OT: Car repair advice

[RobertG]

Original mechanic ran a test and basically said the car wasn’t “breathing right” and the convertor was clogged and advised to take it to the Dealership bc that shouldn’t be happening on a 5 year old car.

He was hoping to save me some $ and that the Delaer would cover some (or all of the repair) despite being over the warranty for miles.

Problem was there was no check engine light on and I didn’t ask him to try and look for a root cause (if there was one).


The engine on my Elantra was rebuilt last year at 102,000K (9 years old). They covered it under an extended warranty due to all the engine issues but it was a horrific customer service experience and took 4 months. The alternator seized when it was sitting on their lot (had to fight with them to cover it) and the Oxygen sensor was busted when they told me the engine was repaired (and they refused to cover that). So I left the lot with a check engine lot on after 4 months (even though my check engine light never came on when my engine was knocking and I needed a new engine and drove it there).

Since last year my Elantra with the new engine needed 4 different repairs for various sensors (two times it was the O2 sensor) and turned into a giant money pit so I just sold that this weekend for $3.5K.

Funny, my daughter had a similar experience, the engine rebuild took a few month, but apparently due to supply chain issues, and the alternator was wired incorrectly and she had to replace it immediately after. She also had the check engine light on a when she picked it up, although I forgot what the issue was.

One slight difference was that the dealership, Circle Hyundai, was easy to deal with.

 

[S_Janowski]

Funny, my daughter had a similar experience, the engine rebuild took a few month, but apparently due to supply chain issues, and the alternator was wired incorrectly and she had to replace it immediately after. She also had the check engine light on a when she picked it up, although I forgot what the issue was.

One slight difference was that the dealership, Circle Hyundai, was easy to deal with.

Brutal - that’s literally the exact experience I had with my Elantra.

And this is why I don’t trust any Hyundai Dealership fixing the CC with my Tucson.

 

[Treaster51]

First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)

I have a dealership here in PA. You’d have to compare the trade offers and see what makes the most sense . If they are hammering you hard for it not being fixed it could pay to fix it depending what they’re giving you fixed . If you give me some details I could give you an accurate trade in of what to expect.

 

[fsg2]

Brutal - that’s literally the exact experience I had with my Elantra.

And this is why I don’t trust any Hyundai Dealership fixing the CC with my Tucson.

So what Toyota ya get?

 

[Knight Shift]

You must not own a boat

What kind of boat?
We have a simple pontoon boat with a Yamaha 150 HP (maybe it's 200 HP) outboard engine. It's not fancy, and did not cost much. We cruise around the Manasquan River on weekends. For 3 years, we have not paid a dime for maintenance beyond winterizing the engine and painting the bottom once. Maybe $400/season max? Cheap entertainment.

I sometimes admire the bigger/nicer boats as I pass the high end marinas, but we get a lot of satisfaction for a little bit of money from our boat. Some guys mock me for having a pontoon boat, but that is what the wife wanted, and we have a lot of fun with it.

 

[Knight Shift]

First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)

I'm just spitballing here, and I have never done this. I'll tag @RU4Real , as he is knowledgeable on car stuff.

As you may know, there is nothing magical about a catalytic converter. I wrote hundreds of patents on these things, and I have worked with lots of scientists and engineers on how these are made from beginning to end. The main substrate is a ceramic (cordierite) honeycomb, which is coated with a three-way catalyst, which is typically a combination of platinum, palladium and rhodium. As you have probably guessed, that is what makes a catalytic converter expensive- the platinum group metals.

The ceramic substrate washcoated with those expensive platinum group metals is contained in what is called in the industry a "can" that is connected into your exhaust system.

A Google search reveals that a new CC will run $1700-2500. Seems your dealer is quoting you about $1000 labor. As most people know, dealers are highway robbers when it comes to any kind of replacement. We just learned that on my kid's Mazda, and we are getting a simple part replaced for $300 vs. $600 at the dealer.

Anyway, my Google search came up with an ebay seller who sells "new" REAR catalytic converters for your vehicle for $86.25 shipped. The seller has 99.3% positive feedback. The Front CC is $128.

