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Hyundai Warranty Questions, Answered!

118K views 94 replies 54 participants last post by  michael.kling 
#1 · (Edited)
IMPORTANT! Read before proceeding!

The information contained within this section refers to law only within the United States of America and the territories where the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 applies. Laws vary from country to country and I am not familiar with how they all work. If you're curious about consumer protection laws in your country, do some research and see what you find. Please be aware that I am NOT a lawyer and if you have disputes regarding warranty coverage against your dealer and/or Hyundai Motor America (HMA), you need to speak with a legal professional who specializes in automotive warranties and manufacturer disputes.

Feel free to post questions regarding your warranty coverage below and I'll do my best to answer them. Thank you. Hopefully you find this section helpful and informative.

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Introduction...

It seems that I encounter, almost on a daily basis, members here who have been told by their dealership's service department, in some form or another that the customer needs to do what the service department says or you'll lose your entire warranty. I'm sick and tired of watching good, honest people get swindled by those just trying to make an extra buck and frankly, I'm tired of repeating myself so I'm posting this to have the information out in the open for everyone to see.

Recently I took my Elantra in for a minor repair under warranty and the service advisor kept bugging me to schedule my 30,000 mile service so upon getting home, I cracked open my owner's manual and found it consisted of nothing more than an oil and filter change and swapping out the cabin air filter along with a list of cursory inspections. However the recommendations the dealership made (printed out and stapled to my RO) were far more extensive and totaled nearly $600! Some of the services they were recommending were not listed in the manual at all while others weren't due until 100,000 or 120,000 miles! Others were charging between $60 and $80 for the installation of a $20 part that takes literally two minutes. I plan on swapping out the cabin air filter and doing the oil change myself for a tenth of the cost of the dealer's 30K service.

And while you may be encouraged to perform some of these suggested services, keep in mind that your owner's manual and related service booklet are your guide through long-term ownership and care of your new Hyundai as recommended by the very people who designed and built it. Sit down with your favorite beverage in a comfy chair, open them up and do some reading to educate yourself as to how you drive your car and what it will need when it will need it. Knowledge is power, especially in the battle between man and dealership.

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Frequently asked questions...

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding warranties, servicing, and the law which can be read here.

Q: My dealership claims that they have to perform all of my services or my entire warranty will be voided.

A: FALSE - Nothing boils my blood faster and more thoroughly than this absolutely bald-faced lie. Neither the dealership nor the manufacturer has the legal power to void any one part or the entirety of a warranty for any reason. This does not mean they can't deny coverage but we'll get to that later. Long story short; if any dealership staff tries to intimidate you into a service with the threat of a voided warranty, it's simply that: intimidation.

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Q: I was told that I cannot perform my own maintenance on my car.

A: FALSE - As the service department is by far the most profitable of all the branches of a dealer, this is another steaming pile of dung perpetrated to keep you coming back for your services. You may perform your own maintenance (I do) so long as proper records are kept. And I don't just mean writing it down in the logbook; keep receipts and if possible, log them on an Excel spreadsheet, too. Make your record-keeping absolutely bulletproof and for an extra layer of armor, I strongly recommend using genuine Hyundai filters and parts for the length of the warranty just to remove any chance of doubt regarding aftermarket parts and filters.

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Q: My dealership claims that my factory warranty is only valid at their location.

A: FALSE - Your Hyundai factory warranty is provided to you by Hyundai Motor America and is valid at any of their authorized service centers in all 50 states. Note: This does not apply to any aftermarket or 3rd party warranty coverage you may have purchased, in which case you need to refer to the paperwork that came with that service.

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Q: I denied a list of recommended services based on my vehicle's mileage and the service writer said my warranty would be void if I did not have them performed. Is this true?

A: On the surface, this is definitely FALSE however it can lead to complications. As I've stated before, your dealer does not have the legal power to void your warranty as that is illegal and they cannot require you to purchase a service in order to keep the warranty in effect. However, warranty coverage can be denied (key word, remember it) in the event of a modification or lack of maintenance. Let's take a look at a few hypothetical scenarios.

