Jacob Suter

A few weeks ago I posted about my Santa Fe making an ugly noise.

They replaced the timing belt tensioner... picked it up, drove it 4
miles (ran noticeably better), got out - heard the same rattle...

Went back to dealer. They go over it, eventually giving up - telling me
to return when the Hyundai corporate rep comes through in a couple
weeks. I find this an acceptable (the car ran great otherwise)
solution... I drive home...

That was about a week ago. Today I'm heading through the Davy Crockett
National Forest, about as far as you could possibly get from a cellular
tower, and experience sudden total power loss and an extreme
vibration/noise.

I find a nice place on the side of the road to park, luckily at the top
of a hill...

Eeeek...

It has 86,685 showing on the odometer. mmm, warranty...

Shut it down (its barely running anyways).. give it a few minutes, check
under the hood, check to see if theres a monstrous hole in the oil pan
(thats what I expected, judging from the noise), check the oil (smells
slightly gassy), check the trans fluid...

Restart - it cranks slower than usual, dimming the lights harder, and
barely catches with much vibration, then (with a lot of commotion) it
stumbles and dies. Yep, she's *dead*.

Roadside assistance is very helpful... None of the local wrecker
services bothered to answer the phone (its Friday @ 8:45pm, what do you
expect?), they call around and dispatch a wrecker from Lufkin (45 miles
away)...

After 30 minutes or so of talking to roadside assistance (no local
wrecker 'services' answering) and about 45-50 minutes for the wrecker to
show up, I'm on my way home.

Tomorrow (or maybe Monday, not sure yet) I'll find out what the next
step is - I'm expecting a loaner car, and hoping for complete engine
replacement...

ttyl,
JS