Is your Veloster a Lemon? (Problem that can't seem to be fixed)

[KenDude]

Members here may recall seeing some of my earlier posts dating back to early May shortly after my Veloster started having problems in late April. Those topic threads are located here:
PROBLEM! Is Veloster sensative to which gas you use? Please HELP!

and here:
HUGE problems with my V! DCT

Unfortunately, my saga continues and I have now asked Hyundai to Lemon Law my car. Why?

Because it has been in the shop 6 different times for the same problem and the problem still remains. (my state's law says 4 times for same problem affecting driveability/safety and you can lemon law it, your state may vary)

They have replaced the high pressure fuel pump and fuel regulator on two separate occassions. The problem has continued to come back. The problems include:

1) stalling at stop lights
2) bucking and chugging while driving as if not getting gas
3) inability to go above 3000 rpm

The combination makes the car undriveable whenever the problem arises. The problem arises at random. Sometimes it is after the car is first started, other times not until after it is driven for awhile, other times after being driven, shut off and driven again. Fuel has come from different gas stations, all reputable. Problem has happened whether car is full, 3/4 tank, 1/2 tank, 1/4 tank or near empty so amount of fuel in system doesn't seem to have a bearing. To date Hyundai has been unable to fix the problem, hence my asking for the car to be Lemon Law'd which would mean Hyundai would buy the car back from me minus a useage calculated amount from the AAA driving guide. Hyundai can also offer me a different vehicle but I don't have to accept it, I can choose the buy back.

The car had the same problem last week and I took a neighbor with me to confirm that the car would not go above 3000 rpm no matter what gear no matter how much gas it was given, I limped the car home, parked it and it was towed to the dealer. Once at the dealer they started it and it drove just fine, so they didn't think it had a problem.

My "best guess" is that there is a glitch or bug in the Hyundai ECU software and when this bug is encountered, the car will go into some sort of limp mode or fuel delivery is throttled back or something because of the buggy code. Then when the car is restarted, it is like rebooting the computer and the problem goes away. Unfortunately when the problem happened last week the dealership was already closed or I would have limped it over to them to show them yes this problem which has been happening for 4 months now is still happening and hasn't been fixed.

Has anyone else encountered such a problem with their Veloster? If so, was the problem ever fixed completely or has the issue continued to plague you? If it continued, did you lemon law your car?

Thanks in advance for any and all responses. Someone from Dallas has flown in to take a look at my car and try to figure out what the problem is but I have not heard back from them as of yet today. When I get an update I'll post the results.

[vtlover67]

I think this user had the same problem as you. Check out this thread: More Problems! - I'm starting to Hate this Car!


The dealer ended up changing the fuel rail, and a few other things. I don't know if that did the trick for him, but you can talk to him and see what happened.

[KenDude]

I think this user had the same problem as you. Check out this thread: More Problems! - I'm starting to Hate this Car!


The dealer ended up changing the fuel rail, and a few other things. I don't know if that did the trick for him, but you can talk to him and see what happened.

Thanks just read that topic and posted a link in it back here so we can keep all the same problems together. Probably too early to know whether or not his car is fixed for good since the last time they fixed his car it took 1.5 months for the problem to come back. I've had all the same things replaced on my car at the dealer and it bought me less than a month before the problem came back this time. In all at least 6 trips to the service department for this issue so yes I want to go the lemon law route and have told Hyundai as much. Waiting to hear back from their district rep about the issue.

[LGP_VT]

I do hope that they lemon the car for you. If they do, will you consider upgrade to a Veloster Turbo or will you avoid Hyundai all together.

The sad truth is that with any manufacture you could end up getting a lemon. I guess it is how they deal with the issue that really matters.

[H-TownVeloster]

Wow man, that really sucks. I suppose this will show how much Hyundai stands behind their products. Have you tried recording the incident on your phone? This could be used as further proof of your claim.
Good luck!

[dianebrat]

Wow man, that really sucks. I suppose this will show how much Hyundai stands behind their products. Have you tried recording the incident on your phone? This could be used as further proof of your claim.
Good luck!

