Broken down on the side of the road, towed back to dealership!

[bkw]

hey all-

I must apologize for the crappy first post, but I've just returned from the dealership where our V8 tech Genesis was towed to.

Found this forum via Google and hoping that someone here might be able to assist or give me insight as to what the hell happened to me this morning.

We were on the highway doing about 70mph and all of a sudden the car began to shudder and the check engine light began to flash. Tried giving it a little bit of gas to get off to the shoulder, but the motor kept bogging and died in the furthermost righthand lane, a few yards from the shoulder. Tried starting the car again, which it did, but the motor ran very very rough and bucked like crazy for the last few feet till we were safely out of the way of traffic.

Had my kid with me on the way to daycare, and thankfully roadside assistance was there within 20 minutes rather than the 2 hours the operator had estimated.

Dropped us off at a local dealership and they'll begin investigating.

This reminds me a lot of what my old Audi had done with its crappy coilpack issue, but with a twist. I'm thinking it's either something with the ignition system or fuel injection. I've done a quick search here and dont see anything else like this - so if anyone out there can give me some insight, I'd appreciate it!

They put us into a V6 Genesis, and I must admit that the 6 isnt as bad as I had initially thought it would be.


Some specs on our car:
V8 Tech
4551 miles
Switched to Amsoil Synthetic oil at 3000 miles
Last fillup with Sunoco 93 (~50 miles ago)

 

[Mark_888]

Glad to hear that the V6 isn't so bad (I think it is pretty darn good).

If I were you, I would not be telling to many details about using Amsoil synthetic in your car, since their 100% synthetic oils are not API certified (that does not mean they are bad oils, but you don't want to get into that discussion when filing a warranty claim).

Just out of curiosity, exactly which Amsoil oil are you using?

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Welcome aboard, BKW.. And thank you for signing up. Sorry to hear about your trouble.. I guess at the very least, you've had almost 5000 trouble free miles.. (I hope).. In any event, it sucks that surely a bunch of people on the road laughed and said, "Hyundai"... These things happen with complicated, techie cars all the time.

Keep us posted on what the dealer says went wrong.. And I'm happy to hear your positive review of the V6 Genesis Sedan as well.. First, it's very nice that you received a Genesis loaner. Very cool.. And second, the V6 is quite an engine - so I'm not surprised you're happy with it.

 

[CanukV6]

Sorry to hear of your problems.
The nature of the breakdown definitely sounds like an electrical issue with fuel, ignition or both. ECU's are a computer dedicated to engine control but like any other electronics, if they are going to fail it is usually in the first few weeks/months of use. It's known as the burn-in period. Once through that they are probably good for the life of the vehicle barring any external issues (like jump-starting your car with the leads reversed - don't ask how I know).
Like your Home Stereo or TV if they last the first few months they are good for 20 years - or more. Hopefully this is just a case of electronic 'infant mortality' and once fixed will not recurr.

 

[TJPark01]

Interested to hear what the prognosis will be. Please keep us updated as we are all very curious.

 

[ctrcbob]

This is the first time I've heard of any Genesis' just dying like that. Almost makes me nervous about driving on Hwy 246 between Capitan and Roswell NM, because if anything ever happens on that lonely road, it would be a long wait for someone to come by to help, not to mention no cell phone coverage.

Keep us informed on what they find.

 

[SUSANNE]

Any chance you got some bad gas... (not that kind boys)

 

[bkw]

Still no word on the root cause from the service advisor, but he believes it may be the fuel pump. I will however have another night with this silver V6. The silver/black is beginning to grow on me as well. We have a white and had not seen a silver in person since today.

As for the Amsoil and the API, dealerships are not allowed to deny warranty claims based on the type of oil they use unless they can prove for certain that the fault in question is due to the oil. As for the API, it's a farce. It's a voluntary certification and there are quite a number of manufacturers (including Mobil1) that have oils that are not API certified. As for Amzoil (the way they spelled it in 1972), they were the first synthetic oil to be certified by the API and have always met/exceeded API standards. I've been using Amsoil since the late 80's on all my cars which includes a number of track only cars to all our daily drivers.

Back to the subject at hand, I did not smell oil or anything else for that matter. No white/black/blue smoke, nothing. The first thing I did after stopping was checking my oil level and it was spot on and everything else under the hood looked sorted.

Fuel pump at 4500 miles? I guess it *could* happen, but it kinda makes me grit my teeth. This is my first Hyundai and I had serious reservations before committing to it.. Anyways, I'll wait for the full report before making any further (hasty) judgements.

 

[ctrcbob]

BTW, forgot to ask, was the car towed to your selling dealer, or to the closest dealer?

 

[bkw]

Closest dealer. Our selling dealer is in the neighboring county.

Service manager called again, fuel pump. Doesnt have one in stock, but will have one tomorrow.

Here's a random question about the Lemon Law (NY preferred).

If this happens again, but I get it repaired at a different dealership, would that count towards my three strikes?

I'm concerned that this could possibly happen again, but since it'll probably be a random occurence I will be at the mercy of the tow truck driver to take me to the closest service provider.

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[CanukV6]

.

 

[CanukV6]

Not sure about the Lemon Laws in the US but I know here (in Canada) you have to show significant problems and hardship before they will even consider replacing your car or giving you your money back.

 

[Yama1yzf]

Closest dealer. Our selling dealer is in the neighboring county.

Service manager called again, fuel pump. Doesnt have one in stock, but will have one tomorrow.

Here's a random question about the Lemon Law (NY preferred).

