Engine failure at 64,000 miles. Need some advice.

[hoyabob2003]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking here unregistered for a few years and gained a lot from the knowledge on this forum. I'm hoping for some good advice.

I've got a 2010 Genesis V8. It has 64,000 miles and I've loved it. I am the 3rd owner, having owned it since 2012. The car is still under warranty by time but over now by 4K miles.

The engine has failed due to a timing chain failure. I've been told by the dealer that the chain "stretched," causing some sort of catastrophe inside the engine.

Over the years I have read a lot about Hyundai's good will and customer service so I was confident that Hyundai would step up to the plate and help me out with the repair even though the car is 4K over on mileage. The Service Manager was also confident that Hyundai would help out.

However, to our surprise, Hyundai has denied the warranty and actually treated me badly. When Hyundai denied the dealer's request for a good will repair, I asked to speak with customer support and I think I got some new guy because he was actually pretty rude to me and didn't listen to me at all. I asked to speak with his supervisor and was flat out told, "I won't do that."

Now I totally understand that I'm out of warranty but an engine failure at 64K miles is very unexpected. I would at least welcome the opportunity to speak with someone at Hyundai who is willing to treat me with respect and listen to my concerns. If at the end of the talk they still decide to flat out refuse to help, well I get that. It's just that right now the manufacturer has really been unwilling to even listen to me and that's what makes me upset.

I'm wondering if any of you have any suggestions on how to proceed. Please let me know. Thanks so much.

 

[dmitriylm]

While it would be a nice gesture for them to replace the engine out of warranty, I think the chances are fairly slim. I would start looking at used 4.6 engines on eBay and by calling your local auto yards. Before I bought the car used I looked into the cost of engine replacement (as well as other components as part of my normal buying process) so I'm aware of what the cost would be. Last time I checked you can source a low mileage engine for about $3k-$4k (maybe less now since I checked earlier this year) and the rest would be labor (I have connections in this case which reduce the cost of labor drastically).

 

[homeofstone]

Wow. 4.6 engine failure at 64,000 miles. I have 169,000 on the same engine and it still runs perfect. Was the engine oil and filter changed per mfg. requirements? What brand and weight of oil has been used? Was the the engine ever over revved? I ask these questions because this type of failure seldom happens. I agree that a used engine is maybe the least expensive way to go.

 

[hoyabob2003]

I am very surprised by an engine failure at 64K miles as well. I agree that I shouldn't expect much from Hyundai here, but I am hoping to at least speak with someone who will acknowledge that an engine failure really shouldn't happen at 64K. I was expecting the Genesis powertrain to be rock solid reliable and mine simply wasn't.

As far as maintenance is concerned, the oil was always changed using the factory spec oil and it was done regularly. I'm an old guy. I don't really ever even drive this car in a "spirited," fashion, much less over-rev it. Those are good questions to ask though.

Where would you source a junkyard engine? Any ideas where I might go in Minnesota for one? Thanks for the replies!

 

[Mark_888]

I am very surprised by an engine failure at 64K miles as well. I agree that I shouldn't expect much from Hyundai here, but I am hoping to at least speak with someone who will acknowledge that an engine failure really shouldn't happen at 64K. I was expecting the Genesis powertrain to be rock solid reliable and mine simply wasn't.

As far as maintenance is concerned, the oil was always changed using the factory spec oil and it was done regularly. I'm an old guy. I don't really ever even drive this car in a "spirited," fashion, much less over-rev it. Those are good questions to ask though.

Where would you source a junkyard engine? Any ideas where I might go in Minnesota for one? Thanks for the replies!

Given that you are the 3rd owner, it is not surprising to me that you had some problems. Also, having read these forums for a number of years, some people like to drive their Genesis V8's to the max, if you know what I mean. Buying a used car is always risky, but one that has had two previous owners in such a short time is even riskier. I personally would get a lesser car that was either new (or maybe just coming off lease), rather than a used car with 2 previous owners.

There are online junkyards were you can purchase parts or maybe engines, but I think you need to find out ahead of time who would install such an engine and how much that would cost. I guess there are some "totaled" cars that have engines that are OK (not damaged when car was totaled), but even that seems somewhat risky.

