[Thylacine]

Hi folks.

Does anyone have any information on an Australian recall for front sway bars? The ones on my i30 have made a clunk (?) noise from about the time it was two, this was always ignored at the dealers service. I was told that the wrong size bars had been fitted and that they were to be replaced on a recall but the car was fine to drive...... Last year we had a major (expensive) service done before we went for a driving holiday, we also had new tyres fitted and the front end checked, no negative feedback from either the car dealer or the tyre fitters (they do suspension work too). Today I put the car into the dealers because it is becoming hard to start (told them this at the last service) and I've just been told that I need a new starter motor. No issue with that, as it was what I suspected...

However, they also told me that I need two new sway bars(?) fitted and two new front shock absorbers and tops????? How could two different service centers miss that my shocks had gone or were on the way out? The service and tire fitting were done last September aside from that persistent clunk the steering seems normal? Was there a recall?

I've had the i30 for nine years with no real issues aside from replacing fuel pumps every 2-3 years (the none genuine ones seem to last longer). This seems to be a very expensive fix coming too soon after a very expensive service.

Thanks.

[Dazzler]

Hi Thylacine, I assume you are an expatriate Taswegian?

No recalls that I am aware of with sway bars. Sorry to hear about your expensive repair.

Wasn't aware the fuel pumps were such a weak point either be interested in feedback from others.

[mickd]

@Thylacine

Replacing fuel pumps every 2-3 years?  Sure it's not fuel pump filters ??

[tw2005]

I would say they mean sway bar bushes or sway bar links. ( years and how many Ks?

I've done bushes, front frame needs to be lowered to get to these. I've had groaning and clunks from flogged bushes.

At this age they'll be getting hard anyway.

[Thylacine]

The first fuel pump quit at Gympie and was replaced at the dealership there, it worked the night before and in the morning.... We had to organise a tow from our motel, there had been a couple of issues with it flat spots accelerating and the odd drop in power when in cruse control. The second died on the way into Bathurst, my wife's excellent map reading skills saw us head down the Widden Valley Road, Emu Creek Road, Myrtle Gully Road, Myrtle Trail, Nullo Mountain Road instead of  the Bylong Valley Way.... A rather long bumpy road that shook pump number two to death, we crawled into Bathurst in the early evening. Next morning saw us at the dealership being told that the pump installed at Gympie was rubbish (?) and that it would cost us $1,300. to have it replaced and the car would be off the road for at least a day as the part had to come up from Sydney. I thought this didn't sound right so I hit the local REPCO store that had a couple of pumps and they told me of a local mechanic that has a little workshop and works on 'race-cars', well we were in Bathurst! So by the end of the day he had drained the fuel checked it and the filter, removed the pump and showed me where it was shorting out and put in a new pump/fuel gauge. I think that cost me just over $300.!

Anyhow I have booked the car in to have a new starter motor installed and asked why the starter motor hadn't been fixed at the last big service when clearly there was a problem starting the car then. No answer... Then I asked about the front shocks as they seem fine, only to be told well they are old and on the the way out, and should be replaced soon. But the bars should be replaced and its a big job..... I asked why when the knock was clearly audible and it had been reported on previous services, starting four years ago, why it too hadn't been repaired? No answer to that either. When I said that a previous staff member had told me that there was a recall and that the part was the wrong one but it was right to drive and it would cause no problem just the annoying clunk, once again there was no answer...

I have a feeling that the bushes probably needed to be replaced a few services back but weren't and after looking online at the cost of replacement parts the price doesn't seem to be as expensive as the dealership quoted. 

We will have owned the car ten years this coming October and its done 197515 K's mostly trouble free.

I think that an MUX may be the replacement for our i30 as they seem to be fairly bombproof.

