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Brakes Died

4K views 23 replies 13 participants last post by  DanZhao 
#1 ·
Good evening all!

A few weeks ago I was turning into a Wal Mart parking lot when all of the alarm bells and whistles went off. I lost all brakes. When I stepped on the brake pedal there was nothing. It went straight to the floor and I could hear a grinding sound coming from the rear brakes and there was no slowing down by the brakes. I was traveling slowly enough that gravity and friction brought me to a safe stop!

I had the car towed to a local repair shop and they got a good look at it. I'm over 102,000 miles on my 2013 HSH now so the warranty was gone. After examining the car they determined that the hydraulic power unit for the brakes had failed. I learned that there are two brake systems on the car. One for when the engine is running and one for when the car is running under battery power. It was the latter unit that had failed.

My understanding is that when the shop called Hyundai to find out about a replacement unit they were told that there have been other problems with this and that there have been 5 redesigns of the power unit so far. Apparently some of the failures are caused by the hydraulic fluid leaking out of the pump and getting into the electronics and causing them to fail. Hyundai hasn't declared that this is a problem worth recalling however.

This was the third or forth time that I had a brake problem with this car. I had taken it into the dealership for each of the other times and they told me that they didn't know what caused the problem. I was told by the Hyundai technician that he had replaced some sensors but that's all of the information that I had been given to that point. The technician at the recent shop told me that it appeared that someone had tried to repair something but he didn't elaborate on what he saw.

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but I'm extremely thankful that it happened when I was doing 5 mph and not 65. The new part is around $1500 so it isn't cheap and labor was about 5 hours. They also had to update the software so that was another $100 to flash the chipset. I also had the transmission serviced and oil changed at the same time. After a $75 AAA discount plus fluids and other miscellaneous charges it was just under $2500 for the whole job.

I hope that all is well for everyone!!

Chuck
 
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#4 ·
Hey Chuck. Thanks for the heads up about the brakes. We're in new ground with these cars over 100K miles so I'm not sure how far we'll get. I'm at 160K now and the only major part to fail is my moon roof, which needs to be replaced, but I won't do it since I don't think it's worth it given the mileage. My original plan was to keep it until 200K, but now I'm thinking about trading it in this summer.
 
#5 ·
They didn't give me the part back because they needed to return it to get credit back themselves. I was without my car for almost a week and was just happy to get it back so I failed to ask what exactly failed on the hydraulic pump. I did take it to a local shop. I think they're a franchise and they're called Christian Brothers.

It cost me $170 to get my car towed that far and it would have cost another $200 to get it to the Hyundai dealership and every other time I had a problem I don't feel that I got the response that I should have. Hyundai does so much to try to protect themselves that I have lost a lot of confidence in them doing the right thing for me, especially after buying 3 cars from them. I'm not sure that I will buy another Hyundai when I need another car. The Death Lag issue has always bothered me and I think a lot of that is their failure to fix software and hardware issues. This brake issue is another. The car has been a good car overall but I think Hyundai could have done a better job in these cases to take care of their consumers.

The manager of Christian Brothers called Hyundai and spoke to them to get the part that was needed for my car. He argued with them for a little while about having 5 iterations of this part and that Hyundai has known that there is an issue but they wouldn't even come back and give a little bit to help out. He also told them about the number of times I have had my car in the dealership for brakes and they even looked them up but it didn't seem to make any difference to them. That's about done it for me. A few hundred bucks would have helped out a lot and Hyundai could absorb it.

For those who don't know me, this is my second HSH. I bought a 2011 and put 84,000 miles on it before I traded it in on this one primarily because the 2011 didn't have the lifetime warranty on the battery. I still have a couple of years of payments on this one so I will probably drive it until the wheels fall off but I'll have to make some decisions about what I want to drive after that. We'll see what Hyundai does in the next couple of years to improve their product.

Chuck
 
#6 ·
What kind of parking brake is on that model, Chuck? Given enough time, would that have been an option or is it hydraulic like the other brakes? My '16 Ultimate has the electric parking brake but I do not know how it really works other than being electrically actuated.

I'd do an NHTSA complaint on this one. Plain old hydraulic brakes have been a "split system" for decades to preclude this type of failure. https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/complaint.cfm - The note at the top of the page says it may not be working today, the 23rd.

