2022 Hyundai Tucson Pricing and Specs

The extra purchase price of a diesel engine over a petrol one is only the start of the cost comparison. Generally speaking, diesels will cost a bit more to service (it depends on the make and model) and that’s if you don’t have problems with the diesel particulate filter (DPF) or soot build-up in the engine’s intake system that needs to be manually cleaned out.

You also need to consider your driving habits to decide whether a diesel is right for you. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t go for a decent drive at highway speeds for about an hour or so at least once or twice a month, then a diesel is not for you. Using a diesel engine exclusively for short trips at suburban speed can often see the DPF requiring more attention than it should, and that equals cost.

Also, modern petrol engines have really closed the fuel-economy gap that the diesel once enjoyed. The fuel consumption difference between the diesel Tucson and the petrol version is likely to be about a litre per 100km (based on the official combined figure for each). That means that even at $2 per litre (and based on the $6000 difference in price you’ve quoted) you’d need to drive 300,000km before the diesel began to pay for itself in terms of fuel saved. I’m not sure there’s a full $6000 separating the two versions of the Tucson, but even so, you get the idea.

If a car overheats (for whatever reason, but a blown head gasket is a prime cause of this) the damage to the engine internally can be catastrophic. Pretty much any component can be compromised after an overheating event, so knowing where to start looking is the big question here.

Changing the head gasket requires removal of the cylinder head, and reassembly involves making sure that the camshaft timing is reinstated correctly. If there’s been a mistake made in this regard, the engine will almost certainly not run. 

Certainly, injector failure is not unknown in modern turbo-diesels, but the fuelling system on a modern, common-rail turbo-diesel is a complex, fine-tolerance arrangement, so you also need to check the filters, fuel pump(s) and operating pressures. Even then, you might find that a simple, cheap-to-replace sensor is the single component preventing the vehicle from running.

I’d start with an electronic interrogation of the car’s computer. The problem there is that if the car hasn’t actually run with the issue that’s preventing it from starting, the computer may not have had the opportunity to log the problem in the first place. That said, a simple fault code might be all you need to know to move forward, so a scan is in order. Beyond that, it’s back to first principles, checking the timing and clearances of all the mechanical bits and pieces, including having the injectors bench-tested.

It could be either the car or the remote-control unit at fault, and it’s impossible to tell without actually examining the vehicle. A remote-control unit with a battery that is low on voltage can cause all sorts of mysterious problems with a car’s central locking. But it’s also possible that the vehicle’s body-computer (which controls all the functions involved in unlocking and starting the car) could be malfunctioning also. If that’s the case, it will be a much more involved and expensive job than changing the battery in a remote-control unit.