Scotty, I would like to inform you of my experience with Hyundai concerning the engine issue, so far. This is an issue that you should mention in an upcoming video.
I bought a year-old 2013 Elantra GT, and it has been a great car. Last year, when the weather got cold, it started making the 'click of death', or whatever you'd like to call it. I have yet to find a good explanation for the noise, maybe you know. Several weeks ago, I got some paperwork from Hyundai about a class-action settlement involving a warranty extension. For a non-original owner, they are extending the warranty to 8 years/80k, which means that there is actually not much time left for a 2013.
A few days ago I dropped it off at a dealer, and today I spoke to them, and they have confirmed the problem and started the process to replace the engine. ( As of now, the car actually runs just fine, and the noise goes away after it warms up. ) Their estimate for the repair is about 2 weeks, and they offered me a rental, which would be included in the warranty.
So I'd say that while this is still a black eye for Hyundai, they are doing the right thing, and I'm sure that is not cheap! Other than that, it has been a great car, you would be amazed what fits into the back of it! A few years ago, I got rear-ended at a stoplight by an F-250, and that giant truck took a lot more damage than my little car. I got a good look under the hood of that thing too, I think you'd have to pull the cab to get at the spark plugs. I am keeping my 2000 4.0/5sp/4wd Ranger forever!
Anyway, I don't think you've mentioned the situation with the Hyundai 1.8l 'Nu' engine, and now would be a very good time. You might save some people from missing the cutoff date.
Your channel is great, keep up the good work!
My 2013 is making engine noise too until it warms up. It only had 28,000 miles on it. The dealer told me it was aftermarket oil filter causing the noise. I'm going to get my oil changed with an oem filter but I think they are talking nonsense
@rebaker welcome to the forum! Please use this link to create your own question - https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/
I've had the car back for a week now and driven it some, and it seems to be fixed. Runs nice and quiet now. The short block also included a new timing chain and everything associated with that. The work has a 12-month 12,000 mile warranty.
So I'm happy with the car again, and while I wish it had not had a problem at all, I think Hyundai did right.
Be sure to use recommended class and viscosity oil and change it regularly, it'll make the engine last a lot longer. I'm not sure if it's actually a 'Nu' series engine (H/K started using them in Europe since 2014), but if it is — have your exhaust manifold inspected every now and then to see if the first catalytic converter has started to go bad.
Lucky you!
I have to say the best Hyundai engines are the Beta II series engines, and the "least worst" newer ones could be the Nu and Gamma. Your lucky you didn't buy one with a Theta engine.
Anyways, happy for you that they covered it under warranty.
Nu engines are considered to be worse than Theta II in Russia, because they have a second catalytic converter embedded in the exhaust manifold. Due to bad quality gasoline here, these tend to go bad quickly, start to fall apart and ceramic dust gets sucked back into the engine, damaging the cylinders. Most people just remove this cat and reflash the ECU, while leaving the second cat (which is located further away from the engine) intact.
Ah, here all Hyundai engines made after 2010 especially in the US just go out before 100k miles, sometimes much earlier, but the Theta II is known to catch on fire and burn down your house. I'm sure many members here, or a search for Hyundai in the search bar, can attest to the last part.
Here is a recent video discusing part of it from Canada. Slowly but surely, Hyundai is recalling all 2010 model + vehicles over a course of years in North America, but don't honor their waranty.
I used to like Hyundai, not particularly fan of it like Toyota's reliability or Mazda's improvements, but said they were cheaper cars and you get what you pay for... Own a 2009 Sportage made in KOREA with the Beta II engine, superior reliability compared to what junk they are making now. They don't even have a price difference here.
I know people in EUrope and Asia buy Hyundais because they are a lot cheaper and getting 100-150k miles out of some of the better Accents and Elantra satifies the market.
Is it a problem with the engine specifically, or with electrical systems on cars released during the time Theta II was used?
The engine production was moved from South Korea to the United States. Here, they made the engines wrong on almost all of the cars over a period of near a decade. It is classified as an "engine defect."
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Hyundai Accent (known as "Solaris" here in Russia), as well as Kia Rio and Ceed, use "Gamma" engines here, and these engines are considered basically immortal — 90% of taxis you can see on the streets here are these cars. Oddly enough, a lot of taxis in Moscow are Kia Optimas with Theta II engines in them.
There are two big differences to Theta II engines sold here as opposed to the US: the ones sold here are made in Korea and China, and the most common Theta II engine in Russia is "G4KD", which is 2.0L non-turbo MPI engine (unlike turbo and GDI engines in the US). Another thing that may be to "blame" here is that local G4KDs are limited to 149HP of power by the ECU (as opposed to 165HP in the rest of the world) to fit the lowest-tier car tax, so they may be less stressed.
The biggest problem of 2.0L Theta II engines, according to many local car repair shops, is the lighter crankshaft: unlike Theta's twin brothers, Mitsubishi 4B11 and Chrysler World engine, Theta's crankshaft has only 4 counterweights instead of 8, which limits it's ability to provide proper lubrication for cylinder walls. In many cases these repair shops rebuild Theta II engines with a full-sized crankshaft taken off Mitsubishi 4B11 engine and the problem never happens again.
Are they going to put in a brand new 0 mile engine? Or a refurbished/rebuilt one from another wreck? Or some other creative solution?
Is there a way of finding out the truth?
I believe the replacements are brand new. If they are refurbishing blocks, I don't care, as long as it is done right. I have not heard of a replacement failing. Yet.
All the best!
European/Russian Hyundai/Kia dealers usually change the short block and pistons as a part of warranty. I heard of a couple cases when they just replaced the whole engine too though.