Elantra @60k miles...T-belt REALLY due?

[brianl703]

I like how they compute their "total cost of ownership" so if you have a vehicle that recommends 100K transmission fluid changes, no fuel filter change, no brake fluid change, and 150K coolant changes, it ends up being more expensive than a car that recommends 30K transmission fluid changes, a fuel filter change at 60K, a brake fluid change every 4 years, and 60K coolant changes.

Conclusion that I come to is that some manufacturers are dumbing down their maintenance schedules to make the car appear cheaper to maintain.

 

[XS650]

Brian, I agree with you if one considers the useful life of a car to be 200k miles or more (and I do).

The ugly reality is that most new car purchasers don't plan to keep their cars beyond 100k miles and have no interest in how well a car does beyond 100k miles. If they are the rare car buyer that actually thinks ahead a bit, they might have some concern about trade-in value. I doubt that trade-in value is much different for a car that only gets factory recommended maintenance vs one that gets excellent maintenance, so why bother?

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

If you lived in California, the timing belt would be good for 105k miles.

---

Some states have laws which state a vehicle cannot require major maintenance until 100k miles. This is why you see the 105k in most vehicle's TB replacement schedule. It has nothing to do with the belt and sorry to say if it breaks before 105k and your car is out of warranty, tough luck.

JKH

---

I would think that with a high frequency of failure between 60k and 105k that there would be some remdy worked out with a class action or something or other.

Even a wiper linkage piece going bad in the 7th 8th year of service was a recall item. Sure it was a safety issue, or deemed so, but in the 8th year of service??? If too many engines grenade with doing the factory recommended service, I'm sure there would be something done about it. Ford had unpublished warranties on some of their small blocks in the late 70's that were seizing @ 20k. No warranty there

 

[Matt89]

Quote:

---

Brian, I agree with you if one considers the useful life of a car to be 200k miles or more (and I do).

The ugly reality is that most new car purchasers don't plan to keep their cars beyond 100k miles and have no interest in how well a car does beyond 100k miles. If they are the rare car buyer that actually thinks ahead a bit, they might have some concern about trade-in value. I doubt that trade-in value is much different for a car that only gets factory recommended maintenance vs one that gets excellent maintenance, so why bother?

---

Not to go too far OT, but BINGO. Resale has nothing to do with maintenance...it's all about how good the paint and interior look. Every car I've traded in was well maintained (BITOG style) yet I've never been asked one question about whether or not I took care of it. Buying used cars, no service info was ever available.

 

[Ray H]

Interesting reading in my '03 Hyundai Sonata warranty supplement manual regarding the 10/100 powertrain (the little booklet no one ever bothers cracking...):

"ENGINE
Cylinder block/head and all internal parts, manifolds, timing gears and belt [emphasis mine], timing cover, gaskets and seals, oil pump, water pump, fly-wheel, oil pan assembly, and rocker cover and engine mounts."

 

[gedcruise]

Most owners don't read BITOG, and most owners have no idea what proper PM is. Those who say that most owners will not keep a car for 200K are right, and by the same token, most cars owned by most people will not achieve 200K.
Bottom line, if the manufacturer thinks the t-belt should be changed at 60K in an interference engine, do it. If you are reasonably adept, you can do it yourself, if not, see your local dealer, or a shop that is familiar with your engine. The consequences of failure are too awful to entertain.

 

[B15SE]

[quoteThis is obviously been configured to afford the dealer network a decent share in the post sale revenue of the car. It's designed to basically neutralize MM. Sure you can use any oil filter on your car and have the oil changed anywhere you want ..but I assure you, if your WIX filter fails ...GM or anyone else isn't going to pay the reman bill ..Wix's insurer is.

Hyundia made a bunch of inexpensive cars with a fancy warranty that can cost a whole lot to maintain.

Now I imagine that you would be in a different position with something like their sheduled AFT drain interval. There the dealer would have to prove that the fluid (or even if you didn't change it) was the cause of the problem. As long as spec'd fluid was used ..they would have a bit of difficulty not honoring the warranty.

---

My father-in-law talked us into buying our Santa Fe. It's been a good car so far (lots of cheap plastic that rattles over every bump... wife doesn't hear it, but it drives me nuts), but the hoops you have to jump through to keep the 100K mile warranty are crazy. I even went back to using OEM filters on it just incase

. I really don't feel like fighting with Hyundai. Our t belt is due in about 7000 miles

Don't even get me started on the spark plugs on the 2.7L V6.

BTW - my father-in-law after talking both my wifes uncle and cousin to buy Hyundai has now changed his tune when he found out what you have to do to keep the warranty!

This is my first post since my account was locked (used to be b_miller). It's good to be back.

 

[Cogito]

I was curious, if your engine is a "non-interference" design, and you blow your timing belt, is it just a matter of replacing the belt? You don't suffer any of the cyl head/valve problems that can happen with an interference engine design?

 

[Bryanccfshr]

That's all. You will probably need a tow on top of the timing belt.

