Hyundai I30 2013 Problems

Glad to hear you've had such a great run with your car. I understand what a great safety device a reverse camera is, and if it was standard fitment in your car when it was new, it could very well be a roadworthy item if it's not working. However, I wouldn't be too worried as the GPS and bluetooth functions should not be related to the reverse camera or the cruise-control.

If the reverse camera screen ever went on the blink, you could fairly cheaply add a replacement aftermarket unit which would also restore your Bluetooth and possibly even your GPS functions.

Glad to hear you've had such a great run with your car. I understand what a great safety device a reverse camera is, and if it was standard fitment in your car when it was new, it could very well be a roadworthy item if it's not working. However, I wouldn't be too worried as the GPS and bluetooth functions should not be related to the reverse camera or the cruise-control.

If the reverse camera screen ever went on the blink, you could fairly cheaply add a replacement aftermarket unit which would also restore your Bluetooth and possibly even your GPS functions.

Failures of these engines is a known thing with this generation of Hyundais (and Kias that used the same engine). Hyundai is well aware of the problem, so the first thing to do is contact Hyundai’s customer service division.

You may find that an independent inspection of the engine is a good idea, to determine whether the failure was caused by the known fault or by something more random. In our experience, Hyundai has been very diligent at sorting out such issues.

If you want to take it even further, a class action against Hyundai and Kia on this basis was launched earlier this month.

While it's true that super-low mileage can make a difference to a car's selling price, when it comes to mainstream cars like the i30, the difference may not be as much as you expect. Rare, old and collectible cars really benefit value-wise from low mileages, but a 10-year-old Hyundai really doesn't fall into any of those categories. So while it will make the car worth more, don't be surprised if it doesn't make thousands of dollars' worth of difference.

On the flip-side, many car buyers don't like cars that have travelled very low annual distances. Cars don't like sitting around, and a car with very low kilometres could have problems with dry seals and gaskets, flat-spotted tyres, and a build-up of condensation within the mechanical bits and pieces.

I agree that 136,000km is not a realistic lifespan for a modern car. Especially one that has been as meticulously maintained as yours. Hyundai engines of this vintage are not without their known problems, but in my experience, Hyundai has been pretty good about replacing them when the failures have been the endemic kind.

Your first step should be to by-pass the dealership you've been dealing with and talk directly to Hyundai's customer service department. The dealership, as you've correctly identified, will be more interested in selling you another car, while Hyundai head office is more likely to be interested in keeping you as a long term customer. Ultimately, the car will need to be inspected independently to figure out what went wrong and what caused it.

By the way, if the dealership is right and the 'damage has already been done' by the time the warning light illuminates, what's the point of having a warning light in the first place? The dealership in question has just revealed itself to be ignorant at best with comments like that.

By the way, even though your car has a 2013 build date, the warranty would have started the day it was first registered. Even so, it's well and truly out of warranty, but if the problem is one of the known faults of that engine, Hyundai may offer you a pro rata deal to assist in repairs.

Any smoke from the exhaust of a car suggests there’s something wrong with the fuel system or that there’s wear inside the engine. I’m leaning towards the fuel system in this case, though, as a cold-start is when the fuelling system is under the greatest stress.

To make a cold engine run properly, the engine’s fuel-air ratio has to be altered (more fuel and less air than when the engine is up to temperature). To know how much extra fuel, the engine has a range of sensors that measure the temperature of the air going into the engine, the temperature of the engine itself, the flow of air, as well as sensors that sniff what’s coming out of the tailpipe to make sure the mixture is just right. If any of these sensors begin to send false information to the engine’s computer, the mixture can be incorrect and the rough running, poor idling and visible smoke can be the results.

Even something as simple as the stepper-motor, which controls the idle speed of the car, can be the cause of rough idling, but that’s less likely to contribute to gales of smoke from the exhaust. The best advice is to have the car scanned and see if the computer has logged any faults. Smoke from the engine might also warrant a compression test of the engine’s cylinders, too. From there, you can make a more informed diagnosis and replace only the faulty parts.

That’s actually not a lot of kilometres for a modern car, even a small hatchback like a Hyundai i30. Modern cars are actually a lot more durable in the long term than older ones, so I wouldn’t be worried about the distance travelled. Given that the average car in Australia travels about 15,000km a year, 108,000 is actually about right for a car that’s now eight years old.

That said, the car’s chances of being reliable for the next few years will pivot on how it has been maintained by its previous owners. Make sure the car you buy has a full service history with no gaps in that document suggesting it has missed any scheduled preventative maintenance. Unfortunately, many people who purchase budget cars like the Hyundai tend to maintain them in a similar way and that often means corners are cut. But if the service history is intact and complete, there’s no reason to suspect the car won’t offer years of reliable service. The price you’ve been quoted seems about right for the car in question.

That’s definitely higher consumption than I would have expected. Are you driving exclusively in stop-start traffic? If so, that would help explain your consumption, but even then, I’d expect it to be closer to nine or 10 litres per 100km, not 13.

On that basis, I’d be giving the engine a once over in terms of how its fuel-injectors are working and checking things like fuel filters and pump pressure. A car that is not allowing its engine to warm up properly can also use more fuel than it should, because the computer, sensing that the engine is cooler than it should be, richens the fuel-air mixture to compensate. The cause of that can be something as simple as a dud thermostat or a cooling fan that is not switching off when it should.

But the other potential piece of the puzzle could be related to your driving style. You claim that the engine never goes beyond 2500rpm, which could mean you are `lugging’ the engine; making it work too hard at too low a speed. Modern four-cylinder engines don’t mind a rev and, in fact, need to be revving beyond a certain speed to be in their happy, most fuel-efficient, zone.

Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to get a manufacturer to pay for repairs on a car that is well and truly out of warranty (as a 2013 Hyundai, which came with a five-year warranty, is). The difference would be if the faulty radio was a pre-existing condition that Hyundai had been notified of before the warranty ran out.

It’s very unlikely that a car-maker would issue a recall for something like a faulty radio, as recalls are generally caused by safety-related problems and faults. But manufacturers do issue TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) for non-safety problems.

I have heard of Hyundai radio units giving trouble, usually starting with a lack of volume and working their way up to no sound and then no power at all. The good news is that the trade knows about it and there are specialists who have a dedicated fix for these units. In the meantime, it would certainly be worth asking your Hyundai dealer if they’ll fix or replace the head-unit. For instance, since you’re obviously a Hyundai family, or if you were a long-time, repeat customer, you might find the dealership will listen sympathetically in order to keep your business into the future. But don’t go to the bank on it.

They’re obviously not there to hold down heavy items, more to prevent the shopping from moving around.