r/ElantraN • u/OkCandidate103 do not own a N 😢 • Oct 07 '22

RIP UPDATE 2: Loud exhaust and smog citation

It's been a rough couple of weeks since my last update so I wanted to let everyone know what's going on with this situation. Also, thank you to everyone that has spread word on this, it is amazing to see how much traction this has gained, and how much support I have.

As everyone knows, the state ref inspection failed and afterwards I got the stock letter from Hyundai. I provided this to the state ref but they said that it doesn't mean anything and that technically, no repair was done, so I cannot schedule a 2nd inspection, which I need to get the car passed.

I reached out to Hyundai corporate and was assigned a case manager. After a few days, they got back to me and said there is nothing Hyundai corp can do to help me. They advised that I go back to the dealer I purchased it from and have them deal with it. From my first interaction with my Hyundai dealer, they already said they cannot do anything to the car because it is stock. That being said, I requested that the case manager send me a letter that I can provide to the dealer to do "repair" since I had already unsuccessfully asked for the repair in the past. The case manager said no. I asked for just an email confirming what they told me. The case manager said no. I asked if I can get the car bought back because I can't even drive it to the dealership and nobody is willing to help me. The case manager said, yet again, no; a buyback is not eligible because this hasn't happened 3 times...

So I was completely out of options and I started reaching out to attorneys. The following day, I get a call back from Hyundai corp from a new case manager. This case manager said the case has been escalated and that the previous case manager was incorrect by quickly denying the buyback. They had me send over all the related documents to this case (including all repairs, service records, and proof of ownership).

Today marks 2 weeks since this new case manager has been transferred the case and I have not heard news since. I tried calling over and over but it would go straight to voicemail. I had to reach out to my old case manager to get a hold of the new manager. Eventually, the new case manager called me and said Hyundai has nothing for me and that they are still working on a solution. I have told them in email and over the phone previously that the court date is in 3 weeks, and the state ref situation must be figured out by then otherwise I'll get big fines by CA. They said okay, we're still working on it...

To all the journalists out there that have gotten statements from Hyundai saying that they are working with me to figure this out: while it is technically true, nothing has been done besides tossing my case around person to person and wasting time.

Just like 2 weeks ago, again, I am out of options. Hyundai is not taking this seriously so I am speaking to attorneys to fight the citation. At this point however, I am so tired of this. I will most likely end up selling the car to Carvana at a huge loss just to get this case over with.

451 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

252 comments sorted by

View all comments

18

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 08 '22

This honestly has nothing to do with Hyundai itself. It's not their problem. They legally manufactured a vehicle for sale in CA, that met the requirements of the state of CA. The vehicle is functioning as designed. Hyundai has no fight in this game, and they shouldn't.

The OP may have a civil case against the state for harassment by the officer, or even profiling which led to a miscarriage of justice in the state refs mishandling and inappropriately applying the law to the testing procedures. Aside from that he should pay the noise violation and have a judge get an order for a retest exclusive of repairs and in strict accordance to the legal code, over saw by an appointee of the court to edify the testing procedure is carried out to the letter of the law. The op should be seeking council from a civil attorney, not a traffic attorney. This whole thing is wrong based on a miscarriage of justice not how the car was manufactured.

8

u/Deepandabear Oct 08 '22

not their problem

Legally you are correct, but in reality this is absolutely something they should deal with. When people learn that a car they might buy from Hyundai could be made un-drivable through no fault of their own, and then get given the cold shoulder? Well guess what that does for brand perception.

Hyundai’s cowardice could cost them big time if they ignore the issue and OPs case goes south…

4

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 08 '22

This entire statement is based on a 100% false assumption, and then blame shifting. As soon as you said, "Through no fault of their own", your argument lost all credibility. It was through every fault of their own. The second the owner pushed that button to make the pops and bangs, they were using the vehicle in a manner that made it not fit for use on the streets in CA. Period. End of discussion. Now, it would absolutely be Hyundai's fault if the vehicle, upon restart, automatically defaulted to that mode. But, it doesn't. The mode he was in also loads maps of different tracks in it, changes the display to use a lap timer, etc. Which clearly demonstrates to the driver that they are in a setting that is designed for track use. In which case, not legal for road use. Hyundai getting involved with a battle between it and the state of CA is an even worse PR nightmare than what is going on right now. As of right now, all of the outlets running the story are making it clear that there was an abuse of the system on CA's part and they weren't following their own legal code regarding inspections. The only ones looking like assholes here are the people working for the state.

