Major Safety Issue

[golfschatz]

I have just experienced something with my 2009 3.8 Genesis Sedan that is very frightening. As I was entering an expressway, I stepped on the gas to accelerate and there was no response. I am not talking about a hesitation. It did nothing. It was like the car was in neutral. However as I stepped on the gas the engine did not rev up but the engine was still running. I know this sounds crazy but it really happened. Luckily I could coast to the shoulder of the road without causing a problem. I turned off the engine, restarted the car, and the car ran fine other than the engine light is on. I will be going to the dealer tomorrow but am really afraid they won't find anything. Then I will have to drive it holding my breath for the next occurence. I have searched the forum and have not seen a similar problem. Has anyone has experienced this problem?

 

[STREETS]

Hopefully the engine light will remain on and dealer to get and diagnose code reading.
Drive carefully.

 

[ctrcbob]

Even if the engine light is no longer on, they can still pull the code.

I hate these "Drive by wire" systems.

 

[mcginnpm]

I can't recall, but I think if the car goes through several cycles (I think 3 is the number) without the problem reoccuring, the code will clear itself. I could be wrong in that only the light goes away, but the code remains in memory. Shouldn't be an issue if you take it in to the dealer, or swing by an AutoZone and aske them to pull your codes.

 

[golfschatz]

Thanks for the info. I will post what the dealer has to say. I just wish I could have found someone else with this problem. The local service departments pretty much rely on the tech center since they do not have much experience servicing the Genesis.

 

[jtbishop]

I had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the throttle actuator relay(under warranty) and that resolved the problem. They had the car for 2 days.

My experience was almost identical expect that I had just exited an Interstate and when I stopped at a traffic light and stepped on the gas I had almost the exact same symptoms. I too turned the car off and restarted it which cleared the immediate problem.

 

[Webbtman]

I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago. It started as you said, I then restarted engine light came on. I was on a trip away from home, when I restarted the next day the engine light went out. On the return trip the car was running sluggish and the engine light came back on. When I took it to the dealer they replaced the Assy-Throttle. What I was told there is no cable running between the accelerator and the the throttle it is down wirelessly, and the reciever was not working. Of course the repair was covered under warranty. I have not had any problems since the repair.

T.

 

[Sayantsi]

Wirelessly? That's crazy!

 

[Disaster]

It isn't wireless. There was some type of misunderstanding there. It is a "drive by wire" system which is also sometimes called "cableless" because it doesn't have a throttle cable. Most cars today, have "drive by wire." It is almost a necessity, to meet modern emissions requirements. Based on his description, the throttle body unit was replaced.

 

[ASHDUMP]

WOW! I hope you can get this fixed.

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[bozo4onion]

Wow. My Genesis is a pretty amazing car but I didn't know they could fly. I guess my 3.8 didn't come with the fly by wire option.

 

[Disaster]

Wow. My Genesis is a pretty amazing car but I didn't know they could fly. I guess my 3.8 didn't come with the fly by wire option.

Funny. I corrected it to "drive by wire." Must have been thinking about those Airbus's.

 

[muisui]

well, the car gave no response to gas pedal is not very scary. When you are in a car that gives gas without your intent, that's scary and it happened a couple times in my Audi S4. ;-) And you are right, the dealer can't find anything wrong there....

 

[scottdk]

well, the car gave no response to gas pedal is not very scary. When you are in a car that gives gas without your intent, that's scary and it happened a couple times in my Audi S4. ;-) And you are right, the dealer can't find anything wrong there....

Funny you mention S4. My good friend had one (2002 BI-turbo 2.7) and it cost him $16,000 in repairs in under 2 years. The car only had 60,000 miles on it and of course doesn't offer the warrany Hyundai does. He did purchase an extended warranty from a non-Audi company, and of course they did not pay for any of the repairs. He fought for over a year with them with no seccess.

 

[ttsig]

I have just experienced something with my 2009 3.8 Genesis Sedan that is very frightening. As I was entering an expressway, I stepped on the gas to accelerate and there was no response. I am not talking about a hesitation. It did nothing. It was like the car was in neutral. However as I stepped on the gas the engine did not rev up but the engine was still running. I know this sounds crazy but it really happened. Luckily I could coast to the shoulder of the road without causing a problem. I turned off the engine, restarted the car, and the car ran fine other than the engine light is on. I will be going to the dealer tomorrow but am really afraid they won't find anything. Then I will have to drive it holding my breath for the next occurence. I have searched the forum and have not seen a similar problem. Has anyone has experienced this problem?

