MAJOR Electrical issues?

[BGCOttawa]

Spent half the day today waiting in the hot sun for a tow for my 6 month old 2015 Sedan. Started car, screens went blank and car could not be started. Everything totally blacked out. I have had lots of smaller electrical issues in the 12,000 of kilometers so far but this took the cake. To add injury to insult had to fight to get a tow truck that would hold me, my wife and disabled daughter for the 100k trip back home. Hyundai roadside said they could only send truck that would hold 2 others and that I would have to find my own way home. Gotta love that premium service!

Oh by the way, tow driver left us at locked dealership and had to call a taxi to get me home. Another $45 of absolute insult.

My wife wanted to get an Infiniti again, but I convinced her otherwise. I will never hear the end of that. Anyone want to buy a very slightly used 2015 Luxury?

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Hello. Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. I see you posted this in the Canada area. That means it probably won't get much attention. Would you like me to move it to the main second generation Genesis Sedan section? Actually, I think I'll do that right now and if you want me to move it back - just say the word...

 

[amkorp]

Spent half the day today waiting in the hot sun for a tow for my 6 month old 2015 Sedan. Started car, screens went blank and car could not be started. Everything totally blacked out. I have had lots of smaller electrical issues in the 12,000 of kilometers so far but this took the cake. To add injury to insult had to fight to get a tow truck that would hold me, my wife and disabled daughter for the 100k trip back home. Hyundai roadside said they could only send truck that would hold 2 others and that I would have to find my own way home. Gotta love that premium service!

Oh by the way, tow driver left us at locked dealership and had to call a taxi to get me home. Another $45 of absolute insult.

My wife wanted to get an Infiniti again, but I convinced her otherwise. I will never hear the end of that. Anyone want to buy a very slightly used 2015 Luxury?

It may bee too soon to ask since you just posted this yesterday (long weekend) but has the dealer gotten back to you about what the issue may be?

To be honest it sounds like a battery drain issue. If you say everything went black when you tried to start and nothing happened (no sounds or starter clicking) then you probably had a completely drained battery. That is far from a MAJOR electrical issue, but depending on what caused the drain in the first place, it could potentially be a more serious problem.

In regards to the tow not being up to your standards, this is really out of anyone's control. I don't think I know of any tow truck (flat bed or otherwise) that can carry more than 3 people including the driver.

I know it was a frustrating situation, but it's hardly fair to blame the auto manufacturer for it. IF this had happened with the Infinity, do you think that they would have provided you with a limo tow truck to be able to hold more than 2 people? Probably not. So you gotta deal with the situation at hand the best you can.

 

[BGCOttawa]

I realize there are many things out of dealers control but many are not. Nobody had called me from dealer this morning so at 10am I had to call to see what is going on. Car was working perfectly and parked for one hour so battery drain should not be an issue. Actually started but then just kicked off and everything died. Will provide details when I get them.

As a Genesis owner I now know that whether you paid $60k for your Hyundai or have a 4 year old $8k car the support and client experience you get from my dealer and now Hyundai Roadside is no different. I can tell you from experience owning Acura and Infiniti machines that this is not the case. The level of service and client experience is differentiated significantly over their Honda and Nissan brands. The model for Hyundai is not yet in place and that is why they are moving to operate separate sales and service centres for the Genesis brand. None too soon. In the meantime I trust they will lose high end clients like myself and everybody that I tell about my experiences unless they can somehow turn this around. I am hopeful but so far I am not feeling it.

On a positive note, the tow truck driver was one of the nicest guys I have ever met....

 

[balfor]

I've seen a number of complete power failures in my time as a car enthusiast and way back when as a heavy equipment tech. In the vast majority of cases, the cause is a bad connection to the battery, shorted battery, or another main connection point that is loose (chassis ground, alternator connection, etc.). Rarely is it serious or a hidden short.

if you have had other gremlins prior to the complete loss of power, it is likely a bad cable connection somewhere. Hopefully they find it and you are sorted quickly.

 

[cleex024]

I've seen a number of complete power failures in my time as a car enthusiast and way back when as a heavy equipment tech. In the vast majority of cases, the cause is a bad connection to the battery, shorted battery, or another main connection point that is loose (chassis ground, alternator connection, etc.). Rarely is it serious or a hidden short.

if you have had other gremlins prior to the complete loss of power, it is likely a bad cable connection somewhere. Hopefully they find it and you are sorted quickly.

Or it could be rats

 

[PMCErnie]

Infinity Canada will tow your car to the nearest dealer. They will not tow it 100k home, nor provide taxi service for you to boot. Nor will Ininity reimburse you for rental of a loaner car.

 

[Red Raspberry]

Sounds like a dead battery. Why it's dead is another issue. But many times the battery will have enough charge and start but when the engine load is put on the battery without the alternator charging it, the battery soon drops below 10vs or so and the engine control relay drops out.