I'd also do a certified letter to Hyundai with a copy of all of your repair records. Not the local or regional Hyundai operation, the national one.

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/about-hy...ND_CEO_OF_HYUNDAI_MOTOR_AMERICA-20161221.aspx

By Mail

Hyundai Motor America
P.O. Box 20850
Fountain Valley, CA 92728-0850

None of that electronic form garbage, real certified mail with a return receipt.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the info NXR! I appreciate that. I will think about that. It is some good advice.

As I've been catching up on the board I have seen a few threads about transmission issues. I said that I had mine serviced and they changed out all of the fluid and replaced the filter. I was told that they found some small metal flakes in the filter but nothing that is inconsistent with normal wear and tear on the transmission after 102,000 miles. I haven't had any issues coming from the transmission but I just wanted to throw this out there.

I don't know if there may have been a series of transmissions with issues but so far, mine doesn't seem to be. I don't know if there are any manufacture dates out there for the cars that have had failures or not but maybe that could help isolate who may or may not have some bad equipment in their cars.

Oh, and I believe that the emergency brake on my HSH is cable based and not electronic.

Chuck
 
#9 ·
<<<I still have a couple of years of payments on this one so I will probably drive it until the wheels fall off but I'll have to make some decisions about what I want to drive after that. >>>

This is a 2013, that makes it almost 4 years old and you have years of payments ?

Almost every car insurance had towing insurance. I think it's $5 a year. Good for 50 miles or something.
 
#10 ·
I am not sure if this would of fell under the 100k warranty and if you were even entitled to it however if you were and they do fall under you should not have rolled over just like that. My 11 Sonata 2.4 had engine failure at 122,918 miles and they denied my 132 claim for my engine being outside of warranty. After a couple of Facebook spam on their Corporate Facebook page and a message to them a CM called me back and got them to take a second look at it. They eventually approved my Long Block replacement and rental for me to drive while they fix it. All together it is going to cost them about $7k for everything on a car that is only worth $5k. HAHAHAHAHAHA Good luck with your car and it sounds like you financed your car for 6 or 7 years, never do that.
 
#11 ·
... and it sounds like you financed your car for 6 or 7 years, .../QUOTE]

I know this is off-topic but everyone's financial and life position is different. I think leasing is a bad deal for us but we've done it. We leased a minivan when our kids were small because we needed something like that but could not afford it on one paycheck. In five years when I'm not working full-time anymore, hopefully, it could make sense to lease again.
 
#14 ·
Finance for as long as you want, trick is to get low payments when you need more 1 month, but can put more in others. I paid off my 60 month Elantra loan in 8 months.
 
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#19 ·
Hey Chuck, glad you are ok, that must have been very scary for you. I hate to think what could have/would have happened if that happened to you while you were on the freeway. It sucks that you had so many previous brake problems too, and Hyundai really should offer you some assistance. I guess that I have been lucky that I haven't had any real problems on my 2011 since the "check charging system" problem was taken care of, but now that I am out of the 5/60 warranty, I fear the day I need any major work out of the realm of my capabilities. I hope you get some assistance from Hyundai, especially since you had prior documented brake problems.
Good luck friend, Vinny.
 
#21 ·
I saw a YouTube video a while back on emergency braking with an electronic parking brake (EPB). Ref

Looking at page 5-27 in the owners manual; "Emergency braking - If there is a problem with the brake
pedal while driving, emergency braking is possible by pulling up and holding the EPB switch. Braking is possible only while you are holding the EPB switch." It goes on to warn that using the EPB in this manner could cause damage to the system and lead to a severe accident. My guess is it wouldn't be as bad as not braking at all.
 
#22 ·
Good evening all!

A few weeks ago I was turning into a Wal Mart parking lot when all of the alarm bells and whistles went off. I lost all brakes. When I stepped on the brake pedal there was nothing. It went straight to the floor and I could hear a grinding sound coming from the rear brakes and there was no slowing down by the brakes. I was traveling slowly enough that gravity and friction brought me to a safe stop!

I had the car towed to a local repair shop and they got a good look at it. I'm over 102,000 miles on my 2013 HSH now so the warranty was gone. After examining the car they determined that the hydraulic power unit for the brakes had failed. I learned that there are two brake systems on the car. One for when the engine is running and one for when the car is running under battery power. It was the latter unit that had failed.

