Hyundai 2.4 Engine Issues

Joined
Oct 19, 2019
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Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Has anyone here had an engine replacement on a Sonata with the 2.4 and then had to have a THIRD or more engine replacement done? Wondering how the replacement engines are doing....
 
63K on her 2016 Kia Optima original 2.4. Had the software update done. So far so good. I hope we got lucky.....She is not good at getting a car off the road from a fast lane even when it's running good. Doing 3500 oci w/5-30 Pennzoil Syn. It was a Hertz rental before we bought it, so who knows what they did. I read this fiasco was 2014's and down or I never would have bought it. Love the car tho.
 
I follow the Hyundai forums. Have not seen one instance of a replacement 2.4 engine going bad. All seem good.
 
Everyone knows that HyunKias have bad engines. Everyone (including me) knows that Nissan's have bad CVT's. Apparently (according to Alex on Autos quoting Consumer Reports) Nissan fixed those transmissions years ago. Reputations live on, apparently. Through experience I'm comfortable with the former but would be queasy about the latter. Maybe for no good reason.
 
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Originally Posted by rekit
63K on her 2016 Kia Optima original 2.4. Had the software update done. So far so good. I hope we got lucky.....She is not good at getting a car off the road from a fast lane even when it's running good. Doing 3500 oci w/5-30 Pennzoil Syn. It was a Hertz rental before we bought it, so who knows what they did. I read this fiasco was 2014's and down or I never would have bought it. Love the car tho.

FWIW Girlfriend has Hertz '17 Optima. Rock solid. She's very happy she bought it.
 
Originally Posted by csandste
Everyone knows that HyunKias have bad engines.
Everyone (including me) knows that Nissan's have bad CVT's. Apparently (according to Alex on Autos quoting Consumer Reports) Nissan fixed those transmissions years ago. Reputations live on, apparently. Through experience I'm comfortable with the former but would be queasy about the latter. Maybe for no good reason.


ALL MOTORS - CERTAIN YEARS??........please elaborate.

I own one....but you must be more knowledgeable.
 
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The Hyundai/Kia issue is restricted to their 4 cylinders, with the 2.4 being the biggest offender. I keep hearing how certain years are fixed, yet this year at work we lost not one but two Hyundai 1.6 4 cylinders with around 30k on them. They were 2018s so I am skeptical of the "fixed" assertions.

My daughter has a 15 Soul with the 2.0 and no issues at all though.
 
Originally Posted by KCJeep
The Hyundai/Kia issue is restricted to their 4 cylinders, with the 2.4 being the biggest offender. I keep hearing how certain years are fixed, yet this year at work we lost not one but two Hyundai 1.6 4 cylinders with around 30k on them. They were 2018s so I am skeptical of the "fixed" assertions.

My daughter has a 15 Soul with the 2.0 and no issues at all though.


My 2013 Sonata failed at 98,000 miles. It was uneventful. No weird noises or anything out of the ordinary except it stalled one day and started right back up. A week later it stalled again and was seized. Actually...it was burning oil because I had to add it a couple of times, but chalked it up to needing a new PCV valve or something. I had just put a new valve on it when it died.

Rewind to a friend of mine who owns a Kia around the same year with the same motor. Hers was VERY eventful. She was exiting the highway and when her engine seized the whole front end of the car also seized. She said it felt like she hit a tree. Luckily, she was off the road and Kia said that was a very rare instance... It is fixed and she said she would have gotten rid of it and got a different car altogether, but Kia treated her so well about the issue she decided to stick with it.
 
I have a 2017 Hyundai Sonata 2.4L GDI with the software update - so far no engine issues except it burns more oil than my previous Hyundai / Kia PFI engines do . I run a D1/Gen 2 synthetic oil for 4K mile OCI's .
 
Try a 5w-30 in it. Those engines seem to like that better. Funny thing I've noticed, the wife's 2.0gdi will use alittle oil when running pennzoil platinum, but doesn't use oil when I use Mobil one. 5k intervals, and she has 87k on it now.
 
I'd stay away from the 2.4. Nothing but problems as they age and they always blow up on the highway. Almost every time a 2.4 Kia product with over 100k comes in, I can see from service history or looking at the engine alone that it's on its 2nd motor. Engines are warrantied at least. Hopefully the problem is solved with the new 2.5 engine. We've done so many engines in our shop that some of us can replace a 2.4 in a few hours! The Optimas are the easiest and the AWD Sorentos are the hardest.
 
My previous car was a 2011 Hyundai Sonata with the 2.4L GDI 4-cyl. Bought the car new, had the oil changed at the dealer every 5,000 miles. Kept the car for 5yrs and put 72,000 miles on it. By the time I traded it, the engine was going through a quart of oil every 800 miles (roughly every 3 weeks). No leaks anywhere. When it was time for an oil/filter change it had already had 6qts added in between. At that point it was just a frustration, so I was just topping it off with the cheapest conventional 5W20 I could find (usually SuperTech.) Shortly after I traded it, Hyundai announced the engine recall.

A co-worker has a 2012 Kia Optima with the 2.4L GDI as well, and has frequent check engine lights. Her independent mechanic basically tells her to go to the dealer since it is still under warranty.
 
Originally Posted by ryster
My previous car was a 2011 Hyundai Sonata with the 2.4L GDI 4-cyl. Bought the car new, had the oil changed at the dealer every 5,000 miles. Kept the car for 5yrs and put 72,000 miles on it. By the time I traded it, the engine was going through a quart of oil every 800 miles (roughly every 3 weeks). No leaks anywhere. When it was time for an oil/filter change it had already had 6qts added in between. At that point it was just a frustration, so I was just topping it off with the cheapest conventional 5W20 I could find (usually SuperTech.) Shortly after I traded it, Hyundai announced the engine recall.

A co-worker has a 2012 Kia Optima with the 2.4L GDI as well, and has frequent check engine lights. Her independent mechanic basically tells her to go to the dealer since it is still under warranty.


I hope you advised her to check the oil frequently. My girlfriend's 2013 doesn't use oil yet, but it gets changed every 3 months which is 2k miles. It hasn't really gone anywhere the past few months though. Maybe 100 miles.
 
Originally Posted by caprice_2nv


I hope you advised her to check the oil frequently. My girlfriend's 2013 doesn't use oil yet, but it gets changed every 3 months which is 2k miles. It hasn't really gone anywhere the past few months though. Maybe 100 miles.



She isn't the type who would check her oil. I am guessing it never gets checked in between changes. Even when the check engine light is on, she says she will get it to the dealer "eventually" unless her mechanic tells her it is a bad code and it needs to get fixed asap.
 
In my mind the only solution to people who keep driving with a flashing oil or CEL is to get them a used $3-5k Nissan Leaf aka an enclosed golf cart for their next vehicle. No plug, no go. Yeah it's hot garbage but there's also really nothing to neglect besides charging so they will learn to maintain their things and if you have AAA you are set because it will always be within 40-60 miles from the house when it does break.
 
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