Hi . My Terracan broke its timing belt at 59000 miles. This wrecked the head. Gonna cost over 5000.00 euros to repair. My vehicle is still under warranty. However Hyundai Ireland refuse to honour the warranty. They say the belt should have been changed at 56000 miles. I looked at Hyundai UK and found that the belt and all other mechanical parts are covered up to 5 years and unlimited mileage. I feel very sore at Hyundai. Can anybody from Hyundai hear me??? I would be pleased to hear from you.

I'm not affiliated with Hyundai in any way, but I can see their position.

The timing belt was designed to last until 56000 miles. If it would have broken BEFORE then, I would think they would fix the problem for free. However, if you don't replace it, why should they be responcible for you not maintaining your car?

I think in fairness that considering the business I have given Hyundai in the past and the business that is out there in the future and the desire by companies to foster goodwill and that the belt broke inside the warranty period of 63000 miles and that I offered Hyundai Ireland to purchase another Terracan and a Santa Fe if they looked afterme on this one thing or at the very least that they might meet me half way. But no. They threew me out like Maggie Thatcher "NO NO NO"

I might also add that I had two problems with my model when it wads brand new! The electric cables and the hoses that invariably attach to an engine were bound too tightly with binding tape. With the natural torque an engine develops and the room given on the mountings to allow some play to accommodate this motion the end result was that the tightly bound hoses and wiring were stretched to the limits and beyond.The result was that the hose to the heater radiator broke off at the junctioin with the heater radiator. My cabin filled with coolant condensation and fumes. It took my Hyundai dealer two weeks to realise what was wrong. And worse because the coolant leaked the engine heated or overheated. Did I complain? No All I asked was to have the hose fixed and this was done. So far so good.
Next the lights started dimming one night as I drove along. To cut a long story short we eventually discovered that the battery had died. Why? Because the lead to the alternator which had been so tightly bound eventually broke off at the junction with the alternator leaving the battery without charge

Further to my last post I want to add the following. When I started driving my Terracan in 2003. I noticed a problem with hte ABS EBF braking system. When on gravel or slippery surface the ABS kicked in and overcorrected. Instead of applying intermittent pressure on the brake discs interspersed with intrermittent release the system released all the time. Thus when the brakes were applied on slippery or gravelly surface she freewheeled straight forward. On one occasion I nearly ran down a pedestrian. I explained this to my Dealer in Tralee and they fobbed me off and made nothing of it. In fairness it was difficult to reproduce the precise circumstances in which the failure occured. However a year later when I persisted with the complaint they told me that there was a fault in the braking system and that a replacement unit would have to be fitted. All in warranty. This was done and the problem disappeared. Thus inside the warranty period I had coolant fluid leakage with engine overheating, electric fault, and ABS EBF braking system flaws. Why should I believe that the timing belt is different especially as I was only 3000 miles out of the belt warranty and still 4000 miles inside the QUOTE "bumper to bumper" warranty given at the outset. The ABS was potentially a fatal hazard and it must have caused some accident somewhere.I showed forebearance with Hyundai Ireland on all these issues. A new line of vehicles always has teething problems and I accept that. But why could Hyundai Ireland not have extended the same magnanimity to me in return?

Finally I would like to say that most international companies with a reputation for excellence and customer care do strive to sponsor and engender customer satisfaction and repeat business. Whether this is the case with Hyundai Ireland or not I do not know. But I do feel let down that they should arbitrarily rule me out of warranty for a miserly 3000 miles given the patience and tolerance I showed them when the 2/3 problems described previously were sorted out under warranty and the fact that the self same vehicle carries an unlimited mileage warranty over 5 years and INCLUDES the timing belt in England.