NHTSA Complaint #11635910 — 2013 HYUNDAI AZERA

Vehicle started having overheating issues around August 2024, took it to mechanics to get it looked at and tried various fixes, concluding in a blown head gasket. When I took my car to a third party mechanic to fix the head gasket they found that the head bolts of the cars engine had been pulled out of the threads and said that it was a manufacturing issue. Head gasket was fixed but the car was having the same issues due to the head bolts being loose. I've taken my vehicle to the nearest Hyundai Dealership and told them about the overheating and head bolts being pulled out of the threading. They ran their diagnosis and then charged $1000 for a thermometer change (which our third party mechanic had also done already) and a coolant flush, which did not fix the issue as the car would still overheating after pick up. After taking my vehicle back to the dealership they said it had a blown head gasket claiming over $14,000 dollars for an engine replacement. They failed to acknowledge the issue of head bolts being pulled of their threads which has become a common issue across their 3.3l v6 GDI Lambda II engines, as is documented by many online. The Hyundai 2017 Santa Fe which also uses the 3.3l v6 GDI Lambda II engine is currently getting an extended warranty for engine replacements for all models from 2013-2017. It's strange that Hyundai is only doing extended warranties/recalls for Santa Fe model cars when they have other vehicles, like my 2013 Hyundai Azera, that use the same 3.3l v6 GDI Lambda II engine that will have similar issues. All vehicles that use the 3.3l v6 GDI Lambda II engine should be getting recalled. Hyundai does not seem to want to take responsibility for their faulty engineering on this engine and lazily claim it to be a "blown head gasket" issue when the head bolts being pulled of the threads causes the vehicle to overheat is what is causing the blown head gasket in the first place. They dismiss it as a blown head gasket and don't look any further.