[nzenigma]

Finally figured out that you have a PETROL FD model.
The story about common fuel pump failure is false. Two servo/ dealers have been playing you.
Same with sway bars.....sorry mate

You must have seen our pages on steering bush failure,
"I asked why when the knock was clearly audible and it had been reported on previous services, starting four years ago" 

Get the bush replaced for $240 (NOT AT A DEALER) and forget all the other nonsense about struts and bars.

[mickd]

@Thylacine
Thanks for the info.
You had a rough trot with pumps. Bloody dealers and their bullshit 
Glad to see you got sorted for a decent price.
As for the other items for repair, sounds like "creative income earning" to me
  
Agree with NZ re: steering knock and the little bush being the culprit.

[Thylacine]

nzenigma.

The first pump just quit and we were up at Gympie, too far for a tow home so it went to the dealer up there. I have no reason to fault them that the pump had gone as a replacement pump (aftermarket) was the only fix they did. That pump started failing after a very long and bumpy (dirt road) trip through a national park. I love to use maps, paper maps to see where I am going but my wife prefers to trust the GPS. Anyhow after about 5k of bitumen as I did a sharp right turn and headed up hill the car started to splutter and this became progressively worse as we neared Bathurst. The guy that fixed the car in Bathurst (Competition Car Care?) showed me the old fuel pump and said that they just aren't made to be repaired. He had put a load on it and it was shorting out (conjures up thoughts of sparks in a fuel tank) he also said that it had the float for the petrol gauge. I like it when the mechanic will talk to you and show you whats wrong, I'd trust a man that did that rather than some guy in the front of a dealership trying to sell you fries with your service. 'Oh by the way, you need the brakes changed and the spark plugs and the exhaust needs a clean out and'.

Ill look up and the forum pages on 'steering bush failure' and take the car to the place that does the tires as they also do suspension and they can change just the bushes for me. Car is off to the dealer to have a new starter motor put in on Friday.

mickd.

"creative income earning" Yes, they like your money, $124 to hook up a diagnostic sensor and tell me its the starter-motor, the mechanic could have worked that out with one turn of the key.... Whats two minutes of a mechanics time worth???

[mickd]

@Thylacine
Keep us posted,  cheers   

[AlanHo]

No recall in the UK

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[nzenigma]

@Thylacine

This is an attempt to save you money
knocking noise coming from steering column/shaft

If you read this and other posts on steering knock, you will realise that the failing bush is up under the dash. The knocking is transmitted down to the area around steering rack and sway bars etc. Therefore, It is more often  than not in correctly diagnosed.

The average tyre fitter cum suspension guru is not the sort of place i would go to.
I stress that you need to fix the bush before you follow some other  theory.

Regarding the fuel pump; Hyundai use this type of pump in everything from i20 to Santa Fe, petrol and diesel (as primary pump); cant say why a Dealer would have to fit some after market pump and what was the real reason for doing so. Possibly yours did fail and because, as mentioned, these are very reliable pumps, they dont need to stock them.
 Rough roads DO NOT affect them.

Im guessing that you had bad fuel and dirt in your tank.  Bathurst story certainly hints at this,. With dirt at the base of the tank, the pickup sock on the pump got clogged. Ist and or 2nd muppet damaged the pump trying to clean it.

[Surferdude]

@Thylacine

NZ enigma is correct about rough roads having no effect on fuel pumps.

If you're in Gympie, look for someone who deals with Fulcrum Suspension as they are very familiar with the steering bush issue although the part may need to be genuine. It's about $10.

[Surferdude]

@Thylacine

NZ enigma is correct about rough roads having no effect on fuel pumps.

If you're in Gympie, look for someone who deals with Fulcrum Suspension as they are very familiar with the steering bush issue although the part may need to be genuine. It's about $10.

Sorry. Just realised you aren't in Gympie. But the reference to Fulcrum still stands.

[Cookie Thumper]

The first pump just quit and we were up at Gympie, too far for a tow home so it went to the dealer up there. I have no reason to fault them that the pump had gone as a replacement pump (aftermarket) was the only fix they did.

Why did they fit an aftermarket pump ?