grand starex's crankcase blew up!

**nosferatu194** · April 27th, 2009 01:38 AM

hello to everyone, i'm an owner of an 8-month old grand starex (gold series). i purchased the unit from a local dealer (Hyundai Manila Bay) last Aug.'08. i had all the PMS at the same dealer and the current odometer reading is approximately 7,700 kms. last April 15, 2009, i was driving my van on my way home when i suddenly heared a loud bang from the engine bay, plumes of smoke billowed out from the engine bay. i immediately pulled to the side of the road to inspect the incident. i was surprised to discover the engine bay splattered with engine oil and the crankcase area near the engine mount has a gaping hole. i inspected the underside of the van and i saw oil dripping from the engine. i also recovered a few pieces of metal fragments which i recognized to be former parts of the engine's crankcase . i informed the dealer immediately about the incident and they sent a transport truck to pick up my unit a few hours later. the unit was then later brought to the dealer (Manila Bay). i asked them to give me a copy of the investigation result on how and ehy the incident occured. i asked the dealer how long it would take for them to replace the unit (since the unit is only 8 months old and very well under the 5-yr warranty) they told me that they are not sure and will have to wait for the result of the investigation how the incident happened. i requested for a service unit upon knowing that they couldnt give a definite timeframe for the duration of the repair. at first, they told me they dont have and they dont provide a service unit..that's the time i really got upset and demanded that they provide a service unit since the damage occured at a most unlikely condition (30 kph*2000rpm) i also sent an email to Hyundai Asia (philippines) and Hyundai Main regarding my complaint and the incident that occured...unfortunately until now they didnt respond..i had to bug them almost everyday for the service unit..after one week, they finally provided a service unit (a grand starex cvx)..the dealer also informed me that the vehicle is covered by the warranty so they will REPAIR it with no cost for me.. until now (april 27) i still dont have a definite date as to when they can return my unit to me..has anyone of you experienced the same defect? i'd appreciate your replies..thanks!!

**Ventoy** · April 27th, 2009 02:01 AM

Dito masusubukan yung sinasabing 5 years warranty ng HARI. So this means a 5 Year Warranty is Valid enough to justify their anticipation on such Engine damage. What could be the possible reason since PMS was done by the CASA itself. It could be the

mistake done by their own mechanic on the Last PMS!!!!??

**oj88** · April 27th, 2009 02:02 AM

If they're doing the investigation/forensics right, determining the cause of the failure may take a while. Plus, they need to process the request for a new engine. And then there's the paperwork involved with changing the engine number on the registration papers and all that hullabaloo.

Personally, I'd give them all the time they need (up to some reasonable extent, of course) to fix it and to make sure it doesn't happen again.

**bambino** · April 27th, 2009 02:05 AM

baka naman isolated case ito

duda ko may nakalusot sa quality check from manufacturing level

**nosferatu194** · April 27th, 2009 02:35 AM

Originally Posted by bambino

baka naman isolated case ito

duda ko may nakalusot sa quality check from manufacturing level

sana nga isolated case lang pero im expecting naman a more "proper" response from them..ignoring a customer's complaint could reflect the way they conduct customer service and satisfaction..im not even sure if i still have the same confidence in their product if the option they would choose to solve my problem is just replacing the crankcase..they might as well change the entire engine..

**aga_cruz** · April 27th, 2009 10:31 AM

me incident naba nangyari sa ibang grand starex user ito?

**cabanerofr** · April 27th, 2009 04:37 PM

Kung defect sa engine at hindi lapses sa regular service maintenance, sana palitan na lang nila ng bagong unit. Kamahal na unit tapos maaabala ka sa paggamit ...

**c_cube** · April 27th, 2009 05:07 PM

i hope this is an isolated case...

we also owned a grand starex VGT. got our unit last year MAY, and logging in 11000KMS. PMS done were 1000 and 5000. so far our unit is still running like brand new.

sir please update us about your unit. Thanks

**nosferatu194** · April 27th, 2009 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by c_cube

i hope this is an isolated case...

we also owned a grand starex VGT. got our unit last year MAY, and logging in 11000KMS. PMS done were 1000 and 5000. so far our unit is still running like brand new.

sir please update us about your unit. Thanks

i'll keep you guys posted...my unit was also running well and didnt show any signs of trouble before the incident happened..all of a sudden it blew up!

**yebo** · April 27th, 2009 10:07 PM

just a theory, diesel pre-detonation or knock can happen if the timing is off and if the diesel fuel is hot.

so question, what was your fuel tank level when this happened? was it low, below 1/4? because i remember the service manager telling me one time that the crdi engines do not like having a low fuel level in the tank. he also said to not let the fuel level go below 1/4 since it causes the fuel to get hot and might cause problems. maybe this is what he is talking about. if the injection timing of your crdi is a bit off (early) and the fuel is hot then it can cause the engine to knock even at low speeds. and since it is a diesel you might not notice the difference in the sounds produced by a normal engine and a knocking engine.

was the hole at the bottom due to a connecting rod going through? if it is then baka engine knock nga siguro.