Doesn´ t suprise me surely they have changed the sales contract on which you bought it.

199 ukp for a wheelbearing they know how to charge.

Unfortunately I don't have the full warranty to look at. I have the original sales brochure which clearly boasts of the "unlimited mileage" warranty and makes no mention of any exclusions.

I have spoken to Hyundai UK customer services just now and they tell me that the the limit, as described in the service book, is 2 years for "wear and tear" items such as wheel bearings! Of course you don't get the service book until AFTER you have bought the car...

An average mileage motorist might find Hyundai refusing a claim for wheel bearings failing at just 20,000 miles on this basis.

Thanks Gordonbennet. Yes, it does appear to be a unit, like the Yaris you mention. And there is an ABS sensor which may come out of the old one intact but may not, so this would have to be replaced.

I share your thoughts about this experience being unusual, my previous experiences regarding warranty have been fine. But the mileage/age of the vehicle (72,600m and 3.5 years) should not be blocking the claim - the unlimited mileage 5 year warranty was precisely the reason I switched to Hyundai from Nissan, after problems with an X-Trail just outside the less generous Nissan warranty period.

I have written to the Hyundai M.D. so will see what response I get from him.

It is a sealed unit which partly explains the cost. I have posted the following latest update on the Hyundai Owners site this morning:

The latest in the saga is that I phoned Hyundai UK on Friday as they hadn't called me back. I left a message and the person I had originally spoken to then did call me back. He told me he had called CMC Harlow and instructed them that they could take the car in to inspect the bearing and, if it was shown to be faulty, it would be replaced under warranty. If not, I would be liable for the costs.
I questioned how the dealer would determine that the bearing was faulty - I don't believe that they have research facilities there. The customer services guy couldn't answer that.
Anyway, I called CMC this morning and asked them the same question. They would have to get the bearing off and, as it is a sealed unit, would probably have to send it off to Hyundai for investigation. So, it appears that I will have to pay "for the inspection/investigation" and then hope that the bearing will be recognised as faulty.

I have explained to them that:
- I am not prepared to take the risk of not having this covered by warranty and therefore paying over the odds to have it repaired by Hyundai
- I have my car booked in to a local garage to have the work done but would cancel that and bring it into Hyundai if they confirm to me that it will definitely be covered by warranty
- If this isn't resolved I will be seriously considering whether it is worth continuing to use Hyundai for regular servicing when it appears to bring no benefits (their mechanics are certainly no better than other garages)

I am waiting for their response...

Anything they give away in warranty they make twofold with the cost of parts and servicing.

Good marketing, terrible customer relation.

Exactly, its not too much of an issue giving you a 7 year warranty if they do all of the servicing/repairs as this will always be way over the odds to pay for the warranty. Personally I think this is pretty transparent sales tactic myself.

I'm at a bit of a loss here, i thought the wheel bearing failure was already diagnosed.They do have to go through correct procedures with such things, personally i believe the dealer inspection is purely a formality and Hyundai will honour their failing part.

I might be wrong but i get the feeling this is in danger of becoming adversarial and that won't help.

Hi Gordonbennet, you're right, its not helpful to be confrontational and I have tried to discus this reasonably with Hyundai UK and with the dealer. My initial thought was the same as yours - Hyundai UK were letting the dealer make the decision and it would be a formality.

However, when I rang the dealer they were adamant that they didn't see it this way, that I would have to pay for the work to get the bearing off and look at it, and that, if it was not deemed to be a failure rather than "wear and tear" I would have to pay for the new part and fitting too. As they said they would have to send the bearing back to Hyundai for assessment it means that they are not, in fact, the ones who would be making the decision.

And yes,the bearing failure is diagnosed, the discussion is whether it was a faulty bearing (warranty) or wear and tear (not warranty).

I contrast all of this with my experience with an optician. 10 days ago I sat on my unbreakable titanium framed glasses and broke the unbreakable frame. I assumed that I would have to pay for a new arm and, as it was totally my fault, would have been happy to. Optician said, "they shouldn't break so let us contact the manufacturer, even though they are 2.5 years old and the warranty is 2 years". I got a phone call today, "all fixed under warranty, come and collect them". Guess where I will be going for my next eye test, glasses, sunglasses etc.! And recommending my friends to go..

