Interesting problem with my son's 2013 Hyundai Veloster

[cabmandone]

My son was driving home from work a few weeks ago when his 2013 Veloster just shut down and would not restart. He said his dash "lit up" and his tach went to zero. No warnings prior to and no stored codes from a CEL.

I brought the car home on a trailer thinking something happened electrically. I unplugged the battery because I noticed the factory positive terminal was loose even though the nut was tightened all the way down. I checked t he battery voltage which was at 7.6 volts. I figure this is from his turning the car over in an effort to get it to fire again. I put the battery on my charger at 10 amps for 4 hours. Batter checked at 12.6 volts after charging. I pressed the start button and it fired right up. Success!.... or so I thought. I put my volt meter on to check the charge coming from the alternator... 14.6 volts. I noticed a ticking sound that was not present prior to the engine shutting down. Success!... I once again thought. Next morning started the car to back it off my trailer and it wouldn't rev up. It had almost a muffled exhaust sound and the ticking sound.

I left it on the trailer and brought it to the dealer. Service adviser noticed it wasn't running right and had a ticking sound too. I told him, "that ticking sound wasn't there before it shut down". A few days later I'm told the catalytic converter was plugged... at 39,000 miles. It's covered under the emission warranty. Apparently the cat plugged from the top side. The bottom side that was visible looked fine but when you tipped the cat, stuff started falling out of the top side through the exhaust manifold (all one piece... manifold and cat) I was told the ticking sound was still there (no real surprise) but the tech didn't think it was anything to worry about. I said "if it wasn't there before the engine shut down and now it's there, isn't it something to be concerned about?". Tech thought it could be piston slap. I'm thinking due to the back pressure that caused the engine to shut down damaged something in the valves. Still waiting for a tear down diagnosis that Hyundai customer care said they would cover even though the car is out of warranty. Now going back and forth with the dealer because they're saying Hyundai will only cover one hour. Called Hyundai care and was told "on your initial call, escalation approved engine diagnostics without a limitation on hours so a full tear down is covered". I relayed this to the dealer and am still waiting to see where it goes. Will post back once I learn more.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by cabmando

I checked t he battery voltage which was at 7.6 volts. I figure this is from his turning the car over in an effort to get it to fire again. I put the battery on my charger at 10 amps for 4 hours. Batter checked at 12.6 volts after charging.

A note of caution: Use the 10 amp cycle sparingly.
AFAIK the higher flow will help to break through internal resistance but it can also warp the plates.
Maybe try 30min 2A and 5min 10A. or double those. Something like that.

I once had a battery boil over with acid going everywhere. Then I bought the landlord new carpet.

[fastfredracing]

Maybe you did bust up a piston, and a lot of oil went down into the cat . I used to know a guy who worked at Hyundai. He was part of a 2 man team. All they did was replace engines. Every day of the week ,all year long . Said that they did 5-7 per week . I think he said that there was some sort of manufacturing flaw in piston rings, or pistons . Cannot remember for sure. Most of them came in for oil consumption .

[SCadaddle]

I've got a friend in the new car sales business whose last gig was selling Hyundai's at a dealership. Said he wouldn't have one as the shop was full of cars awaiting new engines.

[Por_sha911]

I have almost 80k on my `13 Veloster Turbo. The only real problem was the coil packs had to be replaced. I can say that one day when I tried to start the car all I heard was clicking and everything went dead (no lights no dash, no nuthin). Jump started it and when I got home the same thing. Replaced the 5 yo battery and all was good again. NO warning of any problem in advance. Apparently, all the electronics and computers don't like low voltage.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Maybe you did bust up a piston, and a lot of oil went down into the cat . I used to know a guy who worked at Hyundai. He was part of a 2 man team. All they did was replace engines. Every day of the week ,all year long . Said that they did 5-7 per week . I think he said that there was some sort of manufacturing flaw in piston rings, or pistons . Cannot remember for sure. Most of them came in for oil consumption .

The tech did a compression and leak down test, said everything checked out fine. Also said oil pressure was good. I know Hyundai has some tuning issues on "certain" 2013 Velosters and there is a recall for them. The recall states that engine damage and possible risk of fire. This car is supposed to be outside of the date range for the recall but I can't help but wonder if they have a bigger problem than they are admitting to? I know Hyundai had problems with a couple of different engines but I don't think the 1.6L was part of that. I think the back pressure caused by the cat basically plugging instantaneously did some sort of internal damage.

Originally Posted by john70t

A note of caution: Use the 10 amp cycle sparingly.
AFAIK the higher flow will help to break through internal resistance but it can also warp the plates.
Maybe try 30min 2A and 5min 10A. or double those. Something like that.

I once had a battery boil over with acid going everywhere. Then I bought the landlord new carpet.

I said I charged for 4 hours, I meant 2 hours at 10a. The timer on my charger only runs for two hours of timed charging.

[cabmandone]

I heard back from the dealer today. The engine is being replaced. Hyundai is covering 80% which means I'll be on the hook for about $1000. I think my son's Veloster will miraculously turn into a Ford Focus hatchback once this is all over. I think this will officially spell the end of my Hyundai ownership. Shame really, My next car was going to be a Genesis.

