Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

I'll try and keep this short...my 2011 car that I've had a year was overheating 2 weeks ago, so I took it to the dealership. $1500 later it was OK. Then yesterday it overheated again and the head gasket has blown leaving me with a huge repair bill on a car I still owe $9000+ on.
Is there anyone out there that helps out with this kind of thing? I wouldn't know if the original work wasn't done right and has caused the further problems. I don't know how I'll afford the repairs, and I don't know how it'd work with trading it in with me owing so much.

Any suggestions?

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Your problem is why I never use a dealer for mechanical work. I prefer to use a private garage that I trust than a dealership. Whatever work they did should be under some type of warranty. Have you called them?

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

It's a 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid with 116k miles on it. Not sure about cylinders.
The $1500 was for a replacement coolant hose to the heater and a new active flap.

Usually I take my car to Tires Plus, where my friend is the manager, and thats where the car is now, but they can't do anything with Hybrid batteries. When it all started last time, I took it to TiresPlus and their machine said it was hybrid related so they couldn't do anything with it.

I did call the dealership, and they said they did all the work right and that this must be unrelated. Of course they'd say that!


Is there some kind of Ombudsman for this kind of thing?

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

I think I found the problem!

Seriously, contact the dealer and see if they're willing to help. That would be my frst move. Handling overheating, as a dealer, I would have thought they would have checked the head gasket a matter of course.

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

The check engine light came on, when I took it to my mechanics they said it was hybrid related so they couldn't deal with, so I had to go to the proper dealer.

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

I'd try and get some information to see if they did any sort of investigating on the head (pressure check etc etc) as Guindalf said, for overheating they should be doing some sort of investigation on the head/head gasket.

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Any car reaching a dealer that has overheated should be checked for damage, and that includes looking for signs of fluid contamination amd pressure checks. If they didn't do those and then it overheats again I'd say you're in a good position to come back to the dealer.
However... I wouldn't trust ANYTHING a main dealer says. I have seen numerous misdiagnosis done over here that were pure money grabs. Find a decent independent mechanic shop instead. There are plenty of good mechanics here. I found mine on Yelp and my bullshit radar has never been set off by him (and I used to do a lot of spannering in the past).

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Yep - second the advice to go to an independant mechanic. I took my Prius hybrid ONCE to the dealership where they tried to rip me off. I went online to the Prius owners forum and was put straight there. So, you could search for a Sonata hybrid forum? I also asked on my neighborhood group for a recommendation and about 6 all recommended the same place. 2 years later and no bill over $250 I am happy...

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

'Active flap'? Does it really say that on your invoice or is that how the desk monkey described a thermostat?
Can you be more specific about the items charged? The fact that it happened so soon after being tinkered with would suggest that the dealership did not correctly follow the coolant refill proceedure when they worked on it. Presumably you have no idea what the coolant level was like prior to blowing the head gasket? Just how many miles/journeys between 'fixing' and failing did you put on it?
Your State/dealership may stipulate a minimum number of miles for related failures following shop work. (Check invoice first for the dealers 'slopey shoulders clauses').

Have you googled the ombudsman situation for your State? Someone who's been screwed in Florida is like to have different experience than someone in California.

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

If you have the Hyundai hybrid its likely only the dealer can fix it. I've had a shit ton of problems with a Hyundai that's still under warranty trying to get things fixed.

Good luck with it.

I'd lose the car and get something else easier to fix.

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

Lots of great info here, thank you.

Sadly ditching the car isn't an option at this point as I owe too much on it.


I took the car to my independent mechanic, but as the initial check engine light said it was Hybrid related, they couldn't do much of it. This mechanic is the one who said it doesn't seem like they did adequate checks after the work was done to see if the problem was solved. That's been backed up by you on here.
The car did 500miles between issues, which is why they are claiming it's nothing to do with the initial problem. My argument is that though they supposedly fixed 2 of the symptoms, they didn't get to the bottom of the real problem which has now caused the further damage.

There's also a dispute about whether they even ran the car. They say the took it on a 20mile ride, but there wasn't much gas in it when I dropped it off the first time, and the gas light came on on my way home, so they can't have gone far. The paperwork they gave me says 116411miles in 116411 miles out.

Re: Car problems - is there any help out there?
 

It might be time to talk to an attorney? A decent one will give you 1/2hr of their time just to listen to your story and look at any evidence (papers etc) you may have. If they think you have a claim they will offer to assist. If they think you don't have much chance they will walk away.