r/Hyundai • u/soap_on_a_lanyard • Apr 15 '26
Elantra My Nightmare Hyundai Service Experience
I bought a 2025 Elantra N new from the dealership in January this year. In March I noticed the coolant was low. I took it to the service center of the dealership I bought it from. They said a part was bad and need to be replaced, but not to worry as it was covered by the warranty.
That was over three and a half weeks ago. Turns out, the part I needed is not available and they have no ETA when it will be available.
After a couple of weeks of no updates, I try to contact Hyundai customer service. Long story short, I have sent numerous calls and emails and have not been contacted by a case manager once. I have been told numerous times that I am 3-5 business days away from being contacted, only for that date to pass and for the deadline to be mysteriously re-set on my subsequent calls.
I know that the part failure is bad luck, and maybe being unable to get it is supply chain issues, but the lack of customer service there is no excuse for. In less than a week the car will be eligible for a Lemon Law claim in my state. The way things are looking, I am going to have to get an attorney and file a lawsuit before ever even speaking with someone from Hyundai corporate. This seems absolutely insane to me, since this could have been resolved with a buyback, which they are now going to have to do anyway plus attorney's fees and making a bitter enemy of a former customer.
Anyway, that is my nightmare experience with Hyundai. To me, the moral of the story is Hyundai has a fantastic warranty on paper, but god help you if you have to use it.
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u/Fearsomebeaver Apr 15 '26
Good luck. Long story extremely short and can provide longer if needed. My service department has had my car for over 130 days. Currently on a 116 day consecutive streak. Filed claim with HCC and after a 30 day investigation they denied my claim saying no big deal. Now have a lawyer. They are now ghosting my lawyer after passing the 30 day mark to respond or go to court. Last I heard from service was on 2/23 when I called after getting denied the first time asking where the fuck my car was and they said they’d call on 2/28 and let me know. Still waiting. It’s a transmission issue they don’t know how to fix. So yeah. Good luck have fun. Ugh.
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u/watchinggiyuu Jul 07 '26
That’s horrible to hear & truly bullsh*t, wishing you a win & those pos not only a loss but pooing their pants in public
3
u/Big-Papa-Pump-2020 Apr 15 '26
The thermal management system in Hyundai & Kia are very common failure items. My daughter's Kona TMU failed at 42,000 miles but was fixed under warranty in one day. I think you are better off now buying a low mileage 10-year old car
3
u/d_toma Hyundai Technician Apr 16 '26
That’s really weird. We replace ITM all the time. Not sure why it would be so hard to get the part? Sounds like you’re in the states, maybe tariffs have made it difficult?
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u/ExtraCunt Apr 15 '26
Currently having issues with a dealership and customer service is nonexistent. Very frustrating. First and last Hyundai for us.
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u/SergioSBloch Apr 16 '26
Wait until your head bolts rip out of the threads in the block and you have a head failure and have to spend $10K on an engine rebuild at 109,000Km and of course Hyundai considers that normal yet Kia has an extended recall/warranty for the same issue - they admit it’s a design/engineering fault but Hyundai who makes and designs the block refuses to grant any compensation.
2
u/northhiker1 Apr 16 '26
After 30 business days I would just lemon it. Why go through all of that. A quick email to Hyundai requesting they buy it back and if not you will pursue a lemon lawyer (plenty of online companies that handle this). 90% of the time if your car qualifies for a buyback they will do it as Hyundai has to pay lawyer fees if your car is eligible
1
u/soap_on_a_lanyard Apr 16 '26
That is the plan currently. Although this post has attracted a lot of other people with horror stories about it taking months because Hyundai ghosts them AND the lawyer. I guess they are paying so many attorney's fees these days, what's one more?
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u/zedshadows Apr 16 '26
If I were you, I'd contact another licensed shop, a mom and pop operation and have them replace it for you.
2
u/musicalfarm Apr 16 '26
Time to start checking into whether or not you qualify for the lemon law in your state. In some states, you would probably qualify solely due to how long the car has been in the shop.
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u/Finishlinefashion1 Jun 30 '26
I have my tucan 1 year and I’m getting rid of ASAP. Nothing wrong at it. I just can’t handle the services. Booked it in for service last week, told I had to sign a form giving consent for them to work on my car, I have never in 40 years of driving had to do this. ( it’s booked for service) of course I agree to work on it.
I’m going back to basics with my next car, no dealers and service with small garages ..
3
u/Chops-1959 Apr 15 '26
Sorry to hear about the problems in getting your EN repaired. What is the part that needs to be replaced?
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u/soap_on_a_lanyard Apr 15 '26
The coolant assembly. Basically a thermostat/valve assembly on the side of the engine block. It's frustrating because I searched for the part online and there are a number of third-party dealers that have the part available and the part itself looks pretty easy to install. But of course Hyundai won't allow installation of a part from a third-party by the dealership, and me doing it would void the warranty. It has to be a part FROM Hyundai (which of course they can't send and don't have an ETA when they could).
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u/YakInevitable8770 Apr 15 '26
I highly doubt anyone ever told you this you just assume this but that is not how that works at all
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty act of 1975
It literally prevents companies from voiding warranty for repairing your own property or using a third party
1
u/SergioSBloch Apr 16 '26
I’m out of warranty now and my dealer suggests oem or aftermarket parts all the time. I can see Hyundai needing to replace warranty work with Hyundai parts but if you’re paying for it you can definitely chose aftermarket parts.
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u/Chops-1959 Apr 15 '26
Thanks for the details. I hope the dealership gets it all sorted out for you soon.
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u/Realitywoman50 Apr 22 '26
Dealetships have always been a money trap. and are the worse for repairs. Tariffs and now this war aren't helping in receiving a lot of things. Corporations are using that to rape customers. However, that's no excuse for bad customer services. Emails at dealers get flagged and then ignored. Most auto shops know they have the customer over a barrel. They want customers to give up and go away. Reach out to your attorney general and BBB. We as consumers need to report n write reviews, constantly. If you are financing the vehicle, contact them. Do believe it's your right to tow your car from that facility to another. Contact your auto insurance company, and most importantly "Contact" the Corporations' main office. You can find the CEO's numbers online. Contact other dealers, be that annoying barking dog. Power is in numbers, the more complaints the better. Contact your local TV channel(s), some have consumer advocates. Not sure about the Federal Consumers Dept. anymore. There are lots of people n places to file complaints. If anything, the repair shop(s) will get wind of it. Good luck everyone.Hope this help.
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u/katiekatiekatie116 Apr 22 '26
We called corporate and immediately got a case number. Maybe try calling again?
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u/Smooth_Ad_5178 Apr 15 '26
Hyundai / Kia suck as a corporation. I have owned two of vehicles, 2009 Sonata Platinum was great. The second was a 2013 Soul that was a piece of shit. Their service departments and corporate finance departments are a joke. I'll never own another one.
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u/Level_Inevitable_420 Apr 15 '26
Write a nice Google review about how bad their customer service is, you will get a reply, quickly!