Genesis sedan won't start! Help?

[Unluckygenesis]

2012 genesis sedan with tech package. Car won't start. Battery is fine. When the key is placed in the slot, the steering wheel goes crazy and moves up and down continuously by itself. Brake pedal is firm.

We are on vacation sitting in the parking lot so no tools. Any ideas??

 

[PMCErnie]

Use your road service warranty. Phone number on side windows.

Also, your Nav screen will tell you where to find the closest dealer. Sorry it's Saturday night, though.

 

[Unluckygenesis]

Well, just an update if anyone is interested..

The car finally started just as the tow truck arrived. Great!

Until yesterday - sunday - the day we were supposed to leave for the druce home. Car would't start again. Alarm wouldn't stop going off. Trunk wouldn't open. Called the towtruck but the emergency brake was locked on so they had to call a flatbed. The dealer looked at it this morning... And could find nothing wrong. It started and they drove it right off the tow truck. They checked everything out and could find no issues.

Not really sure what to do at this point. I can't own a car that just randomly won't start like that. It needs to be reliable to get to work. The wife and I both missed work today as we had to stay another night here. Bleh.

 

[mikec]

Welcome to the un-lovely world of networked electronic controlled everything cars. So many "modules" exist in the car... and they communicate over a type of local area network. If a module "goes stupid" and puts gibberish on the network bus/cable, the other modules can't communicate properly. Having the modules involved with the immobilizer function & alarm stuff be flaky makes modern cars seem possessed. Poor wiring (mostly poor grounds) cause similar symptoms. You may find that slamming doors, hood/trunks (use the key to manually open the trunk) vibrates a flaky connection into working again next time the car goes bananas. If so: most cell phones can record videos - record the car acting stupid, record the door/hood/trunk slam and if that helps the starting problems.

Not-quite-plugged-in-all-the-way connectors seem to be one of the most common factory/assembly errors in the Genesis based on what I've read on these boards. If that's the bug in your car it's a simple fix - once the right connector is located. Loose/sloppy/not-quite-plugged-in fuses in either end of the dash or in the under-hood panel have been reported on these forums as well.

mike c.

 

[Unluckygenesis]

Car is still having the problem, but not constantly, just on occasion. It starts 98 percent of the time but thats not good enough.

It's back at the dealer now, I told them they could keep it until they figure out what is wrong and get it fixed. It's been there a couple times before, last oil change they went over every connector and nothing was loose etc...

Might have to talk to look into a lemon law lawyer, unfortunately...

 

[homeofstone]

Has anyone checked the battery ground wire in the trunk to make sure it has a tight connection on the body in the spare tire well?

 

[bmbutler]

Unless you have documented proof of the problems, lemon law won't help you. Just because you take it to the dealer is not enough. There has to be documented evidence of a problem and dealers attempts to unsuccessfully fix it. If it hasn't shown up for them, nothing you can do. Video it the next time and keep records.

 

[marty5marty]

Unless you have documented proof of the problems, lemon law won't help you. Just because you take it to the dealer is not enough. There has to be documented evidence of a problem and dealers attempts to unsuccessfully fix it. If it hasn't shown up for them, nothing you can do. Video it the next time and keep records.

What he said....video record the crazy haunted steering wheel moving by itself!

 

[Unluckygenesis]

I have recorded it once before and will do so again once the dealer gives forces me to take the car back after not finding any problems!

 

[Shelly]

well, today my 1 week old 2012 V6 (with tech package) wouldn't start when my wife was out with it - After about 6 "tries" over a period of time, it finally started! I too am worried about an "unreliable" car - was taking it in tomorrow to have the snow tires installed - will ask then about the problem.
If anyone gets any definitive answers - please - post and tell me.
Thanks

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[momuzik]

This was happining to my 2011 when I first got it this past March (dealer demo). It turned out to be a loose battery terminal clamp. I kept tightening it; it kept loosening. The dealer ended up changing out the battery terminal clamp; there was something about it that wasn't done correct from the manufacterer. I've been good to go ever since.

