Dear Hyundai, Please Show Up
Live up to your Hashtags and Stand Behind your Product
Dear Hyundai,
On May 16th, while driving home from the beach with my three kids, we heard a knocking noise coming from our 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe engine. We made it home in one piece and I brought it straight to my local mechanic the next day. The diagnosis? Oh, that’s a death rattle, Mrs. Heflin, you need a new engine.
What?!? I didn’t believe him…there’s no way a 5 year old/60k mile, well-maintained Hyundai would need a new engine with a sticker price of about $7k. I loved my Santa Fe, with its front to back sunroof, clean lines and all the bells and whistles, and took care of it with the same passion. I’m a mother and this was my mothership.
My mechanic said, “All that I can tell you is that this engine needs to be replaced but I don’t do that here, take it to someone that does…”
I called Hyundai that day to find out my options, which were bleak. 1) I didn’t qualify for the 5-year/60k mile warranty because the car was purchased in 2015 and 2) I wasn’t entitled to the 10-year/100k mile warranty because I bought this car preowned in 2017, so I’m not the original owner. However, I was given a claim number and told that if I towed the car to a Hyundai dealership for a diagnosis after 3 days I could escalate my claim to a claims manager who would call and consider all the details of my case.
So, that’s exactly what I did.
That was one month ago. I don’t have a car and I haven’t been assigned a case manager yet.
All the different reps with your customer care department graciously received my phone calls and lamented my situation. Explanations have varied as time went on (names withheld for anonymity):
I know you were supposed to hear back in 3–5 days but Memorial Day weekend has pushed out that timing to 7–10 days.
I know you were supposed to hear back from us in 7–10 days but we’re overwhelmed and understaffed. We are hiring more people and I’m sure you’ll be contacted by next week, I am sure of it.
I know it’s been almost a month but we’re experiencing high call volumes, call back in 5 days and we will put in a special alert to Hyundai National.
I know you’ve been waiting a long time without a car but we’ve had a rash of engine failures and are overwhelmed. I’m so sorry.
I know the alert was sent to Hyundai National and I don’t know why you haven’t been contacted. (Has anyone been contacted?) Yes, others have been called, for some reason you have fallen through the cracks and I’m not sure why that is. I’ve never experienced a high alert not prompting a call to the client. Call back on June 22nd and we will put in another alert.
I know that you just need a case manager assigned and a 5-minute call, and I have no explanation for why that’s not happening. I’m embarrassed. This is embarrassing. We can do better. We are better than this.
And I agree. Hyundai, you are better than this.
Customer care said I can put myself in a rental (to the tune of at least $1k per week given a shift in supply chains) and submit it for reimbursement but I can’t get a case manager to call me so payback for a rental seems remote.
The Hyundai Dealership explained that the knocking sound is coming from the bearings. After scouring the internet I discovered that knocking sounds from the bearings/premature engine failure is an active Hyundai Class Action. My VIN number doesn’t fall under this class action but it doesn’t need that stamp of approval to be premature engine failure.
Hyundai, I believe in you.
I believe what you believe. I believe in your company ethos of #QuestionEverything and #ProgressForHumanity. And, I know, you believe that everyone, from all your stakeholders, to the celebs who endorse your product, to the loyal customers who buy your vehicles, has equal worth. I know you believe that if your product fails, you replace it because that’s the right thing to do, that’s progress for humanity and that’s the new corporate consciousness that awaits if you choose to embrace it. I know you believe that doing the right thing always trumps profit, but they are also not mutually exclusive. In truth, doing the right thing is the avenue to ongoing profitability. I know you believe all of this because this is the new, more evolved way of being in the world that paves the way for corporate longevity.
I have deep compassion for your previous engine struggles and the hurdles you’ve faced in the process of becoming. I know that you will use these uncomfortable circumstances to live your hashtags by not just assigning me a case manager but standing by your product and replacing my failed engine.
Hyundai, I am asking you to please show up, as I know you are more than capable of doing. We all have our challenges on this journey, you are not alone, and showing up and taking responsibility is the most powerful and profitable choice you can make. The world is watching and will award you for your courage to step up, take responsibility, and show everyone how it’s done.
Jennifer Heflin
Loyal customer, Case #18270645, Owner of 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe which is now rendered worthless without an engine
