HYUNDAI WARRANTY
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
The car developed charging system problems during the warranty period.
Auto Zone stores said that the alternator was bad (bad diode pattern).
Red McCombs, our dealer, said that the car just needed a new battery.
I replaced the battery and it required a new one after about 13
months. Auto Zone stores checked the charging system at that time and
said the alternator was bad, it was putting out 9 amps instead of
about 13. Red McCombs said there was no problem, that the car was
performing within Hyundai specifications. I spent a great deal of time
writing and phoning Hyundai in Calfornia, all to avail.
The bottom line is not to be taken in by the Hyundai generous
warranty. It is only as good as the company that stands behind it.
We're senior citizens who don't feel comfortable driving a vehicle
that might break down at any time, especially while we're on extended
road trips. Needless to say, we didn't buy a Hyundai and we didn't buy
a car from Red McCombs.
clams casino
We had a vehicle about 20 years ago that had erratic charging
problems. After Pep Boys replaced 4 alternators (three at no charge),
they referred me to someone who finally located a short where the wire
would bounce around, causing the erratic problems.
Al Bundy
Clearly you don't have mechanical knowledge yourself and are not
reporting the facts clearly from Auto Zone either. If the battery
lasted 13 months and there were no other problems along the way, the
charging system is apparently OK. Batteries do go bad. If you were
able to confirm that the charging system was putting out too much
voltage and damaged the battery, that would be another matter. You did
not say that. Also, you would be burning out lights and other items in
the electrical system if that was the case and you didn't state that
either. Your reference to 9 or 13 amps is meaningless in the context
of this post. An alternator could put out 3 to 75 amps or more
depending upon the demand. Again, if the battery lasted 13 months, the
alternator must be keeping up with the demand. If the battery checks
bad, replace it and that should be the end of it. If the charging
system checks out OK at this time and the battery is defective, what
the hell is the dealer supposed to do? You fail to include the
slightest piece of information that would suggest your vehicle would
be unreliable on a trip.
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
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I replaced the battery in late October 2007. It died with no warning
and wouldn't hold any charge - the car was dead. Since 2 different
Auto Zone stores reported a faulty alternator after testing at
2000rpm's, I have to believe that the new battery will also be knocked
out suddenly and unexpectedly and probably in less than 13 months.
It's no fun driving a car that can konk out at any time. We therefore
use the Hyundai locally to go shopping, etc. We can't trust it out of
town when we are frequently far from home in the middle of the night.
catalpa
"ROBERT...@SBCGLOBAL.NET" <ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:2dff9a88-b92d-4939...@e25g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
Normally when people are told they have a bad alternator they replace it.
Get a new or rebuilt alternator and your problem will be solved. You can
always get a lawyer and take Hyundai to court over the warranty, but it
probably is not worth the time and effort.
BTW batteries normally die without warning and are most likely to do so in
cold weather.
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
> "ROBERTMARK...@SBCGLOBAL.NET" <ROBERTMARK...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
I had been hoping that Hyundai would replace the alternator under the
car's warranty. Red McCombs had done a parisitic draw test, discovered
a problem, and had me bring the car back a second time. They did a
second parasitic draw test, said that the readings were worse, but
said that the readings were within Hyundai specifications. Since they
won't replace the alternator and since they insist that there is no
problem, I am reluctant to spend the $600 or $700 that a Hyundai
alternator replacement would cost. In the past I had no idea that
Hyundai parts and labor were so expensive. I guess that this is
another reason to question the purchase of a Hyundai, especially if
Hyundai is reluctant to stand by its warranty. My solution to the
problem, therefore, is to burn out another battery and use the car
locally and in a limited fashion. My wife is driving our new car while
I run the risks with the Hyundai. By the way, we live in South Texas
and it was warm when the last battery had to be replaced.
Jeff
Have you considered that AutoZone may not be experts at Hyundai
alternators? For that matter, why do you think they are experts at
anything? They do their tests but have little understanding of what
those tests mean.
13 amps is a meaningless figure. Alternators put out far more than
that and 9 amps would be insufficient to even run your headlights.
Perhaps you are buying poor batteries. Last time I bought a value
battery at AutoZone, I asked the counter guy if they had a lot of
returns on them. Turns out they did and I bought a better battery instead.
Batteries can fail suddenly and it is unlikely a failing alternator
would have limped it along for 13 months.
Find someone who actually knows about these things, you should be
looking at voltage, if you want to know if your battery is being
undercharged, not current. You can also look at specific gravity of the
electrolyte.
What the real situation is, is unknown. But you need to stop blindly
believing the sales pitches you hear. Whether it is for Hyundai or AutoZone.
