JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two people emailed the “Ask Anthony” team with a common problem.
They both own Hyundais and their cars are not drivable.
Cody Evans and Wanda Burrow want to fix their cars. But, Hyundai representatives say they are not to blame.
Evans bought his 2018 Hyundai Tucson, brand new, after graduating from college.
“100,000 mile warranty. That sounded great. One of the main reasons I bought the vehicle to begin with,” explained Cody Evans.
He says the SUV never gave him a single problem in the four years he owned it.
“No problem. I kept it going through all my maintenance changes. They all said it looked good every time,” Evans said.
But one day in December, about a week before Christmas, Evans and his wife were driving down the highway when the car began to have problems.
“The car just shuts off and I have to limp the next mile and a half. I felt very unsafe the whole time,” Evans added.
Evans says he had the SUV towed to a local Hyundai dealership. The SUV was currently at 96,000 miles, and as mentioned above, the vehicle had a 100,000 mile warranty.
“The service advisor I was working with said they know this is a known thing. We don’t see any signs of neglect on your car, and I would be surprised if it wasn’t covered,” Evans said.
A few weeks later the claim was denied.
“Because of exceptional maintenance negligence … after they said there were no signs of negligence. They already had my maintenance records. They already had my explanation and they had already broken the engine,” Evans said . First Coast News Presenter Anthony Austin.
Evans says he doesn’t understand why the claim was denied. He says his most recent oil change was around 90,000 miles. He says he was told the SUV was in good shape and had no problems.
Evans says Hyundai offered to fix his Tucson, but at a cost.
“They quoted me $9,000. I also got a separate quote for $9,400. So about $9,000,” Evans said.
Evans is not alone in his problems with Hyundai. After he emailed me, I got a message from Wanda Burrow.
“Not even in the first 90 days … the engine took over,” Burrow said.
Just before Christmas, Burrow bought a 2016 Hyundai Sonata from a local dealership for her son.
“We were offered two years of free oil changes for the vehicle and life was good,” Burrow replied.
But they soon noticed a problem.
“The car looked like it had run out of oil. It was low on oil.”
Burrow says they only had the car for a few weeks when it started cutting out while her son was driving.
“Of all days, Friday January 13, he calls and informs me that his car broke down again.”
He says the car was taken back to the dealer and he thought they would take care of the problem.
“She (service advisor) proceeded to tell me that this is a common problem. She showed me a reading of maybe 28 entries of cars that were waiting to be looked at by mechanics to determine what the problem was.”
But they didn’t take care of the problem. Burrows says he was told it was the driver’s fault for lack of maintenance.
“I’m like…we just bought this vehicle. We just took it in for its first oil change. How can that be?” Burrows asked.
It’s a good question, and it’s an answer to both Hyundai owners.
“I think they are woefully lacking in customer service ability and knowledge of their vehicles,” Evans said.
A class action lawsuit was recently filed against Hyundai Motor America over defective engines. In September, the auto company says it entered into an agreement to settle class-action litigation with owners of certain vehicles.
Anthony Austin had a long conversation with the Hyundai company about the problems. A representative told her that there are two sides to every story and that they keep their responses to customers. But, they are willing to review their cases again.
If you have a problem that you cannot solve, please email AskAnthony@firstcoastnews.com
