check engine light

I just had an oil change, and the tires rotated on my 01 Elantra GLS (35k). The check engine light came on not long after. I'm not sure if these events are connected, or if I should even be concerned about the light. I'm planning a cross-country trip in July. Any thoughts?

Thank you.

I would be concerned if my engine check light came on and I was planning a cross country trip. Its better to be safe than sorry. I would have it checked just in case to be on the safe side before you go on your trip.
TS out

checked by who? I'm concerned about getting involved in one of these downward spirals which some people talk about in their posts, where they keep going back and getting the same problem 'fixed' over and over again. Should I go to a hyundai dealer or just any mechanic? they all seem like crooks to me.

checked by who? I'm concerned about getting involved in one of these downward spirals which some people talk about in their posts, where they keep going back and getting the same problem 'fixed' over and over again. Should I go to a hyundai dealer or just any mechanic? they all seem like crooks to me.


If you only have 35k miles on your car, then it is covered under warranty. Take it to the dealer and let them take a look at it. If they have to fix it a couple times, who cares, it's free. 75% of the time, normal mechanics don't know anything about Hyundai's, and they can't diagnose hardly anything correctly. I see cars come in here all the time that are misdiagnosed by customer's "mechanics"

If you have a mechanic that you are loyal too, you can take it to them, if not then take it in to any Hyundai service center. Us Hyundai owners have one of the best warranties on the planet and you should take advantage of it especially in this instance. You may also try to search in the Hyundai Webtech (http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/default.asp) thats on the internet and see if there are any problems with the 2001 Elantra.

TS out

well, one problem is that I got the car used, and there's no longer a warranty.

That may not be entirely correct. What year is the car and whats the odometer read?

It's a 2001, odometer between 34,000 and 35,000. I'm not the second owner, though. The car went through an auction before arriving at the dealer who sold it to me (I did CarFAx, or whatever the service is called that shows you the ownership records for a VIN).

well, one problem is that I got the car used, and there's no longer a warranty.


Even if you bought it used, you still have a factory warranty. 2nd and ongoing owners have a 5yr 60k bumper to bumper still, it's only the powertrain warranty drops from 10yr 100k for original owner down to 5yr 60k on the powertrain. Unless you bought the car with a rebuilt title, it is under warranty. Even if it is a very early production 01 model, you still have a year left on the warranty.

Well, I called Rick Case Hyundai in Cleveland and they told me that I have no warranty, because I'm not the second owner. 3rd owner, they said, gets no warranty. So I'm not sure which is right.

I'm afraid of going in--whenever I go to a mechanic it's like giving them a blank check. I don't know what I should do. The Rick Case guy also told me that if the 30k check wasn't done, then the warranty would have been void anyway. I don't know, because I got the car with 32k on it. :uhoh:

The last post before yours is a Hyundai parts manager, I would believe him. If you can't get any warranty recognition after telling Rick that he's full of $hit then call the Consumer Affairs Department and let them comment/straighten him out. :nono:

Q: How do I contact you?

A: You may call us toll free at 800-633-5151 (5:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday - Friday) or write to us at:

Hyundai Motor America
Consumer Affairs Department
P.O. Box 20850
Fountain Valley, CA 92728-0850

-------------------------------------------------

John, do you really need the 30K service done to maintain warranty? What about those of us who do our own maintenance? If the 30K service is required then what else is? Do these services need to be performed by the dealership or any mechanic, or anyone with reciepts to show they bought the lubricants?

Thanks,
Jason

Damn, what is it with Cleveland Dealerships. They see an innocent person and they go for the vein. I have a friend that has so much trouble with 3 local Hyundai dealerships in Cleveland. The major ones he had problems with were Dennis Hyundai and Hatfield Hyundai Automall. It got so bad that he vowed never to buy another Hyundai again (and he was a advocate for Hyundai) I've heard of Rick Case before but I do not remember if it was in a good way or a bad way. As per their responses to you it seems it will be in a bad way.

As for the warranty, I would listen to what lowsonoma1999 says, he is correct. Within the Hyundai Warranty Policy and Procedures manual states in Section 4.0.3 titled "General Warranty Statement" the following is stated...

Warranty period.
The warranty period begins on the date of retail or date of first use, whichever comes first. The date of first use is recorded per the Dealer's input of the Retail Deilvery Registration information via the DCS. The time and mileage limits are detailed in each limited warranty statement. In the event that the vehicle is sold by the original owner while still within the warranty period, the unexpired portion of the Hyundai warranty will be transferred to each subsequent owner.
Hyundai Motor America Warranty coverage (excluding 1999-2004 model Powertrain Limited Warranty) applies to the vehicle, regardless of a change in the ownership and is transferable to subsequent owners.

now as mentioned above that applies to the General Warranty, for the PowerTrain warranty it states the following in Section 4.2.3..