[Adrian Thompson]

I don't know, it sounds fair to me, they are covering 80% of the charge for an out of warranty repair. After this he'll have a brand new zero mile engine and cat. I'd say you're ahead of the game, why not keep it?

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Adrian Thompson

I don't know, it sounds fair to me, they are covering 80% of the charge for an out of warranty repair. After this he'll have a brand new zero mile engine and cat. I'd say you're ahead of the game, why not keep it?

Why not keep it? Because there's no guarantee it won't happen again. From what I've found it's not all that uncommon. There's a thread where a guy with a 2016 is on his THIRD engine in 40,000 miles. Another guy on the same thread chimed in and was on his second in less than 40,000 miles. I have a difficult time having any faith in the car when the catalytic converter fails in less than 50K miles and wipes out the engine.

I thought the 80/20 was fair until I thought about it and realized this isn't an unheard of problem with Hyundai. It's just that the problem is starting to show up in the Veloster too.

[cabmandone]

Here's a taste of why.

https://www.veloster.org/forum/9-hyundai-veloster-engine-transmission/67025-engine-knocking-catalytic-converter-plugged-aftermarket-exhaust.html

https://www.veloster.org/forum/9-hyundai-veloster-engine-transmission/81474-2016-nav-blown-engine-catalytic-converter.html

https://www.veloster.org/forum/9-hyundai-veloster-engine-transmission/30945-engine-causing-catalytic-converter-throw-cel.html

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by cabmando

I heard back from the dealer today. The engine is being replaced. Hyundai is covering 80% which means I'll be on the hook for about $1000. I think my son's Veloster will miraculously turn into a Ford Focus hatchback once this is all over. I think this will officially spell the end of my Hyundai ownership. Shame really, My next car was going to be a Genesis.

When I read your original post I was thinking "This sounds suspiciously similar to my son's experience with his Hyundai", and maybe it is.

His 2012 is in the dealer right now having it's engine replaced under warranty. That's due to a failure which happened in exactly the same way you were describing; engine suddenly quit, no warning. Restarted a while later and wouldn't rev. Towed to dealership.


Fortunately, they seem to be accepting 100% of the warranty responsibility in his case.

[masraum]

I’ve thought that the veloster was a nice looking little car. I should be shocked that they have that sort of issues, but I’m not.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Aerkuld

When I read your original post I was thinking "This sounds suspiciously similar to my son's experience with his Hyundai", and maybe it is.

His 2012 is in the dealer right now having it's engine replaced under warranty. That's due to a failure which happened in exactly the same way you were describing; engine suddenly quit, no warning. Restarted a while later and wouldn't rev. Towed to dealership.


Fortunately, they seem to be accepting 100% of the warranty responsibility in his case.

Make sure you suggest they check the catalytic converter. I saw a few threads where they didn't replace the cat and couldn't figure out why it wasn't running right when the engine was replaced. What is the model of your son's car?

Originally Posted by masraum

I’ve thought that the veloster was a nice looking little car. I should be shocked that they have that sort of issues, but I’m not.

From a looks and feature standpoint the car is hard to beat. I'd even consider putting the Veloster seats in my 911.. they're comfortable with nice support. But the engine issue pretty much just turned me into a no more Hyundai vehicles guy.

[Por_sha911]

So I guess if the Veloster is having a chronic Intermediate Shaft Bearing issue we should avoid all Hyundais?

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by cabmando

I heard back from the dealer today. The engine is being replaced. Hyundai is covering 80% which means I'll be on the hook for about $1000. I think my son's Veloster will miraculously turn into a Ford Focus hatchback once this is all over. I think this will officially spell the end of my Hyundai ownership. Shame really, My next car was going to be a Genesis.

Isn't there a 10 year warranty on the powertrain?

[Arizona_928]

All the Korean manufacturers seem to still have engine issues.
There was a reddit thread where Hyundai techs at different dealers were showing off their replaced engine pile. I'm talking bays worth of long blocks.

That said you can't get me to buy a Korean ecobox, or let alone Nissan. Shame that VW got out of the diesel game as I don't trust the gas engines.

[jyl]

I've rented Velosters a few times. Poor ride (jiggly, harsh), poor visibility, generally unpleasant little car.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

So I guess if the Veloster is having a chronic Intermediate Shaft Bearing issue we should avoid all Hyundais?

"The largest of three recalls posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website Thursday covers nearly 379,000 Kia Soul small SUVs from 2012 through 2016 with 1.6-liter engines. Documents show that high exhaust gas temperatures can damage the catalytic converters, which control pollution. That can cause abnormal combustion and damage pistons and connecting rods."

I don't know about you, but I tend not to buy a piece of sh.t more than once.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

Isn't there a 10 year warranty on the powertrain?

Only to the original purchaser. I'm the second owner.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

I have almost 80k on my `13 Veloster Turbo. The only real problem was the coil packs had to be replaced. I can say that one day when I tried to start the car all I heard was clicking and everything went dead (no lights no dash, no nuthin). Jump started it and when I got home the same thing. Replaced the 5 yo battery and all was good again. NO warning of any problem in advance. Apparently, all the electronics and computers don't like low voltage.

Low voltage causes all sorts of weird issues on modern cars.