Had Hyundai's oil pressure switch caused an oil indicator light to go on at a much higher PSI than 7-8 PSI, I would not have a car sitting in my driveway that has less than 86,000 miles on it and only worth a $500 consolation trade-in value at the Hyundai dealership. At about 83K miles, had the oil changed at a Lube Stop (Ohio-area oil change franchise). No issues at that time. Within the next 2,200 miles, began hearing ticking noise from the engine compartment and took it in to the Hyundai dealership to determine what was going on. First thing noted was that it was running 3 quarts low on oil in an engine with only a 4.5 quart oil capacity. After the tear-down, they determined that there was a spun bearing and the cause was oil starvation. Dealership attributed it to operator error and would not fix the problem under their 100,000-mile power train warranty.
Everyone I have explained this to has the same first question: Didn't your oil light go on? No. Did any other lights go on? No. I'm not even going to get into the runaround that Hyundai Motor (corporate) gave me once I tried contacting their customer service, but let it suffice that I was told by one of their case managers that my power train warranty was basically void because service was performed by someone other than a Hyundai service center.
The car is still sitting in my driveway, and as far as I'm concerned, I will be glad to share my experience with anyone who even mentions that they are thinking of getting a Hyundai or a Kia. It does not matter to me that there was a defect in the engine -- what really boils my blood is that they refuse to stand behind their product enough to even consider the fact that IF they had designed the oil pressure switch and related components to trigger a warning light at a level closer to 30-35 PSI, there would have been a reasonable indication that something was wrong with the engine's oil retention way before it was down to 1.5 quarts of oil and starving the engine.
I already bought a brand new Honda, by the way ;-) If anyone from Hyundai customer service ever reads this and actually wants to resolve this problem, I challenge you to do the right thing. The case number is 5004468. I won't hold my breath waiting for your phone call, though...
Had Hyundai's oil pressure switch caused an oil indicator light to go on at a much higher PSI than 7-8 PSI, I would not have a car sitting in my driveway that has less than 86,000 miles on it and only worth a $500 consolation trade-in value at the Hyundai dealership. At about 83K miles, had the oil changed at a Lube Stop (Ohio-area oil change franchise). No issues at that time. Within the next 2,200 miles, began hearing ticking noise from the engine compartment and took it in to the Hyundai dealership to determine what was going on. First thing noted was that it was running 3 quarts low on oil in an engine with only a 4.5 quart oil capacity. After the tear-down, they determined that there was a spun bearing and the cause was oil starvation. Dealership attributed it to operator error and would not fix the problem under their 100,000-mile power train warranty.
Everyone I have explained this to has the same first question: Didn't your oil light go on? No. Did any other lights go on? No. I'm not even going to get into the runaround that Hyundai Motor (corporate) gave me once I tried contacting their customer service, but let it suffice that I was told by one of their case managers that my power train warranty was basically void because service was performed by someone other than a Hyundai service center.
The car is still sitting in my driveway, and as far as I'm concerned, I will be glad to share my experience with anyone who even mentions that they are thinking of getting a Hyundai or a Kia. It does not matter to me that there was a defect in the engine -- what really boils my blood is that they refuse to stand behind their product enough to even consider the fact that IF they had designed the oil pressure switch and related components to trigger a warning light at a level closer to 30-35 PSI, there would have been a reasonable indication that something was wrong with the engine's oil retention way before it was down to 1.5 quarts of oil and starving the engine.
I already bought a brand new Honda, by the way ;-) If anyone from Hyundai customer service ever reads this and actually wants to resolve this problem, I challenge you to do the right thing. The case number is 5004468. I won't hold my breath waiting for your phone call, though...
- sharkzz, Medina, OH, US