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Example 1 - Lack of maintenance in a warranty claim: Let's hypothesize that you bought your car brand new and do not change your oil except every year and 20,000 miles or so despite doing heavy city driving. At 35,000 miles, your oil pressure light comes on so you have the car towed to the dealer where the technician finds that oil sludge has blocked the oil uptake tube and starved the top end of oil, causing valve damage. At the same time, you mention that the radio has also been acting up and you'd like them to take a look at that, too while the car is in the shop. You're the original owner so your car still falls under the 3 year, 36,000 mile coverage for the radio and the 10 year, 100,000 mile duration of the powertrain warranty.

When your dealer submits to Hyundai of the parts that they need to complete a repair under warranty, Hyundai may request maintenance records if they feel the claim is suspicious, abnormal or unsubstantiated so the dealer sends a copy of your service records to the district representative. In this case, the district rep will see that you've only changed the oil once on your car since you bought it and as the technician has found no obvious defect, the failure was caused not by a fault in manufacturing but rather, a lack of maintenance at which point the engine warranty claim will be denied and you will be stuck footing the bill. The remainder of your powertrain remains covered but just not the part that you neglected.

Now a gross negligence of engine maintenance will not cause the radio to fail and as the two are not related and you'll have a nice shiny new radio to listen to while you sit in your car in the driveway trying to figure out how to pay for a new engine.

Example 2 - Modifications:

We all love to personalize our cars but if you read one of the first pages in your owner's manual you will find a hidden little passage that reads 'Do not modify your Hyundai in any way'. Let's elaborate on that and we'll use a common modification (aftermarket intake) with a common excuse as an example.

Let's say you bring your car into a dealership for a check engine light and the technician takes your car back into the shop where upon opening the hood, he sees your non-Hyundai intake. He promptly closes the hood, drives the car back around front and informs the writer of what he's found at which point the writer tells you they won't be fixing your car under warranty due to the modification you've performed and that it is responsible for your issue despite the fact they have not done any diagnostic to prove this fact. You may consider it ludicrous but it's happened. You head home and borrow a friend's OBDII scanner at which point it reveals your fault code as a P0261, low voltage on the cylinder 1 injector.

While an aftermarket intake may trip a check engine light code, especially with today's super-sensitive and highly refined emissions control systems but it certainly would not cause a voltage issue on your fuel injection system.

Moral of the story? Warranty coverage can be denied on a failed item (and only that item) provided that it can be proven that the modification caused the failure. However, speculation is not proof and if they can prove that your E85 conversion caused the injector issue, then the company is off the hook to cover the part as it is no longer original and cannot be deemed a manufacturing defect.

Example 3 - The shadetree mechanic in a warranty claim:

For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to rehash our story from example one regarding a lack of oil changes, or in this case, a perceived lack of oil changes. Your oil pump has failed causing the engine to be starved of oil and it seizes. The technician working on your car sees that the oil in the crankcase appears clean and the oil filter looks new however he can find no record of the car ever having its oil changed there.

In the event you find yourself in a situation where your dealership service records may be a bit threadbare or totally nonexistent, make sure you inform your advisor immediately upon receipt of the diagnosis that you have performed all maintenance yourself and will provide all the receipts and records of those services. When you supply them with your records, the district rep will review them, compare them against HMA servicing guidelines and make a decision to cover your engine under the powertrain warranty. A few days later and you're back on the road, all thanks to fastidious record keeping!

I keep records for all my services in four places; on MyHyundai.com, in the maintenance handbook, on the receipts stapled together in a manila folder and in an Excel spreadsheet. Also remember that many receipts are now printed on heat-reactive paper that will fade and eventually vanish over time so don't hesitate to copy those onto normal paper and keep the two together, just in case.

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Thank you...

Hopefully you find this section well-written, informative and helpful. Remember that an informed consumer is a powerful consumer and there's no shame in covering all your bases, especially when it comes to spending and saving your hard-earned money. Finally, always remember that the dealership works for YOU, not the other way around.