 

[dmitriylm]

I am very surprised by an engine failure at 64K miles as well. I agree that I shouldn't expect much from Hyundai here, but I am hoping to at least speak with someone who will acknowledge that an engine failure really shouldn't happen at 64K. I was expecting the Genesis powertrain to be rock solid reliable and mine simply wasn't.

As far as maintenance is concerned, the oil was always changed using the factory spec oil and it was done regularly. I'm an old guy. I don't really ever even drive this car in a "spirited," fashion, much less over-rev it. Those are good questions to ask though.

Where would you source a junkyard engine? Any ideas where I might go in Minnesota for one? Thanks for the replies!

You'd be surprised how many junkyard engine providers there are. I recommend checking eBay and calling local auto parts yards before plunking down the cash.

This eBay search has several 4.6's (I saw one for under $3k with less than 30k miles): http://www.ebay.com/sch/Engines-Components-/33612/i.html?_vxp=mtr&_from=R40&_nkw=hyundai+genesis+4.6+engine

 

[dmitriylm]

I've done this song and dance before with my 2011 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T. I was the first owner and blew a motor at 35k miles due to a mistake I made tuning for my upgraded turbo (went lean). I ended up sourcing a low mileage (roughly 30k) engine through auto parts yards for roughly $2200 and paying an acquaintance $500 to take care of the labor.

 

[PMCErnie]

Hoyobob, out of warranty means out of warranty. The lesson for all of us in these days of complex and expensive repairs is NEVER to run out of warranty. That can mean purchasing an extended warranty, especially one covering the drivetrain. When I bought the wife a Santa Fe Sport last year I bought an extended warranty for both cars at $1,295 each. The 10/100,00 warranties are transferable to a subsequent owner.

Good luck making your case to Hyundai and getting your car repaired.

 

[Mark_888]

Hoyobob, out of warranty means out of warranty. The lesson for all of us in these days of complex and expensive repairs is NEVER to run out of warranty. That can mean purchasing an extended warranty, especially one covering the drivetrain. When I bought the wife a Santa Fe Sport last year I bought an extended warranty for both cars at $1,295 each. The 10/100,00 warranties are transferable to a subsequent owner.

Good luck making your case to Hyundai and getting your car repaired.

I assume you mean that the 10/100,00 extended warranty you purchased are transferable. The 10/100,00 manufacturer drivetrain warranty is for original owner only.

 

[hoyabob2003]

If I was the original owner, this would have been under warranty but I'm not and I completely understand that Hyundai owes me nothing. I was hoping for some good customer service and maybe even to have them throw a few dollars my way as goodwill to help with the fix. I wasn't expecting to be treated rudely by the manufacturer and I was hopeful that based on past experiences posted on this site that Hyundai would step up to the plate and offer assistance with what we would all agree is a premature engine failure. I guess I'll start looking on ebay for replacement engines. Thanks everyone!

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[Mark_888]

If I was the original owner, this would have been under warranty but I'm not and I completely understand that Hyundai owes me nothing. I was hoping for some good customer service and maybe even to have them throw a few dollars my way as goodwill to help with the fix. I wasn't expecting to be treated rudely by the manufacturer and I was hopeful that based on past experiences posted on this site that Hyundai would step up to the plate and offer assistance with what we would all agree is a premature engine failure. I guess I'll start looking on ebay for replacement engines. Thanks everyone!

I suspect that if you were the original owner, and the car was just slightly out of warranty, and you could prove that the car was maintained properly, then you would have a better chance of getting some help from Hyundai.

But since you are the 3rd owner, that means you are not even close to being a Hyundai Motors America customer, so I don't really understand the goodwill angle. Also, most likely the car was driven "to the max" by previous owners.

 

[hoyabob2003]

Seriously? You know how my car was driven? Cmon. 1st owner had it for 12k miles. 2nd owner is my friend who had it for 8k. The rest of the time it's been mine. Do you really believe someone can destroy a quality Hyundai Genesis in 12k miles in such a way that the engine fails at 64k? If so, my next car is going to be something other than a Genesis. There's a lot of speculation going on here and it's good to question everything but I think the focus of the discussion should be on the quality of the timing chain and the quality of Hyundai's customer service.

