Hyundai Dealership Rant

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hominid7

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So this is less of a question and more of a rant, but i would appreciate any input as to what the average BITOG'er would do...

I bought a new 2017 Hyundai Elantra in late 2016. So far i've been very happy with the car, but less than happy with the dealership. The only service i've had done so far was 3 oil changes and 1 tire rotation. My issues are as follows:

1st Oil Change @ 5K miles: Free with new car purchase. Had the oil changed and I was in and out in a decent amount of time. No problems.

2nd Oil Change @ 10K miles: Had a coupon for oil change and tire rotation for 39.99 so i decided to go back to the dealer. The tech took a while and came out and told me that during the previous oil change the drain pan bolt was over tightened and the threads (on the bolt) were messed up and the bolt needed to be replaced (no charge). He told me he inspected the threads on the pan and everything looked good. He seemed very genuine and apologetic for the problem and I did appreciate his telling me about it. They documented it on the invoice.

3rd Oil Change @ 15K miles: I told the service advisor of the last oil change experience and told him i'd like for them to check the pan threads again and to be sure everything looked OK. He assured me they would take care of me. I was in and out in about 30 minutes and assured everything looked great.

The next day i noticed that a small amount of oil was on the driveway. I crawled underneath to reach up and feel of the drain plug and filter to see if either was leaking. Sure enough the pan drain plug was leaking and was only finger tight. I went back to the dealer and of course they were very apologetic, tightened everything, inspected everything, and again assured me everything was OK. In addition they gave me my next oil change for free. After i got home i triple checked everything myself and things looked OK with the exception of the oil being slightly over-filled (probably by 1/4 - 1/2 qt). Not enough to cause a problem, but still enough to annoy me.

I understand that mistakes happen. This just seems to be very sloppy work that I do not expect from, of all places, a dealership. This is my first Hyundai and first experience with this dealership. It's a family owned dealership and i really want to have a good relationship with them, especially since they are the only Hyundai dealership in the city where i live. The people there are all very nice, just not getting off to a good start with me. I'll probably go ahead and get my next couple of oil changes done there to give it enough time to allow any issues to arise, then go back to doing it myself.

I'm curious if anyone else has had either good or bad experiences similar to this at dealerships? I've been dealing with new car dealerships since i bought my first new car (VW) in 1988 and certainly never had any experiences like this. Maybe i've just been lucky. I just really wish good service wasn't so hard to find.

Rant over.... Thanks for listening!
 
It just doesn't happen at dealerships. Give them a break. It looks like they were very apologetic and fixed you right up...
 
This is why during the warranty period you should have all maintenance done at the dealership. Mistakes happen everywhere. If you used the dealership only, you can tell them "This dealership is the only place that has ever laid a wrench on this car since I bought the car at this dealership". That is a strong hand for you. Then there is no finger pointing by the dealership, some independent mechanic, or anyone else.
 
I would just let it go. If there were more problems in the future I would ask for a sit down with the manager. It sounds like they are not trying to hide things. See what happens in the future.
 
Nothing like an air gun on an oil drain plug. You don't say it, but if I had any evidence that the dealership stripped any of the threads on the oil pan, I'd want a new oil pan. If they refused, I'd go up the chain with the Hyundai district rep to insist on it.
 
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Originally Posted by hominid7
2nd Oil Change @ 10K miles: Had a coupon for oil change and tire rotation for 39.99 so i decided to go back to the dealer. The tech took a while and came out and told me that during the previous oil change the drain pan bolt was over tightened and the threads (on the bolt) were messed up and the bolt needed to be replaced (no charge). He told me he inspected the threads on the pan and everything looked good. He seemed very genuine and apologetic for the problem and I did appreciate his telling me about it. They documented it on the invoice.
If they messed up the drain plug threads on my new car with 10k miles I would lose my mind. I'd insist on a new pan and be doing the oil changes myself from then on. It's not that hard to tighten it with a normal combo wrench and not strip it.

Originally Posted by NormanBuntz
Nothing like an air gun on an oil drain plug. You don't say it, but if I had any evidence that the dealership stripped any of the threads on the oil pan, I'd want a new oil pan. If they refused, I'd go up the chain with the Hyundai district rep to insist on it.
Damaging the oil pan threads on the first OCI is something that should occur only in BITOGer's nightmares!

