[Christian Antalics]

Hello All,

I recently took delivery of a 2020 Venue SE (M/T) and it is a great "run around" car, perfect for its purpose.

The morning after I took delivery (I bought it sight unseen and the dealership dropped it off) I noticed water droplets condensed on the INSIDE of the windshield near the bottom which evaporated after running the defrost.

Shortly thereafter, when the weather (Maryland, USA) turned colder the car started fogging up completely -- FROM THE INSIDE!

Yep, all that moisture is on the inside of the car! Here is another photo that was taken from inside the car:

Upon further inspection, we found that the carpet on the passenger side (front and back) was very wet:

Video of water in rugs

We mopped it up as best we could, and ran the a/c and heater simultaneously with the windows closed on recirculation mode which seemed to get rid of most of the moisture.

However, within two weeks it was fogging up from the inside AGAIN, so I called the dealership and they came and picked it up to see if they can find out what is going on.

The tech I spoke with indicated that this is NOT the first Venue to exhibit this sort of problem.

My question is this: have any of you heard of this going on with the Venue and what do you think is going on??

 

[Chicago Jake]

Well that sucks! No, I've never heard of that happening, and it certainly doesn't happen with my Venue. You might want to ask for a different car, because it sounds like the one they gave you is defective. Good luck! I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Christian Antalics]

Well that sucks! No, I've never heard of that happening, and it certainly doesn't happen with my Venue. You might want to ask for a different car, because it sounds like the one they gave you is defective. Good luck! I hope it all works out for you.

So, the dealer picked the car up and after a few days reported that the water had been getting in due to a defective door seal on the passenger side. Which means that the car has been getting water damage for most of 2020 and mold has probably already started to grow in the rugs. Eventually, that can lead to odor and allergies. I have asked them to offer me a different car or to remove all the carpet and put in new carpet. I don’t know what our legal options are if they refuse.

 

[Christian Antalics]

Latest update -- the dealer reported that a poorly fitted door gasket on the passenger side had been letting rainwater get into the car. I do not want to be dealing with mold and allergies on a brand new car with 300 miles, even if the dealership claims that they have gotten all the water out and have treated the carpets, so I have requested that they buy the car back from me. They refused, so I have lodged a complaint with Hyundai USA and am now awaiting a response from them. I have also requested a legal opinion.

 

[ralph_venue]

Damn. That's crazy!
Hope for the best 🙏

 

[Christian Antalics]

Here is the latest:

The car has been at the dealership (Antwerpen Hyundai in Clarksville, MD) since January. We recently had a thaw, so I went to the dealership yesterday to see what progress has been made in resolving my complaint.

Here is what I found:

New video by Christian Antalics (Econochill)

There was also paperwork in the car stating that the problem had been "resolved":

Does it look resolved to you? At this point I want them to find me a different car, I am not interested in owning a car that has had water pooling in the floorboards since before I took delivery.

 

[The Pistolero]

Man that really sucks. it is still dry season here in Florida. (Winters here are dry, summers are monsoon season)
So I don't know if I will have this problem. They wont give you a new car, but part of their correcting this problem has to be to remove all carpeting and any underlayment and thoroughly dry this out. if they don't, you will have problems that will not become evident until later when thing start rusting through. Really sorry for you! but that has to be done! They are probably lazy and wont do this until you raise a stink!!

 

[Christian Antalics]

They claim they lifted the carpet and found everything dry about one week after I shot the cellphone video where you can hear actual water sloshing around. Of course, they didn't take any pictures at the time. It should be easy for me to determine if there is still water in there and if it does it will go straight back to a dealership (not the same one) for another work order. For us this is a "run-around" car, but even so we don't want to own a lemon.

 

[Christian Antalics]

Latest update: I took the car to a different dealership and they diagnosed the problem to be a windshield that had been replaced with the gasket installed incorrectly. It's only been a week since this repair was completed and it seems like the water intrusion has been stopped. They also applied "bio-sweep" to kill the mold and abate the moldy smell, which proved to be an irritant and can cause headaches, but at least the mold smell is gone.

The question I have now is why wasn't I told that the car was in an accident of some kind that required that the windshield be replaced? They used a Hyundai windshield, but probably did it "in-house" and used techs who didn't know what they were doing.

 

[ralph_venue]

Lemon Law It

 

[Christian Antalics]

I messaged an attorney to see if it qualifies for the Lemon Law in Maryland. Hyundai America refuses and the originating dealership (Antwerpen Columbia) is providing false information (for example, claiming that the leak was repaired back in January when I was able to document clearly that it was not. Hyundai has closed the case on this.

 

[Alberto.garib]

I messaged an attorney to see if it qualifies for the Lemon Law in Maryland. Hyundai America refuses and the originating dealership (Antwerpen Columbia) is providing false information (for example, claiming that the leak was repaired back in January when I was able to document clearly that it was not. Hyundai has closed the case on this.

If they are claiming that the car was repaired on January that mean they sold you an old car, you can use that against the dealership if you purchase a new vehicle. If you purchase the vehicle from a Hyundai dealership they normally give you a new one no questions ask, My friend purchase a car in the dealer and the airbag lights were not turning on (they fix it) it stop again and then they give him a new car.

 

[Christian Antalics]

I don’t think it was a used car, it had low miles when I bought it. But somehow it got damaged and was poorly repaired. That should have been reported to me, and it wasn’t. It’s been to the dealership more than three times so it could be subject to the lemon law.

 

[Chicago Jake]

This truly is a Kafkaesque nightmare! I have no advice, just sympathy. Sorry you are going through this.

 

[Christian Antalics]

On the bright side I can’t complain about the overall function of the vehicle. It has worked well otherwise.

 

[Christian Antalics]

Latest update -- looks like the repairs at Len Stoler Hyundai (Owings Mills, MD ... highly recommended) have stuck. After one (final) return visit (four times and 4 months in the dealership for the same problem) for some residual water the moisture and odor are gone.

On the bright side I've been having fun ringing out the little 1.6L 4-banger with the 6 speed MT and generally tossing it around.

As a "run-around" car I think it can't be beat. I wouldn't buy it as a long-distance highway cruiser as it is a little squirrely at high speed and the engine noise is intrusive, even in 6th gear, but for around town and short day trips it is just fine!

 

[Alberto.garib]

Latest update -- looks like the repairs at Len Stoler Hyundai (Owings Mills, MD ... highly recommended) have stuck. After one (final) return visit (four times and 4 months in the dealership for the same problem) for some residual water the moisture and odor are gone.

On the bright side I've been having fun ringing out the little 1.6L 4-banger with the 6 speed MT and generally tossing it around.

As a "run-around" car I think it can't be beat. I wouldn't buy it as a long-distance highway cruiser as it is a little squirrely at high speed and the engine noise is intrusive, even in 6th gear, but for around town and short day trips it is just fine!

Hope the problem get solve and you finally get to enjoy the car. I drove about 400 miles yesterday and I feel the ride was good ( wife when bananas after 6 hours ) I set the cruise control for 70mph and let it go taking advantage of the LKA.

 

[Christian Antalics]

Nice! I find the LKA useful at times, also. It doesn't like it where the pavement changes colors (like going from concrete color to asphalt color and back to concrete), and it freaks out when driving past off-ramps, but where the highway is uniform and clearly marked it is definitely useful. At other times it swerves back and forth like a drunk is behind the wheel! Someday it will get me a DUI, lol.