My understanding is that when the shop called Hyundai to find out about a replacement unit they were told that there have been other problems with this and that there have been 5 redesigns of the power unit so far. Apparently some of the failures are caused by the hydraulic fluid leaking out of the pump and getting into the electronics and causing them to fail. Hyundai hasn't declared that this is a problem worth recalling however.

This was the third or forth time that I had a brake problem with this car. I had taken it into the dealership for each of the other times and they told me that they didn't know what caused the problem. I was told by the Hyundai technician that he had replaced some sensors but that's all of the information that I had been given to that point. The technician at the recent shop told me that it appeared that someone had tried to repair something but he didn't elaborate on what he saw.

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but I'm extremely thankful that it happened when I was doing 5 mph and not 65. The new part is around $1500 so it isn't cheap and labor was about 5 hours. They also had to update the software so that was another $100 to flash the chipset. I also had the transmission serviced and oil changed at the same time. After a $75 AAA discount plus fluids and other miscellaneous charges it was just under $2500 for the whole job.

I hope that all is well for everyone!!

Chuck
I have a 2012 Sonata Hybrid, and I'm the original owner. 94,000 miles. I was pulling into a parking lot on 09/21/2019 when I had the same problem. Brake pedal went to the floor. Horrible grinding sound from all the wheels. Chiming. Hybrid System Warning. Check Brakes. Parked the car. Got out and looked all around. No leaks. Checked brake fluid level, and it was OK. Turned the car back on and no warnings. Backed car up and no grinding sound. We were out of town and 150 miles from home and nearly as far to the nearest dealer. No problems other than being as nervous as **** for the entire drive.

Called the dealer. Hybrid mechanic was in and near the phone. Sounded like he never encountered this problem before. Told me to check brake fluid. Turn car off and on. Already did all that. Took the car to a local brake shop. Check out for leaks etc. Checked computer for codes. Everything checked out. Reluctant to go to dealer which is 40 miles away because they'll just start replacing parts like master cylinder at $500 and the hydraulic power unit for $1500 plus labor ?. Who knows, the sky's the limit.

Like one of the previous post ... What do you do when you're driving down the highway on a steep hill at 75 MPH and the same thing happens???

I strongly encourage anyone reading this post who has a similar problem to file a complaint at https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
 
#23 ·
I have a 2012 Sonata Hybrid, and I'm the original owner. 94,000 miles. I was pulling into a parking lot on 09/21/2019 when I had the same problem. Brake pedal went to the floor. Horrible grinding sound from all the wheels. Chiming. Hybrid System Warning. Check Brakes. Parked the car. Got out and looked all around. No leaks. Checked brake fluid level, and it was OK. Turned the car back on and no warnings. Backed car up and no grinding sound. We were out of town and 150 miles from home and nearly as far to the nearest dealer. No problems other than being as nervous as **** for the entire drive.

Called the dealer. Hybrid mechanic was in and near the phone. Sounded like he never encountered this problem before. Told me to check brake fluid. Turn car off and on. Already did all that. Took the car to a local brake shop. Check out for leaks etc. Checked computer for codes. Everything checked out. Reluctant to go to dealer which is 40 miles away because they'll just start replacing parts which are over $1,000.

Like one of the previous post ... What do you do when you're driving down the highway on a steep hill at 75 MPH and the same thing happens???

I strongly encourage anyone reading this post who has a similar problem to file a complaint at https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
 
#24 ·
Any follow up to this?

This exact situation just happened to me 2 days ago, 2012 hybrid and at 148k miles (changed transmission after 105k...) anyway, i was driving around 60 mph and the brakes all of sudden went to the floor with grinding noise, hardly was able to brake but eventually i came to a stop. Check brakes was on then follow by Hybrid system warning DO NOT DRIVE. Slowly drove home, couldnt accelerate pass 20 mph. Turning the car on later in the day, the warning went over and all is fine. No leaks anywhere.

This car have been a nightmare since i bought it new and i had numerous problem with this car. Things like the panoramic roof exploding on you while driving (Hyundai is currently in a law suit for this).

Ultimately i cant trade this car in now, as its worth ****.
 
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