4th Sep 2020, 06:25

A last update from original poster, as the car will soon be sold. I wanted to update on the last two issues presented in the two previous comments.

The parking brake jamming was solved by removing the electrical connector to the small motor for the park brake, cleaning the connector and making sure it's properly attached.

As for the blind angle sensor, I removed the corresponding tail light - the outer part - which happens to give some tight access to the sensor, from above. I slid my hand (I have thin hands) and just pushed with care the sensor so as to make sure it sits tight into its bracket. I did the same with its connector, made sure it's secured. Once this was done, we brought the car to Hyundai and insisted they recalibrate the sensor - which they finally agreed to do. Since then the sensor has worked as it should. So possibly sometimes these sensors may slightly move inside their plastic bracket, causing them to become misaligned to the car system - the radar sensors must be perfectly aligned with each other or the system software detects an error. Even a sensor move by 1mm can cause such a problem. Be careful when gently pushing on the sensor, so you don't misalign it even more.

Other than that, no other issues with the car. The gas mileage improved a little but still disappointing at only 17mpg (mostly city).

The engine power also has improved, probably what is called the engine started to 'break-in'. I find the acceleration quite brisk when entering the highway; noisy but pulls quite nicely when it's downshifting.

7th Sep 2020, 14:18

Be aware that all Hyundai engines from 2011-2019 in all Hyundai cars, both turbo and non turbo, are subject to a recall. Several engines had been destroyed by a mechanical defect from the factory. Hyundai will install a computer program that will detect a low oil pressure before the engine blows, and throw a Check Engine light and have the engine power reduced. If this happens, you must head on directly to the dealership without driving furthermore, to have them investigate for engine damage. In Canada, Hyundai extended the engine block warranty to 200,000km and 10 years, even on cars bought second hand. Have a check with your VIN on this site https://hyundaiengineinfo.com/

15th Nov 2023, 09:39

Original reviewer.

The car has now near 37,000 miles. Not much happened except I located the reason for poor gas mileage. The spark no.1 was fouled with oil leaking from the cover gasket above the spark plug (I think Koreans eat while at work, grease hands SMH). You don't see this gasket, but you see the split line into the metal right near the top of the long hole for spark plug access. Oil would then leak past plug threads causing the plug not to make good spark - did not get any vibration or apparent misfire, no engine code or CEL. Because the engine cover is difficult to remove on these GDI engines - you have the high pressure fuel pump above plus the lines for this pump are single use only and need replaced (important or it's guarantee gas will leak). So instead of removing the cover to replace the gasket, I managed to clean the oil inside the splug hole - you can tell the split line where the cover gasket sits, near the top of the hole. Cleaned well with alcohol, then managed to seal around the split line with Gray RTV - so I'm simply working inside the hole for the spark plug after removing the ignition coil - no need to remove the spark plug. Let the RTV dry, put back coil, did run the engine, no more leaks.

Another quicker but temporary 'fix' is to put a piece of paper tower around the base of the splug to absorb the oil (careful not to cover the top of the splug). The results are peppier acceleration and especially mpg back to normal. Of course, mpg depends a lot on the speed and also on the number of traffic lights/stops. In my area there are 600fts (not fun) so mpg takes a hit. With that many stop signs, in warm weather with the engine fully warmed up, I am happy to get 18 US mpg. On the road I usually cruise like a granny at 50 mph and get around 40 mpg summer time. I use 0W-30 oil BTW. I am using ECO mode, but be careful as this mode can damage these engines.

I will soon upload a video on Yt where I explain the two issues with these GDI engines made from 2011 to 2019 (these issues were fixed on newer 2020+ models).

First issue is the engine stays too much time near the 1000 rpm mark. This puts a lot of stress on the connecting rod bearings - the reason for failures on these engine. Low rpm means more stress and also less oil pressure, so conrod bearings start wearing off. When you see the rpm near 1000, down shift a gear manually and drive above 1500 rpm.

The second reason for failure is these GDI inject too much gasoline at cold starts (summer/winter) until the engine warms up, for about 5 minutes. This means some gasoline leaks past the compression rings and into the engine oil. The engine oil gets very thin on these engine, even just 1000 miles after an oil change. Canadians must change the oil every 3700 miles and 6 months or Hyundai will not replace the engine for free (be sure to also keep all receipts). I suggest not keeping the oil for too long on these cars, and if possible use 0W-30 synthetic in cold areas, and 5W-30 synthetic in hot areas - do not use 'blend' oil, it's just barely better than non synthetic. Be aware that switching from non synthetic to synthetic on old engines will cause sudden oil consumption which should stabilize after about 10,000 miles.