We took our 2004 Hyundai Sonata to Meineke for a tune up and timing belt replacement in July. The vehicle was running fine prior to this. The total cost was $876.
Within a few days, we started hearing loud noises coming from the engine immediately after startup. We returned the car to Meineke several times to have this noise investigated. At one point, we left the car there overnight. The mechanics could not find the cause of the noise.
In March of the noise returned even louder while driving to work. The vehicle was returned to Meineke immediately. An inspection revealed that the bolt holding the auto tensioner had sheared off. The auto tensioner, bolt and timing belt were replaced. The total cost of this repair was $340
In August of the same noise returned while driving from work. The car was towed to Hyundai dealer. Mechanic inspecting the car found that the auto tensioner bolt had sheared off. We explained the earlier repairs. The mechanic stated that in 25 years of working with Hyundai, he had never seen one of these bolts shear off once, let alone twice. The mechanic suspected that improper torque had been used to tighten the bolt. The timing belt, auto tensioner and water pump needed replaced, estimated cost $1085.
Meineke did offer to honor the warranty and replace the parts at another location. However, we do not believe that the Meineke mechanics are completely competent in this area of repair and we simply cannot afford to have the car out of service every six months. We would like for Meineke to do the right thing and refund our money.
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