Jeff
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
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I certainly believe that the dealer should be more expert at
diagnosing and handling Hyundai problems than Auto Zone. That's why I
trusted the dealer when they told me that all I needed was a new
battery. I paid good money for an Interstate battery and replaced it
recently with another Interstate battery. However, since this
expensive battery was rendered useless after about 13 months, I was
inclined to believe the Auto Zone tests that warned of charging system
problems. The most recent Auto Zone tests, following the installation
of the latest new Interstate battery, continue to show that a new
alternator is needed. The problem appears to be that the battery gets
worn down prematurely. By the way, I certainly don't profess to be a
mechanic or have any degree of mechanical knowledge. That's why I was
attracted to the purchase of a car with such an extended warranty. I
trusted Hyundai and the Red McCombs dealership and feel that I was led
down the garden path. I really don't think that there is anything that
I can do in this situation. I bring this matter to the attention of
others so that they can be more cautious than I was about long-term
warranties and possible lapses in dealer integrity or expertise.
Thanks to you and the others in the group for the chance to voice my
concerns. I now consider this a dead issue.
Brian Elfert
>I had been hoping that Hyundai would replace the alternator under the
>car's warranty. Red McCombs had done a parisitic draw test, discovered
Only your bumper to bumper warranty would cover the alternator. The
powertrain warranty would not cover this.
Your 5 year bumper to bumper warranty is probably over 5 years now unless
you bought the car as a leftver 2002 model. Now, maybe you reported this
before your 5 year warranty was up. If your warranty was up you can't
expect them to fix it under warranty.
I don't know how much you drive, but these days a lot of people go over
mileage long before the time is up. I was 2 1/2 years into a 3/26 year
warranty once and the dealer was suprised I wasn't at 36,000 miles
already.
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
> "ROBERTMARK...@SBCGLOBAL.NET" <ROBERTMARK...@sbcglobal.net> writes:
> >I had been hoping thatHyundaiwould replace the alternator under the
> >car'swarranty. Red McCombs had done a parisitic draw test, discovered
>
> Only your bumper to bumperwarrantywould cover the alternator. The
>
> Your 5 year bumper to bumperwarrantyis probably over 5 years now unless
> you bought the car as a leftver 2002 model. Now, maybe you reported this
> expect them to fix it underwarranty.
>
> I don't know how much you drive, but these days a lot of people go over
> already.
My original request for warranty service was within the bumper to
bumper time and mileage parameters but Red McCombs apparently failed
to pick up on the problem, either then or now. As I said, this is now
apparently a dead issue and I will have to sink or swim on my own.
ra...@vt.edu
> I certainly believe that the dealer should be more expert at
> diagnosing and handling Hyundai problems than Auto Zone. That's why I
It seems to me you should have taken the car to a different Hyundai
dealership for a second opinion while it was still in warranty.
I have had an alternator that tested OK that was killing batteries
in a Nissan once. So it is possible the alternator has a problem,
but there are occasional bad batteries that go bad way too soon.
So far, you've had one new battery go bad after the original, and
you don't say how long the original lasted if it was 4 or 5 years
old then that is about average. Not great, but not terrible either.
Without knowing what tests the dealer and Autozone did, and what
they are basing their opinions on, I won't guess who is correct.
A good independent mechanic might be a better choice to sort this
out correctly.
As far as Hyundai warranty goes, the dealers in this area have
treated my daughter very well and even replaced light bulbs under
the bumper-to-bumper warranty. She has not had any trouble with
her Elantra getting warranty work, though it has needed very little
and has been quite a reliable car for her.
Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.
Bill Rider
If the Auto Zone guy said an Elantra alternator should put out only 13
amps, it sounds as if he was checking the charging current at the
battery. If the current was only 9 amps instead of the expected 13,
that could be because the battery had been completely dead, as the OP
said. A dead battery won't charge fast. I think it's because the
electrolyte is weak.
The dealer found different parasitic draws on different days. I ran
into something like that. Unplugging the alternator from the regulator
stopped the drain. I was pretty sure the alternator wasn't supposed to
draw any current at all when the engine was off.
Replacing the alternator stopped the battery from going dead sometimes.
Whatever was wrong with it, apparently some nights it drew enough
current to drain the battery overnight.
I wonder what Auto Zone charges for a rebuilt alternator.
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
> ROBERTMARK...@SBCGLOBAL.NET <ROBERTMARK...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> > I certainly believe that the dealer should be more expert at
>
> It seems to me you should have taken the car to a differentHyundai
> dealership for a second opinion while it was still inwarranty.
> I have had an alternator that tested OK that was killing batteries
> in a Nissan once. So it is possible the alternator has a problem,
> but there are occasional bad batteries that go bad way too soon.
>
> So far, you've had one new battery go bad after the original, and
> you don't say how long the original lasted if it was 4 or 5 years
> old then that is about average. Not great, but not terrible either.
>
> Without knowing what tests the dealer and Autozone did, and what
> they are basing their opinions on, I won't guess who is correct.
> A good independent mechanic might be a better choice to sort this
> out correctly.
>
> treated my daughter very well and even replaced light bulbs under
> her Elantra gettingwarrantywork, though it has needed very little
> and has been quite a reliable car for her.
>
> Bill Ranck
> Blacksburg, Va.
I took my car back to Red McCombs because this is where I bought and
serviced the vehicle. I had complete confidence in the dealership. I
guess that I should have been more cautious. I am learning from this
experience.