That's a very dangerous suggestion depending on the local laws in place in the OP's area, it can be highly illegal.

[H-TownVeloster]

You mean it's illegal for a passenger to use his phone to record it?
I'm sorry for not being specific db. I'm sure the OP understood what I was getting at.

[dianebrat]

You mean it's illegal for a passenger to use his phone to record it?
I'm sorry for not being specific db. I'm sure the OP understood what I was getting at.

ahh, I read that as you asking the OP to record his conversation with Hyundai about the issues on the phone.
moar cawfee needed

[KenDude]

I do hope that they lemon the car for you. If they do, will you consider upgrade to a Veloster Turbo or will you avoid Hyundai all together.

The sad truth is that with any manufacture you could end up getting a lemon. I guess it is how they deal with the issue that really matters.

Agreed, any car can be a lemon. I don't really know if I would stick with Hyundai or not. This is my first Hyundai so I don't really have a long-term impression of the brand, I guess I'd have to see what they'd offer. If they basically applied what I paid for my existing Veloster towards a turbo I would certainly consider it but the problem might be more of finding me one that isn't an automatic. Of course if they produced a yellow turbo then it might be a done deal.

Wow man, that really sucks. I suppose this will show how much Hyundai stands behind their products. Have you tried recording the incident on your phone? This could be used as further proof of your claim.
Good luck!

Actually our state does allow the driver to operate a phone and it's actually quite silly for these safety groups to suggest that 100% of my attention is needed 100% of the time while driving. Like a good computer I can effectively multi-task but that's a whole other issue. I could easily have a neighbor or someone else record it on a phone to show a video of it happening. I don't think it is that Hyundai doesn't believe me that it is happening but rather that they just don't know what the cause is. I did relay the information here about the car in Cincy that had the exact same problem so they asked to keep my car longer and research that car to see what was tried, the history of the cars, etc. They did say they were throwing in a free oil change, which while all well and good, if the car is a lemon I don't really care if the oil has been changed in it or not.

[Krosya]

I'd suggest to have your dealer replace the fuel rail sensor - that was my last repair and so far so good. Of course I dont know if it's fully fixed either in my case, but so far I didnt have any issues since that last fix. If you look through the older threads - some other members here had this same sensor replaced and that seems to have fixed their issues similar to yours. Based on what my delar told me after the last fix/replacement of the fuel rail sensor, - they called Hyundai and were told that they have several documented cases that this sensor was the issue and thats why they replaced mine, since I didnt have any codes or obvious causes why it was stalling out. So, I'd try this as another option before going through with the Lemon law. Thats what I'm doing - waiting to see if problems come back. If not - it's all good. If yes - I'll seriously start looking into Lemon Law as even dealer doesnt know what else can be causing this problem. But like I said - so far so good since the new Rail fule sensor was put in it. Good luck!

[chrisp]

i bought my veloster in oct 2011..since then i have had a window replaced,the video screen replaced,two tires replaced(waiting on 3rd) i went in for a tinging noise and was told it "was supposed to do that" and months laters it turned out to be the clutch motor,that was replaced and while replacing that i got a dent in my hood. when i picked up the car i had a huge scratch on the inside of my door,the hand brake and dash.i was getting 46 mpg(pre replacing clutch) now i average 28 mpg! their excuse was the computers reset and have to learn how you drive again?? the mpg and gas gages dont work now..i have to fill up myu car,drive a little go to the same gas station and pump..refill again,then deduct my mpg i get from that!? it's turning into a piece of crap...i paid 25,000 and trade in is 10,000??? i smell a lawyer call coming!!

[Braylin2005]

Gooooood luck with the case! Hyundai did not stand behind my 2010 Elantra one bit! I ended up winning my case and was given another 2012 Elantra that was traded for my V. As far as recording the conversation....only ONE person has to know the conversation is being recorded in my state. I hired Krohn & Moss.

[chrisp]

good luck to everybody because i was just told by a rep on the phone to get a lawyer...they will not fix anything!! i have a good lawyer in alabama if anyone needs one!!!