Another Google search said that the labor to replace the CC is between $150-200. You seem to be still trying to make up your mind. IMO, this is a fairly low risk potentially high reward solution, if you consider spending $300 to be low risk. I'm a bit of a motorhead, as I fix my own small engines, and I used to do my own work on my cars before I became a big shot--actually, everything is too complicated nowadays. As they say, YMMV.

Ebay seller-Rear CC:

For Huyundai TUCSON 2.0L 2016-2018 Rear Exhaust Catalytic Converter Direct Fit 768582449104 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for For Huyundai TUCSON 2.0L 2016-2018 Rear Exhaust Catalytic Converter Direct Fit at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Ebay Seller- Front CC:

Catalytic Converter Fits 2016-2018 Hyundai Tucson 1.6L Turbo | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Catalytic Converter Fits 2016-2018 Hyundai Tucson 1.6L Turbo at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Labor cost:

Hyundai Tucson Catalytic Converter Location | GetJerry.com

Unfortunately, the catalytic converter on a Hyundai Tucson is located underneath the vehicle between the engine and the muffler—easily accessible by thieves.

getjerry.com

Catalytic Converter Replacement Cost - RepairPal Estimate

Catalytic Converter Replacement costs between $2,152 and $2,234 on average. Get a free detailed estimate for a repair in your area.

repairpal.com

 

[rutgersal]

I just purchased a Toyota and the experience with the Finance Manager was exactly like you would imagine.

So gimmicky and straight out of a sales book. I let him do his thing and after I declined multiple times he got real pissed and his demeanor totally changed. Probably didn’t help that I was also paying cash.

The warranty he was offering wasn’t close to 200K (I think it was 7 years 100K limited power train) and the lowest cost he offered was down to 3K.

Totally not worth it. It’s a huge profit centers for dealerships. For Hondas and Toyotas they are not needed. Congrats on your new car.

 

[rutgersal]

What kind of boat?
We have a simple pontoon boat with a Yamaha 150 HP (maybe it's 200 HP) outboard engine. It's not fancy, and did not cost much. We cruise around the Manasquan River on weekends. For 3 years, we have not paid a dime for maintenance beyond winterizing the engine and painting the bottom once. Maybe $400/season max? Cheap entertainment.

I sometimes admire the bigger/nicer boats as I pass the high end marinas, but we get a lot of satisfaction for a little bit of money from our boat. Some guys mock me for having a pontoon boat, but that is what the wife wanted, and we have a lot of fun with it.

A pontoon is good enough for Manasquan River and Barneget Bay.

 

[rurx1228]

Everything I’ve read and talked to professionals about the CC getting clogged/melted says there’s another issue at play (engine misfire, fuel/oxygen sensor off, oil not burning properly). And these issues could easily cause the CC to go again.

These are the exact issues plaguing Hyundai.

Fixing and driving isn’t an option I’m gonna take.

Understood but would you be willing to spend the money to fix it if you got another 80k miles out of it? It Might be worth the money

 

[rutgersal]

Understood but would you be willing to spend the money to fix it if you got another 80k miles out of it? It Might be worth the money

Doesn’t make sense investing more money in a dog.

The right decision was made because chances are , many more things would have gone wrong in the next 80K miles. Now that he’s bought a Toyota, he won’t have to worry about anything but oil changes, for a while.

 

[S_Janowski]

So what Toyota ya get?

Just got a lightly used Corolla for the wife and traded in my Elantra (she drives a lot for work).

Awaiting a new RAV4 to arrive in September to replace this Tucson.

 

[RU4Real]

Since @Knight Shift resurfaced the options discussions, there's one we haven't talked about.

Test pipe the car. Any muffler shop will do the work for you, but your best bet is your local Meineke. Have them remove the catalytic converter and replace it with a length of open pipe. Your car will not pass an emissions test, but you probably don't need it to, at least for the time being. If there's something else wrong with the engine it will become apparent at some point but in the meantime you won't have spent any real money on the converter replacement.

Another, more advanced option, is to replace the factory cat with something called a "hi-flow cat", which you can buy from any performance web site. I just looked - Magnaflow makes one for your car that is sold by a number of sites for about $450. This option has the advantage of having the necessary sensors and fittings so that you won't throw a check engine light (CEL) just for having the cat removed. Have it installed by the aforementioned Meineke shop and you're out of the situation for less than $1k.

