[farleyi30]

At the beginning of this month (June 2015) I was alerted to a potential problem with my Hyundai i30 and this has been significantly reinforced to me today.  I am appalled that all affected i30 owners haven't been contacted by Hyundai even though Hyundai are clearly aware of a potential problem.  For me it is a very serious potential problem which could be life threatening in an accident.

I have a Hyundai i30 (registered 2010) which came out of it's warranty in March this year.  It has low mileage for a 5 year old car at around 33500 miles.

At the end of May my drivers door stopped opening from the inside of the car - the only way to open the door was to wind the window down and stick my arm out to pull the outside handle.  I needed to book the car in anyway as I'd recently received a recall letter about the 'Power Steering Torque Sensor'. 

When I made the appointment (by telephone) for the recall I informed the person on the other end of the issue with the drivers door.  I asked if this was covered by the warranty.  The person on the other end said that it wasn't as the warranty had ended in March.  They quoted approx £90 just to see what was wrong with the door.  As it was out of warranty I told that person I would get the door looked at elsewhere.  The appointment for the recall item was made for Monday 15th June.

I know a very good mobile mechanic who looked at the door on the 4th June.  He showed me that the end of the cable attached to the inside door handle had snapped.  He spoke to the local Hyundai dealer's parts desk who told him that the cable and the complete latch mechanism had to be changed and that it wasn't possible to just replace the cable.  The cost just for this assembly and mechanism (Part number 81320 - 2L060 EJ2) was over £160.00 plus VAT.   

I wasn't very happy about that but as it was a serious problem that needed fixing the part was ordered, paid for and when it arrived my mechanic fitted it. 

Today I delivered the car to my local Hyundai dealer for the recall appointment.  On booking the car in I was informed me that there were also two other outstanding issues to be sorted.  These were something to do with wiring behind the headlamps AND THE DRIVERS DOOR HANDLE CABLE!!!!!!  They were planning to replace just the cable.  Well of course I quizzed him about this and I told him about the issue I'd had at the beginning of the month.  He told me this morning that it wasn't necessary to replace the complete unit - just the cable.

To cut a long story short I've spoken at length today to a manager at my local Hyundai dealer and Hyundai Customer Services UK who both are not accepting any 'liability' and are not prepared to offer me any help on this issue as Hyundai didn't fit the new unit.

The issues are:

1.   I've been told this morning by Hyundai Customer Services that although the door handle isn't a Recall item it's being rectified by Hyundai 'as an when' any model comes in for service or anything else.  It's picked up when the car's booked in for something.  It is on something they call a 'Service Campaign'.  A step short of a full recall.  This for me is alarming as cars out of warranty won't necessarily be serviced at a Hyundai garage.   
 
2.   When I booked the car in for the recall item I was required to tell them the registration number of the car.  Hyundai surely had the information available about the 'Service Campaign' at that point and which then should have been passed onto me.  Why did the person who I booked the car in with not know that it would have been rectified free of charge as a 'Service Campaign' item.  I have been informed today that the person I made the booking with is in fact in a call centre in Gateshead.  I thought I was speaking to someone in the local garage as I rang a number starting with my local code.
 

3.   When my mechanic located the problem he spoke with the local dealer who was given my registration number and who should have had knowledge of the 'Service Campaign'.  Added to this there is the direction to change the whole unit as opposed to changing just the cable.   This  would have been a much less costly exercise for me and which is exactly what they would have done to the car today had the cable not snapped at the end of May.  It was clear in May that Hyundai and the dealer were aware of some problem as my mechanic was told something to the effect that 'most of these went during warranty'.
 
This is potentially a very serious problem for Hyundai.  Imagine the consequences of a cable failing to open the door after an accident.  THEY KNOW ABOUT IT - WHY ISN'T IT ON A RECALL?

I would like to let every single i30 owner know about it.  I feel that they should be told about the potential problem and be given the opportunity to have it rectified free of charge.

If any UK Hyundai owner phones Hyundai Customer Services UK (Freephone 0800 981 981) and gives the helpdesk a registration number they can check to see if their i30 or any other model is outstanding any recalls or WHETHER THERE ARE ANY 'SERVICE CAMPAIGN' issues affecting their car. 

i30 owners should be specifically told to ask about the drivers door handle 'Service Campaign'.  I have been told today that these 'Service Campaign' issues are rectified free of charge for up to 10 years even those models that are serviced elsewhere.

