Topic: 2011 Tucson GLS - Warning ToWinter Drivers - Air box and filter packs with Snow

[Engine123]

Hello Readers:

We have a great little SUV, the 2011 – Tucson GLS (2.4l) by Hyundai .  It’s a great ride and we have no regrets buying it and highly recommend it too… 

BUT, last Friday, January 21st while driving approx. 350km while it was snowing….  We had a problem which forced us to stop and clean our Air Box and to Dry Off our $17 air filter with a hair dryer when we got hom…. 

I highly recommend having a spare one on board just in case your Drivers drive their 2011 Tucson’s in the winter while it’s snowing….  This is the story of the little SUV how thought it could but needs a little help and words of wisdom…

We also have pictures which we can poste for your information and to back –up our little warning to those other Tucson 2011 – GLS owners out there.  Major damage can be done if this problem is not resolved. 

We are now waiting for Hyundai Korea to come up with a permanent solution.  What Hyundai Canada are saying is that this is an extreme weather related problem, which is a bogus answer in my book, a thorough Root Cause Analysis needs to be performed and a tangible long term solution(s) needs to be implemented.  The storm we drove through was not extreme weather, but just a typical storm with very fine snowflakes (dry snow in my book).

Good Luck to all2011 Tucson GLS (2.4 liter) owners!  If you have insights or are experiencing the same problem just let me know.  It will help in building our case.

[Careener]

Sorry to hear this.
What were the symptoms?

[rrocket]

This is the first I've heard of this issue...and likely Hyundai Canada too.  Why wouldn't they say it's a weather related incident?

Even doing a key word search on the net I find no other incident...

[EV Dan]

We had a problem which forced us to stop and clean our Air Box and to Dry Off our $17 air filter with a hair dryer when we got hom….

What exactly caused you to stop?
Is it a cabin or the engine air filter?
Last time I checked my cabin AF cost around 50 bucks...

[rrocket]

We had a problem which forced us to stop and clean our Air Box and to Dry Off our $17 air filter with a hair dryer when we got hom….

What exactly caused you to stop?
Is it a cabin or the engine air filter?
Last time I checked my cabin AF cost around 50 bucks...

He;s obviously referring to the air filter in the engine compartment.  Somehow snow got in and blocked it up.  I suspect the car was bogging, and generally running like a POS...

[EV Dan]

We had a problem which forced us to stop and clean our Air Box and to Dry Off our $17 air filter with a hair dryer when we got hom….

What exactly caused you to stop?
Is it a cabin or the engine air filter?
Last time I checked my cabin AF cost around 50 bucks...

He;s obviously referring to the air filter in the engine compartment.  Somehow snow got in and blocked it up.  I suspect the car was bogging, and generally running like a POS...

Yeah, I guess. With as much snow as we got this winter around here I haven't seen any Tucsons stuck, and ppl take HWY400 up North and back every day. 

[ktm525]

Volvo recognized this problem. My old V70R had a snow "valve" on the bottom of the airbox.

[Engine123]

Sorry to hear this.
What were the symptoms?

Symptoms:  Gradual loss of power.  There is a guy who had back firing, cop pulled him over near Quebec and called a fire truck...

[Engine123]

See attached PDF file of Actual pictures of the SNOW in the Air Filter Box compartment.

Thanks for the posts guys.  To remediate my little snow problem, we bought a new air filter, replaced the old one, dried it off and now have a spare one in case snow builds-up again in the air filter box & incoming ductwork.  Its a temporary fix, we are waiting on the design team to come-up with a permanent fix.  Key root causes: Driving while its snowing (fine particles), Driving for more than 2 hours straight, and an air intake system that allows snow to get through.

[Minou]

Good work on the issue but don't expect much from Hyundai in the matter of admitting defect and making a design change.  One in a million Tucson drivers will drive long enough in cold fluffy snow to make this happen so you don't weigh too much in air conditionned headquarters I'm afraid...  I checked weather statistics for Edmunston and St-Leonard NB on Jan 21st and it was indeed cold and snowy but likely no more than 10 cm of snow fell that day.  So as you mentionned, definitely not a monster storm like the atlantic provinces get but a light and cold snow that would get all the way to your air filter box without melting.

Looks like your air intake is straight from the grill to the air filter with nothing to prevent the snow to reach the filter.  A short ride in a snow storm might not be enough to clog the air passage but a long one like you did was.  Something the engineers at Hyundai Korea likely didn't.

The air intake on My Santa Fe is angled 90 degree down in the grill probably to avoid this.  I'm always doubtful when I see pictures of car's engine compartments with the air intake facing straight forward for all the snow/water/road salt, etc. to enter.

Best you could do would be to install some kind of a deflector in front of the air intake, without actually blocking it, when you plan a long drive in snowy weather.  Or leave it there for the entire winter and see if you have any driveability issue with it in place.

[wing]

Hmm makes me wonder about Hyundai/Kia cold weather testing considering the few issues I've heard about and experienced lately.

[Careener]

My 91 mazda 323 used to big down in the snow..perhaps that's why. The issue magically disappeared one day (probably right after I changed the air filter. ;-) )

[Engine123]

Part of your Quote:  ``Best you could do would be to install some kind of a deflector in front of the air intake, without actually blocking it, when you plan a long drive in snowy weather.  Or leave it there for the entire winter and see if you have any driveability issue with it in place.``

Hi:  Thanks for the post and your insights:  The air intake 90`s down on the 2011 Tucson similar to Santa Fe.  I like the concept of a deflector, I will investigate  further.  Like you mentioned, the storm was not that bad but We drove round-trip from Edmundston to Bathurst in the same day on business.  At least we have minimized the risk of this re-occurring to the level we had it by having a back-up air filter in the vehicle in the winter.  I am ot banking too much on Huyndai to admit and mitigate this problem which happened to others too...

[Engine123]

Finaly, received a call from my Hyundai service manager.  He recently attended a seminar and they had my photos (air filter and air box packed with snow) up for discussion.  Hyundai are currently working on a permanent solution to resolve this snow accumulation issue.  They are looking at some mods to the ducting upstream of the air filter compartment.  Stay tuned.

[Winklovic]

Thanks for the update.

[Shnak]

Interesting. I wonder if my Sportage is also vulnerable to this problem? After 5 years of ownership, nothing to report on that front, and we've driven it in pretty bad temperatures, including this past february for over an hour while it was snowing a lot with close to 1 foot of snow on the road for most of the way. Good to hear that Hyundai's taking this problem seriously and looking into a solution!

[Minou]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=148066&Number=2162964#Post2162964

Here is my thread on BITOG on the trip I did in heavy snow from Plattsburg, NY to Montreal this past winter with underhood photo when I got home.

No check engine light or driveability issue but it scared the hell out of me as the engine temp crept higher and higher cause the front end and radiator got packed with snow.

If it wasn't for my ScanGauge, I probably would have noticed nothing of this because the temp needle is "engineered" to sit right at or below the halfway point of the gauge, which it did the whole way unless it gets way out there.

Still, I wish asian and north american manufacturers would better enclose the engine compartment of their cars like the europeans do.

Morale of all this is that heavy snow can wreak havoc with a car's engine/cooling system and cause driveability/overheating issues more than summer driving.

[Cord]

Similar problem existed with first year Ford Focus. For 2001 (or maybe 2002), the intake opening had a small deflector so it wouldn't fill with snow.

[aaronk]

Wow, very interesting thread and glad I came across it. We will keep an eye out in our Santa Fe for this issue in winter driving. My folks live up past North Bay so a few weekends every winter we make the 5-6 hour drive. If it's snowing that bad we usually postpone though.