We have 4 Hyundais in my family, and I’ve gotten a lot of people around me to buy Hyundais. I’m the weird guy in a circle of friends that brags about having the oldest car.
I’m the original owner of a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz Limited.  We actually own two of them (one is a 2009).  On August 16th, my wife and I took a trip out to Oregon, and the fuel pump went bad outside of Omaha, Nebraska.  It involved a tow truck, repair shop, rental vehicle, overnight stays, etc. - all the things that are frustrating but completely fair game for the breakdown of a car that’s 12 years old.  It was especially frustrating because this trip was a getaway for us just one week after our daughter passed away.
As soon as I arrived, my friends begged me (for several days) to take one of their cars back to Chicago and ditch my Veracruz.  I felt that since the fuel pump was replaced, it would be fine, and I’d continue to enjoy my car.  It made it back to Chicago.
Since our daughter’s death was still fresh and the previous trip was stressful from the car breakdown, we needed another trip - this time out east.  So we left for Maine on October 9th and experienced another breakdown, this time outside Albany, NY.  Another tow truck, this time on Sat night, which meant we had to wait until the dealership opened on Monday.  I was shocked when the dealership said it was the fuel pump… AGAIN.  They said it would be covered under warranty.  They also recommended a fuel system cleaning and spark plugs, which I agreed to just to have some peace of mind.
We were planning to go mountain biking and didn’t want to miss the biking weather and the fall leaves.  ALL of the rental car companies were out of AWD vehicles, so we rented a pickup truck from Uhaul and hit the road.  On a road to the bike trail, the pickup truck got stuck.  As a RWD pickup, it couldn’t make it out (my AWD Veracruz likely would have).  We needed a full blown extraction, which turned into 4.5 hours by a Bobcat and 4-wheel wrecker ($3100).
We are now back at home with two stressful trips behind us.  On one hand, it’s a 12 year old car.  What do I expect?  On the other hand, it should have been 1 stressful experience.  The 2nd was completely caused by a faulty part.
Between the two cross country trips, the crazy towing extraction, my history as an outspoken Hyundai fan, and the loss of our daughter, this is the kind of campfire story that gets told over and over and over again to friends, employees, investors, public speaking events, etc… and then retold to their friends.  “Did you hear about what happened to Thomas and Evelyn?† And at the butt of the joke is a Hyundai and a brand new OEM fuel pump that went bad within 2 months.
I reached out to Hyundai and shared about this experience. They call me back and offered to cover the fuel system cleaning, which was $170. It didn't even cover the extra tow truck to get me to the dealership for the faulty part.
We have 4 Hyundais in my family, and I’ve gotten a lot of people around me to buy Hyundais. I’m the weird guy in a circle of friends that brags about having the oldest car.
I’m the original owner of a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz Limited.  We actually own two of them (one is a 2009).  On August 16th, my wife and I took a trip out to Oregon, and the fuel pump went bad outside of Omaha, Nebraska.  It involved a tow truck, repair shop, rental vehicle, overnight stays, etc. - all the things that are frustrating but completely fair game for the breakdown of a car that’s 12 years old.  It was especially frustrating because this trip was a getaway for us just one week after our daughter passed away.
As soon as I arrived, my friends begged me (for several days) to take one of their cars back to Chicago and ditch my Veracruz.  I felt that since the fuel pump was replaced, it would be fine, and I’d continue to enjoy my car.  It made it back to Chicago.
Since our daughter’s death was still fresh and the previous trip was stressful from the car breakdown, we needed another trip - this time out east.  So we left for Maine on October 9th and experienced another breakdown, this time outside Albany, NY.  Another tow truck, this time on Sat night, which meant we had to wait until the dealership opened on Monday.  I was shocked when the dealership said it was the fuel pump… AGAIN.  They said it would be covered under warranty.  They also recommended a fuel system cleaning and spark plugs, which I agreed to just to have some peace of mind.
We were planning to go mountain biking and didn’t want to miss the biking weather and the fall leaves.  ALL of the rental car companies were out of AWD vehicles, so we rented a pickup truck from Uhaul and hit the road.  On a road to the bike trail, the pickup truck got stuck.  As a RWD pickup, it couldn’t make it out (my AWD Veracruz likely would have).  We needed a full blown extraction, which turned into 4.5 hours by a Bobcat and 4-wheel wrecker ($3100).
We are now back at home with two stressful trips behind us.  On one hand, it’s a 12 year old car.  What do I expect?  On the other hand, it should have been 1 stressful experience.  The 2nd was completely caused by a faulty part.
Between the two cross country trips, the crazy towing extraction, my history as an outspoken Hyundai fan, and the loss of our daughter, this is the kind of campfire story that gets told over and over and over again to friends, employees, investors, public speaking events, etc… and then retold to their friends.  “Did you hear about what happened to Thomas and Evelyn?† And at the butt of the joke is a Hyundai and a brand new OEM fuel pump that went bad within 2 months.
I reached out to Hyundai and shared about this experience. They call me back and offered to cover the fuel system cleaning, which was $170. It didn't even cover the extra tow truck to get me to the dealership for the faulty part.
- Thomas K., Arlington Heights, US