Hyundai I30 Problems

The first thing to check here is what’s called the clock spring. This is an electrical connector inside the steering wheel that allows the wheel to be turned to full lock and back while still allowing for electrical contact between the airbag and the rest of the car.

If this spring fails, the connection between the airbag and the systems that would trigger it in a crash are lost. Which means that in a big enough collision, the airbag would not fire and protect the driver.

Clock spring replacement is relatively simple but it’s still a job best left to the pros, as any time you’re messing with an airbag, you’re playing with a fairly violent explosive component. Get it wrong and accidentally fire the airbag, and you could be seriously injured.

Various systems randomly turning themselves on or staying powered up when the car is otherwise turned off often point to a fault with the body computer which controls literally hundreds of functions. Obviously, the power steering should shut down with the rest of the car so, as the master control unit, the body computer is where many mechanics would start looking.

Whether the same fault is also causing the ESP light to come on is another matter, but it’s possible both problems are connected. Again, the body computer is a likely culprit. Have the car scanned to see what and how many individual fault codes are thrown up. That’s the best way to proceed in this case.

You’re in luck here, Tony, because both the petrol and diesel engines fitted to this generation of the i30 used timing chains rather than rubber toothed timing belts. As such, the chain should be good for the life of the engine, rather than requiring scheduled replacement like a timing belt.

For the record, most manufacturers say a rubber timing-belt should be changed (roughly) at 100,000km or 10-year intervals. That said, some carmakers recommend much shorter intervals, so it’s worth knowing this stuff. A failed timing belt will often destroy the rest of the engine, but so can a timing chain if it fails. It’s just that a chain is much less likely to fail in service.

I’ll assume it’s a Hyundai dealership that wants to charge you to assess the car. And I hear what you’re saying about the car’s service history and the fact that some of these engines have been fixed by Hyundai because they were faulty from new. So, the best advice is to forget about the dealership and go straight to Hyundai’s customer service department at head office.

That cuts out the middle man at the dealership and should get you in touch with somebody who knows whether your car was one of the affected ones or whether you’ve just been unlucky in this instance. My experience has been that Hyundai takes this stuff very seriously and has helped other owners in the past. However, your case will still be assessed according to the service history and how many kilometres the car has covered.

This is not an uncommon thing with some Hyundai models of this vintage. Because of either poor design or materials, some Hyundai engines wear faster than they should. The first signs are rough running, noisy operation and oil consumption. On that basis, I reckon you may have one of those affected engines. That’s supported by the borescope examination that showed wear and the fact that the engine needed two litres of oil to bring it back to a normal level.

It's a fair bet the 1000km monitoring will show the engine has a thirst for oil, at which point it probably needs to be either replaced or rebuilt. My experience suggests that Hyundai is taking this seriously and is replacing engines under warranty with an improved unit that should last much better.

Give the dealership every chance to figure out what’s actually happening under the bonnet and then the time to make it right. You now have what’s called a pre-existing issue, so even if the warranty runs out, Hyundai knows the problem occurred while still within the warranty period. If your case is denied, then it’s time to contact Hyundai Australia’s customer service department and then, if you still don’t have any luck the ACCC which administers Australian Consumer Law and will be well versed with this issue.

This is not an unknown problem with some Hyundai engines, although, to be fair, most of the oil burning problems were in earlier models than yours. That doesn’t mean you don’t have the same problem, though, and it’s definitely worth checking out and finding a solution.

The first thing to do is to contact Hyundai Australia’s customer service department, and let them know you have a problem. My experience has been that Hyundai takes customer satisfaction very seriously.

The next step is to determine exactly how much oil is being consumed. The dealership will be able to help here and will probably fill the engine with oil, seal the dipstick and send you away to cover 1000km or maybe more. Then, the oil level is checked again and you’ll know precisely how much has been consumed over a known distance. Based on that information, you may be able to negotiate a deal with Hyundai that sorts the problem without you paying for the entire bill (if, for instance, it’s determined that a new engine is required).

Obviously, there are lots of factors at play here, including how many kilometres the car has covered and its service history. But it’s definitely worth getting to the bottom of the problem sooner rather than later.

The ABS warning is for a problem with the anti-lock braking system (that's what it stands for) and the image of a serving car is to warn you that there’s also potentially a problem with the car’s stability control. So, no, it’s not the transmission at fault here.

Both the ABS and stability control are crucial safety systems and the car really shouldn’t be driven until these problems have been checked out and rectified. The first thing to do is take the car to a workshop and have it electronically scanned. The onboard computer will have logged the faults as they were detected and will be able to identify the problem areas to give the mechanic a head-start on working out what’s wrong.

There are many reasons this could happen, and they could be mechanical or electrical. An engine that revs freely with no load on it, but goes weak at the knees when a load is placed on it, could be suffering from poor fuel supply, a faulty ignition system, internal wear, a blocked exhaust or even a worn driveline that is creating excess friction. You could even have a seized brake or something equally fundamental going on.

But it’s also true that the car’s computer can send the engine into what’s called limp-home mode if it detects a serious problem. Limp-home mode limits the amount of power the engine can make or how fast it can rev, as a means of protecting it against further, more serious damage. Perhaps that’s what’s going on here. Certainly the symptoms match that diagnosis. The best advice is to have the car electronically scanned to see what fault codes are thrown up by the computer. Only then do you have a decent starting point on where to look for the root problem.