[chrisp]

i taped my conversation too..my hubby set the phone right in front of them and turned it on i will win...i

[MTD]

chrisp, it sounds like you have a crappy service department. Those are all very simple repairs. Good luck with your case though.

[grandmaluvsbabees]

I know from working as a secretary in automotive manufacturing some cars just get a bad deal on the assembly line, and they are lemons. QC Engineers need to do so many checks and tests, and if something is missed, it can be a problem for that line and that car. I feel so blessed to have this car, even after being hit hard twice on the freeway, in the body shop 7 weeks, it is still one of the best cars I've ever had (a close tie to my Del Sol). My mileage just gets better and better too, last week I read 44.5 before fill up, and it is so fun to drive. I feel bad for anyone that gets a lemon, that is one reason I never ever buy used cars. There is usually a good reason a car is on the used car lot, if it was a great car the owner would have kept it.

[KenDude]

I'd suggest to have your dealer replace the fuel rail sensor - that was my last repair and so far so good. Of course I dont know if it's fully fixed either in my case, but so far I didnt have any issues since that last fix. If you look through the older threads - some other members here had this same sensor replaced and that seems to have fixed their issues similar to yours. Based on what my delar told me after the last fix/replacement of the fuel rail sensor, - they called Hyundai and were told that they have several documented cases that this sensor was the issue and thats why they replaced mine, since I didnt have any codes or obvious causes why it was stalling out. So, I'd try this as another option before going through with the Lemon law. Thats what I'm doing - waiting to see if problems come back. If not - it's all good. If yes - I'll seriously start looking into Lemon Law as even dealer doesnt know what else can be causing this problem. But like I said - so far so good since the new Rail fule sensor was put in it. Good luck!

Hyundai looked up what was done to your car in on my car just replaced the fuel rail sensor and the low pressure fuel pump as well so that now the entire fuel system has been replaced. I got the car back a couple of days ago and in the last 2 days it stuttered one time like it wasn't getting fuel as I got on the highway but it went away and continued to run ok after that. So far the problem of bucking, chugging, not being able to go above 3000 rpm or dying at stops has not happened yet, but last time it was over 3 weeks until it happened again so I'm just going to monitor it for now but the moment it happens again I am going the Lemon Law route full bore and I made them aware of this. Technically I could have demanded that this time but since they think they've finally fixed it we'll see what happens now....

[ShadoKat]

it is still one of the best cars I've ever had (a close tie to my Del Sol).

OMG, that is so great to hear! I LOVED my Del Sol! It was the car on which I learned to drive manual transmission. My wife loved it so much, in fact, she ended up buying another one a few years later. Just sold it so she could get her V, and she will be happy to hear this as well

[grandmaluvsbabees]

OMG, that is so great to hear! I LOVED my Del Sol! It was the car on which I learned to drive manual transmission. My wife loved it so much, in fact, she ended up buying another one a few years later. Just sold it so she could get her V, and she will be happy to hear this as well

Definitely true, the only reason I got rid of the Del Sol years ago (at 185,000 miles approximately) was because I became a Grandma and needed a back seat, it wasn't until I found the Veloster I found a car I loved and with a back seat! The Del Sol was a good car, handled beautifully, and except for regular maintenance such as time belt, water pump, etc I had no repair costs. I have driven many sports cars over the years, but those English cars (Triumph and Jag) are full of problems, it wasn't until the Del Sol I had a car I loved to drive and was so dependable. Now the Veloster tops that, because I can take my grandchildren with me :-)

[KenDude]

Well a couple of days ago I had a brief cut out while driving but chalked it up to an exception. Today as I was pulling into a parking lot and looking for a place to park the car once again starting chugging like it was starving for gas. I sped up to see if I could get above 3000 rpms and I could, and then the car quit chugging and I parked it. When I came back out from the store it drove home normally. So I'm not convinced the car is completely fixed yet, but unfortunately it hasn't gone into a "bad" state yet when I could immediately drive it to the dealership and show them. I'll continue to monitor but given today's occurrence I don't hold out a lot of hope that the car is fixed.