[Gerryp68]

Hi

I bought a 2011 Hyundai i30 sedan 1.4 Petrol from a Hyundai dealer in late November.
They said it was a trade in and had 63000 kilometers when I bought it. Came with a 3 month guarantee.

The car is in mint condition both inside and out but have had a couple of problems already

First, in late January, I filled up my tank with petrol. Get home and when I go out later, there is about a liter of fuel that is on the ground and I can see fuel leaking from under.
Take it in and they find no rust but it was leaking from the solder joint. So they install a new fuel tank at no charge since it was under the guarantee period

On Monday, this week, I noticed a spot on the ground as I pulled out from my garage. Go out and check and it was coolant. I drive to work and when I get home I take a look under the bonnet to see if I can spot the leak.

The relief tank had coolant in it but it was just below the low mark. After inspecting hoses and seeing no leaks. I notice it is wet on the edge of the engine. Call the dealership and they advise to drop the car off in the morning.

Get a call an hour later and they confirm it is the head gasket.  I have only driven about 3500km since I bought it and they are replacing the gasket at no charge.

Asked how the gasket could go so early, only 66k, and they said they have never experienced a head gasket going on that engine and can only think that since the car had low miles, it must have been the cause. Basically, not driven enough

Just wondering if there is anything else I should be worried about. I think I caught it early since there was still coolant in the fill tank and the temp gauge was always normal

Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated

[Dazzler]

  Gerry,

Wow! You are unlucky but lucky at the same time. I have been co-running this site for almost 11 years and both those faults are very rare! The thought that the head gasket has failed due to low usage seems like hogwash (rubbish) to me. That is not super low mileage for the age. My wife only does 6,000 to 7,000 kilometres a year in her car.

On the positive side very few 2nd had warranties would cover the full cost of a new fuel tank and head gasket replacement. Here in Australia most 2nd hand yard used warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on. Either they try and find some way to weasel out of the repair or jack up the cost and try and make you pay "half", which usually equates to the full cost from a 3rd party repairer.

So I think provided they do both repairs properly I thank you should relax and just continue to enjoy the car.

Various motoring surveys have found the i30 to be amongst the most reliable cars on the road.

[tw2005]

I can't imagine any logical reason why, "not driven enough" sounds like rubbish to me.

But  just a random thought. I think we've had a couple of 1.4 Petrol with timing chain issues / tensioner reported here on this forum.

This can result in the chain skipping and placing the valve timing out and have the valves collide with the pistons.

If that happened , th ehead would have to be removed for repair.

Just being the devil's advocate, could it be possible the head has been off and the head was not refitted correctly causing a gasket failure?

Or simply bad luck? I don't recall head gaskets being a common fail yet in general just based of forum posts

@nzenigma ( thoughts)

[Gerryp68]

Hi and thanks for the welcome!!

I do feel a little unlucky but hopefully the job is done right.
I am extremely happy with the service at the dealership. I thought I would get the run around because the 3 month guarantee was up like 5 days ago but they said of course they would cover it.  They were baffled as to why it happened and had never seen a head gasket leak on that engine and they even gave me a loaner car, a nice i20 , because they said it could take some time

Hopefully, the job is done right and I don’t have more problems.

[Gerryp68]

Hi tw

Now that you mention it. I think I remember seeing when I browsed through the service book for the car that the head gasket was replaced earlier when it had around 30k on it.
The car was bought new at another local dealer and most of the routine services were done there
I’m not certain but think I remember seeing that.
Going to check it when I get it back

[tw2005]

Hi tw

Now that you mention it. I think I remember seeing when I browsed through the service book for the car that the head gasket was replaced earlier when it had around 30k on it.
The car was bought new at another local dealer and most of the routine services were done there
I’m not certain but think I remember seeing that.
Going to check it when I get it back

well that's interesting, I wonder why? And it's done another 30K , leaking again?  Hopefully it'll turn out well for you.

[nzenigma]

 Over a period of time aluminium components in contact with the coolant can become corroded. Thats why we add (green or red) corrosion inhibitor to the radiator water.

As I read the first post , that was the only logical LONG-SHOT that came to mind. These i30s dont blow head gaskets.

Now your last post accords with tw.
 The head was probably off earlier.
In that case the corrosion theory is out the window. Not at 30K ( 3 or 4 years of age) .
Nor would timing chain be a factor at 30K to 63K

Its probable that the head is distorted somehow or has a crack. Could be a glitch during manufacture, or the head has been overheated at some stage by loss of coolant.

Crystal Ball also tells me that the problem WILL reoccur if they are only replacing the gasket.

[Gerryp68]

Hi

GOt a call today that the car was ready. At the dealership, I asked if they checked the head for cracks or distortion. They said they did and it was fine. He said they saw a small crack in the gasket and again stated they have never changed a head gasket on that engine type. Unsure as to why it happened.
He also said they replaced the timing chain, which is common to do or else it could start making noise after such a repair.

I mentioned that I thought I had seen a service repair for head gasket replacement earlier. So we took out the service book but it wasn’t a head gasket. It was a valve cover gasket (part # 224412B002) that was replaced during a 48mth service interval on April 2015 and the car had 33,000 kilometers.

This dealership I bought the car from has done regular service on the car since 2016.
So maybe it was just bad luck but good luck that I spotted it early and they covered the repair.
Hopefully, it runs problem free for a while . I enjoy the car 

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the update Gerry. Not only have they been helpful and obliging but quick too! 

Good luck! You'd be pretty unlucky to have a 3rd significant item fail in the near future. 

[nzenigma]

same from me too! Good lucK and thanks for the prompt reply