[ec362]

Hi there
My Hyundai i30 petrol estate has been impeccably maintained and done 140K miles. The local mechanic says the cylinder head gasket has gone and this is not worth repairing as would cost in region of 1.6k, and that they couldn't repair it anyway due to the timing chain. Previously it was struggling at 30mph and the  engine light flickering on and off- they replaced spark plug but the issue returned and the temperature went way up too as we drove it to the garage. It does have dings and scratches but has never given me any trouble at all. I was really hoping for more that 140...just bad luck? Second opinion? Thanks in advance for any advice!


2010 i30 Comfort, FD 5 Door Estate, Petrol 1.6lt, Auto, Blue

[ec362]

Any thoughts/advice?

[Greyhound]

I have not encountered a head gasket failure on any cars I have owned or driven and only on one of my dad's cars many decades ago, so sorry to hear your story.
As you probably have worked out, it is not the cost of the head gasket, but the hours of labour involved that makes it an expensive repair. Have you sought a second or third opinion?
You should also think about possible other engine damage has been incurred due to overheating and oil+water mixing that come with that fault. That may depend on how much you have run the engine in that state and may not be seen until the engine is apart.

PS: Did you get white smoke from exhaust?

[ec362]

Thanks for replying Greyhound. I didn't see any white smoke but was driving at the time. But given they thought it was a spark plug issue before, and it was faltering at 30mph before pushing past it fine, I've driven it a long time in that state- so your advice on unknown damage is helpful to consider. It was only the day I took it to the garage that the engine light came on and temp climbed and it clearly wasn't happy.
Sounds like I've had some bad luck, it's not an exciting car after all, I bought it purely for reliability!!  I will take it to the other local garage for a second opinion
 

[welbourne]

I'd get a second opinion personally. If they didn't do a proper head gasket test it seems like a lot of assumption based diagnosing to me.