This is the 8th or 9th time the check engine light has come on showing code P0326 Knock Sensor. It always happens when accelerating uphill. After flat freeway driving for 150-300 miles, or restarting the car several times, the check engine light turns itself off. This has been a constant problem during my 4 years of ownership. When taken to the mechanic, the problem can't be found, replicated or fixed. They can only see the stored P0326 codes.

There was a TSB for 2012-2013 Hyundai Accents for an ECM Update; however, I've contacted the dealer three times and they say they have no clue what I'm talking about. My VIN# doesn't pull up any TSB, but if you simply Google "Accent P0326", you will see this is an on-going problem for LOTS of 2013 Hyundai Accent owners with resistance on Hyundai's side to fix the problem without doing an expensive diagnostic and recommending unnecessary repairs first.

Why is it that every time I go up a hill or rapidly accelerate on an incline or on freeway does my car make a rattling noise and the check engine light goes on? I have stated other concerns I am having with my vehicle but considering Hyundai reputation for reliable cars I am concerned the problems I am having with my car are manufacturer problems and should be addressed immediately. I do not have the financial cushion to get major repairs done on my car and I don't think I should have to pay for the several complaints I have when I know other Hyundai owners have shared their concerns as well. The concerns I have are valid and I have documentation to prove that I have done everything in my control to make sure my vehicle had it's recommended oil changes and maintenance done regularly.

With that being said I hope you understand my concerns because if I am doing everything to keep my car running excellent I should have started out with a reliable vehicle from the manufacturer to begin with. I want to see Hyundai recall the 2013 Hyundai Accent and fix the concerns we have regarding engine lights, rattling noises, excessive oil consumption and other major concerned other individuals have. I would rather be a positive statistic and happy customer of Hyundai than a negative statistic if these vehicle problems do not get addressed in a timely manner and something terrible happens.

~Skyblue owner

We got a “Check Engine Light”. My wife took the car in for service on January 17, 2013. The car has a 100,000 mile 10-year warranty which I paid extra for. The car only had 1,426 miles on it. It was explained by the service adviser that the wiring was damaged by animals such as a mouse. They indicated that the wiring in new cars is made from a corn/soy based product and that animals are attracted to eat this type of wiring. The service center repaired the wiring and corrected the problem. I had to pay $262.35 for the repair as they indicated the warranty does not cover damage from animals eating the wiring. No evidence was provided to me to indicate that the wiring was damaged by animals.

Over the weekend when there was a lot of sunlight, I inspected the car. Although I don’t know where the exact damage was, I did inspect the wire harnesses that I could observe, and I saw no evidence of any animal bites on any of the wire harnesses that I could observe. Logic would indicate that there should be some evidence of other animal bites to the wiring if one was damaged to the point where the wire was broken through.

I inspected the wiring further, and I noticed the wiring has a hard plastic shrouds over it which would help prevent an animal from chewing through it. But like they said it may be possible that an animal chewed through one wire; but, in my opinion it would be very rare that there wouldn’t be damage or evidence elsewhere to the wiring if one was chewed through. So, I don’t believe their story.

The other disturbing thing is that as I was inspecting the car, I found a roll of electrical tape left on top of the engine. This could have caused even more damage through Foreign Object Damage if it were to fall into the engine. I saw another disturbing thing in that there were a few copper wire stands from cut wire that were left on top of one of the black plastic boxes. If this fell into the engine it could electrically short out components in the engine causing even more damage. This is a lack of quality with respect to repairing a car. Another disturbing thing that I saw was that small pieces of electrical tape were placed in various places on the wire harnesses around the engine. I don’t know why they would have placed tape in these areas that had no damage. But it looks like they faked the repair. This too could become another source of Foreign Object Damage to the engine. Anyway, I removed these disturbing items to prevent any additional damage to our car.

What I am requesting is some reconsideration on whether this damage was really done by animals or if it was really due to a manufacturing defect that caused the problem. I have no evidence of any bite marks. If it was determined to be from a manufacturing defect, I would like to be refunded for the $262.35 cost that I had to pay since this would be covered by the warranty. I was also looking for a written apology for the lack of quality with respect to this repair.

I sent a letter of complaint to Hyundai USA and they said there was nothing that they could do, and that I should talk to the manager of the Hyundai service center that I dealt with. However, that is who told me that mice ate my wiring. So, I gave up.