Original Owner (1999-2003 Model year Vehicle) 10yr/100,000
Original Owner is defined as the first retail purchaser of the vehicle and their immediate family members, who took delivery of the vehicle on its date of first use. This warranty is not transferable to any subsequent owner. Subsequent owners have powertrain components covered under the 60 month/60,000 mile Hyundai New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

If they still give you the run around tell them to look in their Warranty Policy and Procedures manual under the sections I noted above and maybe they will see a bit more clearly.

It is my understanding, and I am sure that lowsonoma1999 would concur or (correct me if I am wrong) that if the owner wants to do their own maintenance they can so long as they keep records to prove that the necessary items as mentioned in the scheduled maintainence in the owners manual. Every dealership or shall I say service department has their own schedule maintainence schedule and prices to match. Some add stuff not really needed as per the manual. Thus leading owners to do it on their own at times. So long as they keep records of what was done and of the items, replaced or service, Hyundai cannot say that you voided your warranty because it was not performed by them.

TS out

Ok, I'm going to try to answer a few questions in this post.

First, Hyundai only keeps the name of the original owner. If you are not the original owner, then you have a 5yr 60k mile bumper to bumper and powertrain. They do not keep tract of how many owners the car changes hand. The dealership can go into Hyundai's computers and submit info of a current owner, which will automatically kick it to a 2nd owner warranty, but the submission of this information is not mandatory by the dealer. If a dealer was to submit a warranty claim for someone with 75k miles on their car, and their name doesn't match the one of the original owner, then Hyundai will kick the claim back and charge the dealer for it. The full 10yr 100k mile warranty is transferrable between family members. I am not sure exactly how it goes and who it can be transferred to, but in order to do this the new owner (family member) has to fill out a form to prove how they are related to the orignial owner. A lot of rambling to get to the answer of yes, you are under warranty. If you call me and give me your vin number, I will run the vin, print out warranty info and history on the car. I can find out everything that has repaired under warranty and everything. It will tell me if the car is still under warranty too.

2nd, as far as a 30k mile service is concerned. Yes you need to do a 30k mile service in order to maintain your warranty. Whether you do it yourself or not, as long as you have receipts for the parts or the service done, you will still be covered. The most crucial part of this is a transmission service. Hyundai transmission are very sensative, and I have seen cars at 35k miles start to slip until the fluid is changed and they go back to normal again. At our dealership, a 30k consists of oil change, oil conditioner additive, rotate and balance tires, 3pc fuel induction cleaning, coolant flush, tranmission flush, air filter, and the inspection. This runs $469.95. It is recommended that this be done by a Hyundai dealer, but it is not necessary. Whatever you do though, make sure you buy the Hyundai automatic transmission fluid, Dextron 3, ATF+3 and +4, and Type F transmission fluids will all void the warranty on your transmission, and your transmission will not last long after those are put in.

I think that just about answers anything else. If you have any questions, feel free to call me. THe phone numbers are in the sig. We are having problems right now with the toll free, and I'm not sure when it'll be working again, but you can call my direct line.

Thank you to John Nance, who pulled my VIN in the Hyundai database and let me know the history of my car.

I also called the Hyundai number provided above Jason, and they pulled up the car by the VIN. As John Nance had said, my car IS under warranty, until June 2006 or until I hit 60K (another 25K from now). The car is also covered by Hyundai's roadside assistance program, which gives me a free tow to the nearest Hyundai dealer (not just any local mechanic, like AAA).

Rick Case was wrong in telling me there is no coverage for the 3rd owner. As Hyundai told me, it doesn't matter if there were 100 owners, as long as the regular maintenance was done. Whether that's an honest mistake on Rick Case's part, or flat-out deception, I don't know. But I have my theories...

Come to think of it, the dealership where I bought the vehicle--Jack Matia in Elyria, OH (not a Hyundai dealer)--tried to sell me their own warranty package. I didn't buy it, thank God, but their reasoning had been that I was no longer covered by Hyundai's warranty!

Hyundai also told me that the details of the warranty are posted on HyundaiUSA.com.

I hope other owners of used Hyundais will benefit from this post. Thanks for everyone's replies!

PS--sort of embarassing, but about my original problem, the check engine light: It seems my gas cap was not tightened enough (Hyundai recommends 6 clicks). Hyundai recommended I try tightening it more, and a day after I did, the light went off. I had figured those clicks meant 'enough--no more tightening needed'.

Congrats, I love it when you can stick it to the jerkies in the world that insist on playing games.

As far as the gas cap thing, don't worry about it, I have had to have my trouble codes reset more than once on my Windstar, which requires a manual reset. On my Elantra I spin the cap around at least 3/4 turn.

Glad things worked out for ya,
Jason

Great outcome and glad everything worked out. :)