’02 Santa Fe: Currently at Dealer - need sanity/labor check

Would really appreciate a 2nd opinion on this!

Took my ’02 Santa Fe (110,000 miles) back to the dealer for additional
and previous unresolved issues.

Note: I have the 120K powertrain warrantly.


Four issues on the ticket:

1) Coolant Leaking (new issue again)
2) Squeel Noise from the serpentine belt
3) SHift hesitation for first 3-5minutes when starting the car first
time of day into 1st and 2nd. Very pronounced in cold overnight
weather.
4) Vehicle stalls ocassionally while idling at stop light first few
minutes after starting car.


NO MIL lights have ever come on.


Background: about 3 months / 5000 miles ago, was also leaking
coolant, and overheated. At that time, head was rebuilts, aslo had
timing belt and water pump replaced. Also ATF was flushed.


At this point, they say they can’t address the stalling / shifting
issues unless I take care of everything else they found.


No charge for #1 - Warranty (Good thing I specifically asked for that
replacement at the timing belt change).

#2 -- I am being told that there are two probelms here -- the
tensioner and the idle pulley. He says tensioner is covered by
warranty, but the idle pulley is not. DOes this make sense????

Strangley, he reports the belt is "just fine". Considering its
never been replaced (I thought it was during the last major work)...
I’m not going to "save" $30.00 for a belt that is 100K miles old.


With respect to #3 nd #4, he indicates the are not getting any
transmission codes, but they do see codes P0330 (Knock Sensor 2)
and P0441 (Purge Valve)

Any he indicates these codes may have nothing to do with my trouble,
but I must fix them by

A) Replace purge valve ($35 + 1 hr labor) and
B) Replace Knock Sensor (part cost ??? + 3 1/2 hours labor).

Only then can "test" the transmission/stall issue.

Total Costs: $1300 - with no insurance that it wont go up since they
are not addressing #3 and #4.


Any thoughts on this, especially the 3.5 hours to replace the knock
sensor? Wondering how much of this is duplicate labor,since they are
going to have to tear down to get to water pump anyway, as well as
replace the belt. Or would this truly be completley seperate labor in
an unrelated area.


I asked him to look into this, but I got the feeling that if he can
"double dip", he is not going to let me interfere with that without
me showing more knowledge.

All help is greatly appreciated.

 

#1. Excellent.
#2. I’m actually surprised either is covered. "Powertrain" doesn’t
typically cover anything external. If these pulleys are for the drive
belt, they should be included with the water pump labor. Both must be
removed to take the timing belt cover off.
#3. Not feeling the shift hesitation, it’s hard to say, but this may
be normal. The transmission control module (TCM) changes shift points
based on temperature to help achieve desired fluid temperature
quicker. This should not be affected at all by the purge valve or
knock sensor.
#4. The purge control valve is an excellent explanation for the
stalling. If it’s stuck open, you’ll get vapors bleeding off into the
manifold when the vehicle is off. It’ll make the vehicle difficult to
start after it’s been sitting awhile and run poorly after starting.
The knock sensor can cause some minor performance issues, but
shouldn’t make the vehicle stall. It’s located under the intake
manifold, so there’s no overlap with the other work. If you’re
looking to combine it with something, it combines well with the spark
plugs/wires. I’d be tempted to repair only the purge valve, clear the
codes, and see what happens

 

Thanks again for the excellent advice! Pretty much my inclination was
what you reported. I’m just going to have them do as much as I can
under warranty (and the "nearby stuff") and let another delear take
over from here. As you probabbly know by now, I don’t have a lot of
faith in them, as they already tried other stunts.


Just curious, what is the book labor time for water pump replacement?


Re:

#3. Not feeling the shift hesitation, it’s hard to say, but this may
be normal. The transmission control module (TCM) changes shift points
based on temperature to help achieve desired fluid temperature
quicker. This should not be affected at all by the purge valve or
knock sensor.

I should have been clearer in my post. (I was to the dealer.) When
the weather was cold, (by So Cal Standards, in dropping into the teens
and 20s (Farenhint)), it was beyond hesitation, into a full delay of 2
-3 seconds and then CLUNK!!!!! It’s not garaged unfortunately, but
I’m guessing that is out of the normal range, otherwise the poor folks
in the middle and eastern states would be rioting.







Thanks,

d

 

Alldata lists 2.6 hours as the replacement time, but that seems rather
low. I doubt many shops will be willing to do the job for that labor.

And the transmission issue doesn’t sound terribly normal. Won’t be
caused by the purge valve or the knock sensor, either. It’s
definitely an issue with the transmission or transmission controls
(sensors, TCM, etc)