Ping Hyundaitech

I left out an important factor. I am in Sunny Southern California and this car has never been exposed to freezing weather and the scheduled radiator service has always been accomplished on schedule.

I have not yet picked the car up but am considering having them mark the bill "Paid under protest"

Old_Timer

That falls under the "shit happens" category. They can go even if it does not freeze.

You can do that, but they will still take your money.

Since it is part of the engine, and the engine is part of the drivetrain, you'd think it would have been covered. I've never seen a list of what is not covered though.

Very Strange ---- My initial post under this subject title has disappeared from my news reader since being there earlier today. I wonder why?

That initial posts stated that the dealer shop originally said my water pump was OK but the car was leaking coolant due to a faulty freeze plug. Then they called back and told me that after replacing the freeze plug they discovered that the water pump is in fact leaking and they are replacing it.

They stated that the water pump replacement is covered under the 10 year/100000 mile power train warranty but that the freeze plug is not. I questioned that. I am the original owner of the 2000 Sonata that has

I explained to the repair shop that the freeze plug and the water pump problem are both of the same incident and cannot understand how the freeze plug a part of the engine block would not be covered. The freeze plug would not have failed fn the water pump had not lost coolant which resulted in overheating. The Service Manager says that he simply puts the part # in the computer and it comes back to tell him that it is covered only by the bumper to bumper that has expired.

Old_Timer

I think you need a more competent shop. What are the chances of both starting to leak at the same time? I'd certainly protest this and ask for some proof of the plug leaking. My guess is it was not. If you get no satisfaction, go to Hyundai with your complaint.

I took my car into a Mercedes dealer for repair of the electric cooling fan. They said both the fan and the thermostat that controls it on were bad. I said it sound highly unlikely and I want to see the parts and check them out. Of course, they just scrapped the parts and they could not be found. They cut the bill in half. Same dealer, different trip. Cruise control was not working correctly and would drop out. They told me it was a $400 part. Two miles from the dealer, it cut out again. I went back, drew a diagram of how the cruise control circuit works and explained why they were wrong. The then fixed it properly (a cheap switch in the brake light circuit) and credited my for the first repair. There are some great shops and mechanics out there, but there are a bunch of incompetent profiteers amongst them.

I call them "part changers". They take the path of least time and resistance.

Tech's have my sympathy, however. It can be hell diagnosing a problem in modern "advanced" automobiles.

"Advanced" my eye. If automobiles were really advanced, they wouldn't be so difficult and expensive to diagnose and repair. I'm ready to go back to the future.

Happy New Year -

Bob

While I've never seen a freeze plug leak on this engine, anything is possible. I wouldn't be surpirsed, however if an inexperienced tech made an error. The first time I witnessed a water pump leak on this engine, it took some effort to find the source. The water pump weep hole connects to a hole in the block which drains out behind the a/c compressor.

As for the warrantability, I don't see how an integral part of the engine block isn't covered by the 10/100 warranty.

I ran the number for the only thing that appears to be a freeze plug in the parts catalog cylinder block picture. I have part# 15732-25001, "cap-sealing." Per Hyundai, warranty coverage is powertrain, 120 months,

If the dealership continues to deny powertrain coverage for this repair, call Hyundai consumer affairs immediately at 1-800-633-5151.

-- Message posted using