My son's 2007 Hyundai Sonata had an engine noise that was eventually diagnosed as bad timing chain tensioners. However, one Hyundai dealer repeatedly denied the problem, so it was 8 months before another Hyundai dealer admitted it and changed the tensioners. A couple of months later, the engine light and oil light were on and he was told he needed a new oil pump. By this time, the warranty had expired and he had to pay for the new oil pump and eventually a new engine. My question is this: Could the failure of the oil pump have had anything to do with the timing chain tensioner problem?
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Ask Your Question2007 Hyundai Sonata
Question: Does timing chain tensioner affect oil pump?
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Answer #1
raiderron March 13, 2011, 13:11Reply
MasterMaybe if the tensioner teflon plates that the chain rides on came apart and some of the debris got into the oil pump pickup. Hopefully no sealer got into the oil pump pickup when the timing chain work was done.
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Answer #2
DaveJHM March 13, 2011, 23:47
MasterI think Ron is spot on. I think debris probably got into the oil pump pick up during the repairs. This is common when care is not used to clean the mating surfaces of used sealant.
Just a dealer point of view - Hyundai is pretty militant about NOT replacing timing components for the noise. They consider it nearly always to be normal operation - especially on the newer engines. So I'm not surprised that the first dealer didn't "help" you... Hyundai will literally not pay warranty claims for timing tensioners if the local rep for parts and service is not aware of it in advance.
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raiderron, March 14, 2011, 00:52MasterWOW
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Visitor, March 14, 2011, 18:13Thanks for your help. It's a complicated case. Apparently the prior owner didn't maintain the car very well. When my son brought it in for service due to an engine noise five months after he bought it from a dealer, the tech said the car had no oil and it looked like the filter had never been changed. I don't know if that would cause the oil pump to fail 8500 miles later, but it seems suspicious that the major problems began to occur after the timing chain tensioners were replaced.
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Visitor, March 14, 2011, 21:17Suspicious is a mild term for what you are experiencing.
My rule of thumb is: what would the manufacturer pay under warranty? I can tell you this: If you were under 5 years / 60,000 miles and if my Hyundai dealership replaced timing chain tensioners and then 60 days later experienced an oil pump failure, I would be eating the cost of repairing your engine.
My suggestion is to appeal your case with the dealership service management, general management or even Hyundai Motors America. You may get nowhere...but...you may get somewhere.
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DaveJHM, March 14, 2011, 21:19MasterThat last response was me... 3/14/2011 21:17...
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raiderron, March 15, 2011, 08:07MasterHow could the tech tell if filter had never been changed?
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Deb9158, March 15, 2011, 10:02RookieThanks, Dave, I agree. At a cost of $4,000+ to replace the oil pump and engine, I think it's worth a shot. The Hyundai service shop that eventually replaced the engine claims it was damaged when my son drove the car home after they recommended changing the oil pump and he declined. They claim they told him not to drive the car, but he said they didn't and there is nothing in the paperwork about that.
Ron, apparelty the oil filter was so dirty, the tech thought it had never been changed.
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Visitor, March 15, 2011, 19:38ReplyAs I thought, just an assumption. I truly wish you luck.
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