Your right, any contamination caused by failure of the low pressure pump should be caught by the fuel filter. Has the filter been checked to see if any metallic particles have been caught? Of course, you'd only get contamination if the pump failure was mechanical. An electrical failure of the pump wouldn't cause any fuel contamination.

To be fair to the dealer, they aren't overstating the problem exactly, just quoting "the book". Technically your supposed to replace all the fuel system components when there is any fuel contamination on a CRD engine but obviously that's not practical on an older car (and is rarely done on newer cars either, in my experience). If the car was still under warranty and you didn't replace the complete fuel system, any future failure of fuel system components (injectors, high pressure pump, etc) wouldn't be covered by the manufacturer warranty. Obviously, that doesn't effect you now so there isn't any need for you to repair it "by the book". Personally, I would replace the filter and flush the fuel lines between the tank & the filter. And obviously replace the faulty pump.

 

Thanks Autospark for the prompt response. I was thinking along the same lines, so good to hear someone has confirmed this is the right approach.

Just have to convince the garage to do this without the costs getting ridiculous on an 8 year old Santa Fe.

 

Here's the problem you might face...If the dealer has misdiagnosed the fault and you still have fuel pressure codes after the pump is replaced they're gonna say their diagnosis was correct and the codes your getting now are due to contamination of the fuel system. And the fix is.....replace the entire £7500 fuel system :surprise:

Let's just hope they're diagnosis was correct.

 

I can't see the intank pump causing metal particles. It does happen if the high pressure pump fails. I would just replace the intank pump and filter and see what happens.

 

When I was a Tech with VW I was asked to diagnose a rough idle problem on a VW Touran TDi. I found metal particles in the fuel filter and it was reported it to VW technical. They asked what colour the metal was. Apparently if it's silver it's from the HP pump, copper/brass is from the LP pump in the tank. I had never heard of fuel contamination coming from an in tank pump before but apparently it's not unheard of.

 

If it was copper it would be the pump armature wearing. I have pulled many pumps apart and found worn armature and brushes but the time it took to wear was many years and the particles would not be large enough to see with the eyes. As I said I would just replace the intank pump and filter and see what happens. I have heard of many stories where they filled up with petrol and drove it for a while, drained the tank and filled up with diesel and never had another problem. The dealer wanted to replace everything at huge cost.

 

I think it's more likely brass from the brass bushes wearing. But regardless of what it is or where in the pump it came from, it shouldn't really ever get past the filter so we're in agreement on what to do about it.

 

I have seen EFI fuel pumps that have run over 1,000,000kms without fail. Its all about clean fuel. The particles from wear would be microscopic in size. I think dealers really go overboard with CRDI fuel system problems and repair procedures.

 

I think dealers really go overboard with CRDI fuel system problems and repair procedures.

To be fair, they're only following the repair guidelines laid down by the manufacturer. I don't think you can really criticize a main dealer for wanting to do a repair "by the book". Isn't that exactly why folk pay a premium to have their car repaired at the dealership in the first place?

 

Yea I agree with that comment. I come from the old school and make decisions based on what I think is the best approach to a repair not what I read in a book.

 

Latest update from the dealer...

They've confirmed the high pressure fuel pump inside the engine has disintegrated (without actually removing the part) as they are seeing metal particles deposited in the fuel tank after removing fuel tank sender. They're still refusing to just replace the HPFP and insist on replacing the entire fuel system at £7500.

I'm currently waiting for a response from Hyundai directly on a goodwill gesture to significantly reduce the repair costs.

The dealer believes the root cause is contaminated fuel, but this is crazy, as we've owned the car since new, it only has 42,000 miles, it's been regularly serviced at the same garage at the recommended intervals, and we've only ever filled-up the tank at good fuel stations.

The car starts and idles at 1,500 rpm until you press the accelerator pedal, then the car stops. The fuel tank was 1/4 full when the problem occurred so 3/4 of the fuel had already been burned.

My gut feeling is telling me this is a straight-forward mechanical part failure, and possibly a known manufacturing fault with Hyundai given the low mileage of the car, which unfortunately for me, has had catastrophic consequences.

 

Failure of the HP pump is a totally different scenario. The HP pump is downstream of the filter so the entire fuel system will be contaminated with metal particles. And if the metal particles get into the new pump that one will be damaged too, so you can understand why they want to replace the complete system.

At the end of the day though, it's your car. If the dealer are refusing to do the repair the way you want it done just give it to someone else who will. I wouldn't expect any warranty with the replacement pump though.

