Another dead V8

[Badgerry]

I haven't even had my 2010 Genesis V8 for 3 months, and it died halfway home home to Mom for Mother's Day. The cause is undiagnosed, but when I heard bad knocking and lost power, I pulled over quick on the freeway. I saw some coolant under the car after stopping, and saw smoke coming out of the tailpipes with a coolant smell. After giving it a truck ride back 75 miles to a dealer (cost: $275), they found the engine temp had reached 240 degrees, and there was no coolant at all left in the system. No compression in any cylinders. Looks like Hyundai is going to have to cough up an engine. By the way, not a single dash warning light came on until I had pulled over and stopped, and the temp guage was on C!!! Is C Korean for really, really hot?

The betting pool is now open as to the initial cause of the problem, and if the dealer figures it out, I'll post.

 

[tompass]

Whoa. That is scary. I would think among other problems, the cpu was not functioning properly given the fact that you had no warnings of impending temp rise. I, for one, will stay tuned.

 

[mikec]

A very common issue (design flaw?) with the coolant temp sensor on most cars is that it's located fairly high up on the engine, typically near the thermostat. It measures the temp of the coolant flowing past it of course and feeds that to the dash display or to a computer which drives the display on modern cars.

The fatal flaw in this logic: there HAS TO BE COOLANT IN THE SYSTEM FOR THE SENSOR TO READ ANYTHING! If a leak exists so the coolant level is below the sensor (or if the sensor is after the thermostat and the thermostat sticks shut) the sensor never sees any temps so the dash display sits at "C" the whole time... meanwhile the engine is melting. On ANY car (Hyundai or not) watch the temp display while the engine warms up - if the display sits "Cold" longer than normal that indicates a problem - such as no/insufficient coolant or a stuck thermostat... if you shut the engine OFF soon enough (i.e. before the actual temps get too hot) it'll survive.

I don't know where the temp sensor is on the Tau V8... since you saw coolant dribbling below the car then there had to be SOME coolant in the system. Either the thermostat stuck shut - and the temp sensor is after the thermostat - or there wasn't enough coolant in the system to actually get pumped around and circulate. Either way, a fault that'll cost Hyundai a few kilobucks.

mike c.

 

[homeofstone]

Had this happen to me on a 1986 Mercury Sable. A small hose failed with less than 20,000 miles on the car. However I did notice the overheating but too late. Engine was repaired by Mercury Dealer at no charge.

 

[tonygxp]

op, think back to whee the car was sitting when you last drove it. was there coolant all over the place? when you were driving did you smell coolant? see it? see any white smoke from the exhaust? i have worked on cars for almost 30yrs and have never seen a situation that wouldn't give you some type of warning. sight, smell, hear, something. if it was a head gasket the engine would run like it was missing badly to utilize all of the coolant in the system, or white smoke would have been pouring out, etc.

can you give us more details? i can't undrstand that there was no visible leak or other symptom to peak your interest, not calling you a liar, just hoping you can explain a little further, anything before the breakdown in hindsight?

 

[Badgerry]

op, think back to whee the car was sitting when you last drove it. was there coolant all over the place? when you were driving did you smell coolant? see it? see any white smoke from the exhaust? i have worked on cars for almost 30yrs and have never seen a situation that wouldn't give you some type of warning. sight, smell, hear, something. if it was a head gasket the engine would run like it was missing badly to utilize all of the coolant in the system, or white smoke would have been pouring out, etc.

can you give us more details? i can't undrstand that there was no visible leak or other symptom to peak your interest, not calling you a liar, just hoping you can explain a little further, anything before the breakdown in hindsight?

No coolant at all on my garage floor, which is where the car was at the start of the 75 mile trip that ended with the breakdown. Trip was entirely on high speed (65 mph) highway. Just a few miles prior to the meltdown, I heard a very faint fluttering, much as if you'd hear if a small piece of some flexible material was in the windstream. Within a mile of shutdown, I got the loud knocking which made me immediately think "lifters" and I noticed that speed had dropped 10 mph below cruise setting. Scanning the dash, the ONLY signal of something amiss was a temp gauge buried on CI began to pullover (in very crowded Mother's day traffic moving fast). There was NO visible smoke while the car was in motion that I could see, and no coolant smell. After shutting off the car and opening the hood, I could feel a lot of heat off the engine, and there were a few spots of coolant visible on a hose nearest the grille. I could smell coolant and hot or burnt rubber. I thought a belt may have broken, but that was not the case. There was coolant under the car on the ground, but not too much--I now suspect most of it was already gone. I was not about to remove the radiator cap in this situation--too hot.