 

[Knight Shift]

Since @Knight Shift resurfaced the options discussions, there's one we haven't talked about.

Test pipe the car. Any muffler shop will do the work for you, but your best bet is your local Meineke. Have them remove the catalytic converter and replace it with a length of open pipe. Your car will not pass an emissions test, but you probably don't need it to, at least for the time being. If there's something else wrong with the engine it will become apparent at some point but in the meantime you won't have spent any real money on the converter replacement.

Another, more advanced option, is to replace the factory cat with something called a "hi-flow cat", which you can buy from any performance web site. I just looked - Magnaflow makes one for your car that is sold by a number of sites for about $450. This option has the advantage of having the necessary sensors and fittings so that you won't throw a check engine light (CEL) just for having the cat removed. Have it installed by the aforementioned Meineke shop and you're out of the situation for less than $1k.

Option C- comb the junk yard for junked Hyundai Tucsons and see if they have cut the CC out. I'm a dirt cheap kind of guy.

 

[RobertG]

Since @Knight Shift resurfaced the options discussions, there's one we haven't talked about.

Test pipe the car. Any muffler shop will do the work for you, but your best bet is your local Meineke. Have them remove the catalytic converter and replace it with a length of open pipe. Your car will not pass an emissions test, but you probably don't need it to, at least for the time being. If there's something else wrong with the engine it will become apparent at some point but in the meantime you won't have spent any real money on the converter replacement.

Another, more advanced option, is to replace the factory cat with something called a "hi-flow cat", which you can buy from any performance web site. I just looked - Magnaflow makes one for your car that is sold by a number of sites for about $450. This option has the advantage of having the necessary sensors and fittings so that you won't throw a check engine light (CEL) just for having the cat removed. Have it installed by the aforementioned Meineke shop and you're out of the situation for less than $1k.

Catalytic Converters - Custom & Universal Cat Converters | MagnaFlow

Get the ultimate catalytic converters, custom fit to your car, truck or motorcycle with same-day shipping on ALL in stock orders! MagnaFlow manufactures the best exhaust systems, mufflers, pipes and catalytic converters in the USA using premium components and the latest technology.

www.magnaflow.com

 

[yessir321]

Totally not worth it. It’s a huge profit centers for dealerships. For Hondas and Toyotas they are not needed. Congrats on your new car.

This isn’t 20 years ago. Yes hondas and Toyotas break especially with turbo cvt’s in all of them these days.

I spent 6 years working for Honda. I can assure you they break. You know what every dealership has including Honda and Toyota? A service center.

The days of buying an accord or Camry running it to 250k mikes without do so much maintenance as regular oil changes are gone.

It’s like comparing an old brick cell phone to the iPhones of today

 

[MoreCowbellRU]

Since @Knight Shift resurfaced the options discussions, there's one we haven't talked about.

Test pipe the car. Any muffler shop will do the work for you, but your best bet is your local Meineke. Have them remove the catalytic converter and replace it with a length of open pipe. Your car will not pass an emissions test, but you probably don't need it to, at least for the time being. If there's something else wrong with the engine it will become apparent at some point but in the meantime you won't have spent any real money on the converter replacement.

Another, more advanced option, is to replace the factory cat with something called a "hi-flow cat", which you can buy from any performance web site. I just looked - Magnaflow makes one for your car that is sold by a number of sites for about $450. This option has the advantage of having the necessary sensors and fittings so that you won't throw a check engine light (CEL) just for having the cat removed. Have it installed by the aforementioned Meineke shop and you're out of the situation for less than $1k.

First thing I'd do is test pipe. Run it connected to the computer and find out if there is an issue that clogged it up and repair it. I'd leave the CC deleted until I ever decided to go to inspection. Which might be never.

 

[rutgersal]

This isn’t 20 years ago. Yes hondas and Toyotas break especially with turbo cvt’s in all of them these days.

I spent 6 years working for Honda. I can assure you they break. You know what every dealership has including Honda and Toyota? A service center.

