Warranty being denied

My experience involves working for a very nice family-owned Chrysler dealership, but most manufacturers follow similar procedures. At the Chrysler dealerships, there are certain things spelled out in the franchise agreement that the dealer is required to do to take care of their customers, and there are things they can not do without prior approval. When the dealer knows the manufacturer is going to pay a warranty claim, they like doing those jobs because there is not going to be any argument over the charges.

In addition, there are things the dealer has discretion over as to whether it is handled under warranty. Going back to the days when the standard warranty was 12 months or 12,000 miles, each dealer had a fund, typically $100,000.00 per year, they could use to cover things that were definitely out of warranty, but really shouldn't have happened yet. Because those funds were limited, the dealers used them to cover vehicles owned by regular, or good customers. If someone came in angry and screaming, and acting like it was the service advisor's fault their car broke down, there was very little chance the service manager would make that fund known. Most people are rational and calm even though they're frustrated. Those are the people we tried to help. Chrysler would pay those warranty claims up to 18,000 miles. Today the standard warranties are a lot longer, but they still have that fund to use at their discretion.

The first thing you have to do is list the exact diagnostic fault code number. Next, you must be aware that no fault code on any brand of car ever says a part is bad or needs to be replaced. As evidence of that, here is a link to a list of the common codes used on '96 and newer models:

https://www.2carpros.com/trouble_codes/obd2

About half of those codes refer to an unacceptable operating condition. No part is even mentioned. When a sensor or other part is referenced in a fault code, it is actually the cause of that code only about half of the time. You have a 50-50 chance of solving a problem by replacing the part, but if you read through the older questions here, you'll find hundreds where someone replaced a part, sometimes two or three times, and the fault code keeps coming back. Before we spend your money on a part, we have to rule out wiring and connector terminal problems, and mechanical problems associated with that part.

I have a suspicion your dealer is looking at the lack of cooling system maintenance, which is a really big deal on some other car brands, and expects to find the need for additional services or repairs to perform a quality repair job, and those additional items are going to flag the warranty claim. If the manufacturer refuses the claim after you're gone, who is going to pay the dealer and his mechanic for doing the work and providing the parts?

According to a national group of very high-level instructors who put on training classes for independent mechanics, they list Hyundai as the top manufacturer in the world for having the best "customer-friendly" business practices. Number two is Toyota, and number three is Chrysler. As such, the people at Chrysler dealerships are your advocate, not your adversary, when it comes to solving problems. As long as they know someone is going to pay for the diagnosis and repair, they have every reason to keep you happy and as a repeat customer. If they are unable to satisfy you by following the rules set up by the manufacturer, they will suggest the next step up the chain of command. In Chrysler's case, there is a district representative who visits each dealership one day per month, specifically to handle problems the dealer can't solve, and just to see how things are going. The service manager or the dealership owner will set up an appointment time where they will be by your side, in a conference room with that representative. That district rep. has the authority to warranty anything, regardless of mileage or age of the car. Warranties never cover consumables, or wear items, like tires, brake pads, and clutch discs, but if those types of items incurred damage because of something else he is going to cover, he will offer to replace those parts too.

This one day per month when the rep. showed up, there could be two or three people meeting with him that day. That was the only time the dealership owner's office door was closed and we knew to not bother knocking. Almost every customer left that meeting satisfied at the outcome, and the rep. did a very good job of explaining why the dealer was unable to handle the problem on their own.

What most people don't realize is if you bought the car at this dealership, long before the district rep. got involved, the selling salesman has been involved too. We only see his job as twisting our arms to buy a car, and he does a little of the paperwork. What we don't see is how he follows up after the sale, including getting your car scheduled for other warranty services on your behalf. Remember, he wants to sell you another car a few years from now, and he's not going to sell cars to people who are angry with the dealership. At my dealership, two of the salesmen don't even bother running out to the lot when a customer is walking around looking at the cars. One has been there over 40 years, and people come through the door, not asking for a salesman. They're asking for "Bill". He has so many happy repeat customers that he just waits for them to come to him.

Given Hyundai's reputation for taking care of their customers, there has to be a next step if the dealer is unable to do the repairs under warranty. If they won't offer to help with that next step, there will be contact information in the owner's manual for some type of Customer Service or a Resolution Center.

You didn't say if the 150,000-mile warranty was included with the purchase of the car or if it was an aftermarket service contract. Aftermarket contracts get very specific and detailed as to what they will not cover. Very often, at the service counter, I overheard, "what you need isn't covered". Most people over-pay for those "warranties". The best strategy with those is to ask for a refund of the pro-rated amount you paid for the contract, and use that to pay for the repair. The people at those companies are usually happy to give the refund because that costs them a lot less than paying the repair bill.