Hyundai Motor America

Last week i thought i finally fixed my car after i figured a way to measure oil viscosity with a straw. After figuring they put 5W30 and said it was 5W20 (manufacturer's recomandation) on May 2, i went again on May 4 and had another oil change.  The car quieted down until i came back from Lincoln City. I started to suspect somebody put oil additive in my engine but when i came back i checked viscosity again and it was not changed. But on my way i stopped at Grande Ronde and added 6 more gallon of fuel and the noise stopped again. So i figured it could be also something wrong with the fuel. So after watching some videos i tried to pull a gas sample from the car to check if it had extra aclohol which could cause problems with injectors. Could not succeed with a soft rubber tube because of a safety device the newer cars have which prevent from gas spilling during a rollover. However when i started the car the noise stopped. Then i finally figured it was the vacuum applied to the tank by the evaporative control system that was creating enough difference in fuel pressure for car to slighly missfire. Which meant the fuel pressure was marginal which could only happen if the fuel filter was clogged. So i thought it was worth it to try and change the fuel filter which probably was not changed in 55k miles or never on that car. So i watched a video on youtube on how to do that. However it is scary. No car has fuel filter inside the fuel tank. I could not possibly do it myself and i remembered Jiffy Lube declinded to do so also last year. Dealer was the only option.
I believe it was August 1st last year. I went and made an appointement for an oil change at Beaverton Hyundai. After the service person took the VIN number and made the appointement i left the dearleship. On my way out, Stan Miller, Manager of Service Department ran after me and asked me to roll the window down which i did and he told me i was banned for his dealership, for reason of "messing too much with the car". In those days i had a moisture and oil filter on the PCV line. Not the happiest choise, since then i tried many things and ended with a catch can but certainly the car was not in imediate danger of being damaged. He was in his office while the service guy made the appointement with the door open and didn't say anything in front of other people.

Previously he told me that i had my car overfilled with oil at his own service which may have resulted in oil getting in the intake. He also told me that the angle in which the nozzle is held when filling with oil matters as oil could get in the intake. He made me climb into a similar car and made me listen at the same clicking sound or worse then mine telling me "It's a Hyundai!".

I wrote here extensively about the reasons why the oil get in the intake.

Previously i asked him to replace engine head, where the noise came, he first accepted, then i changed my mind and when i asked him again he said he could to it but that would not help and he didn't want to take my money for nothing. The guy reminded me of the Australian country singer Ketih Urban.

At that dealership i had done a battery change right after buying the vehicle, at least one oil change, AC service and was banned at the attempt to do the second oil change after a long trip in southern US. The engine was still overfilled after i chaned oil at Murdoch Hyundai in Salt Lake City in the meantime. Ever since they keep sending me coupons. Today i spoke with several people, including Ale and i believe twice with Annie at their service. They kept asking me to spell my name and never calling me back. My question was if i could use the coupons and come back to do a fuel filter change. In the end i asked Annie to pull me from their mailing list and she said i have to hold for a confirmation and that kinda tipped me. I mean, why do i need a confirmation i was removed from a mail list? I'm sure they will do as they please.

Later i called the corporation where i spoke to Alexis. Never answering straight, never helping with a resolution, contradictory, bullying. I think there is a whole culture of bullying at Hyundai. She wanted to give me a case number but i remembered last time i talked to them they sent me an email after. So i'm waiting for the email.

What i wanted was either a written confirmation that i was banned or acceptance to fix my fuel filter and use the coupons they keep sending me.


Could not find the manual tonight, i found only this quick reference guide with the Maintenance schedule on the back.

How do you inspect a fuel filter? https://www.google.com/search?q=fuel+filter+inspect

How often you replace a fuel filter for a 2013 Elantra (Eternal)? Found this on a forum. Today i talked to three different people, one with an accent and one a Korean. They said you don't have to replace it.