Things like this CAN happen very rapidly and without warning--you can see it in NASCAR races most any Sunday. For me the only question is what was the precipitating event. My guess (and its only that) based on prior experience, is something to do with the thermostat, and I would not be surprised if the CPU was involved somehow.

Anyway, the dealer is getting me a loaner today, because he's pretty sure the engine is unrepairable. Who knows how long it will take to get a new one. Meanwhile, it will be hard to trust this car even after repairs (now that I think of it, it is remarkably like marital infidelity--pardon me while I write a country song about that cheatin' Genny.) Stay tuned for more adventures, y'all.

(BTW, the word is "pique"--something piques your interest, it doesn't "peak" it. It is a common error, but I'm an educator and I can't help myself.)

 

[ShoNuff]

I'm going to guess leaky water pump. This would explain the lack of a puddle under the car when parked (since the pump wouldn't be running when car is parked) and the lack of smoke, while the coolant mysteriously disappeared with no warning. This happened to my Maxima.

The lack of temperature feedback from the sensors is downright scary.

 

[RLREILLY81]

I'm going to say that its the Dunlop's. They seem to be the reason behind almost all complaints about the Genny. They had an argument with the engine in your garage and they broke it.

But on a more serious note my assumption would be a computer failure. Everyone agrees that everything that the engine does has to be done through the CPU so my guess that would be a least a major player in the cars failure.

 

[tonygxp]

insane that the car is "this isolated" from the road/situation. i don't know if i'm worried or happy lol (sorry, I know this is troubling to you) that you couldn't tell what was going on ith the car. had to be a pretty rapid failure, the fluttering was more than likely water pump seal giving way. the temp would have first went higher than normal then down to the "c" but for the instruments to NOT give you a warning is lame. one thing GM cars/trucks are good for, something goes bad all kinds of lights start flashing and illuminating the dash lol... please make sure to report back with the diagnosis and repair (what they tell you etc.), much appreciated.

 

[Badgerry]

Here's the latest--it was definitely a radiator leak of some sort, leading to a rapid loss of coolant. I haven't seen the actual rupture yet. The dealer is mystified by the lack of engine warning lights until I actually shut the engine down.

They're seeing if the heads can be saved (a short block vs. long block replacement question). The tech says that although it looks like a difficult installation, since the engine is installed from beneath, it is relatively easy.

Meantime, I've got a 2011 V8 Genny loaner with just 300 miles on it. My first chance to play with the joystick (not crazy about it so far). For some reason, it feels more powerful yet quieter and smoother-riding than my 2010.

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[NOLa]

Sorry about your car troubles.

I noticed the title of the thread...has there been a rash of V8's breaking down that you said "another dead V8?

NOLa

 

[tonygxp]

Here's the latest--it was definitely a radiator leak of some sort, leading to a rapid loss of coolant. I haven't seen the actual rupture yet. The dealer is mystified by the lack of engine warning lights until I actually shut the engine down.

They're seeing if the heads can be saved (a short block vs. long block replacement question). The tech says that although it looks like a difficult installation, since the engine is installed from beneath, it is relatively easy.

Meantime, I've got a 2011 V8 Genny loaner with just 300 miles on it. My first chance to play with the joystick (not crazy about it so far). For some reason, it feels more powerful yet quieter and smoother-riding than my 2010.

i would kick and scream. long block long block long block.. you don't want those heads if you can avoid it. even if they're straight now if you overheat the engine down the road whereas heads that haven't been stressed would make it out of the fire OK, yours probably won't. best of luck and keep us informed.. hope they get you the whole thing.

 

[homeofstone]

i would kick and scream. long block long block long block.. you don't want those heads if you can avoid it. even if they're straight now if you overheat the engine down the road whereas heads that haven't been stressed would make it out of the fire OK, yours probably won't. best of luck and keep us informed.. hope they get you the whole thing.

I agree. Get the long block complete. Also, find out what failed; hose, pump, seal, or thermostat.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

I haven't even had my 2010 Genesis V8 for 3 months, and it died halfway home home to Mom for Mother's Day. The cause is undiagnosed, but when I heard bad knocking and lost power, I pulled over quick on the freeway. I saw some coolant under the car after stopping, and saw smoke coming out of the tailpipes with a coolant smell. After giving it a truck ride back 75 miles to a dealer (cost: $275), they found the engine temp had reached 240 degrees, and there was no coolant at all left in the system. No compression in any cylinders. Looks like Hyundai is going to have to cough up an engine. By the way, not a single dash warning light came on until I had pulled over and stopped, and the temp guage was on C!!! Is C Korean for really, really hot?

