Starter failed on 2013 Hyundai sonata

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So my 2 weeks of holidays start today and I have my 05 Silverado (that I work out of every day) booked in to get the left rear axle seal (well both of them but only one is leaking) taken care Wednesday this week at a local shop.

Yesterday the wife texts me that the car would not start a couple times and made a funny sound, but she got it going and made it home. When I got home I tried it and the starter spins but kicks out before the engine has a chance to start, maybe 2/3 times. From my research it's a $10 part from Hyundai (a plastic starter lever inside the starter) but our local Hyundai dealer (who actually has a good reputation mostly) says they will only replace the entire starter. $290 for the part and $165 for labor in Canadian dollars. Reasonable price given the labor to do it (buried under the intake). They can't do it until after the holidays.

The local independent I'm going to with the truck quoted roughly $400 (said part would be $220-250). They can do it Xmas Eve 2 days after my truck goes in. I think they were doing me a favor booking it in since I already had a vehicle going in. I'd rather pay slightly more for the OEM starter since I've had terrible luck with aftermarket starters, but we would prefer the car back sooner, plus I'm a new customer at the independent (my dad has gone there multiple times and no complaints plus they have a good reputation), bringing 2 vehicles may help build a good relationship with the shop as I plan to use them in the future.

I may try to get the starter lever at the rebuilders and see if the independent will do it. Thoughts on that?
 
So a dead starter has to be exhumed? They used to be hung on the side of the bellhousing with two bolts. Why do auto engineers do crap like that?

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So a dead starter has to be exhumed? They used to be hung on the side of the bellhousing with two bolts. Why do auto engineers do crap like that?

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Im sure they had reasons. They might not line up with what DIY might prefer, but its not done in a vacuum.

These days, don’t most starters go 200k, if not the life of the car? Its not like the old days were you expected to have to replace at some point.
 
I remember changing the starter in my fathers Dodge Dart slant 6. Thing was as big as the motor on my 60 gallon air compressor. And it pretty much stared you in the face when you open the hood. Today, starter motors look like an A/C blower motor, they are so small. They can be packaged to fit most anywhere which is often not the most convenient place when it's time to replace them.
 
350rocket, why don't you get the OEM starter from the dealer and let the independent install it? The independent guy should be able to get a discount from the dealer, so check which way is best (you vs. independent purchase). Sometimes dealer parts dept. will give a 10% discount if you ask.
 
So you don't DIY?
I was going to until my friend told me how much an experienced licensed tech (at the shop I used to work at) was swearing as he helped him remove the starter on a Santa Fe recently. As I said they put it in a dumb spot under the intake so it's a bit difficult. I probably won't have the right combination of universals and breaker bar to get the bolts undone.

I diy some stuff on my truck (like the valve cover recently, plus all the fluid changes, thermostat and maintenance) but I decided against removing the axles in our small garage. My repairs are also a tax deductible expense as I get paid to use it for work and certain jobs I can foresee not having tools I need once halfway through it.
 
Im sure they had reasons. They might not line up with what DIY might prefer, but its not done in a vacuum.

These days, don’t most starters go 200k, if not the life of the car? Its not like the old days were you expected to have to replace at some point.
My 05 Silverado has 215k miles of construction/survey work and somehow the starter keeps hanging in there. If it even sounded slightly rough I'd replace it but no signs of trouble yet. The universe obviously decided to give me and my 2 spare starters the middle finger and killed off the Hyundai starter with 75k miles lol.

Apparently there was a build change in 2013 and if it was the newer starter it probably wouldn't have failed. The plastic starter lever is the failure point so the rest of the starter is likely fine.
 
350rocket, why don't you get the OEM starter from the dealer and let the independent install it? The independent guy should be able to get a discount from the dealer, so check which way is best (you vs. independent purchase). Sometimes dealer parts dept. will give a 10% discount if you ask.
I was going to buy the $10 lever from the rebuilders and see if the independent will do it...I could also ask them if they can get a dealer part..... would think the price difference would put them at the same price as the dealer roughly. I just don't want to supply a part (unless it's going to save me a potential $300 if they'll repair the starter as per Hyundai service bulletin). They can't warranty labor at all if I bring them a starter and it fails.
 
I remember changing the starter in my fathers Dodge Dart slant 6. Thing was as big as the motor on my 60 gallon air compressor. And it pretty much stared you in the face when you open the hood. Today, starter motors look like an A/C blower motor, they are so small. They can be packaged to fit most anywhere which is often not the most convenient place when it's time to replace them.
Yeah if she was driving a dart with a slant six I would definitely diy it lol.

I'll do my trucks starter myself when the time comes. On ramps I can sit on my arse underneath it probably while working on it.
 
Make sure it is the starter and not a seized engine. The Theta 2.4’s from that era can seize without warning. Before you do all of that work, turn the crank and make sure the engine isn’t seized.
 
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Make sure it is the starter and not a seized engine. The Theta 2.4’s from that era can seize without warning. Before you do all of that work, turn the crank and make sure the engine isn’t seized.
She drove it more than an hour today, it took a couple tries each time but did start. It's just the starter kicking out and not engaging. Makes a somewhat noisy spinning inside when it kicks out. No rod knock or anything so I don't think the engine is seizing up. Runs perfect if you can get the starter to engage for more than a second
 
hyundai only supplies complete starters, no doubt. They could probably source the parts to repair elsewhere but you have to wonder how much cheaper it would be, and how that hurts their bottom line... the mech can only do 1 job at a time.
 
hyundai only supplies complete starters, no doubt. They could probably source the parts to repair elsewhere but you have to wonder how much cheaper it would be, and how that hurts their bottom line... the mech can only do 1 job at a time.
They did used to sell the lever. I found out about this starter lever issue on Hyundai forums. A dealer tech was a frequent poster there and had pictures of their stock of starter levers. Either they stopped selling it or the local dealer techs just don't want to split the starter open so they told me they couldn't get it.
 
They did used to sell the lever. I found out about this starter lever issue on Hyundai forums. A dealer tech was a frequent poster there and had pictures of their stock of starter levers. Either they stopped selling it or the local dealer techs just don't want to split the starter open so they told me they couldn't get it.

If the levers fail under warranty, hyundai will make them available, so only the lever gets changed under warranty. We had to tear down seized engines and asses damage on each part as we would only get those replaced and rebuild an entire engine. Crazy as pretty much every part bar some covers and oil pan needs replacing and whole engines were in stock.
 
If the levers fail under warranty, hyundai will make them available, so only the lever gets changed under warranty. We had to tear down seized engines and asses damage on each part as we would only get those replaced and rebuild an entire engine. Crazy as pretty much every part bar some covers and oil pan needs replacing and whole engines were in stock.
Yeah they likely discontinued the part after it wasn't under warranty. Probably available at the local rebuilders though since it is the common failure point.
 
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