NHTSA Complaint #11443710 — 2017 HYUNDAI ELANTRA

My daughter purchased her first car, a 2017 Hyundai Elantra, last December (2020). She drove it for the first few months without any major issues but then it started having issues with the car “jerking” and stalling every time she drove it. It actually stopped in the middle of the road multiple times and she had to start it up again, which is highly unsafe. The check engine light came on and she took it to the local O’Reilley auto parts for the free diagnostic scan. It pulled up a camshaft sensor. Her best friend’s dad is a local mechanic and has a high-tech reader, so he plugged it in and it pulled up camshaft/crankshaft. He also noted that the oil was really low (she had it for six months at this point). No oil light on. They added oil to it. The car sat in our driveway for a few months until we could afford to repair it. Took it to the local repair store and they stated that one of the major issues was the timing chain was loose due to “worn sprockets” (which the mechanic stated appeared to be a manufacturing defect as they are too short to properly grasp like they are supposed to). After completing a $1800 timing belt repair they are now stating that, that was not the only issue and that the motor itself is going to need to be replaced. At this point, the car is not valued at the price of the repairs and replacement, leaving my daughter without a car and with a finance payment. I’m at a loss of what to do. I do not know much about cars but I do know that a car that was manufactured in 2017 should not need an entire motor replaced by 2021.