Blown Engine @ 41k miles

[mono]

2015 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan, AWD, Ultimate with 41,200 miles. Regularly dealer maintained. 5 years, 50,000 remainder of warranty.
Interstate highway, 65 mph. About 40 miles into the trip, "clank and bang" noises from the engine... gradual loss of acceleration. Safely pulled off the highway... coming to a dead stop. Tried to restart...flashing gauges and engine sputtering upon cranking....no joy. 60 mile flatbed tow to dealership. They wouldn't be able to check out the car for week. I did receive a loaner ($40 a day). After the eventual "service appointment" a week later, the service manager said they found metal fragments in the oil. He informed me they were waiting for a Hyundai Service Representative to "look into the matter". He also said Hyundai was backed up over a month for blown engine replacements. Because it is still under warranty, the cost of the "loaner" should be covered. We'll see.

Too bad... I really liked this car.

 

[LD5050]

That sucks. Glad you’re okay and that no one was hurt. Hopefully they sort it out ASAP and get you taken care of.

 

[Suburbazine]

My dealer seems to be backed up with blown engines too. My engine is apparently in no danger, but it's certainly making them seem to be less helpful than they should with other issues.

 

[Velvetsmack]

I'll be really interested in hearing what the cause was. Keep us posted. There's been much talk about Hyundai's engines in the news lately (yes, not the Lambda, but nonetheless..)

 

[EdP]

2015 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan, AWD, Ultimate with 41,200 miles. Regularly dealer maintained. 5 years, 50,000 remainder of warranty.

That sucks. One reason I bought my first Hyundai was the good warranty. The inconvenience is no fun but hopefully you come out in good shape.

 

[mono]

I had difficulty trying to get a straight answer from the Service Manager regarding results of the "inspection appointment". Not knowing exactly what type of diagnostics are typically done in this situation, I feel the "metal fragments in the oil" explanation is a "result of", not a "reason for" a problem.

 

[need4spd]

I would tend to agree the metal fragments are a result of, and in any case if there are metal fragments in the oil, that is not normal regardless (I guess it could be a cause, but as the result of a part breaking down).

 

[RyanB]

Both times my Sonata's engine blew they found metal in the oil but never gave me an explanation on how or why this kept happening. I have had many problems with my Hyundai's and more serious issues than my other current or past vehicles but Hyundai has always come through with taking care of it and I am sure they will get you taken care of with a new engine. Can't say that for my past Ford's, Nissan's or Chevy's.

 

[chrev]

Sounds like some failed bearings. I wonder if doing an oil analysis every 10000 miles can detect the failure before it happens.

 

[mono]

Both times my Sonata's engine blew they found metal in the oil but never gave me an explanation on how or why this kept happening. I have had many problems with my Hyundai's and more serious issues than my other current or past vehicles but Hyundai has always come through with taking care of it and I am sure they will get you taken care of with a new engine. Can't say that for my past Ford's, Nissan's or Chevy's.

To your point, the dealership service manager said that he has a couple of Sonata replacement engines on backorder (over a month). This is the first failed Genesis 3.8 he's seen. My last six vehicles were Fords and Lincolns (Explorers, Edges, MKZ). None had any issues. Each one passing 50-60k miles during my ownership from new. Experiences with the Ford/Lincoln dealership/service were A1. I may revisit those brands... real soon.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[rbwillnj]

I'm guessing that the "Blown Engine Back Order" is for the Sonata 2.4L and others that shared that engine. There was a known problem with machining the crank shafts on that engine and Hyundai extended the warranty to 120,000 miles. I haven't seen any other reports of a blown engines in a Genesis. My 2007 Azera has pretty much the same engine as the 3.8 in the Genesis, and it's still going strong at 175,000.

My wife's 2011 Sonata engine blew last year at 73,000. Hyundai replaced the long block. The process took about five weeks. They arranged for a free rental replacement, and paid for the towing charge. I would have preferred it the engine hadn't blown, but I couldn't be happier with the no hassle service we got from Hyundai.

 

[carguy75]

2015 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan, AWD, Ultimate with 41,200 miles. Regularly dealer maintained. 5 years, 50,000 remainder of warranty.
Interstate highway, 65 mph. About 40 miles into the trip, "clank and bang" noises from the engine... gradual loss of acceleration. Safely pulled off the highway... coming to a dead stop. Tried to restart...flashing gauges and engine sputtering upon cranking....no joy. 60 mile flatbed tow to dealership. They wouldn't be able to check out the car for week. I did receive a loaner ($40 a day). After the eventual "service appointment" a week later, the service manager said they found metal fragments in the oil. He informed me they were waiting for a Hyundai Service Representative to "look into the matter". He also said Hyundai was backed up over a month for blown engine replacements. Because it is still under warranty, the cost of the "loaner" should be covered. We'll see.

Too bad... I really liked this car.

Well, unfortunately that is what factory warranties are for. Defective engines. The 3.8 engines are not on a recall or backlog, however it may take a while to get a new one due to the investigation into why your 3.8 engine failed. The dealership is probably checking to determine if you caused the engine failure by sending out oil samples to be tested which will slow down the repair process.

