Exhaust soot on rear bumper?

[vrracing]

My father has a 2012 Equus in white and black soot builds up on the rear bumper cover so much that it looks like a 70's era diesel. It looked so bad that the Equus service manager (near Port Charlotte FL) was concerned enough to take pictures and bring in the national service tech.

A few weeks later the national service tech apparently dismissed it as "normal" but didnt have the professionalism to call my father instead relaying the dismissal thru the local service manager.

My father is concerned that the acidity in the soot will damage the paint so wants to see if others are having the issues. Unfortunately with such low volumes there isnt much on the internet except for this complaint.

Anyone else notice excessive soot buildup on the rear bumper cover? My wife has a 2010 Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track and we've never noticed anything unusual soot but it has the dark grey lower valence.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Mark_888]

This is a common complaint on both Genesis and Equus. It is even worse with the introduction of the GDI engines in 2012 (3.8 and 5.0). It is "normal," even if it is a bit disconcerting.

 

[vrracing]

Thank. I searched on "soot" on the Genesis side and saw it was extremely common. I guess the guidance would be only buy grey or brown Hyundais!

Funny that Hyundai service hasnt bothered to come up with a consistent message on this. When my father presented it to the NM (ABQ or Santa Fe I dont know in which city he bought it) after a trip to and from Austin they said it was "bad gas". Then the SW Florida dealership freaks out about it. And then the national guy unceremoniously dismisses it. They are all over the place on this and it is embarrassing for them.

Thx, I'll let him know.

 

[Mark_888]

Thank. I searched on "soot" on the Genesis side and saw it was extremely common. I guess the guidance would be only buy grey or brown Hyundais!

Funny that Hyundai service hasnt bothered to come up with a consistent message on this. When my father presented it to the NM (ABQ or Santa Fe I dont know in which city he bought it) after a trip to and from Austin they said it was "bad gas". Then the SW Florida dealership freaks out about it. And then the national guy unceremoniously dismisses it. They are all over the place on this and it is embarrassing for them.

Thx, I'll let him know.

That kind of thing happens a lot with Hyundai service personnel. They are used to dealing with people who buy the lowest price car they can find, and who cannot afford to buy the equivalent Honda or Toyota in the same class. They just expect their customers to be idiots who will believe anything they tell them (some do).

The suggestion of most is to use a good synthetic polymer wax (just about any high-end wax sold at Walmart that doesn't have natural carnauba in it) and keep the area around the exhaust clean on a regular basis. A waxed surface is much easier to clean than raw paint/clearcoat. A cleaner/wax might work well on the rear bumper near the exhaust, such as Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax or Nu Finish Car Polish.

 

[rgarret2]

That kind of thing happens a lot with Hyundai service personnel. They are used to dealing with people who buy the lowest price car they can find, and who cannot afford to buy the equivalent Honda or Toyota in the same class. They just expect their customers to be idiots who will believe anything they tell them (some do).

The suggestion of most is to use a good synthetic polymer wax (just about any high-end wax sold at Walmart that doesn't have natural carnauba in it) and keep the area around the exhaust clean on a regular basis. A waxed surface is much easier to clean than raw paint/clearcoat. A cleaner/wax might work well on the rear bumper near the exhaust, such as Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax or Nu Finish Car Polish.

+10...this is a well written-about issue. I have the same car/color combo. As Mark states, a good cleaner wax will do, then apply the polymer "wax". This combo seems to make the soot easier to clean but will still penetrate the treatment over time. Retreat as needed but have the problem documented with the dealer, especially those of you that lease.

 

[Kemp]

I don't know how you avoid this probelm. I suspect lexus has the same issue. The car's design does not allow a blow away.

 

[jake the snake]

I have a pearl white for now 10 months and have not seen any soot on my bumper.
I need to clean the exhaust tip once in a while but thats all.

Are you running regular gas or premium?

How much ethanol?

Have a nice day

 

[Southern Boy]

My son has a BMW 330 I twin turbo GDI that soots up the rear exhaust tips.

I think these engines run rich fuel/air mixtures when they are not up to proper operating temperature which cause soot in the exhaust.

Here is a professional detailer article that deals with cleaning soot from exhaust tips.

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/exhaust-tip-detailing/

I am thinking this is a problem experienced with GDI engines. I have a 2011 3.8 that doesn’t have a soot problem.