2013 Hyundai Veloster

I PURCHASED MY 2013 HYUNDAI VELOSTER IN FALL OF 2015 AS SECOND OWNER FROM WORLD HYUNDAI IN MATTESON, IL. IT HAD ROUGHLY 32,000 ON THE ODOMETER. AFTER TWO DECENT YEARS OF RELATIVELY TROUBLE FREE OWNERSHIP THE "ELECTRICAL GREMLINS" ATTACKED THE TRUNK RELEASE, THEN THE REVERSE CAMERA, THEN THE CLIMATE CONTROL KNOB. I WAS RELUCTANT TO TAKE THE CAR IN AGAIN BECAUSE I HAD SPENT MORE MONEY ON DIAGNOSTIC CHARGES THAN I HAD ON ITEMS THAT WERE COVERED. I LIKED THE VEHICLE AND METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED IT TO SPEC AS WELL. ON ONE OF THE COLDEST DAYS IN WINTER OF 2019, I WENT OUT TO START UP MY VELOSTER AND WAS TERRIFIED BY A LOUD METAL TICKING FOLLOWED BY RATTLING IN THE MOTOR. I IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN THE CAR. I WAITED A BIT THEN TRIED TO START IT AGAIN. IT WAS VERY BAD. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE CLOSEST HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP IN WHICH I DESCRIBED ALL THE ISSUES WITH THE CAR. AT THIS POINT THE VEHICLE HAS ROUGHLY 92000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AND OF COURSE THE TELL ME THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO BUT, REPLACE THE MOTOR FOR AROUND $4500 , SELL ME A NEW ONE, OR BUY IT IN TRADE. ONCE AGAIN I PAID OVER $430 IN DIAGNOSTIC FEES WITH NO COVERAGE OR HELP. LOOKED AROUND ON LINE AND FOUND THAT THESE VEHICLES HAS HAD ALL OF THE ABOVE ISSUES AND NO CLEAR SOLUTIONS TO ANY. I'VE ALSO NOTICED THAT ALL OF THE ISSUES I HAVE HAD WITH MY VEHICLE MANY OTHERS HAVE POSTED ON YOUTUBE, GOOGLE ETC., BUT NOT MANY HAVE FILED OFFICIAL COMPLAINT. COME ON PEOPLE! GET ON BOARD!

STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT WAITING FOR GREEN. WHEN GREEN WAS UP, I STARTED TO TRAVEL DOWN THE NEXT ROAD AND THERE WAS A HUGE BANGING NOISE AND MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON AND THE CAR ENGINE STOPPED. THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM THE HOOD AND PIECES OF METAL BANGING FROM UNDERNEATH THE CAR AND OIL SPEWING OUT FROM BEHIND ME WHILE I ROLLED TO A STOP. AFTER STOPPING, I POWERED OFF THE CAR DUE TO SMOKE STARTING IN THE HOOD, OPENED UP THE HOOD AND PUT OUT THE SMALL FIRE THAT STARTED. UPON FURTHER EXAMINATION, THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE SIDE OF MY ENGINE BLOCK. THE DRIVER BEHIND ME PULLED OVER TO HELP ME OUT AND WE RECOVERED PIECES OF METAL BEING ENGINE BLOCK, BROKEN IN HALF PISTON ROD, PISTON ROD PIPE THAT CONNECTS TO THE ENGINE ROD, AND A FEW OTHER PIECES OF METAL. I WAS LESS THAN 100 FEET AWAY FROM THE STOP WHEN I STARTED TRAVELING. AND LESS THAN 2 MILES FROM WHERE I LEFT WHEN I STARTED DRIVING. IT WAS A RESIDENTIAL STREET WITH A TOP MPH OF 40 MPH. I WASN'T EVEN GOING ABOVE 15 MPH WHEN IT BLEW. I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO THE INTERSECTING STREET WHEN IT BROKE LOOSE.