The days of buying an accord or Camry running it to 250k mikes without do so much maintenance as regular oil changes are gone.

It’s like comparing an old brick cell phone to the iPhones of today

My mom has the Turbo CVT. Zero problems in 4 years and 50K miles., knock on wood.

 

[iReC89]

Just got a lightly used Corolla for the wife and traded in my Elantra (she drives a lot for work).

Awaiting a new RAV4 to arrive in September to replace this Tucson.

I don't love the rav4 but I can't argue with the experience we have had with 2 of them. I'm thinking about the hybrid version and keeping my Forester as a kayak carrier until I learn to stop banging the car with it.

 

[RUScrew85]

First - I’ve only come to this board a couple times in almost 20 years for personal advice (but have benefited from threads/info by others).

Anyway - looking to see if anyone has had a similar situation or has any advice. I’ve never been a car guy and perfectly fine with running my car into the ground as long as it gets me from point A to point B.

My Hyundai Tucson (2018) was experiencing major acceleration issues. Took it to the mechanic who in turn advised taking it to the dealership as it appeared to be a bad Cat Convertor. The Dealership confirmed the CC is “melted” and said it would be $3,500 to replace. I fought with Hyundai Corp to cover the cost but it was denied because I’m past the 80K mile warranty (which is bs).

My mechanic hasn’t been able to locate an after market CC and would have to get it through the dealership (I’m asking around other mechanics for a cheaper option).

Long story short - I’m most likely going to trade this car in. I’m sick of Hyundai and their $hitty parts and customer service (my other car last year required a new engine from Hyundai and it took them 4 months to replace and was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had). If you’re in the market for a Hyundai - Google their engine issues and beware.

Everything I’m reading online is saying a CC doesn’t just go bad that quickly and it was most likely caused by something else (Oil or excess fuel that entered the CC and ignited). Hyundai has had major engine issues and I’m convinced my CC went because of engine misfires or bad oil burn (the car chugged through oil). So if I got the CC fixed my worry is that in the near future I’ll be in the same boat again.

If I trade the Tucson in do I:

1) Get the CC repaired (at cheapest cost…potentially $2500-$3500) and trade in or

2) Look to trade the car in “as is” (it’s not really driveable)

Light it on fire on a limited access highway. Use insurance to get new car.

(I'm KIDDING)

 

[S_Janowski]

I don't love the rav4 but I can't argue with the experience we have had with 2 of them. I'm thinking about the hybrid version and keeping my Forester as a kayak carrier until I learn to stop banging the car with it.

Why don’t you love it?

I really like the look of the new CRVs (sport) but couldn’t justify spending a few extra thousand lol (I’m not a car guy at all)

 

[RUScrew85]

My advice is #2. That's a big investment to make to simply trade it in. If you could find aftermarket or used part and get it done for less and then private sell I'd consider that. I highly doubt a dealer will give you the 2500-3500 more just because.

A common but dickish move would be to delete the cat. Replace with straight exhaust pipe. Sell to unknowing person who doesn't get the car checked out. (This is not nice)

 

[DHajekRC84]

A common but dickish move would be to delete the cat. Replace with straight exhaust pipe. Sell to unknowing person who doesn't get the car checked out. (This is not nice)

back in the day my father told me that people with transmission issues used to fill them with saw dust before dumping them to the unknowing.

 

[iReC89]

Why don’t you love it?

I really like the look of the new CRVs (sport) but couldn’t justify spending a few extra thousand lol (I’m not a car guy at all)

There is something insubstantial about the corolla like sound of Rav4 engines, but I confess the Rav 4 has much better acceleration then my forrester and burns far less oil. Tighter handling maybe - forester feels better. Also too much flimsy plastic trim with little aesthetic value. Rav4 does have better interior space. I think I get slightly better gas mileage though.

 

[yessir321]

My mom has the Turbo CVT. Zero problems in 4 years and 50K miles., knock on wood.

You’re also still under manufacturers warranty there until 5 years 60k. Those warranties are a certain length for a reason, manufacturers know when they tend to have issues.

