Hyundai 5-year/60,000 mile Limited Warranty for skinny people only?

[pRICE cUBE]

Joey’s a big guy. Nobody is questioning that. What Joey is questioning is why Hyundai is refusing to fix a broken part of his 2015 Sonata under their five-year warranty, and why Hyundai feels that reminding him he’s “large” is justification for not repairing his car.

Joey, who felt like he was out of options, emailed us about the saga of the 2015 Hyundai Sonata he bought new. He chose the Sonata partially because he had researched and found that the car was well-suited for people of his scale; Joey is about 5'9" and 300 pounds. You can still find references to the roominess of the 2015 Sonata online.

http://jalopnik.com/hyundai-is-refusing-...1791708058

[cbelt3]

Heh... the opposite applies as well. I have a co-worker who is a VERY tiny lady. Brilliant and aggressive as hell, but tiny. 5' nothing, less than 90lbs wringing wet. She is actually the chairwoman of an industry committee, and blue collar workers all over the world have learned to respect her over the years.

Her new Subaru WRX refused to recognize that she is a passenger, and would not activate the airbag or the seat belt. She went through heck getting the issue resolved.

It wasn't until she ended up at a dealership with a sales lady who is just as tiny, and could duplicate the issue, that they believed her. And replaced the seat 'load' sensors and re-calibrated the whole thing.

[NewtonMP2100]

.....you have to wear skinny jeans if you own one too......

[Paul F.]

"The issue is a direct result of the customer being a large individual"...

And that sentence will come back to haunt them in court.

[PeterW]

Had the sentence read "the individual is a fat tub of goo" maybe it would have haunted them. Wearing out a seat cover is not a warranty item anymore than spilling a Coke on it would be.

[Bimwad]

Jalopnik? It figures.

It appears that when this owner (and others as well) is getting out of the car, he is inadvertently applying lateral pressure to the lower trim panel that also holds the seat controls, and the fastener is not strong enough to repeatedly resist this force.

It has nothing to do with his size, and it was stupid of Hyundai to use it as justification, and allow the idiots at Jalopnik to turn it into click bait.

Hyundai needs to redesign that panel with a better, more robust attachment method, if they haven't already, and issue a TSB to retrofit cars where the owners encounter the issue.

No more, no less.

[C(-)ris]

Unless Hyundai has somewhere in their literature an maximum weight restriction for the driver they are going to be out of luck.

[h linamen]

I'm trying to understand how wearing out an unwarranted seat cover qualifies for a claim. Hyundai already replaced it twice when they didn't need to. Seems they've gone over and beyond their responsibility.

[Racer X]

I agree.

Look at a 2013 Sonata. Seats 5, so has 5 seat belts. Just because you could theoretically get 5 adults in there, the total load carrying capacity is only 900 pounds. You put 3 300# people in it, it is now technically at max load. Just because you can fit in it doesn't mean it is safe, or it was DESIGNED for it.

At some point, people need to take some personal responsibility.

[OWC Jamie]

http://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-tra...ranty.html

Full Warranty
Any company offering a full warranty must repair or replace the product during the specified warranty period. Federal and some state laws mandate that if a company plans to fix the covered item, they must do within a reasonable amount of time and it must be reasonably convenient for the consumer to get the item to and from the place where it will be repaired. Typically, this is handled through the mail or a private parcel delivery service.

Additionally, full warranties do not often cover normal wear and tear.

A full warranty may be active for just a limited time after the item is purchased, perhaps 60 or 90 days, or it may cover the product "for life" (the same goes for limited warranties). But the actual scope of a lifetime warranty may mean the item is covered for its lifetime on the market (until it is discontinued) or it may last only for as long as the original buyer owns it, but it rarely comes without conditions.

Limited Warranty
As its name implies, a limited warranty is limited to just the specified parts, certain types of defects, or other conditions. But since it can mean virtually anything the retailer decides, it is important to fully understand the meaning of "limited" when buying such a product. Often, it covers just the parts and not the labor required to fully fix something. A limited warranty also may include the stipulation that the manufacturer and the consumer split the cost of repairs for a given period of time.

Typically, both limited and full warranties cost extra as an add-on. Sometimes, particularly with car dealerships, a range of warranty options are offered. For example, a new car that comes with a five-year warranty might offer the option to pay for a 10-year limited warranty.

Whether you are planning to buy a product with a full warranty or a limited warranty, understanding the fine print can help you make informed consumer decisions.

I agree it sounds like a poor design Hyundai needs to address.