I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata limited with 120,100 miles on it. When I took it in at 90k for an oil change, I was informed that my oil was very low. At my next change it was noted as low again and we decided to switch to synthetic to help aid the issue. At 105k my check engine light came on and I immediately drove it to my mechanic. He stated that it was out of oil, but that he could find no significant damage done to the engine. Ever since then, I have been very conscientious about adding oil. Monitoring it, it was burning about 1 liter per 800 miles. At 117k I was rear ended and wanted to make sure my engine wasn’t failing in case I just wanted to collect a check instead of doing the repairs. My mechanic said they couldn’t find any issues. I pressure tested my engine with a friend and everything was normal, spark plugs looked great. I even sent an oil test to blackstone with 2500 miles on it which came back with no detectable metal and below average wear. I’m burning about 1 liter per 500 miles at this point. At 119,500 I take it to Hyundai as a last ditch effort to see if they can find and issue before my warranty (extended to 120k) is up. The only issue they find is an O2 sensor which is repaired. After driving 500 miles I checked my oil and it was almost out. Whatever they had done made it significantly worse. I’ve taken it back now and they are stating that I need a new engine, but that it wouldn’t be covered under warranty because it hasn’t failed/seized. Of course now that it’s over the 120k point it may not be covered when it does fail. So because I’ve been cautious, kept an eye on my oil and kept my engine from failing I can’t get a new one? Has anyone gotten anywhere with Hyundai corporate? I have documentation that it’s been an issue for the last 30k. Do I just drive it to the ground and cross my fingers they’ll grant the warranty when my engine does fail? I’m also confused of why a pressure test that comes back fine, no detectable issues, clean oil report, replaced pcp valve and a good O2 sensor can lead to the answer you need a new engine.
since you did not check the oil regularly (which your user manual clearly states), you ran it into low-oil condition repeatedly.
you were lucky enough not to incur too much damage at each incident, but running in low oil condition was absolutely eating your engine life away, from 90K as you wrote
now, the burn rate accelerates, as engine gets to its final breaths before a break-down, so you observe lesser and lesser intervals on when you need adding oil, this is not out of line with how wear happens
I can not comment on Hyundai stand on warranty, but most likely they do have some provisions about what constitutes the worst “normal” oil burn rate and usually they ask for the “official oil burn test” for the warranty to kick-in, but once again, I’m not sure what your “extended” warranty covers, but since 100K powertrain warranty lapsed, it may have happened that manufacturer is already off the hook.
the “engine seize” they mentioned is a known issue for 2.4L engines of the generation you own, and yes, they would likely wait for the engine to completely destroy itself before using that
looks like you are in a murky waters and have to check all your paperwork on hands, all fine-prints in warranties, etc… and then decide if you have a stand in this case.
if you would not be able to produce even one of historical records on the proper maintenance on both mileage and time intervals from the moment car left the dealer lot anew, they will smile and deny the coverage
Are you in the USA? I ask because you’re mixing metric (liters) with English (miles).
Try a new dealer. Show the documentation that you’ve notified Hyundai about this before 120k miles.
Request an oil consumption test. Over 1qt per 1000 miles is reason for them to approve a replacement engine.
This is their Theta II engine, which has been subject to recall; they’re more liberal about warranty replacement.
That’s the evidence of your responsibility for the engine problem. The carmaker may have some responsibility, too, but you might have prevented the problem and did not do the necessary care, so they are off the hook.
There’s several different reasons an engine can lose oil. Some are difficult to solve, some are relatively easy. I can relate my own experience with a VW Rabbit. It was losing oil at a rate of one quart per 500 miles. The dealership inspected, said the engine was under a recall for faulty valve stem seals, which they replaced at no charge. This repair was done in about 4 hours with special tools and equipment, without needing to disassemble the engine. This fixed the problem entirely, oil consumption after the repair was one quart per 3500 miles. If you indeed have the Theta engine mentioned above you could try searching for that term using the forum search tool, circular icon upper right on this page. Might provide some more information.