Happy motoring, friends. :)
 
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#68 ·
I have a question for anyone that might know as far as what Hyundai actually typically REQUIRES as far as DIY maintenance. Somewhat in order from worst to best:

  • I will by DIY'ing my oil changes, and I am considering buying filters in bulk (pack of 6) from E-bay, and possibly buying oil in the 5-quarts jugs even though my car only takes 4-quarts of oil. I plan to keep my receipts and I plan to keep an Excel spreadsheet and also document changes at MyHyundai and TrueDelta, but ...

    Technically, this shows that I purchased the oil, but not that I installed the oil in the car, or what mileage I did that at.

    Will I have an issue that I only have one receipt for filters and at 8K miles a year and 5K filter changes, I will only have one receipt for my first 4 years of oil changes - although it will show that I bought 6 filters at the time?

    Will I have an issue that one quart of oil is left over - so after every 4 oil changes, I have 4 quarts of oil remaining from the containers so I do not have to buy any oil for that change?
  • One member recommended making his own invoice for his own work on the car - I found Auto Repair Invoice Templates - Download Free Forms & Samples for PDF, Word, Excel - I like the concept and might do this, but I'm curious what I put for Garage Name? Do I just put my info - and would Hyundai care that the garage name and info and customer name and info are the same? After all, I could easily fill out that form today to say that I did an oil change 3 months ago - it really doesn't PROVE anything.

  • @AirForce1 plans to have a cel phone or camera with a date stamp and take a picture of the mileage on the car, the existing filter on the car, the new filter with a sharpie showing the date and mileage, the new filter with the date and mileage written on it with a Sharpie after it is installed on the car, etc. This seems pretty bulletproof, but a bit more trouble than I want to go through.

  • I could go to a Jiffy Lube or similar place each time and there would be little question that I maintained the vehicle - but I don't trust them to do the job correctly. (The ultimate goal is to not have a warranty claim, not having it denied if I have a warranty claim is only the secondary goal.)

  • Obviously, the safest bet is to have all maintenance done at the dealer that I would use if I had to have a repair done, but that almost falls into the same category as above.
If anyone who has been through the warranty process and DIY'd their maintenance could share what was or was not acceptable to Hyundai, I would be grateful.
 
#69 ·
Tried to Google this and ran across this:

Hyundai Warranty ? Car Forums at Edmunds.com

It would take me hours to go back through the web and provide links to the numerous sites where people have been denied warranty coverage due to DIY maintenance. Hyundai does not consider a cash register receipt for parts to be proof of maintenance. Their position is that a receipt doesn't mean the parts were ever installed, or installed correctly. They will accept work orders from an independent mechanic as proof of maintenance. It is DIY'ers that have a hard time.

I know all about the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and that it is illegal for dealers and manufacturers to deny warranty to DIY'ers. However if the dealer and/or manufacturer fight you and attribute the failure to bad parts or poor installation, you end up in a battle against the dealer and/or the manufacturer.

If you buy a brand new car and do all your own maintenance, and then 2 years/30K miles later show up at the dealer with an engine problem and no vehicle history in the service network, the dealer is going to really be tough. Customer #2 shows up and has a complete service history in the database. Their car will be serviced under warranty no questions asked.

But that is mostly hear-say and not a specific example of a dealer either rejecting or accepting receipts.
 
#70 ·
Back up my service work with photos, was told the AC system is only warranted for a year, always switch mine off five minutes before I get there with the blower at max to dry off that evaporator, another problem is switching the AC on it cold weather, that woman's facial cream type PAG, stupid, gets very stiff and the compressor seal is as hard as a rock, just don't use it. To keep the windows fog free, crack open the drivers window. Have relative humidity not very much moisture in the air at cold weather, just don't have AC problems, never use it in town.

There means of checking the brakes is to glance at that pads, mine is removing the torque plates, checking those clips for rust buildup that jam the pads, and checking the guide pins for proper lubrication. Live in a road salt area, and salt does not save lives if your brakes don't work. When doing an oil change, spray all those rubber suspension bushings with silicone, dey don't do this either.

