Purchased in 2010, a Hyundai Getz which has done 25,000 kms, When I purchased the car back in July 2010, I noticed a Noise coming from the top of the engine. I discussed with Booths Motor Group at North Gosford my concern at the noise which was intermittent at first. After the first service it was dismissed by them as “Normal Running In of the Car”.
However, the noise began to be more frequent, causing me to point it out to Booths again and demanding more attention to the problem. They pointed out “That all work on the vehicle under warranty is at the customers cost until the issue has been deemed to be a warranty issue. In the event that it is not, the customer will be charged. Diagnosis is at $125.00 per hour”.
After inspecting the car the Booths Motor Group Mechanic determined the noise to be faulty Hydraulic Valve Lifters. They were replaced and the Car was tested for further noise and deemed ok. When I picked up the car, which was driven from the Service Area to me, I could hear the same noise, quieter, but still present. When I voiced my concerns that the noise was still there, I was informed that “It would take the Hydraulic Lifters some time to quieten down”.
Over a period of 12 months the noise began to get worse and I booked the vehicle in on Tuesday 6th of May at 8am. I voiced my concerns at the noise and was told that they would endeavour to locate the problem.
A week later (13th May, today) I was informed that my car was ready and the cost of finding the noise problem was not under Warranty and would cost me $250.
They said over the phone that they spent 9 hours on the car, but would only charge 2 hours at $125 per hour. I asked what was the problem and was told “Carbon build up in the engine due to possible Bad Fuel”. The “Bad Fuel” meaning that the wrong octane fuel was used. I pointed out that I only put in Shell 95 and 98, but was again dismissed and told it was Carbon Build up that was making the noise.
I therefore ask why Booths Motor Group didn’t pick up this so called “Carbon Build up” in the Engine previously? Stating it was “Faulty Hydraulic Valve Lifters”.
Why didn’t they listen to my previous concerns regarding the noise??
Why did it take 9 hours of work this time, to come to the conclusion that it was a Build-Up of Carbon in the engine? Surely sensors would have shown this in the OBBII Codes. ???
It would seem that after spending 9 hours trying to locate the source of the noise, and this was relayed to me by My Service Consultant, that the prognosis was ‘build-up of carbon deposits’ which is caused by fuel. As the car has only travelled 25,000kms and has always used the correct fuel octane rating as specified by Hyundai, which is 95 and/or 98, I feel that the diagnosis may be incorrect and there could be other factors to be taken into account, which may be more serious, such as the oil pressure in the motor itself or a faulty oil pump, or other causes which can also possibly bring about the noise encountered.
I also would like to point out that my Wife also owns a Getz (2009 Model).
In 2011 that vehicle’s ‘check engine’ light kept coming on intermittently. We informed Booths Motor Group of the problem and the Vehicle was looked at over several days. We were informed over the phone that it was “Bad Fuel” and the cost would be $250. When I asked did you test the fuel? I was told “yes and we couldn’t find anything wrong with it”. With that response I asked why are we paying $250? , when you can’t find the fuel is at fault? I was told that they suspect the fuel and if it isn’t the problem then they will look at draining the fuel tank and if that doesn’t fix it, would replace the fuel tank, injectors, fuel pump and filter all at our expense.
We paid the additional costs and, unfortunately, the same fault occurred a week later. The car was returned to Booth’s Service Department and we spoke directly with the service manager who informed us it was definitely “Bad Fuel” that was causing the light to come on. When asked how did he come to that conclusion considering that it was several weeks after the last time and new fuel from a different service station was put in.
He said that the engine code PO301 was detected. We had the OBDII code list with us at the time and with that code there are 12 possible reasons for its occurrence, not just ‘bad fuel’. I also mentioned one of them could be a faulty ignition coil lead but it was dismissed out of hand.
We were unhappy with the response from the Service Manager and the Mechanic and we phoned Hyundai Australia and spoke to the Area Manager for that region who then contacted Booths Service Department directly, from that discussion my wife’s car was taken back for further inspection and the outcome was a faulty ignition coil lead was suddenly found.
We would like to point out after speaking to the service manager again and noting that the cost was paid for an incorrect diagnosis we asked for a refund and was given a free service instead.
After our previous experiences with this Service Department at Booth’s Hyundai at North Gosford we are a little concerned about their ability to diagnose issues which may involve Warranty work. It seems ‘Bad Fuel’ is an easy assumption to make no matter what the problem appears to be.
