Hyundai Problems

A modern automatic transmission is a very complex piece of equipment with a whole bunch of parts that have to be talking to each other for it to work properly. Your best plan of attack is to have the vehicle inspected by a transmission specialist who is familiar with this transmission and should be able to diagnose the fault.

But it sounds like there’s something broken or loose inside that is not allowing the engine’s power to be transferred to the car’s wheels. This could be anything form an input or output shaft, a clutch assembly, torque converter or even the gearsets themselves. Perhaps the fault is in the valve body (the part that actually selects each gear) but until it’s torn down and inspected, you won’t know what’s going on.

The other major cause of a car not moving when it’s in gear is that there’s a broken driveshaft or CV joint. The symptoms can be very similar, so check the whole driveline before committing to repairs.

That’s a pretty comprehensive rebuild of the fuel system, so it’s possible that something that was removed at the time has gone back on not quite the way it was. A shuddering as you slow down suggests that the idle speed is perhaps a touch low. You should be able to adjust the ide speed fairly simply, so the first thing to try is to creep it up, say, 100rpm and see if the shudder goes away.

A mechanic will be able to do this quickly and easily. If that’s not the problem, you need to go back and double check every fitting and fastener to make sure there’s no air or fuel leak that is causing the engine to develop the staggers. Were the new injector seals treated to a dollop of rubber grease before they were installed? If not, there’s a chance that fitting them may have put a small tear in the rubber seal which is now leaking.

I’ll assume it’s a Hyundai dealership that wants to charge you to assess the car. And I hear what you’re saying about the car’s service history and the fact that some of these engines have been fixed by Hyundai because they were faulty from new. So, the best advice is to forget about the dealership and go straight to Hyundai’s customer service department at head office.

That cuts out the middle man at the dealership and should get you in touch with somebody who knows whether your car was one of the affected ones or whether you’ve just been unlucky in this instance. My experience has been that Hyundai takes this stuff very seriously and has helped other owners in the past. However, your case will still be assessed according to the service history and how many kilometres the car has covered.

It sounds very much like there’s a blow-by problem with this engine. The pressure created by the combustion process is somehow getting past the pistons and into the crankcase, causing the dipstick to leave its tube and blowing oil all around the engine bay.

Blow-by is often caused by worn or broken piston rings or a damaged piston itself. But modern turbo-diesels are also prone to problems with their crankcase ventilation and emissions-control systems which can become full of gunk and not allow the crankcase to breathe properly. At which point, the same symptoms can occur.

A mechanic will be able to do some tests and determine what’s causing the pressure build-up inside the crankcase. If it’s internal wear, a rebuild may be required. But if it’s a build-up of crud inside the emissions-control systems, a manual disassembly and clean might be required. Either way, your car’s warranty might cover you for this, so the Hyundai dealer is your first port of call.

Car makers will sometimes help out with such problems provided the car has been serviced correctly and not abused throughout its life. I agree that 40,000km is not a reasonable expectation for a modern automatic transmission, so I’d be contacting Hyundai Australia’s customer service division to see if anything can be done. Experience tells me that Hyundai takes its obligations in this area pretty seriously, so you may be offered some help with the cost of repairs.

You could also have the transmission inspected to see what went wrong (your state motoring club is a good place to start for independent inspections like this one) as this information might be very useful if you decide to take the matter further. The ACCC would be the final step in this process, and Australian Consumer Law deals with what is fit for purpose and what is not.

I can understand why the crank angle sensor was the first thing to be changed. These often start to die and the first symptom is an engine that stops after running for a while. But you’re right to be sceptical about the timing chain as there’s a theory that says if the engine runs properly at all, then the issue won’t be anything fundamental. Which is to say, if the timing chain was stretched beyond the point at which the engine could function properly, it wouldn’t function properly at all, regardless of how long it had been running.

A good workshop should be able to scan the car’s computer. If the timing chain really is stretched, then the computer should have logged this as a problem. If not, then you’re looking for something else. Of course, what that something else is the million-dollar question. Don’t rule out basic things like a dirty fuel filter which can allow fuel to flow for a while before the rubbish in it clogs the flow after a few minutes running.

That said, if the engine can’t locate the correct signal from the camshaft (which is controlled by the timing chain) it will sometimes look for a stand-in signal somewhere else on the engine, allowing it to start but not run properly. An electronic scan is definitely the way forward.

It could be a single oil leak that is showing up in more than one place. The first place to check would be the rocker cover gasket which are prone to leaks (not just on Hyundais). If this has failed, oil could be leaking along the edge of the rocker cover and on to the gearbox, while the same leak could appear as though it’s coming from the spark plug socket (as well as a variety of other places).

The best way to find the location of an oil leak, is usually to clean the engine thoroughly, removing all the build-up oil, grease and dirt. Allow the engine to dry and then take the car for a drive. By continually checking the engine over the next few days you might be able to spot the source when the oil leak reappears.

It’s very possible that this is a problem with the brake’s booster system. To give the braking system extra oomph, it uses a vacuum operated booster unit that multiplies the force in your leg. The vacuum comes from the engine’s intake system. If this booster develops a vacuum leak, it can allow excess air into the engine’s intake manifold. This extra air messes up the air-fuel mixture and the engine can start to rev up.

The brake booster is the first place a mechanic will check when presented with this problem.