If this happens again, but I get it repaired at a different dealership, would that count towards my three strikes?

I'm concerned that this could possibly happen again, but since it'll probably be a random occurence I will be at the mercy of the tow truck driver to take me to the closest service provider.

You should have received info on the lemon law when you bought the car but if not just google it for NY and it should come up. I live in NY and got a vehicle replaced under the lemon law. If I am not mistaken the car has to go back three times for the same issue and remain unresolved. Don't believe it matters what dealer it was serviced at as long as it is a Hyundai and is documented. The chances of a fuel pump failing twice is probably pretty remote. And yes the V6 is a great engine!

 

[bkw]

After an evening with the V6 I have noticed a small number of differences.

The leather is a little more taut than my car, and this isn't a bad thing since the leather on the bottom of the seats is getting a bit loose on ours. Same shape, and still one of my least favorite traits of this car.

No cooled drivers seat? I hadn't known that this was even an option.

Blue MID where the Navi is supposed to be. I was never a big fan of the blue lighting accents of this car and the blue MID goes waaay too far. Reminds me of my kids play/toy computer screen.

Non-HID lights on this car are just as good as the HID's. Very good illumination without the abrupt cut off the HID's exhibit. We live on a rolling road where there are quite a number of deer roam the land. With the HID's I can't see over the next hump, but with the halogens and it's dispersed beam pattern, this was not an issue.

The Lexicon system blows away the stock system. Both in clarity in the highs and diffusion of lows.

The leather on the V8 dash and the wood steering wheel make it feel a bit more expensive. The V6 feels a bit more "Acura TL-ish".

Powertrain - The tranny seems to know my driving style and kicks down a gear or two at exactly the right time without delay. On the V8 I have to really get into the gas for the tranny to downshift. It's fun wringing out the V6, but there is a difference between the 6 and 8 and it's all in the power delivery. The 8 is much more linear with a good deal of grunt (torque). The V6 is peaky and does get a bit winded at higher RPM's. But no doubt a good motor.

While the V6 is a fantastic motor, it makes me appreciate my 8 and all the little amenities that come along with it.

 

[musher51]

For the record, a lot of what you commented on has nothing to do with engine selection, but rather general trim options. Many V6 owners have the same amenities you cited, such as a cooled driver seat, leather on the dash, 17-spkr Lexicon, HID, etc. That's just a function of buying the Tech Pkg.

Interesting observations about differences in power delivery, though...that IS a valid distinction between the 3.8s and 4.6s (as is the type of leather in the seats).

BTW, if you encounter three failed fuel pumps, we've ALL got a lot to worry about! The odds of this morphing into a Lemon Law moment are very low, methinks.

 

[studyaid]

After an evening with the V6 I have noticed a small number of differences.

The leather is a little more taut than my car, and this isn't a bad thing since the leather on the bottom of the seats is getting a bit loose on ours. Same shape, and still one of my least favorite traits of this car.

No cooled drivers seat? I hadn't known that this was even an option.

I think the V6 you got has to be one of the lower packages. I have the V6 Tech package and there is a cooled drivers seat. I also have the Navigation screen right in the middle of the dash.

Regardless, I hope you get your 8 back soon and it is not a problem that will be occurring with yours again, or with the other Gennies on the road.

 

[bkw]

Just an update, a quick question and a rant.

Finally got our car back this morning after almost a week at the dealership. Everything seems to work great and she idles like a champ once again.

When we dropped off the car there was at least 1/3 to 1/2 talk of gas left. When we picked it up the gas light was on. I had asked the service manager why this was so and he stated that his techs had road tested the car for sometime on Friday to be certain everything was in order.

I took his word for it, and went on my way. I was late for work and tried to go as far as possible w/o filling up. Then my MID went blank! Is that supposed to happen when youre fuel is low? My manual is in the glovebox and I'll check later, but something tells me that's not supposed to happen.

 

[crhbobby]

Yes... When I test drove my car, it said aproximately 30 or so miles to E, and then all of a sudden it went blank. The salesperson said it was normal. They don't want you waiting til it says 1 mile left to get gas.

Bob Hall

 

[dataguy]

Yes... When I test drove my car, it said aproximately 30 or so miles to E, and then all of a sudden it went blank. The salesperson said it was normal. They don't want you waiting til it says 1 mile left to get gas.

Correct. The trip computer's estimate distance to empty stops at 30 miles to go (indicated by "--" on the readout). It's definitely because they don't want people to run out of gas and get mad that the computer said there was more miles in the tank. Besides, the trip computer uses an estimate based on the fuel it thinks is remaining and the burn rate. It's not extremely accurate (perhaps 5-10% too optimistic), so when the low fuel light and the trip computer say it's time to fill up, that's probably a good idea.

 

[ctrcbob]

Just an update, a quick question and a rant.

Finally got our car back this morning after almost a week at the dealership. Everything seems to work great and she idles like a champ once again.

When we dropped off the car there was at least 1/3 to 1/2 talk of gas left. When we picked it up the gas light was on. I had asked the service manager why this was so and he stated that his techs had road tested the car for sometime on Friday to be certain everything was in order.

I took his word for it, and went on my way. I was late for work and tried to go as far as possible w/o filling up. Then my MID went blank! Is that supposed to happen when youre fuel is low? My manual is in the glovebox and I'll check later, but something tells me that's not supposed to happen.

If the fuel pump is inside the gas tank (I don't know if it is or not), they may have drained fuel to get the fuel pump out. I don't think they could that much fuel doing test drives.