The betting pool is now open as to the initial cause of the problem, and if the dealer figures it out, I'll post.

2 questions:
Is this a new 2010 or used? How many miles?
Why did you pay $275 for the truck? Isn't roadside assistance free?

Ok, so it was 4 questions. Now 5: any update? Now 6: did you answer NOLa's question?
Thx

 

[Badgerry]

Sorry about your car troubles.

I noticed the title of the thread...has there been a rash of V8's breaking down that you said "another dead V8?

NOLa

No, it was just the second one mentioned here, so I was distinguishing it from the first one in order that readers knew this wasn't the earlier event (which seems to have been completely different),

 

[Badgerry]

2 questions:
Is this a new 2010 or used? How many miles?
Why did you pay $275 for the truck? Isn't roadside assistance free?

Ok, so it was 4 questions. Now 5: any update? Now 6: did you answer NOLa's question?
Thx

I bought it used with 12K on it (it was an Avis car). The towing distance was 75 miles @3.75/mile plus hookup fee, and on a Sunday nowhere near a major city I was in no position to haggle. (At least my insurance will cover $100, and AAA will cover the hookup fee plus 5 miles of it). As for roadside assistance, Hyundai simply said they didn't cover towing. Update--the engine arrived yesterday, and the techs are preparing to put it in. Needless to say, this isn't routine for them. Meanwhile, I'm enjoing my 2011 Genny V8 loaner, which has more bells & whistles than my 2010 V8 which didn't have the tech package. It is a better car, although as someone else noted, not thousands of dollars better. After all, I paid less than $30K for my 2010, and the 2011 goes for, what, 44?

 

[Badgerry]

I bought it used with 12K on it (it was an Avis car). The towing distance was 75 miles @3.75/mile plus hookup fee, and on a Sunday nowhere near a major city I was in no position to haggle. (At least my insurance will cover $100, and AAA will cover the hookup fee plus 5 miles of it). As for roadside assistance, Hyundai simply said they didn't cover towing. Update--the engine arrived yesterday, and the techs are preparing to put it in. Needless to say, this isn't routine for them. Meanwhile, I'm enjoing my 2011 Genny V8 loaner, which has more bells & whistles than my 2010 V8 which didn't have the tech package. It is a better car, although as someone else noted, not thousands of dollars better. After all, I paid less than $30K for my 2010, and the 2011 goes for, what, 44?

I should add that I didn't even try Hyundai until I got home. Standing at the side of a 65 mph road, there was no way I could hear well enough (even in the car) to get through Hyundai's ridiculous service menu to reach an appropriate person. Wouldn't you think an emergency number would take you immediately to the right person? In retrospect, maybe I should have wandered off into the woods to make a nice quiet phone call. But there was a friendly sheriff (he really was) waiting with me for something to get done, so I just called the number I KNEW would get things done: AAA

 

[homeofstone]

I bought it used with 12K on it (it was an Avis car). The towing distance was 75 miles @3.75/mile plus hookup fee, and on a Sunday nowhere near a major city I was in no position to haggle. (At least my insurance will cover $100, and AAA will cover the hookup fee plus 5 miles of it). As for roadside assistance, Hyundai simply said they didn't cover towing. Update--the engine arrived yesterday, and the techs are preparing to put it in. Needless to say, this isn't routine for them. Meanwhile, I'm enjoing my 2011 Genny V8 loaner, which has more bells & whistles than my 2010 V8 which didn't have the tech package. It is a better car, although as someone else noted, not thousands of dollars better. After all, I paid less than $30K for my 2010, and the 2011 goes for, what, 44?

Towing is included by Hyundai here is info from Hyundai Web page. Unless it is not the same in Canada.

5-YEAR/UNLIMITED MILE 24-HOUR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE
Covers vehicle, regardless if current owner is original or subsequent owner.

Includes the following roadside amenities:

• Towing for inoperable disablements, including accidents
• Battery jump starts
• Changing flat tire
• Lock-out assistance
• Out of gas assistance
• Trip interruption

 

[scottdk]

Towing is included by Hyundai here is info from Hyundai Web page. Unless it is not the same in Canada.

5-YEAR/UNLIMITED MILE 24-HOUR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE
Covers vehicle, regardless if current owner is original or subsequent owner.

Includes the following roadside amenities:

• Towing for inoperable disablements, including accidents
• Battery jump starts
• Changing flat tire
• Lock-out assistance
• Out of gas assistance
• Trip interruption

What the heck is "Trip interruption?"

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

What the heck is "Trip interruption?"

When the cop shines a light in your eyes.