ROBERT...@sbcglobal.net
> ra...@vt.edu wrote:
> > ROBERTMARK...@SBCGLOBAL.NET <ROBERTMARK...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> >> I certainly believe that the dealer should be more expert at
>
> > It seems to me you should have taken the car to a differentHyundai
> > dealership for a second opinion while it was still inwarranty.
> > I have had an alternator that tested OK that was killing batteries
> > in a Nissan once. So it is possible the alternator has a problem,
> > but there are occasional bad batteries that go bad way too soon.
>
> > So far, you've had one new battery go bad after the original, and
> > you don't say how long the original lasted if it was 4 or 5 years
> > old then that is about average. Not great, but not terrible either.
>
> > Without knowing what tests the dealer and Autozone did, and what
> > they are basing their opinions on, I won't guess who is correct.
> > A good independent mechanic might be a better choice to sort this
> > out correctly.
>
> > treated my daughter very well and even replaced light bulbs under
> > her Elantra gettingwarrantywork, though it has needed very little
> > and has been quite a reliable car for her.
>
> > Bill Ranck
> > Blacksburg, Va.
>
> If the Auto Zone guy said an Elantra alternator should put out only 13
> amps, it sounds as if he was checking the charging current at the
> battery. If the current was only 9 amps instead of the expected 13,
> that could be because the battery had been completely dead, as the OP
> said. A dead battery won't charge fast. I think it's because the
> electrolyte is weak.
>
> The dealer found different parasitic draws on different days. I ran
> into something like that. Unplugging the alternator from the regulator
> stopped the drain. I was pretty sure the alternator wasn't supposed to
> draw any current at all when the engine was off.
>
> Replacing the alternator stopped the battery from going dead sometimes.
> Whatever was wrong with it, apparently some nights it drew enough
> current to drain the battery overnight.
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
I don't even know if Auto Zone sells a Hyundai alternator. Even if
they do, I am not capable of working on the car and therefore have to
bring the car to a garage or dealership for both parts and labor.
Zuke
Electric problems can be tough. If you think you have a bitch with
the dealer, go over their head to the district management.
If the district management blows you off, get the car fixed by a
competent mechanic and sue Hyundai in small claims court if their
warrantied product proves to be the problem.
As other posters have pointed out to you already, you have to no
proof that the alternator is causing the problem. The autozone
people don't even blink when you bring back warranteed starters
or batteries. That tells you something about their products.
I don't mind because it takes me a few minutes to replace a battery
and an half an hour to replace a starter and I am guaranteed
one for pretty much life but they aren't the most trustworthy
products.
Listen to any car talk radio show and you will see your problem
is not an easy one to solve.
Al Bundy
Al Bundy
More batteries go bad in the heat than the cold by the way.
Well, I guess that wraps it up. No use having an independent shop
check and fix it I suppose. Just live with it. One last thing. The
turn signals will stop using juice when you shut the car off so
leaving them on all week won't hurt anything, but leaving the dome
light on will tend to discharge a battery.
Bill
>
> We bought a 2002 Elantra GT, largely because of its generous warranty.
I have a 2001 Elantra GT and recently (after passing the 5
year/60k bumper-to-bumper warranty limit, I had the check engine
light come on. I had this happen once under warranty and it was
a sensor, and that turned out to be what it was this time as
well. My local mechanic diagnosed it and I told him not to fix
it if it was power train related because the Hyundai had the 10
year/100k mile power train coverage. So I brought it to the
dealer. I had to agree to pay their $95 diagnosis charge, which
would be waived if it was covered by warranty; since I assumed
it would be, I told them fine. They told me it was a sensor, and
because it was EXTERNAL to the transmission, it was NOT covered
by the power train warranty. At that point I had to pay another
$95 (hourly labor charge) and $200 or so for the sensor. What
really pissed me off was that the labor for each piece was
probably much less than an hour, but they charged it separately.
And they were completely unsympathetic about it being power
train that should be covered under warranty.
I had the same thing happen several months later. This time I
called Hyundai hoping I could convince them to cover it under
warranty. They actually called the dealer and told me I had to
bring it to the dealer, who of course would have to diagnose it,
and of course would not cover it if it was external (which it
was). I let me mechanic do it instead.
I currently have the air bag light coming on. My mechanic said
it needs a new air bag but I am fairly sure it's another sensor
(he doesn't see a lot of Hyundais so he isn't familiar with
their problems). Apparently Hyundais are becoming notorious for
this sort of this once they get out of warranty. I really like
the Elantra GT, but I don't think I'd buy another Hyundai
because of this warranty BS.
Bill
Al Bundy
I understand your complaint Bill. However, is it not the same at other
dealers? They have to draw the line on warranty somewhere or the
original cost of the vehicle would be prohibitive. This concept of
excluding fringe items from the powertrain warranty goes way back.
Personally, I don't make a buying decision based on warranty. If the
product has a good reputation, I pay my money and take what comes. If
it's really a major fault, I would of course expect warranty.
Otherwise, I'd probably fix it myself at my expense or go to an
independent mechanic. Vehicles are a crap shoot anyway. Overall, it
doesn't sound like you are doing too badly with yours though.