Update December 12, 2023, 06:25 p.m. ET: This story initally reported that the customer in question bought a Hyundai vehicle, but the automaker looked into the case following the initial coverage and learned that Virginia Sousa purchased a used GMC Acadia at Lithia Hyundai. The story has been changed to reflect these new findings.
A Nevada woman has been left stranded out of state and in need of a major auto repair that a Hyundai dealership is denying. Reno resident Virginia Sousa bought a vehicle from Lithia Hyundai earlier this year and “immediately noticed a rattle,” according to local news KOLO. Sousa brought the car in but the Hyundai dealer that sold her the car claimed she needed an oil change and sent the mother of four on her way, reportedly saying “everything was fine.”
Everything wasn’t fine, however, and the rattling did not go stop after routine maintenance was performed. Hyundai has had issues lately with faulty engines, which require major repairs or entire replacements, in some cases. There are reports of owners having mixed luck with warranty coverage: some have been able to get repairs or replacements, while others have not had such good luck.
It seems like Sousa was unknowingly among the latter, even though it was a used GM Acadia that she purchased, rather than a Hyundai product. She tried to contact the dealership to report the persistent rattle, but was unable to get ahold of them. And KOLO lays out a timeline that spans several months, full of encounters that left Sousa and her family feeling dismissed and frustrated:
When the rattle persisted Sousa tried to call Lithia Hyundai to have the car looked at again. According to Sousa, it took three months to get ahold of the dealership and when she did, it was another two months to get her car on calendar. This time around, after dropping the car off, she was told the vehicle had to have the motor replaced and that the warranty was invalid.
“We were thinking, well, is there any exception because we had it in prior to the warranty? We never heard yay or nay…nothing,” said Sousa.
In the five months it took for Lithia Hyundai to determine the warranty was outdated, Sousa’s father was dying.
During the time Sousa was trying to get in touch with the dealer, she was facing hardships at home; her father died, and in the months leading up to his passing, Sousa had to travel to California multiple times, as the woman tells KOLO:
“I think I made at least four trips to California in the time being. One being I had to by his bedside, he died January 1st, I had to go back for his celebration of life, and then I had to go back twice to get some of his stuff,” Sousa recalled.
Sousa and her husband texted and called repeatedly just to get answers. The Sousa’s even kept records of each time they reached out. In some instances they would call the dealership eight times in a week. Their car has now been sitting at Lithia Hyundai for three and a half months.
Throughout the ordeal, Sousa was unable to use the vehicle. She took on a car payment for naught, and Sousa says she’s been paying for a car she can’t use.
After her father’s death, KOLO reports that Sousa’s four-year old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family now had to split at regular intervals so Sousa could take her son to radiation treatment in Utah, while her husband stayed in Nevada to care for their other kids.
In Utah, Sousa and her son have been left carless, relying on Uber and Lyft to drive her son to treatments. The frequent ride share trips have strained their finances, adding to the frustration of paying for a car that’s useless. The dealership says her warranty lapsed, but Sousa asked whether that applies if the ordeal began prior to the warranty expiring. If it doesn’t apply, it could be a case of bad timing on the part of the used GMC vehicle Sousa purchased.
Or at worst, perhaps the Hyundai dealership was aware of the possibility that the car may have a faulty engine, and they stalled for time so they could claim the warranty expired in order to deny Sousa coverage she was entitled to. The local ABC news outlet reached out to Lithia Hyundai for comment but the Reno dealership has yet to reply to KOLO’s request.