A Canadian student mechanic got a rude awakening when a local Hyundai dealer refused to honor the automaker’s warranty for his Elantra N’s blown engine. Christian Matzoros bought the 2022 Elantra N just two years ago – paying for an extended warranty that made him think he had complete coverage for seven years 140,000 kilometers (about 87,000 freedom miles) – but the dealer wouldn’t follow the warranty because he had been “over-revving” the motor.
Back in June, the 22-year-old was driving home when his motor failed at just 46,000 kilometers (about 28,600 miles of freedom). He told CTV News that he was just driving down the highway when the car suddenly became unresponsive – saying, “It just stopped. I was stepping on the gas pedal and it wasn’t moving.” He added the engine repair would cost about $10,000 (about $7,400 U.S.).
That was three months ago. The Elantra N is still sitting at the dealership with a bad engine because of what technicians found in the car’s data through the ECU. They told Matzoros the car had been abused and the engine had been red-lined multiple times. I mean, that sort of makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s an Elantra N. You’re supposed to drive it hard. Well, the dealership and Hyundai Canada don’t see it that way:
When CTV News reached out to Hyundai Canada a spokesperson said “Hyundai Canada has conducted a thorough investigation into the matter involving Mr. Matzoros’ Elantra N. After reviewing the vehicle’s engine data, which was retrieved through the Engine Control Unit (ECU) – a system that monitors and records engine performance for diagnostic purposes – it was determined the engine experienced conditions exceeding its designed operational limits, resulting in significant mechanical failure. These findings point to excessive engine revving, which falls outside the coverage of the vehicle’s warranty due to improper use.”
“The warranty for Hyundai vehicles covers defects in materials and workmanship under normal usage conditions. Damage caused by misuse, including exceeding the vehicle’s mechanical limits, is not covered. In this instance, the excessive stress caused by significantly exceeding the maximum recommended RPMs on multiple occasions falls outside the warranty parameters. We have provided a full explanation to Mr. Matzoros regarding the cause of the issue and the reasons for this decision.”
Matzoros did admit to CTV News that the car had been taken to the dragstrip at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Canada a few times, but he argues this isn’t where the engine failure occurred. He said he was driving home when it blew up. To be fair, it’s not clear if it blew up when he was on his way home from the track, but it’s not good regardless.
I’m really not sure how this will shake out since we don’t know the exact language of the warranty he bought, but this is certainly not a good situation. Now that Hyundai Canada is involved, I’m not sure Matzoros is going to get that $10,000 engine replacement he’s after.