Almost everyone either has a personal story or knows someone who had a major car issue just past the warranty expiring… you’ll also notice the majority of those stories are from vehicles model year 2010 or newer, that’s not a coincidence.

Once that car gets to around 100k miles though with a turbo CVT (regardless of manufacturer) I can all but promise you a $2-3k+ repair is coming.

Any honest mechanic will flat out tell you to stay the hell away from Turbo CVT’s if you can avoid them. They are horribly prone to break. The ONLY reason they are even in cars is due to EPA regulations requiring manufacturers to obtain certain MPG averages which are ever increasing.

From a reliability standpoint though, cars aren’t even close to what they once were. Perfect example of this is the old inline 4.0L 6 cylinder engines that were in all the old Jeep Cherokee’s. Those engines were BOMBPROOF, you still see those jeeps on the road cruising right along pushing 300k miles. EPA stepped in, said they needed higher MPG, keep went to a 3.7L V6 and rebranded the Cherokee to the Liberty and a once great vehicle became a laughingstock that they still haven’t recovered from. Almost every 3.7L V6 needed a new transmission by the time you reach 100k miles, meanwhile it’s predescessor would go 300k+ miles without missing a beat!

 

[Plum Street]

You’re also still under manufacturers warranty there until 5 years 60k. Those warranties are a certain length for a reason, manufacturers know when they tend to have issues.

Almost everyone either has a personal story or knows someone who had a major car issue just past the warranty expiring… you’ll also notice the majority of those stories are from vehicles model year 2010 or newer, that’s not a coincidence.

Once that car gets to around 100k miles though with a turbo CVT (regardless of manufacturer) I can all but promise you a $2-3k+ repair is coming.

Now if you

Interesting . When do cvt’s tend to go ? I have heard horror stories about the Nissan cvt’s.

 

[yessir321]

Why don’t you love it?

I really like the look of the new CRVs (sport) but couldn’t justify spending a few extra thousand lol (I’m not a car guy at all)

PotAto potato… they’re essentially the same vehicle. Honda has always had a bit more ‘Bougie Buyer’ than Toyota and charges $1-2k more for a comparable model. It’s worth spending an extra grand or two over a Chevy, ford, Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, etc. but Honda, Toyota and Suburu all essentially make the same cars and call them different names

 

[yessir321]

A common but dickish move would be to delete the cat. Replace with straight exhaust pipe. Sell to unknowing person who doesn't get the car checked out. (This is not nice)

Not to mention HIGHLY illegal

 

[yessir321]

Interesting . When do cvt’s tend to go ? I have heard horror stories about the Nissan cvt’s.

Nissan cvt’s are the worst. I wouldn’t tell anyone but a Penn stater to buy a Nissan CVT.

For the others it depends on the type of driving you do. If it’s mostly city with constant stop and go causing the turbo fan to stop and start more often that’s gonna go before someone who drives mostly highway.

Again no exact science but plan on 80k for city, 125k-150k for highway.

Unfortunately gone are the days of the little 4 cylinder going 250k miles with minimal upkeep.

Some of the 6 cylinders still use a traditional automatic trans but that’s starting to go away.

It’s all this crap because of the epa regulations. Same reason all the cars have that awful feature where the engine shuts down when you find to a complete stop. And unfortunately all these new components are simply adding that many more things to break, all to achieve maybe 5mpg better fuel efficiency

 

[RUScrew85]

back in the day my father told me that people with transmission issues used to fill them with saw dust before dumping them to the unknowing.

Plenty of not so nice folks taking advantage of the unsophisticated car buyer.

 

[RUScrew85]

back in the day my father told me that people with transmission issues used to fill them with saw dust before dumping them to the unknowing.

Oh and you gave the Wow response to the Cat delete and not the burn the car down for the insurance money post. I like you. ; )

 

[MADHAT1]

Plenty of not so nice folks taking advantage of the unsophisticated car buyer.

Screw's Auto Sales 😁

 

[rutgersguy1]

Nissan cvt’s are the worst. I wouldn’t tell anyone but a Penn stater to buy a Nissan CVT.

For the others it depends on the type of driving you do. If it’s mostly city with constant stop and go causing the turbo fan to stop and start more often that’s gonna go before someone who drives mostly highway.