[diablo]

You were unlucky in speaking to someone who obviously didn't know the policy on these items.  It may be that they will give you an ex gratia payment if you make enough noise.

I had my 2010 i30 serviced in April and they did the cables then, maybe they hadn't put the 'service campaign' into place when you had your last service - assuming you used the main agent.

[asathorny]

Mine went wonky about two months ago, well after warranty expired.  I went to my local Hy dealership,  from whom I had bought the car new, I was informed that my car was out of warranty BUT that this was to be fixed free of charge, that it was not a recall but something which they are happy to correct if/when it occurs.

As Lorian says, you were very unlucky, kick and scream and stamp your feet till you get an apology and financial recompense 

[eye30]

Here is a similar post from Jan 2015

https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=33111.0

[muze]

If any UK Hyundai owner phones Hyundai Customer Services UK (Freephone 0800 981 981) and gives the helpdesk a registration number they can check to see if their i30 or any other model is outstanding any recalls or WHETHER THERE ARE ANY 'SERVICE CAMPAIGN' issues affecting their car. 
these 'Service Campaign' issues are rectified free of charge for up to 10 years even those models that are serviced elsewhere.

I have an I30 from 2007. I rang the number you mention and they have no service campaign on the door listed for my car. I wonder if it only affects models from 2010? Or whether Hyundai's system is not 100% up to date?

Many thanks for your post by the way.

[ibrokeit]

Hyundai seems to be having small problems with things in the UK at the moment, didn't one of the UK consumer programs have them in a piece were basically the said UK drivers were using bad diesel?

[Dazzler]

Hyundai seems to be having small problems with things in the UK at the moment, didn't one of the UK consumer programs have them in a piece were basically the said UK drivers were using bad diesel?

Hyundai was "sort of" cleared on Watchdog consumer show. Many other car brands had similar problems as the ix35 with Diesel fuel issue.

[ibrokeit]

Hyundai seems to be having small problems with things in the UK at the moment, didn't one of the UK consumer programs have them in a piece were basically the said UK drivers were using bad diesel?

Hyundai was "sort of" cleared on Watchdog consumer show. Many other car brands had similar problems as the ix35 with Diesel fuel issue.

Ahh - I couldn't remember any of the details.  Being 'sort of' cleared is good - I suppose.

[Dazzler]

They suggested it wasn't a Hyundai only issue, although some other makes were relatively free of the problem I think.

[ibrokeit]

They suggested it wasn't a Hyundai only issue, although some other makes were relatively free of the problem I think.

Ahh - I see. I somewhat remember something along those lines now.

[Code girl]

Hi I have a Hyundai i30 2010 model and have phoned the helpline as had same problem but with passenger seat font door locks, and they have denied any knowledge of a service campaign for this problem with my car ..

[NH62]

I've recently had a bit of a saga with this fault and found this thread very helpful and worth a read

HOW TO: replace door cable (drivers door will not open from inside)

I've had my local Hyundai dealership insisting the cable alone could not be supplied and only the entire locking mechanism (at around £240.00 plus fitting) must be purchased. Click on the link (if it works!) and read that thread and you'll see others have successfully purchased the cable (Part Number 813712R000QQH - less than £9.00) from main dealers elsewhere around the country. I found out too late, and, not that it's likely to make any difference, I've let Hyundai know what I think about it.

[paddymcginty]

hi I also just had this problem with the cable ,I live in Ireland and bought my 2010 i30 of a car dealer it was an U.K import 1.4 petrol  which are hard to come by here (i think its because nobody wants to give them up as there great value and a great drive ).it wasnt worth my while bring the car back as it would be a 3hr drive there and back  i more than likely would have had to leave the car with them . so i went to my mechanic he got the cable for €15 from Hyundai,  I was able to give him the part no. as i got it  of this page Thank you.  He done the job for €79 all in .I was happy at that .Hope this is of help . 

[Dazzler]

Good on you Paddy.. Thanks for that!