Wonder if anyone here can help. We have a 2006 Sonata with 30,000. Change the oil regulary with Mobil 1 sysnthetic. We changed the oil approximately 2-3 months ago with the Mobil extra life synthetic and threw a rod out the block. The Dealer/Hyundai refuses to warranty the engine stating it went passed the 3000 mile service which voids warranty. They didn't even want to know what caused the malfunction which more then likely be a defect in their motor. Mobil 1 stands behind their oil that it was not the cause and would test it if necessary however Hyundai doesn't care they just have a loop hole to not cover the motor. I am finding many people saying Hyundai is known for this. Has anyone else had a similar problem or any advice/help would be appreciated. In this economy, any help is appreciated. The dealer wants $4500.00 for a rebuilt motor and $9,000 for new.
Thanks so much.

I'm no rocket scientist, but I don't believe the manual requires oil changes every 3,000 miles - - as a matter of fact, I think it only calls for that under very severe driving conditions.

I believe the burden of proof lies on them for whether or not your use of the car would be considered "severe" and if they can't prove that, they need to eat it. Definitely get Hyundai involved directly if possible, and anyone else you can.

I also believe that, in general, Lemon Laws apply for any vehicles that fall into disrepair because of manufacturing defects as long as the warranty period is still in effect.

If Mobil1 warrants their oil for 10,000 miles between oil changes or something, and that is why you strayed from the manufacturer's recommended intervals, then it may be worth your time to turn up the heat on them. The ideal situation for you would be to have Mobil fight Hyundai for liability so you don't have to do all the legwork.

Good luck.


*disclaimer: I don't necessarily know what I'm talking about; just trying to help with my understanding of the UCC and corporate evil.

:liebe011:

This post has been edited by MiamiLX: Sep 9 2008, 10:06 PM

DCMatt had a great post. I can't add much to it.

Some fellow on the Toyota forum uses Amsoil, who "guarantees" their oil for 25K miles. He had under 25K on the oil when his motor started making noise and had to be replaced. Of course neither Toyota nor Amsoil stood behind their product, so he had to eat it. It's a shame that the government allows such advertising as 25K oil and that Smilin' Bob medicine. We need stricter truth in advertising reform.

This post has been edited by bobad: Aug 30 2008, 11:23 AM

Sounds like that would make for an excellent class-action lawsuit . . . :whistling:

Was it the V6 or the I4?

This is utter nonsense from the dealer. Have you contacted Hyundai directly on this issue? Oil changes especially synthetic oil should last at least 5-7k miles with the extended lasting 10-15k miles. I think somewhere in the Mobil Oil warranty it states that the filter must be changed at the intervals recommended by the manufacture only for the extended life Mobil One but I could be wrong on that.

I'm surprised Hyundai didn't add a maintenance minder that is in all Hondas and some other manufactures as well which tells you when to change the oil. On my sister's 99 Elantra we went 5k miles between changes and that was good for the life of her car (the transmission on the other hand was another issue). Her current Accord goes around 7-8k miles before the minder comes on for an oil change and that is recommended with dino oil.

If you get nowhere with Hyundai, either get a lawyer or start filing paperwork in small claims court after you send them a notice to repair your car or to get to the bottom of what caused the failure.

This post has been edited by npolite: Aug 30 2008, 03:31 PM

I work for a dealership and I agree that this is nonsense. As long as you can prove that you have been regularly changing the oil at least every 7500 miles, then the warranty is not voided. Even 7500 mile oil change intervals on cars that fall under the "severe" service schedule will NOT cause the engine to throw a rod like this, as even the owner's manual only calls for oil changes every 7500 miles, and never once does it state that the warranty is void if you don't change it every 3000 miles. That's bulls**t.

I absolutely hate the fact that there are dealers who act like this towards customers. The fact that they won't even try to determine the cause should tell you something... it's not like they don't get paid to do warranty work. I don't understand why they wouldn't want to cover it. I would definately be contacting a lawyer.

This post has been edited by LilBean: Aug 30 2008, 03:25 PM

It would be beneficial if we get a little more info....

...Like giving us your oil-change history, which I hope you have, and kept the receipt of.... Maybe at some point in the past you waited more than 7,000 miles between oil changes? A list of oil-change odometer readings would be appropriate here...

