Blown Engine @ 41k miles

[mono]

UPDATE (4/9): The Hyundai service manager just called to inform me the engine failure was due to the oil filter housing being knocked off by road debris causing the engine oil to leak out, seizing the engine. Other signs of damage to the lower front valance and undercarriage is evident as well. A total surprise to me since I don't recall any incident happening to match this event. However, it may explain the loud "clanking and banging" noises happening just before the car died. And there has been a lot of major road work on the 4 lane interstate I was traveling. Unfortunately, this is now an insurance issue not covered by the warranty. The dealership will cover the rental car/loaner expense up to this date, then hopefully my insurance will kick in.

 

[Nikhil Malhotra]

Did the underbody panels not take the 1st hit before the oil filter housing would have ?
I dont think the oil filter housing is so low - however you are seeing damage to undercarriage . It would have been some metal or some rock on the road that can cause so much damage.

 

[mono]

I don't know. But I suppose even if a baseball-size piece of concrete were kicked up going 65mph, one can only image the different types of damage that would follow.

 

[rroyce46]

If it were me I would have that service manager emailing or texting pictures of the underside of the car ASAP or I would be over there looking underneath the car myself.As Nikhil mentioned the plastic underpanels would show damage.

 

[mono]

I will make the effort to get to the dealer tomorrow. My other concern is the fact that NO warning lights, a spike in temp gauge, etc. happened prior to the engine seizing. No "steam" or "burnt oil smell" was present upon opening the hood.

 

[EdP]

I will make the effort to get to the dealer tomorrow. My other concern is the fact that NO warning lights, a spike in temp gauge, etc. happened prior to the engine seizing. No "steam" or "burnt oil smell" was present upon opening the hood.

Temperature would not spike. Coolant was still flowing. There would be no steam as the cooking system would still be intact. Oil did not have time to burn once the metal to metal contact happened.

If the filter housing broke the oil would have drained in seconds and the engine would seize rapidly. At best, the oil pressure light may have come on. At 1500 RPM things happen fast with no oil.

 

[mono]

Thanks for the insight EdP. It will help in my conversation with the service manager tomorrow.

 

[mono]

I viewed the damage on my Genesis at the dealership this morning. The oil filter housing has a large outward dent in the lip opening. Looks like a saucepan spout. This caused the oil filter seal to be broken, and according to the service tech, EdP comments were spot on.... at 1500 rpm the oil leaked within seconds causing engine failure. The initial report of lower valance damage caused in this event was incorrect.... it's a parking curb scrape I made several months ago. However, some scrapes/minor gouges to the undercarriage aft of the engine are fresh, and would support the theory of road debris (rock) being kicked up from the highway, hitting the oil filter and tumbling around under the car.
Genesis 3.8 engine replacement...$9800.00
Waiting for the insurance adjuster to inspect....

 

[rroyce46]

Glad to hear it wasn't an engine fault.
Wow $9800 to replace an engine sure helps me decide if I want to buy an extended warranty on my Genny before the 5 year warranty is up ( I'm in Canada).

 

[EdP]

I viewed the damage on my Genesis at the dealership this morning. The oil filter housing has a large outward dent in the lip opening. Looks like a saucepan spout. This caused the oil filter seal to be broken, and according to the service tech, EdP comments were spot on.... at 1500 rpm the oil leaked within seconds causing engine failure. The initial report of lower valance damage caused in this event was incorrect.... it's a parking curb scrape I made several months ago. However, some scrapes/minor gouges to the undercarriage aft of the engine are fresh, and would support the theory of road debris (rock) being kicked up from the highway, hitting the oil filter and tumbling around under the car.
Genesis 3.8 engine replacement...$9800.00
Waiting for the insurance adjuster to inspect....