" We changed the filter as my book says to change it at 60,000 km for warranty purposes. I don't have a lot of money and the mechanics here wanted $460.00 to replace the filter"

2014 Elantra sedan, 1.8 liter engine, similar to mine. https://www.hyundai-forums.com/md-2011-2016-elantra-sedan-coupe/637601-fuel-filter-change.html

[05-10-2019 11:00 AM]
Had it with Beaverton Hyundai. Just called Gladstone Hyundai (next as distance) and asked for a fuel tank air filter and a fuel filter. They don't have the fuel filter separately but only with pump and it costs over 400 dollars. For the other one i payed 26 and will be there 2-3 business days. Parts guy was new and i heard him talking with another guys trying to figure the parts out. Then he passed me to the cashier who asked the credit card twice and my address and phone number.

Just called Ron Tonkin Hyundai. Finally figured why they don't sell filters. They have a service called "flushing" of the fuel system which is supposed to clean the filter. They said car should also have sensors for fuel tank pressure and fuel pressure, so i should try and read those to see what's happening. Fact is if i take the fuel tank cap off and put it back on the noise (click, or tick) at the engine mostly disappears.

In the mean time i found the manual. It was sitting fallen behind the desk. There is no such thing as "flushing" of the fuel system or replacing the fuel filter. It's still a mistery to me as what's hapeening.

The laws of common sense say that if the gasoline has dirt in it (and all gasoline has some) the filter should catch it and in the process it will saturate with that dirt needing replacment.

There are some contradiction regarding fuel filter replacement in this page. It is not clear what the word "clean" means. Hope it is not a joke since this is the first time when i heard a filter can be cleaned. It is true i go on the patio from time to time and blow my hepa and carbon filters in the opposite direction to air flow to remove some dust and prolong their life. However i don't see how you can revert flow in that filter while in place and if you do so how you don't contaminate your hole fule tank. I will come back tomorrow with a clearer picture (need some day light, flash creates reflection) and Mannix starts right now at 2 AM on the west coast. As far as replacement goes, i cannot find any filter at the dealers without the pump.

[05-11-2019 4:17 PM]
Al modern cars built since January 1 1996 have an serial interface with the on-board computer called OBDII. (On board Diagnostic). Provided you have a tool you can interface with the computer, read sensor readings and set parameters. You could also change the whole software. The tools in the past cost thousands of dollars, now you can to it with a bluetooth device and a $2.99 App from Microsoft. Here is the screenshot with the readings of the fuel tank pressure sensor, done outside the purge phase of the evap system.  I had a similar software on the tablet, which i paid 10 dollars for (Torque) but since i reset the tablet last time cannot download it unless if i pay again. (Free version could also read sensors but it doesn't work.) So it's really hard to read that sensor during purge cycle to diagnose the system. Computer is supposed to throw a check engine light if the pressure does not go down enough within that cycle, which involves applying vacuum to the thank. However if you have a clogged fuel tank air filter (which i never knew existed) that is not going to show up. (Together with oh so many malfunctions the computer can't catch and won't turn a check engine light on.)

This car before me has been driven on a road that had pine needles on it and it had a layer of half inch of those on the mud flaps on the rear wheels. That filter is located under one of those flaps on left rear but is exposed to dirt from the road, which puzzles me. I just ordered one of those at ... Gladstone Hyundai and i think if i remove half of the mud flap i can do it here in the parking lot and also take a picture of the location. Is it possible that that filter let dirt contaminate the fuel tank which in turn contaminated the fuel filter that is downstream from the pump and for this car is located inside the tank, an unusual or even unique design so it's very hard to replace as shown in the video above and could not be order separately.

By interfacing with the computer i also figured there is no fuel pressure sensor, which is common for this class of vehicles. Because of that, a "flushing" of the system that is supposed to clean the fuel filter, offered both by dealer and Jiffy lube cannot be measured or quantified. Also the car does not a fuel line port to measure the fuel pressure with the engine on which is unusual for this class of cars and is impossible to evaluate or "inspect" the fuel filter as recommended in the manual seen in the picture above.