I have a 2007 Santa Fe Limited with 34k miles. When starting for the first time of the day, especially in the cold, the engine makes a horrible "clacking" sound for about 30 seconds. It sounds like a diesel engine! My dealership told me that this is "perfectly normal" and that it's oil pressure building on the timing chain tensioners. I called Hyundai USA and they said that they've never heard of this.

My dealership says it's not worth the time to bring the vehicle in for service, but they won't provide me with anything in writing that says it's "perfectly normal".

Are these guys right or are they blowing smoke?

 

So I assume you have the 3.3 L motor with a timing chain

I think it's not really indicative of a problem. Basically, they're right, it's really cold and it takes a few moments for the engine oil to pump up to the valves and circulate around the motor and lubricate the timing chain tensioner. It's not very good for the engine, but normal.

If you wanted to do something about it, you need to get a block heater of some sorts, or park it inside.

 

jw38, your dealer is 100% incorrect. It is NOT normal.

Print out the following 2 TSB's (Technical Service Bulletins), take them to your dealer and have them fix the problem correctly:

TSB #06-20-002
http://jerrystout.us/sonata/tsb/timi...0tensioner.pdf

TSB #08-EM-001-1
http://jerrystout.us/sonata/tsb/timi...eplacement.pdf

 

NovaResource: Thanks for the information! It is readily apparent that the noises I hear on start-up are NOT normal. NO car manufacturer would allow this to be considered "Norma;"!!! I'll take both TSBs to my dealership.

By the way, I called Hyundai USA and they also said that the noise is not normal...but they didn't mention the TSBs!!!!

 

Unfortunately, TSB's are sent out to dealers, not owners. Hyundai won't tell you about the problem. They only send out these bulletins to inform dealers what to do if an owner complains about a problem. The timing chain tensioner problem for the Lanbda engine (3.3L and 3.8L)is fairly common. Either your dealer has never had a complaint before or is blowing you off. Inform them about the TSB's and let them look it up to confirm the issue and how to repair it. If they give you trouble, find another dealer.

 

I know this is an old thread. I have a 2007 Sonata with the 3.3 Lambda. Just recently (cold weather starts) it made a horrible clacking sound for about 30 seconds, then went into proper cold idle. Scared the crap out of me. When I went to video the car start as evidence, (only -11°C) it ran great. But when it was -25°C it made this sound on all 3 cold starts, even though the block heater was plugged in. Also, the whole car was literally shaking when the engine was clacking. One of our shop mechanics said (duh) "Clacking is not good". I could figure that out myself. What the heck causes this???

When I called the dealer, they said it was just a sticking valve. I don't think so. Anyway, the car has been starting ok for the last week with no wierd noises, but I'm still concerned it could happen again.

The links you posted in this thread appear to be broken. Could you please direct me to the proper TSBs so I can download them and take them with me for my next dealer visit? Thx

 

Just go with the numbers and have them look them up. Or PM me your email address and I'll email them to you.
TSB #06-20-002
TSB #08-EM-001-1 was replaced by TSB #10-EM-006

 

NovaResource
Thx for the info. I went on line and found a complete listing of TSBs for Hyundai. The 2 that you have posted I unfortunately cannot use. The first one applies to 3.3's produced up to July of 2006. My car was built in Oct 2006.
The second applies only to noise that occurs after warm bleed down of 10 minutes. My car doesn't do that either. I'm glad the car is running ok now, but my worry will be if it has to be serviced after Dec this year (end of warranty). In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy driving it!