Hyundai Sonata Questions
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Hyundai Sonata
Thu, 31 Mar 2011
2005 Hyundai Sonata 34,00 miles - well maintained - TPS Throttle ...
2005 Hyundai Sonata 34,00 miles - well maintained - TPS Throttle Position Sensor was bad - The car started having issues when you pressed on the gas.. sometimes would die and other times would lunge forward or hesitate and stall. Very weak power and erratic shifting. Felt hazardous to drive and kind of scary to pull into traffic. I wanted to get it fixed quick. Had a TPS code from OBD when check engine light was tested. Dealer said a new TPS would be covered by extended warranty. Great ! So I took the car to Jim Click Ford - Hyundai in Tucson, AZ. Next Day Jim Click Hyundai Service department called and said I needed a NEW THROTTLE BODY and that the TPS unit tested was fine. I told them I was skeptical that the tech tested it correctly and that most posts on the internet suggested replacing the TPS for surging and lack of acceleration or hesitation. Lots of errors and these Codes P0123 (TPE) P0121 P1505 (Idle Speed Actuator Open) P1507 P0502 P0500 (cylinder misfire).
I told them I thought the TPS was the issue not the throttle body and they said they do this all the time and I'm wrong. Here's a hint.. it would be a special order part, about $300 + $300 to install! By the way for another $600 they will do a tune up with new plugs and wires for a total of over $1200!! They said that would fix it! The New Complete Throttle Body is not covered by the warranty.. so sorry. So I said.. do you have a tps we can use to test and they gave me the no because it's an electronic part.. and since they determined my TPS was good I would have to Pay almost $200. So I said.. How about I go buy one and if it IS the TPS that was bad the warranty will pay for it? Oh No can do.. so sorry has to be a factory part only. So I took the car back and told them that if a new TPS didn't fix it I would come back and give them $20 for being right. Now here's the kicker.. I am usually pretty tough but I decided I was going to be pleasant the entire time I dealt with the service department, heck the wife has been wanting one of those fancy new 2011 Sonatas. When they gave me the car back it barely would go 5 miles an hour.. It was WAY WORSE.. I made it the mile or so back home. Opened the hood and guess what? The TPS was left disconnected and also another plug to the engine was disconnected. They let me drive off in an unsafe car and didn't even reconnect the stuff they tested! My trust in Jim Click's Service advisors was totally lost. Here's the good news.. I got a TPS at the auto parts store and installed it. The total was $63.99 with lifetime warranty. After I reconnected the plugs they had disconnected, it ran like a champ. Great power , no surges, smooth acceleration, and all those codes I mentioned were GONE!! I did get a new code P0102 and it is the air intake sensor located right in front of the TPS (not Mass Air Flow). I looked at it and it looks like the internal spring is not good, so the air valve doesn't operate correctly. But the misfire codes and everything else cleared just fine.
I usually don't take the time to write such a detailed post, but this site really helped me go with my gut feeling. The throttle body part is not carried by any of the auto parts store. I just couldn't accept that my wife's car was the one in 100,000 that had a faulty Throttle Body. And thanks to this forum's other posts I was right.
Good luck and don't let greedy service reps rip you off. I really expected more for them since they are the "Professionals"
Have a lucky day!
Tucson, Arizona
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