QuestionQUESTION: I have an 03'Elantra and had an oil leak. I took it in for an oil change it ended up being that it was going to need a new cam shaft and crank shaft repair. So i had a mechanic fix it at home but it kept pushing out one of the seals as soon as the vehicle was turned on. So i took it to the dealer because i was told at this point it was the engine. The car is under 100,000.mls so it is still under the original warranty. Now it was diagnosed and was told that i needed a new engine but they found the bushing was lose and that happens only if the vehicle is run without oil and overheated. Now does this incident have anything to do with maintenance or just a bad engine? Or could that have happened when one off the seals went bad????
ANSWER: Chances are that there was simply a problem with the engine. I've seen this failure (damaged thrust bearing) several times on this particular engine and never on any other Hyundai engine. In some cases owners had all maintenance records in order and in others they didn't. Ultimately, all the repairs were covered under warranty because we could find no evidence that a lack of maintenance caused the problem (and all were within the warranty period).
The thrust bearing isn't a normal failure for an engine being run out of oil-- that typically causes a rod bearing failure. Even so, if any failure is due to insufficient oiling, the metal in the vicinity of the failure will be bluish in color due to the extreme overheating. If this discoloration isn't present, then there's no question the problem was not due to lack of oil.
It's possible you could have run the engine low on oil due to the crank seal being pushed out, but as indicated above, this would likely lead to a failure in a location other than the thrust bearing. Again, check the area of the bluing. If its away from the thrust bearing, then the low oil clearly wasn't the cause of failure.
If you feel the dealer is improperly denying you warranty coverage, don't hesitate to call Hyundai consumer affairs at 800-633-5151.
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QUESTION: I have already been denied the warranty through the dealer because of insufficient maintenance records and because the service writer told Hyundai
motors that i don't enough records.So basically they just went with what the service writer told them. Now what do you suggest i do next. Since your answer to my question clearly makes sense.
AnswerAsk the dealer if they removed the oil pan to inspect the failure. If so, they should be willing to allow you to inspect it and take pictures for your own use. Bring along a reputable and qualified engine mechanic if you can. He'll be able to point out what is and isn't overheated due to lack of oil.
Then, if it appears that the failure isn't related to lack of oil, call Hyundai on your own at the number I gave and ask them to justify why the repair isn't covered.
It'd be my guess that this failure has nothing to do with maintenance. But of course, I cannot see the engine, so my guess doesn't count for much. You know whether you've done the required maintenance. If you have, then the condition of the engine will support that. If you haven't, the condition of the engine will show that as well. As I alluded above, it isn't sufficient for Hyundai to allege that you haven't done the required maintenance, it's incumbent on them to show that lack of the required maintenance has a specific link to the failure.
If you feel that the repair should be covered under the warranty and Hyundai refuses to do so even after contacting consumer affairs directly, you'll need to decide whether it's worth the time and expense to hire a lawyer and take legal action.