Originally Posted by hominid7
I'm curious if anyone else has had either good or bad experiences similar to this at dealerships? I've been dealing with new car dealerships since i bought my first new car (VW) in 1988 and certainly never had any experiences like this. Maybe i've just been lucky. I just really wish good service wasn't so hard to find.
That's what you get for abandoning VW!
 
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I fear dealership oil changes. Free doesn't help my anxiety.
So I do my own. It would upset me to no end even though crap happens.
 
Thank you for all your replies. I agree with the majority and will likely continue to take it back for at least the time being so as to put the responsibility on them for anything that happens. I guess using a torque wrench is not as common as i would have thought.
 
It happens. The problem arises with the tech that did the second oil change. He should have done the oil change and said nothing. Properly tightening the drain plug would have been nice too.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
That's what you get for abandoning VW!


hahaha..... My old '89 VW Jetta was a really good and reliable car. I learned a lot about cars by working on it during the 11 years and 225,000 miles i had it. Lots of good memories.
 
With my 2017 Elantra:

The bad:
1. Lady at dealership that put my temp tag on used a power tool she never used before. Stripped one of the bolts.
2. First week got a brake booster recall. Talked to Service advisor and he said every car on the lot would need to have it replaced before mine. When I bought my Elantra they had 204 of them in stock. I called Hyundai Customer service and they had no problem scheduling an appointment that week.
3. They overfilled first oil change by about 1/2 quart and removed too much air from my tires. Took 1 hours 15 minutes. I am about 1/2 hour from Dealership.

The good:
1. Elantra has been excellent last 13k. Great fuel economy. Nice to drive.
2. It takes 15 minutes for me to change oil with car parked. No ramps. Very easy. Since installing EZ Oil Drain Valve took a nap and still beat the dealership time wise.
3. It allows me use my oil stash (been at BITOG too long) and show my car TLC.

I gave the dealership one chance. When they showed I could not trust them I have done all oil changes since then. If I was in your shoes I would try to verify how much damage is done to the pan so it can be properly repaired if needed.

I don't want to burn bridges and will take my car to dealership for 15k tire rotation and buy my air filters there. I want to have a positive relationship in case warranty work is done. But they will have to earn my trust.
 
Similar experience at local Kia dealer. Drain plug was over-torqued to the point that I had to hammer the end of a large 17mm wrench to get it off. Aluminum washer was mashed into the threads of the drain plug and I had to chisel it off. Fortunately, threads in oil pan were undamaged and a new drain plug was installed at the next OC. Others (friends & neighbors) haven't been as fortunate and ended up having to replace the oil pan ($400 repair bill). This is why I've gone back to doing my own servicing.
 
The lube techs at the Chevy dealer I work at know nothing. Yes they are young and will learn but they are the ones doing the oil changes. One was just telling me he Learned how to test an alternator. By pulling the battery cables while the car is running.
 
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Depending on how bad the threads are on the pan I would insist on a new pan. There is a lot of oil changes going to be done between now and junking the vehicle and you don't want to have to replace the pan on your dime once the warranty is up which may be required if the threads were damaged enough.

This is also why I change my own oil. When I had my beater I had a similar experience at a quick-lube place and had to opt for the "Help" kit with the rubber plug and butter-fly contraption because I fought with the oil change place and they wouldn't cover the cost of a replacement pan.

I don't know what is so hard about people understanding... Finger tight and then 1/4 turn, that's all it needs. (This is assuming they won't look up the torque spec because they are lazy)

[Linked Image]
 
I don't let the dealer change my oil for reasons like this. But since you are already down this rabbit hole, i would continue. Also every time the oil drain bolt drips. take pics and then return it to the dealer to create a paper trail. You want a paper trail for if it strips out after the warranty is out and you need a new oil pan.

The hyundai al washers seem to be hard and this leads to overtightening. I changed mine to one of these.

[Linked Image]
 
...and yet, where do most buyers of new cars have them serviced?
There aren't too many folks outside of here who still do their own oil changes. Too hard and too dirty.
Do these cars suffer from having been overfilled with lowest bidder bulk oil, fitted with jobber grade oil filters and having had their drain plugs overtightened?
Apparently not, judging from the large numbers of aging cars of every brand running around every day.
Doing it yourself is always cheaper and faster and does allow you to exert quality control over the oil and filter used as well as the torque values exerted.
I'll do my own oil changes as long as I remain physically able to do so, which isn't saying much since they're not physically demanding.
Nothing to rant over since you got the same level of service that those driving 200K+ cars have gotten without knowing any better.
Ignorance is bliss.
 
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