Again no exact science but plan on 80k for city, 125k-150k for highway.

Unfortunately gone are the days of the little 4 cylinder going 250k miles with minimal upkeep.

Some of the 6 cylinders still use a traditional automatic trans but that’s starting to go away.

It’s all this crap because of the epa regulations. Same reason all the cars have that awful feature where the engine shuts down when you find to a complete stop. And unfortunately all these new components are simply adding that many more things to break, all to achieve maybe 5mpg better fuel efficiency

In this classes of mid sized sedan or crossover what would you recommend then?

 

[MoreCowbellRU]

A common but dickish move would be to delete the cat. Replace with straight exhaust pipe. Sell to unknowing person who doesn't get the car checked out. (This is not nice)

That would be dishonest AF. I would NEVER do that. CC delete and keep it is totally me. Scamming somebody else is a whole different ballgame.

 

[yessir321]

In this classes of mid sized sedan or crossover what would you recommend then?

I’d recommend if you can find one that you buy a 2013-2017 Honda accord or Toyota Camry with a V6.

Both manufacturers came out with a new body style in 2018 and new engines with CVT/Turbo’s in those models. Prior generation used CVT’s on their 4 cylinders but not the 6. You’re still gonna average around 30 mpg on the highway with a V6 so decent fuel economy still and a FAAAAAR more reliable engine.

Only thing is the V6’s still use timing belts and not chains, so figure once you get to 150k miles or so you’re gonna need to drop $800-1000 in it to replace the timing belt. But as long as you do that and regular oil changes, those two will go 250k+ miles with no issue.

Unfortunately there’s not a mid size car made today that I can say that about still. Some of the trucks and SUV’s yes, but not so much on the cars

 

[Plum Street]

I know people joke about the insurance thing . Say janowski drove it to let’s say Trenton for the rutgers-Princeton game and parked a bunch of blocks away from the arena….decided to Uber home and leave car for the next day because he had a few brews at the game . What happens ?

 

[RU4Real]

If it’s mostly city with constant stop and go causing the turbo fan to stop and start more often

I don't understand what you're saying here. If you're referring to turbochargers, the turbines don't "stop and start". They're specifically designed to recover exhaust gases, even at idle, so that they don't stop spinning. This helps them spool up to high speed faster and reduces turbo lag.

 

[MADHAT1]

I know people joke about the insurance thing . Say janowski drove it to let’s say Trenton for the rutgers-Princeton game and parked a bunch of blocks away from the arena….decided to Uber home and leave car for the next day because he had a few brews at the game . What happens ?

he gets mugged walking to Cure Arena and instead if being treated as a victim , police arrest him for attempted insurance fraud holding the piece of junk as evidence so he has to use Uber for a ride home after being released pending trial.
Needless to say he misses game , but after getting home puts up an OT thread here : asking for legal advice 😛

 

[rutgersal]

You’re also still under manufacturers warranty there until 5 years 60k. Those warranties are a certain length for a reason, manufacturers know when they tend to have issues.

Almost everyone either has a personal story or knows someone who had a major car issue just past the warranty expiring… you’ll also notice the majority of those stories are from vehicles model year 2010 or newer, that’s not a coincidence.

Once that car gets to around 100k miles though with a turbo CVT (regardless of manufacturer) I can all but promise you a $2-3k+ repair is coming.

Any honest mechanic will flat out tell you to stay the hell away from Turbo CVT’s if you can avoid them. They are horribly prone to break. The ONLY reason they are even in cars is due to EPA regulations requiring manufacturers to obtain certain MPG averages which are ever increasing.

From a reliability standpoint though, cars aren’t even close to what they once were. Perfect example of this is the old inline 4.0L 6 cylinder engines that were in all the old Jeep Cherokee’s. Those engines were BOMBPROOF, you still see those jeeps on the road cruising right along pushing 300k miles. EPA stepped in, said they needed higher MPG, keep went to a 3.7L V6 and rebranded the Cherokee to the Liberty and a once great vehicle became a laughingstock that they still haven’t recovered from. Almost every 3.7L V6 needed a new transmission by the time you reach 100k miles, meanwhile it’s predescessor would go 300k+ miles without missing a beat!

