Class Action Suit Filed Against Hyundai

They may claim to have "America's Best Warranty," but those involved in a class-action lawsuit filed in California disagree. At issue is Hyundai's failure to replace or repair clutches in Tiburons that had low-mileage on them.

The suit covers 2003 Tiburon GTs that have six-speed manual transmissions and 2.7-liter engines. However, the suit may expand to include 2004 Tiburons also.

Owners whose car suffered clutch failure were denied warranty coverage on the basis that the clutch is a "regular wear item." They were also told that the problem was likely due to driver error. Repairs for this problem could cost as much as $2000, despite Hyundai boasting a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Many of the clutches failed before the cars reached 30,000 miles.

In March, 2004, Hyundai released a Technical Service Bulletin to its dealerships advising them of a problem with deformed clutches. However, when owners brought their cars into the dealerships, they were told the repair would not be covered by the warranty.

Hyundai faced class action lawsuits in 2004 when it was discovered the company had overstated the horse-power in some of its vehicles. In some cases, the horse-power was off by 10 or 11. Vehicles affected by the exaggeration include some models of the Tiburon, Santa Fe, and Sonata. Hyundai denied that the mistakes were on purpose, blaming them instead on "disorganization." As a result, Hyundai compensated consumers who bought vehicles with more than 4% discrepancy.