 

[ImInPA]

2012 genesis sedan with tech package. Car won't start. Battery is fine. When the key is placed in the slot, the steering wheel goes crazy and moves up and down continuously by itself. Brake pedal is firm.

We are on vacation sitting in the parking lot so no tools. Any ideas??

Call roadside assistance?

 

[Ovrfiend]

2012 3.8 Premium Tech wouldn't start yesterday. Acted like a dead or dying battery (trying to turn but just clicking). Wouldn't take a jump from under the hood or direct to battery in the trunk. Couldn't even make it spark with the jumper cables. Towed it to the dealer. We'll see...

 

[landtuna]

Is it worth suggesting to disconnect the ground from the battery when this happens and let it sit for a few minutes then connect it back up and see what happens? That would seem to reset the electronics.

I'm just taking a SWAG here.

 

[mikec]

Any time a car won't start - and the starter motor clearly isn't spinning the engine - turn the headlights ON with the ignition key in the "ON" position or the pushbutton START stuff in the normal "car on" mode. If the headlights are close to normal brightness, the battery and connections are probably okay. If the lights are dim, or are visibly loosing brightness rapidly, the battery and/or connections suck.

Typical "battery good, wires good, starter won't spin though" problems in cars:
1: transmission Neutral/Park sense switch bad. Wiggling the shift lever may "fix" this. Very common bug. Just run the lever to "Neutral" and try starting. If this "fixes" the car, it means a) the switch is loose/falling off and has lost it's calibration, or b) the switch and/or linkage are busting.

2: brake pedal switch failing, especially on cars with Genesis style pushbutton start.

3: the solenoid has two electromagnet coils typically. If one fails, the remaining one isn't enough to "slam" the mechanical parts inside. Ergo the switch never gets closed and the starter motor never gets power to spin. On stick-shift cars, putting the transmission into 1st or reverse and gently nudging the vehicle in the same direction slightly turns the whole engine... which may be enough to help the "slam" part work. The "slam" has to drive the starter motor's small gear into the teeth of the flywheel; if the teeth happen to line up it's an easy slam. If they don't line up, the "slam" has to nudge-turn the engine a little.

4: no response from the starter/solenoid at all - but the headlights stay bright - can mean the "immobilizer" part of the alarm has tripped, preventing engine startup.

A "clicking" starter motor means the solenoid (the thing that acts like a switch for the really high amperage starter motor) is switching ON-OFF-ON-OFF. When it goes ON, that connects the battery to the starter motor. At this point, a weak battery or bad connections would suddenly manifest themselves - facing the big amperage draw of the motor - and the system voltage drops as a result. When the voltage drops, the solenoid may no longer have enough voltage to work so it disengages (it's basically a big electromagnet that drives a big switch) which in turn disconnects the motor... removing that big amperage load. Now the battery "recovers" and the voltage rises, re-energizing the solenoid. Click-click-click.

Bad battery cables, or bad cables from the chassis to the engine block (ground cable), lead to these symptoms as does as a weak battery.

Sometimes a physically hot starter motor/solenoid assembly acts this way too; thermal expansion of the plunger part makes it jam in the electromagnet coil body. Tapping the starter/solenoid body sometimes makes it kick in enough to start the vehicle. Very common especially on engines with exhaust pipes crammed against the side of the motor (to fit in a narrow engine bay) so the hot exhaust pipes bake the starter too. Some vehicles actually had small fans blowing air on the starter! When that fan wears out, the starter bakes and the engine won't start.

mike c.

 

[newman]

Not sure if anyone else ever encountered this: I had an incident once or twice where the car would not start. The battery was fine as the headlights and seat were working. Turned out I needed to press extremely hard on the brake pedal and then the car started normally.

The first time this happened I thought someone was majorly wrong with the vehicle. It has only happened one or two additional times and now that I know what to do it is not a problem.