:grin:

This post has been edited by MiamiLX: Sep 9 2008, 10:07 PM

Thanks for the input guys.
Tuesday when we pick up the vehicle, I will get what we have written in the book for exact mileage etc. The car will be fixed elswhere for I don't feel the dealerhip should get my thousands for this. On a couple of notes. I don't have the receipts from all the Mobil one I have purchased. It is very easy for me to show a credit card receipt since there are 5 vehicles that we change the oil on ourselves. But I don't thik that should be the issue. Mobil will be glad to test the oil and give us a certified copy if the oil was in any way bad or failed. The fact that Hyundai doesn't even care if it was a defect in their engine is disturbing. So the course we have chosen is we will call Hyundai Tuesday morning and advise them that the car will be taken to a reputable certified company to replace the motor. They will not be making the $5,000 for a rebuilt motor. The company will do a diagnostic of the old motor, breaking it all the way down to find the failure. If it was a defective Hyundai part, and a green light from Mobil for the oil, we are going to file suit for the replacement of the motor. I'm no attorney, but a high school friend has been my attorney for years and he said if Hyundai wants to void a warranty, the burden will be on them to find we did something wrong to take away the warranty. Not for us to prove we can keep it. We claim to have changed the oil at regular intervals which we have it will be up to them to show we did not by proving the oil failed from not being changed. The other option would be to put up a $5,000 bond at the courthouse in escrow and have Hyundai fix the vehicle and let a court decide who gets the money. That might be a better option to see how much Hyundai wants to pay in attorneys fee to fight for $5,000 and the bad publicity if we can get a newspaper article listing Hyundai and the dealership.
It just seems in todays world everyone is trying to figure out how to get out of warranty instead of just taking care of the consumer. But with the economy the way it is, you don't have to look too far to find the answer.
I appreciate any and all input.
Thanks

:clap:

This post has been edited by MiamiLX: Sep 9 2008, 10:08 PM

Miami hit it on the head. That is exactly why I take my cars to the dealer for service. I was a mechanic for several years and do all my own work on my Antique Pontiacs. But on the new vehicles, it is straight to the dealer. If any problem arises, punch my VIN into the computer, there's my service record. Had warranty work done on my 2000 Elantra with 98,000 miles, no problems . With my dealer giving me 3 years of free oil changes, I am definatley there every 3,000 miles, since most of the driving is in city and stop and go traffic and trips less than 10 miles. Follow that Maintenance Schedule to the letter. And if you do it yourself, Keep all records for at least 10 years.

doesnt need to be a dealer.. any mechanic gives receipts for service that will suffice...

Wait a minute here, this I'm hearing is insane! Isn't a sufficient log enough to prove that you have changed you oil? A receipt it as worthless as a log entry I would say in court, since there is no way to prove that you changed your oil when you bought your oil nor can you prove you changed your oil in your log entry book.

If Hyundai is pulling this stunt, then I want nothing to do with their cars and won't be buying one. This is truly heartbreaking that a car company is pulling this on a consumer without even analyzing the root cause (I'm still shocked to believe this). I've seen people first hand drive 30k miles between oil changes and not have a problem with their engines. Long term you know that engine will have issues but at least the 120k miles he drove it he had only 4 oil changes!

Again if the OP had changed the oil every 5-7k miles, clearly the blame is on Hyundai unless they can prove that the oil somehow leaked.

This post has been edited by npolite: Aug 31 2008, 08:31 AM

I know fot a fact the 1st thing they asked you is do you have receipts and have you had your 15k and 30k services done. Its important to have kept these receipts being it is the ONLY to prove you had maintience done. Anyone can make up a log and bank statements only prove you got parts for some car at a store on a date. Receipts show weight of the oil and purchase date. Either way good luck I hoe it works out.

npolite, that is somewhat true, but, try taking a gm, ford etc., to the dealer with a blown motor with handwritten reciepts, or just a log of service, and they will probably laugh when you ask it to be replaced under warranty. The trubo went out on my 2004 F-350 Deisel at 35,950 miles and it was a good thing that all service was on record as they tried to say it was'nt covered under warranty untill they punched up the records.