 

[MadCat]

Im just sitting here with a popcorn watching haters b*tching on Hyundai service/cars while luxury Mercedes is faaaaaaaar behind Koreans...

 

[BGCOttawa]

Issue was a faulty battery. How it happened they did not say, but odd that a 6 month old car would have a bad battery. When I asked how I can tell if this will happen again, he indicated that I should be on lookout for odd electrical issues... OK, that is all I have had since I drove it home the first day I got it... Let's see what happens.

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[glennk]

Issue was a faulty battery. How it happened they did not say, but odd that a 6 month old car would have a bad battery. When I asked how I can tell if this will happen again, he indicated that I should be on lookout for odd electrical issues... OK, that is all I have had since I drove it home the first day I got it... Let's see what happens.

Here in Texas, our super hot summers kill regular lead acid batteries no problem. The Genesis doesn't use a "standard" lead acid battery, but rather an AGM. It was my understanding that these batteries can withstand a lot, so that has me puzzled. Is it possible that your battery was depleted for a period of time?

 

[Red Raspberry]

AGMs can take the heat better as they are not vented and don't lose electrolytic so readily. Just sounds like a bum battery.

 

[5 Timer]

For those desiring to know what an AGM battery is:

AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries

 

[cletus]

AGMs can take the heat better as they are not vented and don't lose electrolytic so readily. Just sounds like a bum battery.

This is true. However, the downside of AGMs is that they really like not going below 50% charge so if a car sat on the lot for a long time and the battery drained out then it might cause early failure like this.

Quick aside for anyone interested, This is why boats/golf carts/military/cabin power applications often use deep cycle (has thick lead plates) or "marine" (really usually a hybrid style with lead sponge) because these batteries can do really well discharging nearly empty, roughly 20% charge is the standard measurement, and then recharging but the downside is the power output is lower and charging times are longer to protect the battery. I have seen industrial deep cycle batteries used as starter batteries in military applications though

 

[Red Raspberry]

This is true. However, the downside of AGMs is that they really like not going below 50% charge so if a car sat on the lot for a long time and the battery drained out then it might cause early failure like this.

Quick aside for anyone interested, This is why boats/golf carts/military/cabin power applications often use deep cycle (has thick lead plates) or "marine" (really usually a hybrid style with lead sponge) because these batteries can do really well discharging nearly empty, roughly 20% charge is the standard measurement, and then recharging but the downside is the power output is lower and charging times are longer to protect the battery. I have seen industrial deep cycle batteries used as starter batteries in military applications though

Actually this is not true. AGMs are a deep discharge battery and going to 20% remaining would be normal range of discharge fot that type of battery. Regular auto start flooded lead acid battery is the opposite and only good for a going down to 80%.

I would get a cheap plug into the lighter socket volt meter and keep an eye on things. Any voltage below 13.8V while driving is cause for concern.

Both my Hyandais came with AGM batteries are both are still in service, one 8 years the other 6 years.

 

[Mark_888]

Actually this is not true. AGMs are a deep discharge battery and going to 20% remaining would be normal range of discharge fot that type of battery. Regular auto start flooded lead acid battery is the opposite and only good for a going down to 80%.

I would get a cheap plug into the lighter socket volt meter and keep an eye on things. Any voltage below 13.8V while driving is cause for concern.

Both my Hyandais came with AGM batteries are both are still in service, one 8 years the other 6 years.

Red, I don't claim to be an expert on this, but from what I have read what Cletus said is mostly true. One thing I noticed when shopping for batteries is that AGM batteries have shorter warranties than the best lead-acid batteries from the same vendor.

For example the AutoZone Duralast Gold Battery H8-DLG has a 5 year warranty. The Duralast Platinum Battery H8-AGM has 3 year warranty. The Duralast Gold battery is about $34 less expensive than the AGM.

The big advantage of an AGM battery is that it can be installed at any angle or even upside-down do to its design. This can be an advantage when driving or parking on steep grades.

Also, regular lead acid batteries are prone to problems in high heat or shock conditions (such as when driving on rough roads). The integrity of the cells can be compromised caused immediate failure on a lead acid battery. This tends to happen more often when the plastic components of the lead acid battery are subject to high temperatures. But since the Genesis has the battery in the trunk, it is usually subject to less heat than cars where the battery is installed in the engine bay.

At one time, most lead acid batteries came in two versions, north and south. The north batteries had thinner construction, and larger cells, which allowed for more Cold Cranking Amps (CCA). The south batteries had thicker plastic cell construction to hold up against high heat conditions, and where CCA was not a big factor.

On a battery as large as H8, the battery is so large that they can probably make them all fairly robust, and still have cells of sufficient size to have good CCA.

BTW, my 2009 Genesis sedan Base Trim came with a lead-acid battery, a Rocket MF72-35FL. That battery was made in Korea, and the brand is sold mostly in Southeast Asia and India.