Cheers,
Newman

 

[Unluckygenesis]

Update: the dealership and hyundai's engineers figured out the problem. They replaced something called the CE module, I believe. They had seen this same issue on one other car in Las Vegas, and it seems to have done the trick!

 

[Jim D]

I have a 2013, several times a week I have to open the trunk and move the battery around, then it will start. The cables are tight but something in them loses the connection. Great car otherwise but it is very aggravating not knowing if it is going to start or not. It seems to be on the positive side. Cable replacements are ridiculous. I guess I should take it apart and double check everything before it gets too cold, right now I'm on the Harley more than in the car.

 

[Richard Hicks]

I have a 2014 Genesis Sedan, Looking at the form I have replaced the battery and the brake switch behind the brake. After a week the problem started back up, Go into the car and hit the seat button and the car wouldn't start. It seems like the battery is dead. I really think it's a relay that is stuck. To fix the problem this time I open the trunk manually and go the battery remove the red fuse and everything lights up and it's ready to start. I have it down the street to an electrical guy hopefully he'll be able to find the problem. . As he said he'll have to let it sit till the problem comes back. If he can't fix it gone. It's a beautiful car with 53K miles on it, but if it doesn't run then it's gone.

 

[G-740089]

Any time a car won't start - and the starter motor clearly isn't spinning the engine - turn the headlights ON with the ignition key in the "ON" position or the pushbutton START stuff in the normal "car on" mode. If the headlights are close to normal brightness, the battery and connections are probably okay. If the lights are dim, or are visibly loosing brightness rapidly, the battery and/or connections suck.

Typical "battery good, wires good, starter won't spin though" problems in cars:
1: transmission Neutral/Park sense switch bad. Wiggling the shift lever may "fix" this. Very common bug. Just run the lever to "Neutral" and try starting. If this "fixes" the car, it means a) the switch is loose/falling off and has lost it's calibration, or b) the switch and/or linkage are busting.

2: brake pedal switch failing, especially on cars with Genesis style pushbutton start.

3: the solenoid has two electromagnet coils typically. If one fails, the remaining one isn't enough to "slam" the mechanical parts inside. Ergo the switch never gets closed and the starter motor never gets power to spin. On stick-shift cars, putting the transmission into 1st or reverse and gently nudging the vehicle in the same direction slightly turns the whole engine... which may be enough to help the "slam" part work. The "slam" has to drive the starter motor's small gear into the teeth of the flywheel; if the teeth happen to line up it's an easy slam. If they don't line up, the "slam" has to nudge-turn the engine a little.

4: no response from the starter/solenoid at all - but the headlights stay bright - can mean the "immobilizer" part of the alarm has tripped, preventing engine startup.

A "clicking" starter motor means the solenoid (the thing that acts like a switch for the really high amperage starter motor) is switching ON-OFF-ON-OFF. When it goes ON, that connects the battery to the starter motor. At this point, a weak battery or bad connections would suddenly manifest themselves - facing the big amperage draw of the motor - and the system voltage drops as a result. When the voltage drops, the solenoid may no longer have enough voltage to work so it disengages (it's basically a big electromagnet that drives a big switch) which in turn disconnects the motor... removing that big amperage load. Now the battery "recovers" and the voltage rises, re-energizing the solenoid. Click-click-click.

Bad battery cables, or bad cables from the chassis to the engine block (ground cable), lead to these symptoms as does as a weak battery.

Sometimes a physically hot starter motor/solenoid assembly acts this way too; thermal expansion of the plunger part makes it jam in the electromagnet coil body. Tapping the starter/solenoid body sometimes makes it kick in enough to start the vehicle. Very common especially on engines with exhaust pipes crammed against the side of the motor (to fit in a narrow engine bay) so the hot exhaust pipes bake the starter too. Some vehicles actually had small fans blowing air on the starter! When that fan wears out, the starter bakes and the engine won't start.

mike c.

Mike C. Your ideas are comprehensive and helpful, even years later. Thank you!