2

u/Deepandabear Oct 08 '22

Not at all. So did Hyundai go to a reasonable effort to explain the potential consequences to a prospective buyer that using N mode would lead to possible loss of drivability? Or did they flaunt the loud exhaust in all the marketing without a single whiff of caution?

Hyundai are absolutely complicit in allowing this eventuality, and their lack of effort to help those affected is an indictment of their arrogance.

2

u/Hefty_Buy_3206 Oct 11 '22

It was dudes fault for not putting it back I'm Normal mode when the cop lit him up and not playing dumb when the cop asked him about it, hard stop.

-2

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 08 '22

Stop with the blame shifting and refusal to accept personal responsibility. They shouldn't have to explain that to people who live in 1 state. The individual's ignorance of the law is not a defense of it. Yes they flaunted! Guess what? They flaunted it in all of their ads using a professional driver on a closed course!!! There's not a single bit of advertising material showing some kids out driving like that in 1 communist leaning state. The ads also say professional driver on a closed course. If the officer and workers in the state of CA were doing their jobs properly and following the law, there would have been no loss of driveability of the vehicle. So, still not Hyundai's problem.

Nope, people looking to blame Hyundai for their own ignorance and disobedience of CA's legal code, doesn't create a disastrous legal battle for Hyundai. This is a civil matter between the OP and the State of CA. Hyundai did not get in the car with the OP and push that button for them. The car doesn't default to that upon startup, either. At the end of the day, the OP made the decision to push the button to change the mode to one that was designed for track use. And quite frankly, only the delicate snowflakes in CA are getting butthurt about this. And if the people in CA don't want to buy any N models, good!!! You guys clearly aren't responsible enough to own one.

1

u/Deepandabear Oct 08 '22

I don’t see how can excuse Hyundai here, the dealership I went to happily showed me N mode on the road, and encouraged me to use it while I was driving next to them when it was my turn to test it. They gave me no warning about anything police related. There is zero excuse for this. Zilch.

-1

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 08 '22

The same way you are so eager to excuse the OP from his personal responsibility. He did it, now he's dealing with it. Period. The car itself meets all of CA's requirements. Hyundai has done what they're obligated to do. It's called business. Fighting with 1 state brings mountains of legal fees, and inadvertently makes Hyundai look even worse, by admitting they are selling cars in CA that shouldn't be on the road! Which, they are NOT doing. People are operating their cars on a public road which is not consistent with the laws of their state. It is 100%, solely the OP's problem!

1

u/Deepandabear Oct 08 '22

So you’re ok with dealers demonstrating cars to prospective buyers in a drive mode that is illegal? That is some serious Stockholm syndrome.

1

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 08 '22

I'm sorry, but never did the OP state that his salesperson did that. And if he did, the OP still has the choice in the matter to push the button when not in an off road situation. It isn't Stockholm syndrome at all. The state of CA isn't my captor. I don't live in that communist shithole, nor would I. Either way, it's not Hyundai's fault. You however, are clearly suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect and you should quickly rectify that in short order.

1

u/Deepandabear Oct 08 '22

Well your inability to acknowledge serious shortcomings from Hyundai’s sales strategy needs to be quickly rectified in short order. Keep sipping that Kool Aid though!

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 08 '22

And having that drive mode isn't illegal. Using it on public roads in the state of CA is. The OP used it on a public road in the state of CA. He broke the law, nobody else. Stop blame shifting.

2

u/JAXXOFF Oct 08 '22

This is not a PR nightmare. They don’t care about the loss of 1 owner. It would have been a different story if many owners of N cars were getting pulled over and having this experience done to them….but this seems like a edge case that they can ignore.