You’re also still under manufacturers warranty there until 5 years 60k. Those warranties are a certain length for a reason, manufacturers know when they tend to have issues.

Almost everyone either has a personal story or knows someone who had a major car issue just past the warranty expiring… you’ll also notice the majority of those stories are from vehicles model year 2010 or newer, that’s not a coincidence.

Once that car gets to around 100k miles though with a turbo CVT (regardless of manufacturer) I can all but promise you a $2-3k+ repair is coming.

Any honest mechanic will flat out tell you to stay the hell away from Turbo CVT’s if you can avoid them. They are horribly prone to break. The ONLY reason they are even in cars is due to EPA regulations requiring manufacturers to obtain certain MPG averages which are ever increasing.

From a reliability standpoint though, cars aren’t even close to what they once were. Perfect example of this is the old inline 4.0L 6 cylinder engines that were in all the old Jeep Cherokee’s. Those engines were BOMBPROOF, you still see those jeeps on the road cruising right along pushing 300k miles. EPA stepped in, said they needed higher MPG, keep went to a 3.7L V6 and rebranded the Cherokee to the Liberty and a once great vehicle became a laughingstock that they still haven’t recovered from. Almost every 3.7L V6 needed a new transmission by the time you reach 100k miles, meanwhile it’s predescessor would go 300k+ miles without missing a beat!

The car gets 38 mpg, so if we have to spend $3K at 100K miles, we’ll do so. We all know it’s because of the federal requirements that most cars come with turbos. I’m amazed that the engine is only 1.5L but reduces 190 hp. Not going to win any drag races, but acceleration is spirited.

 

[Pils86]

Maybe too late for you but you could try Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner. I had the check engine light come on my Pilot and put the code reader on it, said cat issue. Looked underneath to assure it wasn't stolen then researched the code online. There were positives for Tehcron, tried it and light went away and still good six months later. Might be worth trying for $15.

 

[S_Janowski]

Final update:

I reached out via email to the Head of Servicing and the GM to explain the situation, my frustration with a need for a new CAT on a 5 year old car, the inability to speak directly with anyone and my families history with Hyundai (7 total purchases). The Service guy called me within an hour and offered 10% off the total repair ($3,500) or suggested that I could try back with Corporate to cover the CAT (since it was Corps decision to deny).

I tried again to get Hyundai Corporate to reconsider covering a new CAT but other than the “Case Manager” that they originally assigned to review the case from the dealership (which was denied) there is nobody available at Corporate who is Customer facing.

That brought me back to dealing directly with the Dealership.

I decided I wanted to sell the car and be done with it…since it was not drivable and sitting in Hyundais lot I wasn’t left much choice but to sell back to Hyundai. Their original offer was only $5K (on a 2018 Tuscon with 99K miles).

I wrote another email back to the Dealership (and copied the GM) stating how the offer was extremely low and not fair to a loyal customer (and also considering the Kelly Blue book value on a good condition car and the repair needed). I requested a more fair offer for both parties said I was willing to make an appointment with the GM if needed (or requested a meeting so we could discuss all of the issues Hyundai has been having with engines/oil burn and so they could give me a walkthrough of what would cause a CAT on a 5 year old car to get clogged).

The GM reached out to me, expressed that he understood my frustration and welcomed me in for an appointment and suggested to bring the title and we could work something out. I went in this week and we did a walkthrough of the car and he offered $6,600 ($1,600 more than the original offer).

I didn’t feel like negotiating any longer and took the offer….I did ask him to walk me through the calculation of the $6,600 offer and he actually admitted they could sell it for $15,000 but because of the repair (and a small sink on the hood) the offer went down to $6,600.

Overall I still feel like I got completely hosed and they’re gonna flip that car in no time for thousands in profit to some poor customer who will most likely have more issues down the road (im convinced the CAT went because of the major engine/oil issues Hyundais have been experiencing).

An extremely frustrating and exhaustive process that took almost 3 months to resolve. Luckily I was able to borrow a car from my parents during this time and my 2nd Toyota will be coming in this week and I’ll be done with Hyundai for good :)