Still waiting to hear back from either Booths or Hyundai regarding my Car.
However, the noise began to be more frequent, causing me to point it out to Booths again and demanding more attention to the problem. They pointed out “That all work on the vehicle under warranty is at the customers cost until the issue has been deemed to be a warranty issue. In the event that it is not, the customer will be charged. Diagnosis is at $125.00 per hour”.
After inspecting the car the Booths Motor Group Mechanic determined the noise to be faulty Hydraulic Valve Lifters. They were replaced and the Car was tested for further noise and deemed ok. When I picked up the car, which was driven from the Service Area to me, I could hear the same noise, quieter, but still present. When I voiced my concerns that the noise was still there, I was informed that “It would take the Hydraulic Lifters some time to quieten down”.
Over a period of 12 months the noise began to get worse and I booked the vehicle in on Tuesday 6th of May at 8am. I voiced my concerns at the noise and was told that they would endeavour to locate the problem.
A week later (13th May, today) I was informed that my car was ready and the cost of finding the noise problem was not under Warranty and would cost me $250.
They said over the phone that they spent 9 hours on the car, but would only charge 2 hours at $125 per hour. I asked what was the problem and was told “Carbon build up in the engine due to possible Bad Fuel”. The “Bad Fuel” meaning that the wrong octane fuel was used. I pointed out that I only put in Shell 95 and 98, but was again dismissed and told it was Carbon Build up that was making the noise.
I therefore ask why Booths Motor Group didn’t pick up this so called “Carbon Build up” in the Engine previously? Stating it was “Faulty Hydraulic Valve Lifters”.
Why didn’t they listen to my previous concerns regarding the noise??
Why did it take 9 hours of work this time, to come to the conclusion that it was a Build-Up of Carbon in the engine? Surely sensors would have shown this in the OBBII Codes. ???
It would seem that after spending 9 hours trying to locate the source of the noise, and this was relayed to me by My Service Consultant, that the prognosis was ‘build-up of carbon deposits’ which is caused by fuel. As the car has only travelled 25,000kms and has always used the correct fuel octane rating as specified by Hyundai, which is 95 and/or 98, I feel that the diagnosis may be incorrect and there could be other factors to be taken into account, which may be more serious, such as the oil pressure in the motor itself or a faulty oil pump, or other causes which can also possibly bring about the noise encountered.
I also would like to point out that my Wife also owns a Getz (2009 Model).
In 2011 that vehicle’s ‘check engine’ light kept coming on intermittently. We informed Booths Motor Group of the problem and the Vehicle was looked at over several days. We were informed over the phone that it was “Bad Fuel” and the cost would be $250. When I asked did you test the fuel? I was told “yes and we couldn’t find anything wrong with it”. With that response I asked why are we paying $250? , when you can’t find the fuel is at fault? I was told that they suspect the fuel and if it isn’t the problem then they will look at draining the fuel tank and if that doesn’t fix it, would replace the fuel tank, injectors, fuel pump and filter all at our expense.
We paid the additional costs and, unfortunately, the same fault occurred a week later. The car was returned to Booth’s Service Department and we spoke directly with the service manager who informed us it was definitely “Bad Fuel” that was causing the light to come on. When asked how did he come to that conclusion considering that it was several weeks after the last time and new fuel from a different service station was put in.
He said that the engine code PO301 was detected. We had the OBDII code list with us at the time and with that code there are 12 possible reasons for its occurrence, not just ‘bad fuel’. I also mentioned one of them could be a faulty ignition coil lead but it was dismissed out of hand.
We were unhappy with the response from the Service Manager and the Mechanic and we phoned Hyundai Australia and spoke to the Area Manager for that region who then contacted Booths Service Department directly, from that discussion my wife’s car was taken back for further inspection and the outcome was a faulty ignition coil lead was suddenly found.
We would like to point out after speaking to the service manager again and noting that the cost was paid for an incorrect diagnosis we asked for a refund and was given a free service instead.
After our previous experiences with this Service Department at Booth’s Hyundai at North Gosford we are a little concerned about their ability to diagnose issues which may involve Warranty work. It seems ‘Bad Fuel’ is an easy assumption to make no matter what the problem appears to be.
Still waiting to hear back from either Booths or Hyundai regarding my Car.