Can't recall the warranty on the radio either, major culprit is the alternator with high peak voltages, battery terminals is the filter and the terminal have to be clean and tight,also check the the grounds and major 12 volt power leads. Do have that thermostat recall, but does not seem to be my problem. Found a loose negative battery cable, with only 4K miles on it, was time to clean and grease them, current surge from the starter can affect that all important proper power on reset for all those computers, after doing this, my low coolant problems went away.

Normally I like to put a screen in front of the condenser, bugs hit it and drop off, not recommended because they want you to have problems, PITA to keep that condenser clean, but with restricted air flow, with R-134a that increases pressure at an exponential rate with temperature, those pressures can skyrocket blowing out the compressor seal for starters. Also with cheap aluminum and parallel condensers, one stone chip can wreck these, never was a problems with robust brass tube and fin condensers, is now, blame Al Gore for this.

Just keep my fingers crossed with the new condensers, was driving in Milwaukee a couple of years ago, an oncoming gravel trunk flew by uncovered, a rock hit the windshield, with my comprehensive cost me a hundred bucks for a new one, can only thank it didn't hit that condenser, others haven't been so lucky. Disappointed with the Elantra, only way to remove that condenser shroud is to remove the front bumper first. So have to clean it from underneath, not fun, but has to be done.

In looking at other vehicles, Elantra was the best for quality, but still has a long way to go.
 
#71 · (Edited)
Bit of side info. I wanted to install a dashcam in my new Tucson.

Service Manager said they could do it but warned me it might affect the warranty if any fault could be traced to the installation.

Hyundai UK confirmed. When I asked who would arbitrate on deciding if a foreign device caused a problem, they said: "The Dealer, who is trained".

I did not like my chances of that turning into a weasel-fest come any claims, so I decided to semi-install (tuck wire under the admittedly very pliable door seals (just under the inner edge, don't even need to remove the seal) and jack it into the ciggy lighter.

It will be trivial to pull out come service and reinstall, to avoid all ambiguity.

I find this approach of theirs rather unhelpful (I did tell them they should get a dashcam on their accessories list and they noted that) but if they want to play silly buggers, I'll play the game...
 
#74 ·
I just posted this in the battery thread so forgive me. I have 2014 Elantra with 23,300 miles and battery went dead, I've had car for 34 months. Anyway the service adviser said it would cost me $190 for a regular $340 battery because it was prorated. No other work done, no labor, no tax. So I get the car back read the warranty on battery and it seems I should have only paid 25% of the cost. Is this correct? If so I should have paid $85.00. Called the warranty number in my book and asked this same question they could not answer but gave me a case number and said they'd call the dealer to see what's going on. I just wanted an answer to my percentage and I could have taken care of the rest. Thanks
 
#78 ·
Yep, I knew I was getting screwed. I let the same dealer do the fuel induction, tire rotation, oil change and wheel alignment a month ago and it has run terrible since, ran perfect before. Told them it ran worse than when I brought it in and they said they'd check it all over. Well it was still parked in their garage when they told me it was finished and I had gone out a couple of times to smoke and it never left that spot. So they didn't hook it up and check the engine. Anyway I won't use them for non warranty work again. I did notice both times I've been there the past month is there seems to more Elantra's being repaired than any other model.
 
#80 ·
A vehicle with 23K shouldn't need any type of fuel induction service. Use gas from new or high volume stations and dump in a bottle of Techron concentrate once or twice a year. The main reason you see a lot of Elantra in service is because they sold a lot.

AGM battery... Did Hyundai use several different batteries in the MD?
 
#81 ·
I think a lot of people are confusing AGM and maintenance-free (non-vent cap) batteries - although Ford does have some AGM Motorcraft batteries available.

2014 Hyundai Elantra Battery - batteries can be expensive for this car, but the top-of-the-line from AutoZone is $190. If you paid $190 AFTER the warranty adjustment, you got ripped off.
 
#82 ·
This got me curious, so I did some digging ...

