Here is the other side of the coin with Hyundai vehicles. I was going to start a new thread on this, but I think it fits here, plus no problem with me hijacking my own thread.
This one also turned out good for our family, but I am guessing not all of these stories end well.
My brother (3 years younger) whom I had the auto repair business with, HATES Hyundai / Kia. He calls them “disposable cars.” Of course, you have to remember that he started working on them back in the 90's when quality control was nothing like it is today. I quit working on cars professionally in 1989, so I don’t have the same perspective.
The attached picture is our 28 year old hugging his mom in August of 2012, just two months after she donated a kidney to him. Zack’s a great kid, with an incredible sense of humor and a little bit of the Al Bundy self deprecation. One of his sayings is “Hey, I have standards you know. They aren’t high, but I do have them.”
Zack’s dad sold him a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe with the 2.4 direct injection engine a couple years ago. Actually, more like gave it to him. Sales price was nominal. Since then I have done all the oil changes, religiously at 5,000 mile intervals. A couple oil changes ago, I noticed it was pretty low on oil when Zack brought it to me. So, knowing how UN mechanically inclined he is (not sure he would know which end of a screwdriver to grab... but he is one hell of a bartender... we all have our strengths) I told him to start bringing it every 3000 miles.
He calls a couple of months ago and says his car won’t go over 50 mph. I have him bring it by the house so I can check it out. Low on oil (but still showing on the dipstick). I do an oil change, then run the scanner to see what code it has.P0326, knock sensor issue. I am thinking that the knock sensor is malfunctioning and severely retarding the timing. I clear the code and have Zack take me for a ride to see if it will act up. Runs fine.... until the engine reaches operating temperature, and then I hear a definite rod noise. Holy chit. The car has 126,000 plus miles on it, and I know his dad always had it serviced at the dealer.
Start doing some research. Read this:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/hyunda...-engine-issues
Mind you, that article had not even been written when this all happened. I just knew that I didn’t want to put an engine in this thing. After some research, I thought what the heck, the car is way past the warranty period, both in time and mileage, but let’s see if Hyundai will step up as these engines definitely have issues.
Bottom line: even though I had zero records of my oil changes, they were able to look at the valve train and discern that it had been receiving proper regular maintenance. New engine for free; no parts, no labor. I have to say, they really stepped up to the plate.
Most car makers would not take responsibility for a six plus year old vehicle with 126,000 miles. Once they committed to replacing the engine, they even provided Zack with a brand new car as a loaner until his car was done. Pretty good customer service. Having worked at a Buick dealership in the 70's I can tell you that the way the tech and the service advisor present this to the manufacturer can make a big difference. And I believe our guys did a great job presenting it.