How often did you change the oil? Who did the oil changes?

 

[carguy75]

To your point, the dealership service manager said that he has a couple of Sonata replacement engines on backorder (over a month). This is the first failed Genesis 3.8 he's seen. My last six vehicles were Fords and Lincolns (Explorers, Edges, MKZ). None had any issues. Each one passing 50-60k miles during my ownership from new. Experiences with the Ford/Lincoln dealership/service were A1. I may revisit those brands... real soon.

I owned a 2011 Ford Edge AWD for a short time. The transfer-case unit(PTU) was common fail item as was the transmission cooler. My old Edge only had 15k miles but it was not the best so I sold it soon after due to my local Ford dealership poor service. I did have an extended warranty, but the service quality(long waits,no loaner cars,return trips for mistakes) turned me away from Ford. The best dealership service I have gotten was from Mercedes hands down. They treat customers like VIP's and provide nice loaners while providing food/drink while you wait to be serviced.

 

[SeekingGen]

I had a Ford Mustang--purchased brand new and the engine blew at 48,000 miles. Had a Ford Explorer--right after warranty it completely stopped working--it was a wiring issue (it had been improperly done). Had a Lexus ES350 that went thru 3 brand new batteries--which they kept telling me were defective batteries--until eventually a different issue was located (after my insistence). Have a Lexus IS350 that they told me they had replaced the defective airbag--then when the airbag failed learned they had not replaced it. Have had 2 Hyundai Sonatas with no issues.
You just never know. Each car brand has its issues--just have to hope that the car you wind up with is not one of the ones with issues.

 

[mono]

Well, unfortunately that is what factory warranties are for. Defective engines. The 3.8 engines are not on a recall or backlog, however it may take a while to get a new one due to the investigation into why your 3.8 engine failed. The dealership is probably checking to determine if you caused the engine failure by sending out oil samples to be tested which will slow down the repair process.

How often did you change the oil? Who did the oil changes?

All required service/oil changes/maintenance by Hyundai dealer. Last oil change/inspection done @ 40,000 miles: Feb. 15, 2019

 

[EdP]

All required service/oil changes/maintenance by Hyundai dealer. Last oil change/inspection done @ 40,000 miles: Feb. 15, 2019

Have to wonder if they put all the oil in at the change. OTOH metal parts do wear and if imperfect to start earlier than usual. At 41000 miles at 60 mph and 1500 RPM. it is over 60 million revolutions. Amazing that engines last as long as they do.

 

[carguy75]

All required service/oil changes/maintenance by Hyundai dealer. Last oil change/inspection done @ 40,000 miles: Feb. 15, 2019

Well, if any mistake was made it was not your fault. So I guess you just have to wait until the engine get replaced per the warranty. Seems more like a service technician mistake than an engine design failure, however the newer 3.8 engine is fairly new(2015) so maybe the engine has some design faults that are not widely known yet.

My guess, the tech probably did not correctly tighten the drain bolt and most of the oil drained out while on the road and caused some major wear.

 

[Hueydriver]

Have to wonder if they put all the oil in at the change. OTOH metal parts do wear and if imperfect to start earlier than usual. At 41000 miles at 60 mph and 1500 RPM. it is over 60 million revolutions. Amazing that engines last as long as they do.

First thing I do when I get home, wait about an hour and check oil lever as well as the tire air pressure! You won’t believe how many times the oil is low and tires way overinflated!

 

[carguy75]

First thing I do when I get home, wait about an hour and check oil lever as well as the tire air pressure! You won’t believe how many times the oil is low and tires way overinflated!

So true. Hence why I jusy do my own oil changes and adjust my tire pressures in the morning after buying new tires. I also adjust the torque with my torque wrench on my wheel nuts when a shop remove my wheels. Many shop techs do not correctly do these things for whatever reason. Most likely due to rushing on the job to meet up with the high demands for a quick turn around time on job tickets.

 

[RTK]

Agreed on checking the oil and tire pressures (and other work), and I’m a huge advocate for DIY on oil changes and other maintenance. In this case, since the OP had the dealer do the oil change, it’s on them (the dealer). It can be argued that the owner should check the oil level, but nobody is going to say that in 1,000 miles, an engine can consume the full sump of oil.

On the other hand, it may not be oil at all. It could just be an assembly defect that finally manifested itself. (Improperly torqued main bearing cap, etc. Or some engine component may not have been hardened properly and just wore through now.

FWIW, I’ve had well regarded “reliable” cars fail on me (two Hondas), a dealer who took a reliable car and spent 8 months correcting their own error on a transmission without loaner or compensation (Ford SVT Contour), and a car everyone told me to stay away from that was absolutely perfect and ran fantastic (for 250,000 miles, and on the original brake pads no less!) until the manufacturer was forced to buy it back due to the diesel emissions scandal (2011 VW Jetta TDI). You just never know.

Good luck to the OP on getting this resolved. Of all the other car companies out there, I honestly believe that Genesis will take care of you.