AFTER COMING FROM WORK I NOTICED THAT MY CAR WAS SHAKING AND WHEN I ACCELERATED IT FELT LIKE IT WAS STRUGGLING. NEXT MORNING I TURN ON THE CAR AND IT DOES THE SAME. WHILE THE CAR REMAINS ON I OPEN THE HOOD AND I REMOVE THE ENGINE COVER. I NOTICE THAT THE WIRING IN THE ENGINE HARNESS IS PARTIALLY DESTROYED AND SPARKING. SOME PARTS START TO IGNITE AND I QUICKLY TURN OFF THE CAR AND PUT OUT THE SMALL LITTLE FLAMES. IF I HADN'T NOTICED I WOULD OF CAUGHT ON FIRE. MY 2013 HYUNDAI VELOSTER ONLY HAS 30,000 MILES. THIS IS CRAZY. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT MY PICTURES LOOK LIKE THE HYUNDAI SANTA FE'S ENGINE CAR FIRES!

ON DECEMBER 18 2018, I BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE ALLEN TURNER HYUNDAI IN PENSACOLA, FL. FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ISSUE. IT IS NOW JANUARY 26 2019. DURING THE TIME THEY HAVE HAD THE CAR, THEY FIRST DIAGNOSED A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. AFTER REPAIRING THAT, THEY DETERMINED THAT THE ENGINE HAD A CRACKED BLOCK. THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 58,00 MILES ON IT. DOING RESEARCH, I'VE DISCOVERED THAT THIS ENGINE IS PRONE TO CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURES THAT HYUNDAI REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE. I EVEN CALLED AND E MAILED HYUNDAI USA FOR HELP, TO NO AVAIL. THE MANUFACTURER WARRANTEE TIMED OUT, BUT I PURCHASED AN AFTER MARKET WARRANTEE FROM ROUT 66 IN ARKANSAS.. UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO THE REPORTING OF ISSUE TO THE WARRANTEE COMPANY BY ALLEN TURNER HYUNDAI, THE WARRANTEE COMPANY WILL NOT COVER THE REPAIRS.

WITH NO WARNING, AT LOW SPEED, HAVING TRAVELLED ONLY A QUARTER OF A MILE FROMTHE PREVIOUS LOCATION WHERE IT HAD BEEN PARKED FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, THE ENGINE LOCKED UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY, THROWING A ROD AND MULTIPLE CHUNKS OF METAL, AND POURING OIL ONTO THE HIGHWAY. THIS VEHICLE HAD BEEN WELL-MAINTAINED, AND HAD LOW MILEAGE FOR ITS AGE. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED AFTER THE MOTOR REALLY HAD A CHANCE TO HEAT UP, THERE COULD HAVE ALSO BEEN A FIRE. DEBRIS FROM ALL OF THE PARTS FLYING OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE CAR COULD HAVE ALSO CAUSED INJURY.

