2002 accent manual, problem with timming belt

I just paid $240 Canadian to have the timing belt changed.

$500 US is more than double that.

PS What exactly does your extended warranty cover?

Chris

Thanks Chris, It covers engine, transmission and most things that dont wear. I figured if the timing belt does not work i am only donw $400 and the engine might be covered under warranty. Dealerships in MA are preatty expensive, I think they already start to work on the car, 20 minutes ago, i dont know if there is anything i can do now. the car is

1 hour away from other dealersships too. If tow the car it would cost another $200.

the timing belt change did not fix the problem now they say it could be the valves, i guess is time to call insurance and the extende warranty :(

Yeah from what I've read, if it breaks it damages your engine.

Chris

Whoa! Geezus - wait just a minute. You are authorizing work on a "maybe it will work" notion, with what is clearly no understanding of how an engine works, and posting to a usenet newsgroup for suggestions on what to do next?

God lord Joe, you've got to find out what your extended warranty covers first. Second, you've got to check with your Hyundai dealer - your car should be covered for 60,000 miles by Hyundai without any extended warranty. If your car has 58,000 on it, it's still just barely below Hyundai's recommended mileage for the belt change and it should be covered under the Hyundai warranty. Your extended warranty probably has a deductible so if you try to use it you'll be eating that deductible. The Hyundai warranty has no such deductible. Do yourself a favor and go to the Hyundai web site and read the warranty and then go talk to the dealer.

You surely have engine damage since your motor is an interference engine. Break the timing belt and things that should not, come into contact with each other.

The Hyundai website says that belts are only covered for 12k miles. I suppose the timing belt is a "belt"?

"Wear Items: 1 year / 12,000 miles (e.g. belts, brake pads & linings, clutch linings, filters, wiper blades, bulbs, fuses)"

John Cowart

This timing belt is covered for 4 years/60k miles, at which time the belt needs to be replaced because it's at the replacement interval. If your car is under 4 years old, then the whole repair should be covered. If it's over 4 years, you're looking at footing the whole repair bill yourself. No warranty covers damage due to lack of proper maintenance.

As a side note, I find it odd that your timing belt broke without some other cause. This is very odd on this engine in this time/mileage period.

I believe that refers to the other belts, not the timing belt. The engine is warrantied for 60,000 and a catastrophic failure internally should be covered by the warranty. The timing belt is addressed as a separate item, not included with information regarding the alternator belt, etc.

I just had a timing belt job done for $460 total at a local dealer in MA, USA. The reason it's that high is that they offered to change the 3 accessory belts in the process. I accepted because they did need changing and there was no additional labor charge, but the cost of belts added over $100 to the cost. I phoned a nearby independent mechanic and their price was similar. So $400 for the timing belt is about right with additional work. On the other hand, if that $500 for 60K maint is IN ADDITION to the timing belt job, that would be outrageous.

I would like to reiterate others said, basically that the 5yr/60K warranty still applies to second owners. A good thing too, because my own used Accent at 58K needed exhaust pipe work that would have costed $300 without warranty. Sometimes, dealers need to be coaxed to do work under warranty.

Chris

Christopher Wong wrote in news:- snipped-for-privacy@rcn.net:

IMO, this is just another reason that most Hyundai dealers suck. If the car is still under warranty, as this one seems to be, why can't they just be up-front and honest about it? Why does the consumer need to be the one to throw this in the dealers face?

I've had dealings with Nissan, Honda and even Ford, owning new vehicles from all of them. I never once had to scream and shout to get a warranty repair done.

I did have a similar experience with Dodge though, concering a Neon that blew a head gasket at 35,000 miles. The dealer wanted no less than $800 from me (they had a 3/36 warranty at the time and I was 1 month past the

3 years) for the repair, and they tried to extort half of that from me in advance!! One call to Dodge directly and they had a team of company reps at the dealer. I heard one guy threaten to pull the dealers agreement with Dodge. I certainly wasn't the first to complain about this dealer, but I think I was the straw. Anyway, got it fixed for a $50 deductible then I sold the car two days after I got it back :-)

Eric

HyundaiTech said: "As a side note, I find it odd that your timing belt broke without some other cause. This is very odd on this engine in this time/mileage period."......

Since you are the "expert" on Hyundai's, I am loathe to argue with you. And on Hyundai's, particularly this one, you may very well be right.

But, on many other engines with timing belts, I have seen them break FREQUENTLY at about that age and usage.

My first experience with a timing belt was a broken one at 57,000 miles and less than three years old on a Pontiac manufactured by former Korean automaker Daewoo. Thankfully, that engine was non-interference and simple to put on a different one.

Recently, I bought at 2002 Elantra with about 72,000 miles on it. I was so paranoid about the timing belt, I wouldn't even let it leave the dealership until they put a new one on it.

This gentleman's misfortune should be a good swift kick to all of us to pay attention to these in our cars that have them, especially if they are interference engines.

Tom Wenndt

You're approaching this from the right angle, Tom. When unsure, proceed with caution. And you're right, some belts do fail at that age/mileage. So, unless you know better, it's best not to push the envelope.

what I love are the folks who get it changed at 60,000 then dump the car at 150,000 with the second belt still working.

;-)

Looks like it will be covered by warranty now.