Hyundai Elantra squeals on start up
Hey everyone,
I’d appreciate any advice or input you may have. I own a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. Bought it used in 2014 with 61K miles on it. The car was great for me for a couple years, and required nothing besides regular maintenance and oil changes. In September of last year (2016), I got the timing belt replaced, along with the water pump, pulleys, and tensioners, as suggested in the user manual. The AC belt needed to be replaced at this time as well. I decided to get the work done at a local Meineke that I had heard good things about, but I’ve had problems ever since.
A couple weeks after getting the work done, I spent a week at the beach. When attempting to start my car towards the end of the trip, it wouldn’t start. I tried over and over, and after about 15 minutes it did start, but the engine was really slow to turn over. The car had been baking in the sun for days, and hadn’t been started for 4-5 days, but I’d never run into any issues with my car starting before. I took the car back to Meineke and they told me that they could not recreate the problem, and so they did nothing.
About a month after this, my car began to squeal when I started it up. A loud, high-pitched, continuous squeal. It would generally stop after the car warmed up, but it got worse over time, squealing when I made sharp turns as well. I took it back to Meineke and they supposedly tightened the belts up. They told me to come back if the problem persisted. Well, the problem sure did persist, so I brought my car back in yet again. This time they told me that the AC belt tensioners were bad. They replaced these, along with the AC belt itself (under warranty, thankfully), and told me this should fix the problem.
Indeed, this did seem to fix the squealing issue for about a month and a half. However, about a month ago the squealing returned. The same high-pitched, loud squeal occurs when I start my car for the first time in a few days. I should note that the instant I shift into gear, the squealing stops. Also, after I start my car and run it for a while, I can shut it off and leave it for a few hours, and it won’t squeal on start up the next time. The squealing only occurs after periods of inactivity.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice that you all may have. Does anyone know what the problem could be? I wish I knew of an honest mechanic in my area, but no one seems to be able to point me to one. I feel like I am getting jerked around by Meineke, or they have a handful of incompetent mechanics that did the timing belt installation wrong. I’d like to hear how others would proceed in this situation.
Thanks!
I’d appreciate any advice or input you may have. I own a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. Bought it used in 2014 with 61K miles on it. The car was great for me for a couple years, and required nothing besides regular maintenance and oil changes. In September of last year (2016), I got the timing belt replaced, along with the water pump, pulleys, and tensioners, as suggested in the user manual. The AC belt needed to be replaced at this time as well. I decided to get the work done at a local Meineke that I had heard good things about, but I’ve had problems ever since.
A couple weeks after getting the work done, I spent a week at the beach. When attempting to start my car towards the end of the trip, it wouldn’t start. I tried over and over, and after about 15 minutes it did start, but the engine was really slow to turn over. The car had been baking in the sun for days, and hadn’t been started for 4-5 days, but I’d never run into any issues with my car starting before. I took the car back to Meineke and they told me that they could not recreate the problem, and so they did nothing.
About a month after this, my car began to squeal when I started it up. A loud, high-pitched, continuous squeal. It would generally stop after the car warmed up, but it got worse over time, squealing when I made sharp turns as well. I took it back to Meineke and they supposedly tightened the belts up. They told me to come back if the problem persisted. Well, the problem sure did persist, so I brought my car back in yet again. This time they told me that the AC belt tensioners were bad. They replaced these, along with the AC belt itself (under warranty, thankfully), and told me this should fix the problem.
Indeed, this did seem to fix the squealing issue for about a month and a half. However, about a month ago the squealing returned. The same high-pitched, loud squeal occurs when I start my car for the first time in a few days. I should note that the instant I shift into gear, the squealing stops. Also, after I start my car and run it for a while, I can shut it off and leave it for a few hours, and it won’t squeal on start up the next time. The squealing only occurs after periods of inactivity.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice that you all may have. Does anyone know what the problem could be? I wish I knew of an honest mechanic in my area, but no one seems to be able to point me to one. I feel like I am getting jerked around by Meineke, or they have a handful of incompetent mechanics that did the timing belt installation wrong. I’d like to hear how others would proceed in this situation.
Thanks!
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