Hyundai & Kia compensating buyers due to exaggerated fuel mileage

[Mermaidman]

FYI, for those of you who bought new Hyundais or Kias. Those Hamstars were Scamsters!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia overstated the fuel economy of many of their models, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday.
In response, Hyundai and Kia said they will pay owners for additional fuel costs associated with mileage difference.
Meanwhile, the EPA will also post new lower fuel economy figures for many Hyundai and Kia models on its website, fueleconomy.gov, and new window stickers will be printed for cars still on dealer lots.

Just to let the OT people know you can discuss this subject but no need to go off the deep end with your OT mouths...
While it ok to to toss out the occasional F...bomb there is way to much here for ATG so keep it civil, is that to much to ask...?
It does NOT make you look important or even close to being mature so keep it somewhat clean or stay out...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[dr150]

I think VW also had a squabble with consumers over diesel numbers.

I noticed they came down a bit this year on older established models.

 

[shortylickens]

Thats nice. Is Chevy gonna pay me off for shitty build quality and excessive "deleted" maintenance?

Ok keep it civil getting a bit over...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[PottedMeat]

i hate those stupid "deleted" hamsters.

Not OT and this is getting excessive...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

that's nice - i guess they've got everything covered.

To make up the problem, the automakers have agreed to issue debit cards to owners of models that were sold with overstated mileage figures. Vehicle owners will be able to take their car or SUV to a dealership to have the odometer checked and the number of miles driven recorded.

Owners will then receive a debit card based on the miles driven and the average local price of gasoline, plus an additional 15%. Owners can have their odometers checked and get a debit as often as they like as long as they own the car.

Owners who have already sold their Hyundai or Kia vehicle will be able to receive a single debit card based on the mileage recorded on the car's bill of sale.

 

[Zeze]

Wait, something doesn't add up.

Aren't MPG independently benchmarked by EPA? If so, how did this problem arise in the first place?

 

[Krazy4Real]

Thanks, sent this to my sister. She has a Tucson.

 

[Mermaidman]

Thats nice. Is Chevy gonna pay me off for shitty build quality and excessive "deleted" maintenance?

Haha! Too bad for you--Those aren't on the window sticker! :sneaky: Also, didn't you buy it severely used?

Not a good thing to follow suit always...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[ElFenix]

Wait, something doesn't add up.

Aren't MPG independently benchmarked by EPA? If so, how did this problem arise in the first place?

read the article

 

[Wyndru]

Wow, I'm surprised that they are going pay people money back for each mile they drive for the lifetime of the car.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Humm. So it will work something like this?

Should have been 25MPG instead of 30MPG, 5MPG difference.

Drove 10k miles, requiring 400 gallons of fuel instead of the sticker estimate of 333 gallons.

Extra 67 gallons consumed for the year. Say local price is $3. 15% extra for $3.45 a gallon, at 67 gallons is a debit card for about $230?

Figure over 5 years about $1150 back. Not too shabby. But that's on the high side, and assuming how they are calculating.

I had looked at the Soul, and Soul owner boards are loaded with people bitching about the actual gas mileage.

The Hyundai dealership here has a big sign out from that says 42 MPG! And ads on TV are always quoting highway mileage these days. Seemed kinda chicken shit. See our car gets 42 MPG and the Prius C only gets 46MPG. So you're really going to spend that much more only to save 4MPG? Salesmen are shitbags.

 

[NutBucket]

Makes sense. In the last 20 years the only car my dad has been unable to exceed EPA ratings with is his 2011 Sonata. I knew there had to be something funny going on.

 

[Jimzz]

Wait, something doesn't add up.

Aren't MPG independently benchmarked by EPA? If so, how did this problem arise in the first place?

No. The EPA says this is how you should run the test, run it and report back.
The EPA is to small/under funded to test every car out there. So they kinda work like the IRS. They set the rules and then do random audits to keep people honest.

I don't think Kia or Hyundai are the only ones over setting their numbers. Yea gas milage will go up, esp as gas prices go higher, but for everyone to hit the same "40mpg" mark seems more marketing than truth.

 

[phucheneh]

Hasn't cheating been pretty common in the past? Like manufacturers removing accessories or detuning engines for the test? I've definitely read about some shenanigans like this in the past; can't remember where.

I also had thought the EPA recieved test samples and rated them on their own. This now makes me think advertised MPG is even more of a joke. The window sticker should come with a big 'PLUS OR MINUS 25%' disclaimer.

 

[andylawcc]

it's about time....

but I too am surprised that they are reimbursing though.

