WOW, so glad the repair is going to get covered . That is a BIG cost , and glad you were in a place that was safer then a busy freeway.

Glad you are safe and covered for a new engine.

Great that it's covered! What a relief for you! Yeah it's too bad that we're now in a sea of black cars or white cars often. To distinguish my white truck I have something sparkly dangling from the mirror.

I am so glad the repair was covered. And also that you were not in some dangerous place when it happened!

Glad your breakdown was in a safe place and that repairs will be covered. There is nothing worse than having your car splutter, cough and die....and you are miles from home. Almost my worst nightmare!!

I think there is a valid reason Hyundai's have those extended warranties - they need them! Mine was a complete lemon.....things kept happening all the time. And always just after the warranty expired (before they were quite so generous or extended). I finally junked it when the radiator began having issues.

OTOH, I have had both a Ford Ranger pickup and a Ford Explorer that surpassed 200K miles each with no major problems.

I am glad you are covered however be aware that there may be some other charges that are not. However the engine cost should be the biggest amount.

I have to agree about the black and white. When my Subaru developed problems I had two criteria. Ground clearance of at least 5 inches and color. I ended up with a Sunset Orange Kona.

What an unusual situation. I'm glad it was covered.

When you get the car back, be attentive for the first few thousand kilometers to baby the engine a bit and give it a variety of driving situations - city and highway, at different speeds- to break it in well. All good practices with a new car and equally applicable to a new engine.

Good luck.

Happy all will turn out well.

Gardengal, my first Hyundai was new in 2002, a Sonata. I had it for 13 years and traded it in with well over 330,000 km on it. I didn't have an issue at all, I loved it, which is why I bought a second Sonata. Even the mechanic who took my old car in as the trade in came in and was shocked that it immediately started with just a quick turn of the key.

Jasdip, mine was an Elantra a few years older than yours (99?). It was one thing after another with that clunker - fan belt, transmission, radiator. Never even made it to 100K.

When my sister bought her new car a couple of years ago and told me it was a Hyundai I was amazed she had opted for that car and was fearful about its performance. However it turned out to be a Genesis and while owned and made by Hyundai, it is not a Hyundai :-) It is one of the nicest affordable luxury cars I have ever ridden in and has an amazing selection of bells and whistles. And runs like a top!!

Ohhh, a Genesis......I love those!! THAT would be my dream car.

Jasdip--don't you just love Hyundai's warranty? We've had 3 Hyundais--and have loved them all. Our first one, a small compact Elantra, had a problem while on a cross country drive. We went to the local Hyundai dealer in Minnesota. They had to order a part (electronic something) so they gave us a loaner car to use for two days. Hyundai reimbursed us in full for our hotel and gave us a generous per diem for meals. We were quite impressed!

Edited to add: after reading other posts, I'm surprised by the bad reviews on Hyundais. We have had great luck with our 3. The above incident was the only problem we ever had.

I have a Pacific Blue (looks black!) 2012 Hyundai Sonata. Replaced the engine almost two years ago. I am so glad I did. Better than so many cars. Though, we rented a car to bring my child home from University, and I really love it. When I was looking at the Sonata, I considered the Kia Optima. This Kia, we think Forte, was awesome. It was brand new though. But I am still glad I got the car I did. It drives so well. Great pickup, gas mileage, comfort, etc. Everything my "fun" car is not. I have a 90 Miata. It's cute, convertible, and a manual, so it's a lot of fun! But it feels the road every step of the way and is noisy. Glad I have both ends of the spectrum. Maybe we'll get an SUV or pickup to add to the mix. Sometimes, I could use more room when towing. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine! (though they sound super similar! even the color)

Glad that your situation was resolved so easily and wishing you many trouble-free miles with your "new" car. Or as Neil Young said in his song about his car, "Long May You Run."

There is no comparison between a pre-MY2000 Hyundai and a post-MY2000 Hyundai. Like, none at all. And the earliest Hyundais— the Excel or the Scoupe? Multiple that “no comparison” statement by 1,000...at least. For all intents and purposes, it might as well have been an entirely different company that’s how far it (and its sister, Kia) has come in terms of quality. If I had value atop my list of criteria when shopping for a new car, I’d probably go straight to the Hyundai dealer.

I think there is a valid reason Hyundai's [sic] have those extended warranties - they need them!

Actually, the exact opposite is true, @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9). Hyundai can only afford to offer such a generous warranty on its cars because they don’t need them!

"Hyundai can only afford to offer such a generous warranty on its cars because they don’t need them!"

I can't remember the last time I heard of someone needing a replacement engine on a not so old car with not that high usage. In this thread alone, two Hyundais have been mentioned.

A longer warranty is a sign of an effort to temper a negative market opinion of reliability and durability. If it weren't needed, it wouldn't be offered.

For those of you who drove Saturn's and loved them my Kona drives like my old Saturn. Even driving out of the parking lot when doing the test drive it was almost like my favorite car had returned.

I worked in dealerships for over 20 years and the one thing I was told, make sure you change your oil regularly because if not and something else goes wrong with your vehicle, the warranty can be null and voided.

Whew! That must be a relief to have the coverage. Sorry for the scare and inconvenience.

More people must be keeping cars longer. I am really tired of the TV commercial for a car warranty company.

I don't remember the model, but the only Hyundai we ever drove was a rental on Maui. It was a 4-door sedan, memorable because the passenger seat was about four inches lower than the driver's seat. I annoyed DH by getting out of the car and walking four paces behind him.

"make sure you change your oil regularly"

I'm not going to comment about what practices auto makers have concerning their warranty coverage but from the standpoint of a car owner, oil level is far more important than regularity of changes.

Many cars today use synthetic oil and while any oil gets dirty over time, synthetic oil's ability to do its job doesn't degrade the way petroleum based engine lubricants do. For many cars, burning a little oil in normal use can be expected. It's not unusual for a car to need to have some oil added in between regular oil changes. After hard conditions - a lot of stop and go driving, or high highway speeds especially. A low oil level will do more harm, more quickly, than being a few months or thousands of miles (or kilometers) past the change schedule. The message is - check your oil regularly when the engine is cold and especially before a trip. Double check to have the right grade and type of oil on hand to add when needed, before it's needed.

My heart sunk when I read the subject of your title. Getting stranded with car trouble is one of my bigger fears. I’m so glad that you are covered under the warranty and have a happy ending to the problem. Merry Christmas?

I'm having a blast driving this little Accent! It's a hoot parking and buzzing around.

It has the back-up camera which I'm certainly getting used to. I'm having hard looking down to go backwards.

Hmmmm what would a 10-yr old car with ZERO miles be worth on a trade-in? LOL