Your insurance guy will probably know, but if you can prove negligence on the part of the town or construction crew they may be liable and your deductible would be covered. Not easy to do at thit point though.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[arcman]

Couple questions... Did the engine actually seize completely or did it just make a bunch of knocking noise? If it didn't seize, did the dealer pull the pan to inspect the damage? If the motor didn't seize and you got it off the road quickly, there's a good chance just a rod bearing (usually #1) and the crank are bad. Often the bearing won't even spin but will still make a helluva racket. I've replaced a crank and rod bearing on a lift.

If a rod bearing did spin, then it's another story... head/s come off. A crank, rod and main bearings are a lot cheaper than replacing the motor. I wonder how the insurance company will handle your repair.


Small dent in block doesn't give much indication of what happens inside. ( Alcohol Funny Car )



Rod Mush.

 

[Nikhil Malhotra]

Otherwise an alternate engine can be had for much less

HYUNDAI GENESIS SEDAN 2015-2016 OEM ENGINE RWD 3.8L (TESTED) 41K | eBay

 

[carguy75]

I viewed the damage on my Genesis at the dealership this morning. The oil filter housing has a large outward dent in the lip opening. Looks like a saucepan spout. This caused the oil filter seal to be broken, and according to the service tech, EdP comments were spot on.... at 1500 rpm the oil leaked within seconds causing engine failure. The initial report of lower valance damage caused in this event was incorrect.... it's a parking curb scrape I made several months ago. However, some scrapes/minor gouges to the undercarriage aft of the engine are fresh, and would support the theory of road debris (rock) being kicked up from the highway, hitting the oil filter and tumbling around under the car.
Genesis 3.8 engine replacement...$9800.00
Waiting for the insurance adjuster to inspect....

Wow. The insurance company may just total you out if the $9800 is only for the engine itself not including labor. The 2015 Genesis is only worth about 20k with low miles.

 

[mono]

Wow. The insurance company may just total you out if the $9800 is only for the engine itself not including labor. The 2015 Genesis is only worth about 20k with low miles.

$9800 total...parts/labor

 

[carguy75]

$9800 total...parts/labor

I am curious to see if the insurance company will pay for the repair or just total the car out. It would make more sense to just replace the engine in my opinion however it seems if the repairs are about 50% of the cost of the car the insurance companies just call it a total loss. However, I only had that happen to me for wrecked cars never on a damaged engine caused by road debris.

 

[Drbull]

Something doesn't sound right here. The filter housing has a pour lip molded into the edge. If you lost 7 quarts of oil from impact damage in a short period of time at 65 MPH, the underside of the car would have been dripping in oil and the exhaust would have been smoking like crazy!
The panel under the engine would have been considerably damaged for anything to possibly hit the filter housing!
If the panel is not damaged, I am thinking that on the last oil change, the o ring was not installed correctly or was nicked!

 

[sidewinder1]

running an engine without oil to the point of seizing would be difficult to go unnoticed and happen so suddenly as you put it.

 

[EdP]

Something doesn't sound right here. The filter housing has a pour lip molded into the edge. If you lost 7 quarts of oil from impact damage in a short period of time at 65 MPH, the underside of the car would have been dripping in oil and the exhaust would have been smoking like crazy!
The panel under the engine would have been considerably damaged for anything to possibly hit the filter housing!
If the panel is not damaged, I am thinking that on the last oil change, the o ring was not installed correctly or was nicked!

What you say makes sense except for this: "The oil filter housing has a large outward dent in the lip opening." I would also think you'd see where the impact was.
Since the oil change was done 1000 miles earlier, would you not notice oil in the garage or driveway?
There may or may not have been oil on the underside, it was not reported.

Not really enough details for us to armchair diagnose properly.

 

[jimmy buoy]

It would be interesting to see a photo of the oil cap damage. The cap has quite a long set of threads with an o-ring actually sealing the unit that threads inside the metal base. I could understand the bottom of the plastic cap being damaged and leaking, but the top of the cap is protected by the metal housing in which it is screwed.

 

[Drbull]

My point was the filter housing has a pour lip molded into the housing that points outward. I wonder if the OP was confusing that as the damage?