 

[Ferzerp]

Thats nice. Is Chevy gonna pay me off for shitty build quality and excessive "deleted" maintenance?

You're the guy that drives at street speeds in 4-low, so probably not.

 

[mmntech]

Thats nice. Is Chevy gonna pay me off for shitty build quality and excessive "deleted" maintenance?

You're saying busted lower control arms, faulty sensors, bad cats, and blown pistons aren't cheap repairs?!
Yeah, I've had all of those happen. Not on my own cars thank god. Never owned a Chev but driven many.

The fuel economy ratings are way out of wack here in Canada, which is something that really irks me. Chevrolet says the Tahoe gets 28mpg highway on the Canadian site but only 21mpg on the US site. They claim the Cruze gets 52mpg. No f-ing way.

I'm just picking on Chev because I was looking for a monstrous vehicle and the Tahoe was the first that came to mind. All car companies are like this. They still test them here under ideal conditions on level tracks. Even then it's a stretch. Should I get comped for my gas expenses? If Hyundai has to, Honda better have the cheque in the mail.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Makes sense. In the last 20 years the only car my dad has been unable to exceed EPA ratings with is his 2011 Sonata. I knew there had to be something funny going on.

Strange, I actually tend to get above average fuel economy in mine.
The city mileage tends to be a bit lower than sticker due to the hilly nature of the cities where I live, but highway mileage makes up for it in a big way.

 

[LTC8K6]

You're saying busted lower control arms, faulty sensors, bad cats, and blown pistons aren't cheap repairs?!
Yeah, I've had all of those happen. Not on my own cars thank god. Never owned a Chev but driven many.

The fuel economy ratings are way out of wack here in Canada, which is something that really irks me. Chevrolet says the Tahoe gets 28mpg highway on the Canadian site but only 21mpg on the US site. They claim the Cruze gets 52mpg. No f-ing way.

I'm just picking on Chev because I was looking for a monstrous vehicle and the Tahoe was the first that came to mind. All car companies are like this. They still test them here under ideal conditions on level tracks. Even then it's a stretch. Should I get comped for my gas expenses? If Hyundai has to, Honda better have the cheque in the mail.

Yeah, our test is now a bit tougher and Canada is using the Imperial gallon, which is quite a bit bigger than the US gallon. Combine those and you get a 4X4 Grand Cherokee 5.7L rated at 17/28 in Canada vs 13/20 US.

 

[Dari]

It's about "deleted" time they got caught. Almost all their cars had that goddamn 40mpg highway number. It just did not make any sense. Now we know it was all a lie...

No reason to discuss like this save it for OT...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[jagec]

Recently we were in Seattle and rented a compact. They gave us a Kia Soul instead. I was surprised by how bad the mileage was for a modern "small" car...and I tried to milk the gas pedal for all that it was worth. In my aunt's Honda Fit, I could get over 40 MPG on the highway if I didn't speed to much...getting over 30 MPG was impossible with this thing.

I guess having the aerodynamics of a brick doesn't help your fuel efficiency, huh?

 

[marvdmartian]

Makes sense. In the last 20 years the only car my dad has been unable to exceed EPA ratings with is his 2011 Sonata. I knew there had to be something funny going on.

Too bad for dad. From the article:

Two of the automakers' most popular models, the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima mid-size sedans, are not involved.

 

[Doppel]

I think this is an unbelievably huge black eye forth the company.

 

[yottabit]

I think this is an unbelievably huge black eye forth the company.

Honestly, I think it's really cool that they are doing such a good response to it.

It's hard for me to understand these numbers. I guess I typically exceed them quite a bit, even based on the OLD ratings. However I'm much more in-line with the old ratings (pre-2008 changes) than the new ones, so I wish I could see what the new cars would be under the old system.

For instance my 1999 Saturn SC2 I average about 33-35 MPG a tank, my 2005 Mazda3 I could average about 30 MPG a tank, maybe 70/30 HWY/city (both cars manual)

Their NEW ratings are:
SC2: 23 city/27 combined/34 hwy
Mazda3: 22 city/25 combined/29 hwy

OLD ratings:
SC2: 27/31/38
Mazda3: 25/28/32

I just wonder if it's safe to say if I bought an Accent or something I'd get well above the combined with my driving style

 

[Jumpem]

Glad I didn't go through with getting a Soul. They dropped 5mpg.

 

[ultimatebob]

I wonder if they'll do something similar with the Chevy Cruze Eco. They promise 42 MPG highway on that car, but I'd be lucky to get 37 MPG on a good day.