2002 Santa Fe problem after engine wash

I hit a deer last month. The front end was pretty crunched up.
Took it to be repaired. The auto body shop did a great job
on the fix BUT, as a courtesy, they washed the detailed the
car =including= power washing the engine! %$#@! The
car hasn't run right since. Took it in and they tried to get
the water out of the engine but it still bucks and runs like a
pig unless I really drive it hard (5 speed). Getting so tired
of it I found myself looking Hondas and Toyotas today. :-\

Any suggestions on a fix? It wouldn't be hard to part with it
b/c the radio antenna (in the window) has sucked since day one -
so has the electrical system. Too bad, I thought this was going
to be a 100K car for me. I don't see it happening.

Ruth CM

 

Pull the plug wires and look for water in the holes. May need new wires.
Also check for an arcing coil.

 

Also check aircleaner as it may be water soaked. Sell it for this little
problem????? Just fix it.

 

"Edward Hayes"

Oh, this was just the icing on the cake. From just about
day one there has been electrical stuff going on due to the
crappy non-shielded wiring they used. The dealer has
installed 3 new radios which STILL don't work right. My
son's hand held electrical toys interfere with the electrical
in the car for cripes sake! I was hooked on the 10/100K
(upped to 12/120K due to false sticker info regarding
horsepower rating) but the thing just isn't worth it. I
saw a Santa Fe with trailing ground wires today. Gee,
I wonder why...<sarcasm> That might be an option for
this car but I'm just tired of the whole mess.

Honda or Toyota will get my money from now on.

Ruth CM

 

Waah Waah Waah.... Sorry, was that my out loud voice????
What I meant to type was...
Ruth
Just keep your water hose out from under the hood and you never would have
had your current problem.

If you have other electrical problems it would be unlikely that you will
improve the problem by adding water!
I know you are frustrated, so if money is no object, go for the honda or
toyota. America needs more people like you to boost this economy Go get one
with all the bells and whistles! Make us all proud!
Hyundai has taken care of soo many legitimate problems when they are
presented in a calm, reasonable, rational manner, that It seems unlikely
that they could or would not fix it. Further if they cannot find anything
on the OBD2 system It would be rare. RFI from games can be a serious problem
for everyone's safety. So as for your childs electronic games interfering
with the elecronics I would be interested in the specifics.

Good luck with your Honda, I am sure they will take care of you with thier
warranty.

 

"John Doe"

I've never washed an engine in my life! I barely wash the
=outside= of the car. The auto body shop, where I had a
dent repaired, power washed the engine as a "courtesy"
service. I brought it back immediately when I couldn't
drive 20 feet without it bucking and spluttering to the point
of near whiplash for me. They tried to dry it. I was able
to get home. Now it bucks and splutters in low gears and
low RPMs (5 speed). I have to rev the heck out of it and
drive it hard to keep it from acting up - great on gas mileage.
<not>

Ruth CM

 

If it helps or makes you feel better i had the same misfortune a year
ago with my Accent after hosing a bit of crud away.
The water had gone under the shroud covering the plug leads and
conveniently filled up one of the sparkplug wells.
I mopped it up as best i could with a rag but it still took a while
for it to dry up and run properly. If i had my brain into gear i would
have used a straw to suck the water out, but i didn't have one handy
and i had to do a trip that day.
It was just one of those things that happen. Just like a punctured
tyre or a broken windscreen, I don't hold it against Hyundai and i
don't consider it a bad design since it keeps all matter of other crud
out of the plug wells.

For a very plain website try
http://ii.net/~farmerjim/

 

"Power" is the key word here. Using High pressure water on anything with
an electrical system is not a good idea. Engines are designed to handle
some water, since they're exposed to the elements to some degree, but
pressure washing forces water into places it normally wouldn't be able
to reach.

Bring the car back to them and TELL them to fix it! You have every legal
right to demand that they do so and they should pay for any damage and
repair costs that result from their ill-advised "courtesy". They screwed
up your car and you DON'T have to put up with it.

As others have said, more than likely there's water in the spark plug
wells and they may have driven water into the coil packs. THEY are
obligated to fix it.

Also, it's NOT the car's fault.

 

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why RPM1 isn't doing this rather
than wasting her time here.

 

Because they're either a dumbass or a troll... Yay usenet.

JS

 

C'mon guys, let's not jump to any conclusions. Some people just need a
little affirmation or push to get them moving in the right direction.

 

"Brian Nystrom"

Thanks. I might be a dumbass but I'm hardly a troll. ;-)

Went back to the body shop 3 times. It's to a point where
the car is only having the issue in a very subtle way. The
body shop 'fixed it' as much as they could trying to dry it
out and such. It's better, much better but it's still not the
same. If you didn't know the car before the wash you'd
say it was fine. It's good enough but it's just not quite there.
I'm going to have to bite the bullet and bring it to the dealer
(huge PITA) to have them do diagnostics on it.

All I can say is don't ever let anyone pressure wash your
Santa Fe engine. Had I known that it was part of their
"courtesy" detailing I would have said, hell NO just gimme
the keys!

Ruth CM

 

Well, it sounds like it's drying out on its own. Perhaps driving it for
another week or two will do the trick and you can avoid the dealer visit.

 

"Brian Nystrom"

The guy at the auto body shop said it would surely clear
up once summer hits. LOL! Two days of ice storm here
in Upstate New Yawk doesn't have me thinking of summer
somehow.

Ruth CM

 

True, but the heat from the engine seems to be driving the moisture out.
The weather shouldn't matter all that much.