If it's wear and tear then there should be a way of removing the bearing, inspecting and repacking with fresh grease, reassembling, adjusting up and good as new.

Rolling element bearings just don't work like that. If there is wear which is now audible, then the bearing is shot. Adding grease is just masking the problem at best, and adding to it at worst.

For peace of mind, have the unit replaced, though it does seem a low mileage for something like that to go on a "4x4". Have the hubs been immersed in water, for instance launching a boat from a slipway?

{{Rolling element bearings just don't work like that. If there is wear which is now audible, then the bearing is shot}} Is the bearing audible.

Oh yes, very audible! Not so much at low speed but at 60 plus it is very noticeable.

Also, I had 4-wheel alignment check, and the front tracking was adjusted. The tyre place also pointed out that the rear wheel with the shot bearing was out of line by 5mm which is significant (the other one was spot-on).

The car is going in to my independent garage tomorrow to be fixed. I will keep the old bearing and have it inspected. Anyone know where I could get an independent assessment of it?

The bearing is now fixed at a cost of £199 versus £350 quote for the dealer.

I have the old unit and it is a big lump of a part as it is the hub and bearing in a complete unit, which explains the cost.

"Heaven forbid if some bearings inside the gearbox or engine should "wear out" when the car is only a couple of years old."

I don't want to be alarmist, hopefully Hyundai would be less evasive about those. You can see the current list of exclusions and their mileage allowances via this link.

http://www.hyundai.co.uk/owners/5YearWarranty/limitedCoverage/

Hyundai has reduced the mileage on wheel bearings from 100,000 to 60,000 since I bought my car. Maybe they have had too many claims.

I don't know whether they have done the same on the other items as I don't have a full copy of the original warranty. Does anybody have one?

I had a phone call from the M.D. of the dealer last Friday. He expressed his concerns and told me that he would make every effort to ensure that I was not financially out of pocket if I should decide to return as a customer, for future work or for a future car purchase. I asked for this to be quantified but he wouldn't actually commit to "your next service would cost £x instead of £y" . He took my email address to confirm the discussion but I have not heard anything further yet.

As to the M.D. of Hyundai UK, I have not had any acknowledgement of my letters or any attempt to contact me by phone or letter. This is quite unacceptable and really poor customer service. Maybe I am expecting too much but I don't think so. I work in Sales and Marketing and to me the customer is the most important part of the business, I wouldn't dream of ignoring one.

Hi, I have exactly the same problem with my 07 Santa fe. Hyundai customer service are being very unhelpful to say the least! I was just wondering how they agreed it was 100,000 mile warranty on your model as I might be able to quote your case to them. Thanks

Go to an independant Hyundai specailist of which I know of only 2 in the country. One is Tiburion Automotive in Birmingham who specializes in Coupes mainly although he does others or myself in Essex who can only work part time on them at the moment as full spec workshops in Essex cost a fortune. You will also find that most Asian warranties are not as good as European ones and the back up is poor. I know this as I have worked for hyundai and Peugeot in the last 7 years and Peugeot back up pee's all over Hyundai's. Also I suspect you will see Hyundai franchises reduce in number as sales drop and garages realize that there warranty labour times are absolutely dire like most Aisian manufacturers

Did you get this resolved in the end? My rear bearing on my 2007 has gone at 59k and the dealer won't fix under warranty. Like you I don't have the original warranty booklet. Any ideas?

Thanks

chris

Hi, apologies for late replies on all this, I haven't been checking the thread and there is no alert to new replies. No, I didn't get any joy from Hyundai. The MD at the dealership made sympathetic noises, rang me up to say he hoped I hadn't been put off Hyundai and when I need to change the car please talk to him! So I have since been having servicing done at an independent garage which is much better, half the price and has actually diagnosed issues properly. The front wheel noise (that the Hyundai garage couldn't hear!!) was rust on the front discs, now sorted. The confirmation about 100,000 miles came from Hyundai UK.

Edited by anglospider on 23/11/2011 at 17:03