 

[QuickD100]

I can say this as a former dealer tech. Every Hyundai that came in the door with a popped timing belt was WAY over 60k. That doesn't mean anything in the real world. Most of these cars had 80-90k on the factory belt. I changed the one on my elantra and it's one of the easier ones to do.
The factory belt(2000 model) was a Gates MADE IN KOREA stamped on it. I know when i was bending wrenches, the factory ones either said Hyundai or Mitsubishi on them(depending on the motor). And after market belts were out of the question. I rolled the dice and installed a GAtes on mine. My mom has an XG 350(4 cam mitsu 3.0 style motor) I keep on her to park it long enough to do a belt job at 70k.
My best advice is to let the stealership do it with factory parts if warranty is a concern. Do the water pump on the second belt. This way if there is a failure than it's on Hyundai.
Good luck to you on it

 

[97tbird]

Thanks guys. I must admit I'm not good enough to do a belt job on a car myself. I think I'll take most of you guys' advice, bite the bullet, and let the dealer do it. At least I'll sleep ok.

 

[Thermo1223]

I did a 60k service on the Accent which included the belt.

I got them to see if they could knock some money off the service. The guy came through and discounted it at least $100 mostly because it was in her parents name so he applied a bunch of senior discounts.

I wouldn't trust an independent to do it considering the engines warrenty. If the car was out of warrenty it be a different story. The same thing goes for our transmission, it only gets Hyundai service because of it being rebuilt already. That way if there ever is a problem I can say I did everything by the book.

Most places don't even carry the fluid for the transmission let alone the filter. The only thing they don't change is the oil because I use synthetic.

 

[jorhyne]

I had a 1988 Ford Ranger and the timing belt broke. It didn't cause any damge like some of ou guys are talking about here. I just replaced the belt and it drove like normal afterwards.

 

[ems1]

Quote:

---

Interesting reading in my '03 Hyundai Sonata warranty supplement manual regarding the 10/100 powertrain (the little booklet no one ever bothers cracking...):

"ENGINE
Cylinder block/head and all internal parts, manifolds, timing gears and belt [emphasis mine], timing cover, gaskets and seals, oil pump, water pump, fly-wheel, oil pan assembly, and rocker cover and engine mounts."

---

I did read the Owner's Manaula for my '02 Elantra and it clearly states, "that the timing belt servise is 4 years or 60,000 miles, whatever comes first." What was the recommended service interval for the timing belt on your Sonata? Wonder if it would be covered under the 100,000 mile warranty if it broke AFTER it should have been replaced.

 

[Ray H]

Quote:

---

I did read the Owner's Manaula for my '02 Elantra and it clearly states, "that the timing belt servise is 4 years or 60,000 miles, whatever comes first." What was the recommended service interval for the timing belt on your Sonata? Wonder if it would be covered under the 100,000 mile warranty if it broke AFTER it should have been replaced.

---

My owner's manual reads the same as yours, though there's a "*1" for the timing belt change requirement which is explained at the bottom of the page: "FOR CALIFORNIA, THIS MAINTENANCE IS RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED." - something to do with California's emissions standards' maintenance requirements which mandates the automaker pick up the tab for repairs in the event of failure that exceed some dollar amount for some set period. That asterisked notation also applies to the timing belt replacement at 96 mos/120,000 miles. (I knew there was some reason I remain in California despite the state's current demographics...)

 

[norseman]

Quote:

---

My father-in-law talked us into buying our Santa Fe. It's been a good car so far (lots of cheap plastic that rattles over every bump... wife doesn't hear it, but it drives me nuts), but the hoops you have to jump through to keep the 100K mile warranty are crazy. I even went back to using OEM filters on it just incase . I really don't feel like fighting with Hyundai. Our t belt is due in about 7000 miles Don't even get me started on the spark plugs on the 2.7L V6.

BTW - my father-in-law after talking both my wifes uncle and cousin to buy Hyundai has now changed his tune when he found out what you have to do to keep the warranty!

This is my first post since my account was locked (used to be b_miller). It's good to be back.

---

Welcome to the world of Hyundai/KIA. Craap cars with craap warranties!

 

[97tbird]

QUOTE:
"...Welcome to the world of Hyundai/KIA. Craap cars with craap warranties!..."

That's not a very intelligent thing to say these days, where cars like Sonata and Elantra are well respected.
Our Elantra has been a wonderful, reliable car so far at 57k miles. I just wanted to clarify in general how/when people change t-belts.

 

[norseman]

Quote:

---

QUOTE:
"...Welcome to the world of Hyundai/KIA. Craap cars with craap warranties!..."

That's not a very intelligent thing to say these days, where cars like Sonata and Elantra are well respected.
Our Elantra has been a wonderful, reliable car so far at 57k miles. I just wanted to clarify in general how/when people change t-belts.

---

What ever you say "T" my experiance with these brands is much to the contrary. You see enough of these come through the shop with the number of problems they develope and re-deveplope. They are great cars for mechanics pocket books though. Yep, most mechanics really respect'em

 

[97tbird]

well. I guess then we have the only Elantra that has been 100% problem free so far; because that's fact, and not "whatever I say"...
The special Elantra is ours...oh wait, no: my friend who has another Elantra (a 2004), with about 80k miles, never had a problem either...wonder why's that...we must be exceptionally lukcy!

 

[norseman]

Like I said what ever you say, Peace out!