Well, I just had a similar experience today. While driving in to work this morning I was coming up an incline that requires a little more gas to maintain speed. As I pressed the accelerator, instead of accelerating the car shuttered slightly, and seemed to simply decide to go back to idle. I let off and accelerated again and no response. As I was starting to drift off the road to get out of the line of traffic the MIL light started flashing and almost immediately the engine returned to normal and started responding to the accelerator again. Eventually the MIL light stopped flashing and stayed on solid. Overall the car felt pretty normal after that but, after dropping off my daughter at school, I decided to head straight to the dealer. I'm typing this as I sit waiting to hear their diagnosis.

 

[ctrcbob]

I have something like this happen to me once in a while, however not nearly as bad as you guys have. Always happens the same.

When at a light, or a cross street, if I start to go forward, then take my foot off the gas after just 5 or 10 feet, (I.E., just barely rolling) then push on the gas again, I sometimes get "almost nothing". This is scary if there are cars coming from the cross street, and you are trying to get into traffic before the cross traffic catches up to you.

This is the only way it happens, but it does not always happen, thankfully.

 

[ttsig]

Dealer diagnosis was "Bad O2 Sensor" which they have ordered and should be here later this week. They say that the vehicle is safe to drive.

Their explanation to the shudder/almost shutdown boiled down to this:

"The vehicle depends on correct readings from all sensors to properly regulate engine operation. When a sensor is working properly, and then suddenly stops working, it can take the computer a few seconds to detect which sensor is returning the faulty information. During this time the engine behavior will likely be very erratic. However, once the MIL light is illuminated, this indicates that the computer has detected the failed/misbehaving sensor and will operate in a "fallback" mode where it simply uses "reasonable" values and the remaining "working" sensor inputs to regulate the engine. The success of this can vary based on specifically which sensor failed (some sensors are more variable, and thus more difficult to "estimate" or operate without). This is why, once the MIL light was on, the vehicle seemed to return to normal operation. Basically, prior to the computer identifying the malfunctioning sensor, it was still attempting to use it's false values to operate the engine".

 

[Sayantsi]

I have something like this happen to me once in a while, however not nearly as bad as you guys have. Always happens the same.

When at a light, or a cross street, if I start to go forward, then take my foot off the gas after just 5 or 10 feet, (I.E., just barely rolling) then push on the gas again, I sometimes get "almost nothing". This is scary if there are cars coming from the cross street, and you are trying to get into traffic before the cross traffic catches up to you.

This is the only way it happens, but it does not always happen, thankfully.

This imo is classic drive by wire behavior - very annoying. Automakers make the throttle reaction "lazy" to assist with emissions and increase mpg, at the expense of snappy throttle response.

 

[BocaDave]

Re: Major Safety Issue - Go Directly to Dealer!!!

I have just experienced something with my 2009 3.8 Genesis Sedan that is very frightening. As I was entering an expressway, I stepped on the gas to accelerate and there was no response. I am not talking about a hesitation. It did nothing. It was like the car was in neutral. However as I stepped on the gas the engine did not rev up but the engine was still running. I know this sounds crazy but it really happened. Luckily I could coast to the shoulder of the road without causing a problem. I turned off the engine, restarted the car, and the car ran fine other than the engine light is on. I will be going to the dealer tomorrow but am really afraid they won't find anything. Then I will have to drive it holding my breath for the next occurence. I have searched the forum and have not seen a similar problem. Has anyone has experienced this problem?

You have a car with the best warranty in the industry. I don't know why you aren't rushing to your dealer, instead of writing the forum.

Look, your life depends on this - GO TO THE DEALER, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Joking aside, go there now. Write about the problem in the forum after you take care of your own safety. A car that stalls out at the wrong moment, or doesn't respond as it should, could get you killed.

Dead is bad. Alive is good. GO TO THE DEALER NOW. They'll fix it for free, hopefully right away.

GO TO THE DEALER NOW.

 

[golfschatz]

The only reason I posted this before I went to the dealer is that it happened on a Sunday. I did go right back home and took the car to the dealer Monday morning. Also I wanted to see if anyone else had seen this problem and how it was corrected so I could explain that to the dealer.

Here is what happened at the dealer. They reprogrammed the engine control unit and checked and cleaned all grounds in the engine compartment. This did not give me a particularly warm feeling. I mentioned that people with similar problems had the throttle relay actuator replaced. They said the error codes did not indicate that replacement. They followed instructions from the tech center. The service guy said they had made this correction before and it had worked. So that means there have been at least 4 people who have experienced this problem, myself, 2 other forum responses, and the other person at the dealership. Statistically, I would dare say that there must be at least 10 or 20 other people out there who have had this problem. This is a major safety issue.
I have E Mailed Hyundai North America stating my concern. I have not yet heard back. I will give them another couple days. Depending on their response I may fill out a safety incident report with the National Highway Safety Administration. It is easy to do online.

In the meantime I will be very cautious when pulling out in front of traffic. I will keep updating how this goes.