Block Damage By Waterpump

[msavides]

The main purpose of this message is to find out if this has happened to anybody else and to warn potential owners of a problem

Well it was time to do my Timing Belt and I decided to do the water pump at the same time During the tear down This is what I discovered. My Sante Fe is a 2001 with 121thousand miles. I have a 10/120 warranty due to the horsepower litigation. This could not be a corrosion problem as I had the dealer change the Antifreeze every 40k- 50k miles



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I took the attached photos into the Hyundai dealer 3 weeks later He called me back.

He said the district service manager is denying all warranty claims. He said there is nothing else he can tell me. I asked for a reason he said he did not have one. I asked for his phone number or a way to contact him, he said he could not give that to me.

I then called hyundai customer service, he called the dealership and then got back to me and said that the dealership said it was because I was out of warranty. I then explained to him The damage did not just happen the last 1700 miles, it had to be happening since I bought the car and that I had a 120,000 mile warranty and that I was 1795 miles over. I also explained to him that 3 days after I bought the car I went back to the dealership that I bought the car from with my concern that my speedometer/ odometer was off about 3% faster, and that I confirmed this using gps and other vehicles and that I was loosing my warranty 3% faster than I should. He said they could not do anything about my speedometer as it was within the DOT Specs(or something like that). He also said that they generally will service the vehicle if it is over little on the mileage under warranty. I then told myself, what is the chances of that actually happening, and if it does it would probably just be a few little parts. I never imagined it would be my engine block.

He documented it and said that there is probably little that he could do since the district service manager had already made his decision.


I am ticked off. But I will calm down and do whatever is reasonable to get this resolved. I know I can file a complaint to the BAR. But how would I go about it legally who would I sue. can I sue locally or do I have to sue in Fountain valley. Do I have to sue. Can I sue?


There have got to be more people with this problem. It could just be that the people who have a water pump replaced take it to the dealer and the dealer just turns a blind eye to it. I can't be the only one here who has changed his own water pump. I am really curious if this was caused by a bad water pump or just a poorly casted or machine block. If anybody has changed their own water pump chime in and give me some input.


I just reassembled the motor and got it back on the road. All the rubber in my thermostat was deteriorated so I replaced that too. We will have to see how long it will last before it erodes through the block. Hopefully it was a bad water pump and erosion will not continue. I am really upset at Hyundai's attitude on this. It will definitely keep me from buying another Hyundai. I also Own a Kia Spectra. It will be going out of warranty in September. I will be tearing that one apart well before warranty expiration.

Thank everyone for listening to my rant.

I do not know where to go from here.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what i do next please give me your input.



Thanks

Mark

[rocconi]

Please excuse my ignorance but where is it damage ? It looks like it could have been a small casting error but I do not see anything missing. If it was not overheating I would not worry about it.

[msavides]

have a look at my snapfish photos there are pictures in there that best show the erosion in the engine block.

Mark

[Jed118]

I've changed pumps on many types of cars... Pony, Pontiac 6000, B13 Sentra (DOHC 1.6), Chevy Astro... i've always seen play in the shaft due to seal deterioration, and subsequent belt hunger (on serpentine systems, such as in the 6000) and water leakage through the weep hole.

Never has it damaged my block

I've had hyundai's do as much as 370,000 KM's with mostly original parts in them. Solid cars.

I may ask you, what engine is fitted?

If it's a 2.4L, you can generally find a replacement motor for about a grand, the 2.7 (off 2003 models) goes for about half that.

car-part.com (canadian listings, but includes american ones too)

Keep that in mind if the engine fails completely, instead of trying to waste time suing.., the lawyer fees and the time wasted fighting for a 7 year old economy SUV-ish car is not worth it.

Blocks are tough though, and if the front dress (waterpump housing) fail, go to the wreckers, (hide some beers in your toolbox) and have at the casing. The wreckers around here discard GK tibs and newer sonatas like it's going out of style. Shit I can get a low mileage beta for $300... now if only the G4CS cost that little!

Good luck either way.