation for writing this. About a month after my car was serviced.

I received a call at work from the Hyundai Dealership which performed the warrantee work. They said that Hyundai (The BIG Hyundai, not the dealership) was demanding a copy of my marriage license or they would not (will not) honor my extended warrantee. They want a copy of my marriage license, and a brief note explaining why my name changed. My name changed from my maiden name to my maiden name hyphenated with my husband’s name. (My driver’s license reflects that name change.)

The IRS believes me, the Social Security Administration, the Kentucky State DMV and my employer believes me, but Hyundai doesn’t believe that I am now (hyphenated) who originally purchased my car, and it’s extended HPP warrantee. Hyundai never told me that I would have to disclose this sort of information upon getting married, and having my hyphenated.

I can send my marriage certificate in, but I do want their request in writing, because first of all this is the first I have heard of such a policy. I re-read my contract, and I could find nothing indicating that I might have to submit this personal information. When I asked the Hyundai Customer Assistance Center if they could put this request in writing, they declined stating that it would be “not possible”. When I asked to whom a lawyer might be able to talk to get the request for this information in writing, they said “Hyundai Legal Division”, but they had no contact information. They could only suggest that I “do a search” to find that information. This would not happen to man simply as a result of marriage. As a result, a female has to do more work to exercise her right to use of this product than a man.

James of Fletcher, NC June 13, 2006

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