 

[Mark_888]

Seriously? You know how my car was driven? Cmon. 1st owner had it for 12k miles. 2nd owner is my friend who had it for 8k. The rest of the time it's been mine. Do you really believe someone can destroy a quality Hyundai Genesis in 12k miles in such a way that the engine fails at 64k? If so, my next car is going to be something other than a Genesis. There's a lot of speculation going on here and it's good to question everything but I think the focus of the discussion should be on the quality of the timing chain and the quality of Hyundai's customer service

I would not have been completely surprised if a 2009 V8 or 2012 V8 failed, based on my reading posts on this forum since early 2009. The above two model years had "some" problems with the V8, and Hyundai fixed them if under warranty.

But the 2011 V8 has been quite reliable. And I don't recall seeing anyone on this forum mention a broken timing chain on a Hyundai Genesis for any model year (but maybe I missed it).

So that begs the question, if the 2011 V8 has been very reliable: Why did your timing chain fail? But you are right that I am just guessing and don't really know. Do you think it was a manufacturing defect, or is it possible that the car was driven very hard?

Although I have not always been happy with Hyundai failure to fix things that IMO should be fixed (like the HECU units causing brakes to fail on cars out of warranty, since it was a known problem while under warranty), I don't see any reason for them to honor a warranty that has expired for a car that is on its 3rd owner, for a problem (timing chain broke) that almost no one else seems to have encountered.

If the 2011 V8 had a known problem with the timing chain, but it didn't fail until after the warranty expired on your car, that might be a different situation, but like I said, the 2011 has been probably the most reliable model year for the V8.

 

[PMCErnie]

I assume you mean that the 10/100,00 extended warranty you purchased are transferable. The 10/100,00 manufacturer drivetrain warranty is for original owner only.

You assume correctly. I was speaking about the extended warranty. Based on my retired guy usage, if we keep both cars our warranties will last 10 years. I doubt, however, that we will keep either car beyond 6 years. My Genesis will turn 4 next month. In recent years we have passed our cars on to our son's family.

 

[Mark_888]

You assume correctly. I was speaking about the extended warranty. Based on my retired guy usage, if we keep both cars our warranties will last 10 years. I doubt, however, that we will keep either far beyond 6 years. My Genesis will turn 4 next month.

I know that you knew, but just wanted to make sure others reading your post also understood. Lots of newbies on this forum, and many of them seem to be used car buyers.

 

[PMCErnie]

Bob's car may have begun life as a rental car. Keep talking to Hyundai. You might find some sympathy at some level. Good luck.

 

[dmitriylm]

Seriously? You know how my car was driven? Cmon. 1st owner had it for 12k miles. 2nd owner is my friend who had it for 8k. The rest of the time it's been mine. Do you really believe someone can destroy a quality Hyundai Genesis in 12k miles in such a way that the engine fails at 64k? If so, my next car is going to be something other than a Genesis. There's a lot of speculation going on here and it's good to question everything but I think the focus of the discussion should be on the quality of the timing chain and the quality of Hyundai's customer service.

The focus doesn't particularly need to be the chain or service since neither has been shown to be a significant problem. I'm aware of one Genesis 4.6 with a stretched chain and that happens to be your car so there is no indication this is anything but a one off problem or just poor maintenance. Aside from mileage you don't know the history of the car or how it was treated during that time. Customer service isn't an issue here because you are so far detached from the original buyer (the person who actually paid Hyundai for the car) that there is no reasonable expectation of assistance. If we find a string of timing chain failures then maybe you're onto something but at this time that does not appear to be the case.

 

[dmitriylm]

Bob's car may have begun life as a rental car. Keep talking to Hyundai. You might find some sympathy at some level. Good luck.

I don't understand this expectation of sympathy. This is going to be an expensive repair and as far as Hyundai knows they had nothing to do with it because the guy is the third owner. He has given them $0 so far and is expecting the business to contribute more than $0 to his cause.

 

[craigt]

He has given them $0 so far and is expecting the business to contribute more than $0 to his cause.

I feel bad for the OP, but I have to agree with dmitriylm. Good luck.

 

[Mark_888]

Bob's car may have begun life as a rental car. Keep talking to Hyundai. You might find some sympathy at some level. Good luck.

I am pretty sure that all the Genesis rentals were V6 Base Trim models.