For the Hyundai Getz owners out there:
Once my Getz (2006, 1.6L engine) reached about 120,000Km, I started to notice a strange engine vibration while cold.
Once the engine warmed up, the vibration stopped.
But the really strange thing was: it would sometimes take over 30 minutes before the vibration would go away!
So it probably wasn’t directly related to the engine itself, as the blue “cold engine” light usually goes off in less than 5 minutes
A quick online search resulted in many different possibilities (but no obvious cause):
- Muffler problem
- Worn Engine mount
- Spark leads / spark plugs
- lots of other weird ideas
So I started to think:
- A Muffler problem sounds feasible: A crack or a broken weld in the exhaust system could take a while before expanding metal parts “reseal” the crack, and then the vibration goes away.
- Worn engine mounts: I doubt it. Engine mounts are just rubber grommet-like things that stop the engine from making direct contact with the car body… If those things wear out, the engine will always vibrate, or only vibrate after the rubber warms up (and becomes even more rubbery)! So its nothing like what I’m seeing
- Spark leads / plugs. Also possible, although I got a new set of plugs just 10,000Km ago, so they should still be in good condition… but the HT leads are still original… and the expanding metal theory would also work in this case.
Anyway, I’m not a mechanic, so I took it to my local mechanic (Bailey Road Type and Mechanical… these guys are great!).
As part of the usual service, they checked out the problem, and noticed that the engine/gearbox mount was broken, so I gave them the go-ahead to replace it.
But when I got it back, it was no different!
I started thinking: maybe these guys are not as good as I thought… Grrr.
But since I encounter strange problems myself, I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
So I went back.
They had a quick look on a Saturday morning, but needed more time for a good look.
So I booked in the car.
When they looked at it, they said the only other possible problem was the main engine mount.
This started to sound weird, and I was really thinking about spark leads and muffler/exhaust.
Anyway, I let them change the engine mount.
When I went to pickup the car, I see the invoice mentioned a FR500 engine mount.
And I was told its an unusual mount, in that its a fluid-filled mount.
I hadn’t heard of those before. But decided: if its not any better when I start it tomorrow, I’ll take it elsewhere.
Guess what?
The next day, the engine was super-smooth, and its been that way ever since!
It feels like I have a new car!
Thanks Wayne Lloyd: you did very well, and have turned me into a long-term customer.
And its this type of customer service that should be more common with my line of work.
I often encounter curly problems, which sometimes make new customers distrustful of what I say, as I can start to sound like I’m making excuses, as I try to fix a problem.
I’m glad I decided to trust, instead of falling into the easy (and negative) emotion of distrust.
