Hyundai IX35 clutch / gearbox problems

rob7475

Hi,

I have a 14 plate IX35 with 54,000 miles on the clock. A couple of weeks ago I started having problems getting into 6th gear - it was very notchy and I needed to really shove the car into gear. I booked the car into the local dealer for the problem to be looked at today. Between making the booking and today arriving, I also started having the same trouble getting into 4th. All the other gears are fine.

The garage have called and they believe the clutch may be faulty but can't be sure until they strip the gearbox (4 hours labour). If it's a wear and tear fault, I'll be liable to pay the cost.

I've driven for nearly 20 years and owned cars with over 150,000 miles that still run on the original clutch. I've never had to have a clutch replaced and I find it hard to believe that a 2 year old car would need a new clutch.

I've had a look through various forums and there seems to be a lot of people complaining about clutch wear on various Hyundai models.

If the garage says it's wear and tear, how do I fight it? I've already got Hyundai UK involved who are going to investigate but I'm guessing I won't get far.

Thanks

Herzlos

You'd need to try and prove that it isn't wear and tear and is down to some inherent design/build flaw.

Whilst it's only 2 years old, it's done the sort of mileage you'd expect from a 5 year old car, so that might make it a bit harder for you to justify.

You can always see if Hyundai will at least help with the cost of the work as you don't feel it's been a suitable quality.

rob7475

If it was wear and tear on the clutch, wouldn't it affect all gears rather than just the two? The clutch doesn't slip if I accelerate hard in gear either.

Rain_Shadow

Aren't Hyundai clutches notoriously fragile? And aren't Hyundai themselves notoriously unwilling to acknowledge it?

Still, seven year warranty anyone?

Google 'Hyundai clutch failure'

Herzlos

That's what I'd have thought. Usually clutch wear seems to affect 1st gear/reverse first too. If it's 4th & 6th (both bottom right) then it's probably something else. You'll only get to find out once it's been inspected though.

sillygoose

rob7475 wrote: »

If it was wear and tear on the clutch, wouldn't it affect all gears rather than just the two? The clutch doesn't slip if I accelerate hard in gear either.

You would think so. Surely slippage (from wear) only helps you select gear easier as its effectively partially dipping the clutch which you do fully to change anyway.

To make gear change difficult it would have to be more a case of binding, not disengaging fully. Either the clutch has broken up or the mechanism isn't working fully. I am sure you would have noticed this.

I thought difficulty with odd gears is usually a lever linkage problem or worn linkage joint in the first instance, then maybe an actual gearbox issue.

AdrianC

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

Aren't Hyundai clutches notoriously fragile? And aren't Hyundai themselves notoriously unwilling to acknowledge it?

TBH, perhaps a clue may lie in the demographic of many Hyundai buyers.

Still, seven year warranty anyone?

...which excludes wear and tear, as EVERY warranty does.

Rain_Shadow

AdrianC wrote: »

TBH, perhaps a clue may lie in the demographic of many Hyundai buyers.


:rotfl: I hesitated to point that out.

...which excludes wear and tear, as EVERY warranty does.


On the other hand, the Hyundai experience appears to be a particularly bad one

It just amuses me that posters on here praise Hyundai for their long warranty and I just think 'I'd rather have a car for seven years that I haven't had to pay for repairs on because it hasn't gone wrong than one I haven't had to pay for repairs on because it's unreliable but under warranty'.

rob7475

AdrianC wrote: »

TBH, perhaps a clue may lie in the demographic of many Hyundai buyers.


...which excludes wear and tear, as EVERY warranty does.

I'm 35!! :rotfl:

The car has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty but the clutch warranty is 60,000.

The garage hasn't come back to me with the inspection results yet so fingers crossed, they admit it's a warranty issue. I've got Hyundai UK involved from the start as the car has been in for several warranty issues in the last 6 months. At one point the car was going into limp mode at random times when accelerating (usually on the motorway at 70mph :eek:)

I specifically chose a Hyundai because of the 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. I tend to do about 25k a year so I thought the long warranty would give some peace of mind - apparently not though.

AdrianC

rob7475 wrote: »

The car has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty but the clutch warranty is 60,000.

Which just means that, after 60k, there is no chance whatsoever of claiming on the warranty for a clutch problem. Within that mileage, the same generic wear and tear exclusions will apply as the rest of the car.

And you're at 90% of that blanket exclusion mileage, you say?

sillygoose

The figures for Hyundai show them to be largely reliable. As in all things on the web people intrinsically post more negative experiences than positive ones.

The IX35 was a massive success, there are vast numbers out there so the level of issues seen online will seem high. It doesn't mean the vast majority of owners won't have a reliable and trouble-free ownership.

A recent business reliability survey placed Hyundai 12th in the top 20, above brands like Lexus, Land Rover, Mini, Mazda, Volvo.