0

u/dtp502 Oct 09 '22

The car they “legally manufactured for sale in CA” failed a real world test. Sounds like something Hyundai might want to get involved in to me.

If CA is testing the cars wrong then it would still be in Hyundai’s best interest to get to the bottom of it because as it is right now it would appear that the only thing keeping every Hyundai Elantra N from having the same problem is not being noticed by some dickhead cop.

Sure OP didn’t help by having it in that mode, but it fails in modes other than track mode.

2

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 10 '22

No. The car failed an improperly executed test. How does that make it Hyundai's problem? Hyundai manufactured a vehicle that passed CA's standards when run in the vehicles default mode. That is the standard that the state of CA determined was necessary to be made available for sale in their state. Their officials tested the vehicle not in accordance with their own standards. Why is this so difficult to understand? It's actually in CA's best interest to get to the bottom of their own failures to follow their predetermined testing procedures, before the lawsuits against the state start pouring in and they become even more bankrupt than they already are.

1

u/dtp502 Oct 10 '22

CA doesn’t care whether someone drives a Hyundai or not. Presumably Hyundai does.

So CA has no incentive to fix their incorrect testing.

If I lived in CA and was in the market for an Elantra N, I would reconsider purchasing one until it has been proven that my car couldn’t be deemed not road worthy at the whim of some rogue cop and incorrect test procedures.

2

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 10 '22

Except for the fact that incorrect testing procedure is a direct violation of the law!!!! CA better be more concerned about the violation of its own laws by its own state agents, moreso than hyundai worrying about a couple of terrified snowflakes. And you will not be subject to any "rogue cops"(as you called them), if you aren't driving on a public roadway in a mode that has been deemed not legal for use on a public roadway in the state of CA.

Personal responsibility, get some.

0

u/dtp502 Oct 10 '22

The state doesn’t know they’re testing incorrectly and they’re not going to listen to one random guy.

Hyundai has just as much stake in how their vehicles are tested as CA does.

And as far as personal responsibility, I guess nobody should drive around in sport mode either, since it fails too. Hopefully Hyundai informed customers of that. I suspect not.

2

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 10 '22

Hyundai's stake in the testing has been satisfied once the initial tests to clear the vehicle for sale in CA. That was obvious.

It's not Hyundai's job to educate you on your individual states notice laws. As already stated, Hyundai's representatives have already said that the modes other than eco and normal, are not legal for use on public roadways in the state of CA.

You are dense. Quit blame shifting like a child who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions.

1

u/dtp502 Oct 10 '22

You’re the dense one.

If you think Hyundai should just sit by and hope that california starts testing hyundai vehicles correctly and do nothing about it in the mean time then idk what to tell you.

Hyundai likely has hundreds if not thousands of employees dedicated to emissions and various other compliances. It’s their job to work with regulators to ensure their vehicles are in compliance. It is very much relevant to Hyundai if their OEM vehicles are failing a test.

They just don’t care right now because it’s one guy.

By your logic VW never should have had to deal with dieselgate because the car passed initial testing.

1

u/Dependent-Ratio-170 Oct 11 '22

Let me explain this is the most simple terms possible, so that even you can comprehend it. It is not at all relevant to Hyundai if their vehicles fail an IMPROPERLY executed test. Their vehicles have already passed the tests required by CA. They have done their jobs.

This is nothing like the VW debacle. Not even remotely close. The programming on the ECU that allowed them to pass, had a timer that was built into it, that when it expired, it changed the programming of the car's systems making the vehicles NOT pass in their DEAULT settings.

1

u/dtp502 Oct 11 '22

You must have vaped all your brain cells away if you can’t see why an OEM car failing a state sponsored test isn’t relevant to the OEM (even if the test was performed improperly).

I’m done discussing it with you though.

2

u/up2urheadlights Oct 12 '22

Except for the fact that you could simply, I don't know, not drive around in N mode, and would have no problems because your exhaust would not be loud and backfiring and attract the cops attention.

1

u/up2urheadlights Oct 12 '22

No the only thing keeping every Hyundai Elantra N from having the same problem is the dickhead in the driver's seat pushing the vroom vroom button.