Hyundai Problems

The only way to successfully tow something like that is to use a trailer, I'm afraid. Unless you can get the drive wheels of a conventional automatic car off the ground while it's being towed, you stand to destroy the transmission in minutes.

Flat towing with a certified A-frame is legal in Australia, but the regulations do vary from state to state. But even if it's technically legal, it won't work with an automatic i30.

If I had to guess, I'd say the weight of the roof-rack and bicycles has stressed the metal of the roof to the point where it's been flexing enough to crack the sunroof frame. By the way, from what I can gather, all sunroofs fitted to Australian i30s were done at dealership level using an aftermarket sunroof. These are not Hyundai sunroofs, even though they were fitted when the car was brand-new.

Disregard the quote for $18,000, because that's nonsense. You could replace the whole sunroof (in fact, the whole car) for a fraction of that, and that would be the worst-case scenario. As for welding the cracked frame, it's potentially possible, but may not be practical. The frame forms the surface the roof slides on, so any distortion from welding could make the whole unit unworkable. Take it to a sunroof specialist and get an expert opinion, as well as a real-world repair quote.

The best guess is that the noise is being generated by the electric motor integrated into the steering column that acts as the power-steering in the Kona. If it’s s faint noise that is heard more often with the windows closed and the stereo off, then it’s the same noise that other Kona owners have noted.

Another possibility is a noisy clock-spring. This is a flexible electrical contact inside the top of the steering column that allows the steering wheel to turn while still maintaining all the electrical contacts that power the air-bags and steering wheel-mounted controls. These clock springs often become noisy just before they fail.

Your car is still under warranty, and since you’ve already logged the fault with your Hyundai dealer, it’s now a pre-existing problem and must be fixed by Hyundai, even if the car itself runs out of warranty in the meantime.

You're right in that Australia has no lemon laws, but we do have Australian Consumer Laws which are aimed at protecting consumers against these sorts of problems. It's frustrating that some car dealers are still using the old ‘oh, they all do that' defence to explain away problems that need to be fixed. Car companies would do well to crack down on any of their dealers who give such glib answers.

So the advice is to go straight over the dealer's head and talk to Hyundai's customer service department. A modern car shouldn't surge at any speed, and since your car is covered by its factory warranty, you need to give Hyundai every chance to put it right. Only after Hyundai has given up without a resolution should you talk to the ACCC on the basis of the car not being fit for purpose.

My experience is that Hyundai has been very diligent in fixing problems like this and looking after its customers, so forget the dealer and go straight to head office.

It sounds like you’re on the right track with the transmission, Melissa. Transmission oil goes black when it starts to pick up bits of burnt clutch and band material shed by the gearbox’s internal parts. If that’s happening, there’s also a good chance that the transmission is worn and that’s causing the lack of acceleration and slipping you’re experiencing.

This sort of problem can be caused by low transmission fluid levels, a worn out pump or just plain old wear and tear. A check of the torque converter’s health would also be a good idea, but on the surface, it sounds like the transmission is ready to be rebuilt. Have the vehicle scanned and see what faults – if any – are thrown up by the computer. It could be something simple, but the black transmission fluid tends to tell a different story. It should be a nice, clear red colour.

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.

Cars have a range of what interior designers call touch-points and these include both the controls and the surfaces you touch just by sitting in the car (the seat, the armrest and so on). Modern cars and materials are much better at getting these surfaces to withstand constant use and contact, but even then, sometimes the little icons can fade or wear off altogether.

It's much less common today, of course, but one thing that hasn’t changed is grimy hands (although Covid has led to generally cleaner hands around the world) so cleaning these touch-points is also important for hygiene and clarity. Something to bear in mind is that, unlike a cruise-control or stereo button, you will probably only touch the gear selector twice every journey (once when you start the car and move off, and the second when you set it to Park and switch the engine off).

Electronics not ageing gracefully is a whole other subject and one that continues to confound some manufacturers. And even though this technology improves with every new generation, the move to electronic control for basic functions often seems like a backward step. Show the owner of a new four-wheel-drive, with a rotary dial to select the driveline settings, an older off-roader with a simple, foolproof mechanical lever to shift between two and four-wheel-drive and you’ll leave them wishing for the good old days.

I don't think anybody these days considers less than seven years and just over 100,000km to be the lifespan of a modern engine. Certainly not in a car serviced properly. And since this is a known problem with these engines, I think you have a very good case for Hyundai to at least help out with the repairs on a pro-rata basis.

Our experience lately has been that some Hyundai dealerships have been ignoring cases like these and not giving them the consideration they perhaps should be. In any case, any decision to help out with repairs must come from head office, so I'd forget about the dealership for now and go straight to the top. Hyundai Australia has a customer service division and that's who you need to be talking to. Approaching the ACCC should be your last resort, but at least give Hyundai the chance to do the right thing by a loyal customer.

The default purchase for somebody looking for a mid-sized hybrid SUV is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. But if that’s too big, there’s the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid, C-HR Hybrid and even the Corolla Cross Hybrid which sounds like the marketplace is getting crowded but is really just a reflection of the appetite right now for cars like these. And that’s the catch; the waiting times for a brand-new example of some of these cars is out to many months and even years. So your plan to shop second-hand makes plenty of sense, but don’t expect any bargains in a market currently being dominated by lots of demand and less supply.

Beyond the Toyota brand (which has been doing hybrids longer than just about anybody else) there’s also the Mazda CX-30, Subaru XV Hybrid, Haval Jolion Hybrid, Kia Niro, Subaru Forester Hybrid, Nissan Qashqai e-Power, MG HS, Honda HR-V e and more. For something a bit bigger, try the Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe hybrids. There are others out there, too, that are probably bigger or more expensive than you need, but it's very much a growing scene in the Australian marketplace.

Your numbers are correct, including the maximum tow-ball weight of 75kg. With that in mind, provided you don’t load the camper-trailer beyond the 1300kg mark, and you distribute that load properly to keep the two-ball weight under 75kg, you should be safe and legal to proceed.

Beyond keeping the mass within legal limits, the other hurdle you might face is the way the i30’s two-litre petrol engine produces its performance. There’s nothing wrong with the 120kW of peak power, but the engine’s peak torque is an unexceptional 203Nm and is produced at a high 4700rpm. That means you might find yourself working the engine pretty hard to maintain highway speeds.

The sister car to yours, the i30 with the 1.6-litre turbo-diesel might be a better choice for towing with less peak power but much more torque (300Nm, from as low as 1750rpm) making it a more relaxed performer and tower.