AS I WAS DRIVING MY 2013 HYUNDAI VELOSTER TURBO HOME FROM WORK ON 10/16/18, I PULLED ONTO THE FREEWAY ON RAMP AND BEGAN ACCELERATING. I FELT A LARGE SHUDDER/VIBRATION, HEARD A LOUD METALLIC BANG, AND SAW SMOKE BEGIN POURING OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER, SHUT THE ENGINE OFF, GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE, AND POPPED THE HOOD. SMOKE BEGAN POURING OUT FROM THE ENGINE BAY. I OBSERVED THAT A MIXTURE OF OIL AND ANTIFREEZE HAD SPRAYED ON MANY OF THE ENGINE COMPONENTS AND WAS STREAMING OFF THE ENGINE ONTO THE PAVEMENT. I LOOKED UNDER AND BEHIND THE CAR AND FOUND INTERNAL ENGINE COMPONENTS SUCH AS PIECES OF THE ENGINE BLOCK, PISTON, WRIST PIN, ETC. I ALSO WAS ABLE TO LOOK UNDER THE CAR AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A LARGE HOLE IN THE ENGINE BLOCK WHERE AN INTERNAL COMPONENTS HAD SHOT OUT OF THE ENGINE AND THE OIL FILTER HOUSING WAS SNAPPED OFF OF THE ENGINE BLOCK AND DANGLING BY THE OIL LINE. AFTER RESEARCHING THE ISSUE ON THE INTERNET FORUMS, I FOUND THAT CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE WAS VERY COMMON FOR 2013 HYUNDAI VELOSTER TURBO CARS. THE FAILURES OFTEN INVOLVED INTERNAL ENGINE PIECES BLOWING OUT OF THE ENGINE, DESTROYING THE ENGINE, AND SPRAYING THE ENGINE AND GROUND DOWN WITH OIL AND ANTIFREEZE. I FOUND REPORTS OF APPROXIMATELY 20+ OF THESE ENGINE FAILURES ON THIS PARTICULAR FORUM (VELOSTERTURBO.ORG), BUT TO MY KNOWLEDGE THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL BY HYUNDAI FOR THIS ISSUE. I RECOMMEND THAT THE NHTSA OPEN UP AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS ISSUE AS THIS COMMON CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE CAN HAVE SEVERE SAFETY CONSEQUENCES DUE TO INTERNAL ENGINE COMPONENTS BEING EJECTED FROM THE ENGINE AT HIGH SPEED, ENGINES CATASTROPHICALLY FAILING AND CAUSING THE ENGINE TO LOSE POWER IMMEDIATELY WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, AND THE RISK OF FIRE DUE TO HOT COMPONENTS BEING DOUSED IN OIL.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 HYUNDAI VELOSTER. WHILE AT A STOP AND DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, AN EXPLOSION WAS HEARD COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT NOTICED BLACK SMOKE UNDERNEATH THE HOOD AND FROM BOTH FRONT TIRES. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE BURST INTO FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER OR INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND OPENED CASE NUMBER: 11082662. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000.

THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO CURTIS AUTOMOTIVE IN FALMOUTH, MA FOR NEW TIRES. WHILE THE CAR WAS BEING TEST-DRIVEN ON THE HIGHWAY THE TEST-DRIVER INDICATED THE ENGINE MADE A LOUD BANGING NOISE, HE PULLED OVER, THE ENGINE SEIZED, OIL WAS EVERYWHERE. THE CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO CURTIS AUTOMOTIVE AND THEN TO HYUNDAI WHERE THE CAR ENGINE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SERVICED. HYUNDAI INDICATED 'THE ENGINE BLOCK CRACKED FROM PISTON #4' BUT NO FURTHER DIAGNOSIS AS TO WHAT CAUSED THIS OR WHY THIS HAPPENED. RESEARCH INDICATES THERE IS NO PREDICTABILITY FOR IT HAPPENING, BUT THE COMMON FACTORS ARE: IT PERTAINS TO TURBO CHARGED ENGINES, HAPPENS AT LOWER SPEEDS COUPLED WITH HIGHER LOADS AND HIGH CYLINDER PRESSURES REFERRED TO AS LOW SPEED PRE-IGNITION (LSPI) WHERE COMBUSTION OCCURS PREMATURELY IMPACTING MECHANICAL INTERNALS OF GASOLINE ENGINES, EVIDENCED WITH SEVERE KNOCKING BECAUSE THE PISTONS AND CONNECTING RODS ARE RISING WHEN THIS DOWNWARD COMBUSTION (BANG) OCCURS. WORST CASE SCENARIOS INDICATE THIS LEADS TO BROKEN PISTON RINGS, DAMAGED RING LANDS AND/OR BENT CONNECTING RODS. FURTHER, OPERATING AT RELATIVELY LOW RPM AND CONSTANT LOAD SUCH AS HIGHWAY CRUISING THE ENGINE CAN SLIP INTO THE LSPI ZONE WHERE POTENTIAL ENGINE DAMAGE MAY OCCUR. 2 REFERENCES: HTTP://WWW.VELOSTERTURBO.ORG/FORUM/VELOSTER-TURBO-DISCUSSIONS/9852-WHY-MOTORS-KEEP-BLOWING-UP.HTML HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=NUDB_TIIJHU