Apparently, the OEM battery is not available:

BATTERY ASSEMBLY for 2014 Hyundai Elantra. #371103X100

Discontinued and not available for purchase - applies up through the 2016, I didn't find a way to locate the correct new battery.

#371100W000: Hyundai. BATTERY ASSEMBLY - Battery for a Sante Fe is $143 for reference, should have cost you $35 under warranty.

Car and Truck Automotive Batteries - Buy a Vehicle Battery for Cars or Trucks | Interstate Batteries - Automotive / Truck 2014 Hyundai Elantra L4/1.8L - Group size is supposed to be an H5.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-H5-Automotive-Battery/20531541 - New battery is $107 with 3-years free replacement - would have been a much better choice than $190 for OEM.
 
#83 ·
New to the forum. 2016 Hyundai Accent bought new with 17 mi from dealership here in AZ. All work at this point (oil changes/tire rotations) has been performed at the dealer.

After 6 months of ownership, at roughly 15k miles (I drive for a living), I found my A/C wasn't working so I took it to the dealership where they discovered a hole in the condenser and informed me that the 12/12k warranty had passed and that they wanted $1800 to repair it. I said no and left, I rarely use the A/C as it is. Now I'm approaching 20k miles and want to know if I can fix it myself without voiding any other warranties. I've tried calling the dealership and haven't gotten a straight answer from them about whether working on a part of my car that is out of warranty would void any other warranties.

I'm not a mechanic but have performed 99% of the maintenance and repairs on all my other vehicles in the past (everything short of a head gasket & replacement head on VW 1.8T), and I'm sure that I can replace the condenser (and flush the system) myself with little trouble. I just don't want to void the remaining warranties on my vehicle by doing it myself.
 
#84 ·
I'm a bit confused.

The A/C condenser should be covered for defects under the 5-yr/60K comprehensive warranty.

Maybe they are saying a rock hit it so it isn't covered for that.

You comprehensive car insurance MIGHT cover it in that case - it's worth asking.

Otherwise, they can't void the warranty b/c you do your own work unless you cause the damage (i.e. if you don't charge the system and the compressor fails, they won't pay for the compressor).

I haven't done A/C work, but you need to fully purge the system and I think there are other parts to replace (receiver/dryer, evaporator?) along with it, but ...
 
#88 ·
In the owner's manual for my 2017 Elantra, it says explicitly: "Where both mileage and time are shown, the frequency of service is determined by whichever occurs first."
 
#91 ·
You are more likely to find the answer in your warranty booklet that came with the vehicle, than you are from a bunch of random strangers here. I could give you my guess, but I have a different vehicle, and you don't know me, so you don't know if I even know what the heck I'm talking about. Or I could look it up in the warranty booklet that came with my 2017 Elantra, but warranties change, even sometimes within a model year, so I'm not sure that would be helpful either. Besides, you can look it up just as easily as I can. Good luck!

Edit: Right after I posted that, I saw your user name. I guess we're all random people! :D
 
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#94 ·
Fortunately, Hyundai Protection Plan offers Tire & Wheel Protection that provides coverage in case of damage to your tires or wheels as a result of nails, glass, debris, potholes, or other road hazards.
Structural damage only; cosmetic damage not covered. Covers run-flat technology.

Are alloy wheels covered under Hyundai warranty?
There is a Refurbishment program for ALL Hyundai alloy wheels. If the wheels are showing signs of corrosion, laquer lift or paint distortion then they WILL BE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY within the 5 year warranty terms.

Are rims covered under Hyundai warranty? (findanyanswer.com)
 
#95 ·
Will be curious how my 2013 Azera goes with this - engine light came on, and within a day the engine started making the dreaded clacking sound. Pretty sure the oil drained out, but not sure why. I'm just under the 100k mark (like 96k?). Oil changes - we've been trying to stick with the every 10,000 miles bit since thats the sticker they always put on the car. Haven't focused on the 'date', just the mileage, the car sat for a few months (drove it but not 'much' in terms of mileage) when my son was getting his permit..but that was a year and a half ago, its been inspected and oil changed several times since then.
 
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