 

Just had exact same thing happen to me - can I ask how you got on?

 

Hi,

I've just been told the same from my local Hyundai dealer. Just shy of £8k to replace the entire fuel system. My car has done 80k miles and is 7 years old so can't bring myself to pay this amount without selling a kidney! I was shown very small silver particles at the bottom of the fuel tank which are apparently the bits that shredded off the inside of the pump. They look to be something that the fuel filter should be able to pick up before it gets to the HPFP further downstream.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear how this panned out for you. I'm minded just to pay for the HPFP and the fuel filter to be replaced which does leave a risk but I think one worth taking. This would bring the cost down to circa £1,300.

Any thoughts?

 

Hi,

I've just been told the same from my local Hyundai dealer. Just shy of £8k to replace the entire fuel system. My car has done 80k miles and is 7 years old so can't bring myself to pay this amount without selling a kidney! I was shown very small silver particles at the bottom of the fuel tank which are apparently the bits that shredded off the inside of the pump. They look to be something that the fuel filter should be able to pick up before it gets to the HPFP further downstream.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear how this panned out for you. I'm minded just to pay for the HPFP and the fuel filter to be replaced which does leave a risk but I think one worth taking. This would bring the cost down to circa £1,300.

Any thoughts?

Hi Mike,
Same problem here and need an engine rebuild and replacement fuel system. I'm in the UK too and was just wondering whether you resolved this problem, and if so, how?

 

Hi all,

have the same issue on my 2016Hyundai Santa Fe. Very strange but all stems from a stone flicking up and smashing my drivers side window. There was a shortage of glass, auto glass could not source the glass they needed so it sat idle on the drive for 2/3 weeks over Xmas. Had to go with another company, but when they came out to fix it they could not start the car. Greenflag came out, replaced the battery but it would only start being connected to an external battery and would then die. Took it to the look garage, did some diag Abd they said it was low pressure in the fuel system. Got it picked up and taken to Hyundai themselves, did their diag and resulted in then saying it’s either the fuel injectors or the HPFP. Sent off the injectors to be tested (£500) ablnd all 4 are screwed - metal particles in them. So, they said fuel contamination but we have not put petrol in the car and we have had it 2 years! Quoted £10k to replace the entire fuel system - I have asked them to explore other options as I have one more year on a PCP lease with it, and my settlement figure as of today is £11,500 - so thinking one of the options could be buy it outright and then seeing what value it has as is - recoup as much as I can. Or get it fixed with 2nd hand parts might be another option.

Hyundai are exploring other options and will come back to me on Monday, but I think the best hope I have is they take pity on me and give me a lot of goodwill!!!

any thoughts or advice much appreciated!!!

best regards,

Stu

 

Hi Stu,
I went down the same path and asked for a concession from Hyundai for the repair. My car is out of warranty but I bought it new and it has been fully maintained by one dealer and has only done 60K miles. Hyundai refused a concession on the basis it is out of warranty. I confirmed the car was out of warranty and that it was a HPFP failure at the time when the HPFP failure happened and Hyundai said that I had to transport the car to a Hyundai main dealer for inspection for them to consider a concession ( I had supplied them with the car's full service history and documentation confirming work carried out at each service ). I had the inspection completed but Hyundai refused a concession on the basis of the car being out of warranty - which they already knew before the inspection was carried out ( to add insult to the appalling Hyundai customer service experience, they paid for the cost of transport to the dealer and the inspection but refused to reimburse me for the return transport when I did not go ahead with the repair). Maybe they expected to find that I had caused the failure somehow and when the inspection could not confirm any malpractice on my part, they had to refuse the concession on the basis of expired warranty. Hyundai inferred a couple of times that incorrect fuel could have caused the failure so I offered to have a fuel analysis done to confirm that the fuel was correct ( and always has been ). The advice from my experience is to have everything agreed in writing in advance for reimbursement of any costs you incur to complete any activities that Hyundai recommend and to expect poor customer service from Hyundai.

 

I know, it’s a mystery. Car was running perfectly well before the window broke. We have never filled it with petrol, so unsure how the metal particles have got into the fuel system. Seeing Hyundai on Monday to discuss options but doesn’t look good financially on this one.

 

Seeing Hyundai on Monday

Ask them to explain why the engine is able to start and run when it's being jumped from another car. I'd be interested to hear their thoughts on that.

If I helped you fix it, why not...

Your support is greatly appreciated​