Stew Hansen Hyundai — Local services in Clive

I have a 2015 Veloster with about 62,000 miles on it, I've owned this car for the past 7 years and a majority of the time I loved it. But over the past year I have grown nothing but tired with that car and wish I never owned it.

About a year ago in June of last year I was driving and I took a turn to go uphill and right as i start getting to go up the bottom of the hill I lose all power in my engine. I could barely move an inch.

After this I immediately got my car towed to Stew Hansen Hyundai. After about two or three weeks of waiting for them to diagnostic of my car (that was $230) I finally got a call back that "nothing is wrong with my car". Upon picking up my car I was utterly shocked that it was driving like normal.

Maybe a month or two later the same thing happened while i was going up the hill in my drive, couldn't make it to the top and had to park it where it was. I then got my car towed back to Hyundai to try and figure out what was wrong. By this time i know about the class action suit against Hyundai/Kia for their engines. With that in mind Chris in the service department tells me that once they do another diagnostic run ($230) that they might be able to do a engine replacement out of good faith. Once the diagnostics were done they came back and said that it was caused by piston slap and it could be caused by my K&N cold air intake and therefore weren't going to replace the engine. With that I go and pick up my car again because "everything is fine" with it.

While i was at Stew Hansen Hyundai something that struck me as concerning was one of the people from the service department who was talking to me said "well you just have to hope your engine goes out so you can get a replacement" and that "you should go 7,000 miles without changing the oil" in the hopes of making the engine break to replace it. I found this particularly concerning as when i was talking to corporate about a good faith replacement one of the caveats was that they would check my engine for signs of neglect including but not limited to the quality of the oil in my engine. With that in mind why would a Stew Hansen employee tell me to go against what corporate said so i could get a new engine. It truly felt like entrapment and a reason for them not to replace my engine when the time would come. Keep in mind this was at a time where Hyundai dealerships were losing large amounts of money in their service department from doing warranty work.

Two weeks ago I got a pamphlet in the mail for the KSDS update which I thought I already got done but was assured by the front desk when I called that there was no record of it being done. With that I made an appointment for Thursday last week to get the update. I was going to drop my car off the night before because I wouldn't be able to get a ride home if I took it Thursday. Upon getting in my car again the check engine and oil light came on. I decided to leave a note for Cole the head mechanic as I would not be seeing him when I dropped my car off.

Come the next day I get a call from Cole saying he didn't know why my car was there because the KSDS update had already been done last year. In relation to my note about the check engine light he said the code that I pulled wasn't real for Hyundai's and that my scanner was cheap. He said likely it was a sensor for my air intake because it's aftermarket and therefore messing something up. He said the only way to know tho would be yet another $230 inspection to do a diagnosis of the problem. Upon asking if he could check the stored codes on my car to confirm if we're seeing the same thing. He refused and said the only thing he could do was a full diagnosis.

I pick up my car today and guess what? Dash lit up like a christmas tree, but somehow wasn't happening for the service department. Im beyond tired with Stew Hansen and i just want to get rid of this car but can't sell it for what it's worth because of its issues. Beyond disappointed with my whole experience at Stew Hansen and will never buy from them again let alone buy a...

Update: If you have an inoperable car you can tow your car to the dealership and they'll put you in a 'queue'. This 'queue' line is basically a work-in list and is over 15 cars long as of 5/13/22 so there is still no guarantee it gets looked at within an acceptable amount of time. Please note I understand that there may be delays for parts depending what the issue is, but I would think it could still be looked at long before that given well under the 100,000mi new car warranty. Check-engine lights (while the car cannot drive) should take all of 5 minutes to read for some sort of feedback. Hyundai Roadside Assistance also does not tow more than 20miles or past the 'nearest' dealer regardless of circumstance. My option is to pay nearly $500 to have it towed to Iowa City or Waterloo in which their dealers have PLENTY of availability. I have reached out to the team by phone and having my calls escalated to the service manager. I missed the call from service manager and when I call the number back it just rings and rings and rings and no one answers. Review stays the same.

Two extremely negative experiences: Car is under manufacturers warranty doesn't even have 50,000mi. Purchased brand new. Currently cannot drive as check engine light is on and when it tries to shift it jerks really bad like someone is stepping on gas pedal and is basically non-drivable. Hyundai Roadside Assistance will tow to their location for warranty fix but Stew Hansen's says they cannot get to it for THREE MONTHS. There was nothing else offered and is the only dealer this can be serviced by in the area since a warranty coverage. They won't even look at it until Sept 2022 if I book the appointment now. My option was basically pay $500+ to get it towed to Iowa City dealership for earlier appointment or void warranty by going to a non-certified dealer. Total crock, Stew Hansen did not offer up any alternatives for a vehicle in the mean time. Hyundai Corporate was contacted and left with three separate cases explaining the issues and waiting to hear back.

Free Oil change as advertised and stated with purchase of new Hyundai car: Took in with an appointment, waited 3.5 hours for something that takes 30 minutes, and then was told I needed to pay. After a bunch of rigmarole they basically said they'd give me a 'one time exception' and not charge me but would not be honoring the other 2 free...

Probably the most ethically questionable business I’ve ever dealt with. I purchased a car that I enjoyed and thought would be a great fit for me in July. I sold new cars years ago, so even though most people can easily identify sleazy tactics, I was quite aware of what behavior some employers in the industry push their associates to enact. I was appalled by the blatant, slimy, dishonest, manipulative, lying, and avoidance techniques that I had to deal with. It was a cliche. I was honest about how I felt about this and I still had to repeatedly tell them to remove this fee and that, not to enroll me in their “special program”, and to disclose/explain/remove other hidden costs. There was no transparency and plenty of terrible business practices. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and it finally seemed important to listen to me. Literally the first thing the next day a manager was listing all of the issues I had previously asked about and their solutions for me. These specifics weren’t detailed in the Better Business Bureau report, so it’s clear this could have all been resolved from the onset. I had repeatedly told them that I was willing (and still did ultimately) pay a more than generous price for the car. They however still balked at being honest with regards to the transaction. At this point, I wanted financing as I had been living abroad for years and wanted to include the credit for my history in the US. Again, I had to go over each fee, program, and hidden cost multiple times and tell them no. And then tell them no. And then check yet again. And then get it how I had asked. I ultimately didn’t want their loan and paid full in cash. I was thankful to cut ties. The insurance agent they asked me to use was also slimy and dishonest. The cost of the policy was about twice that of all others (through a five minute search online), and was lousy coverage. That too was cancelled as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the Better Business Bureau never contacted me again about any of these issues. Which again is now a third organization involved with embarrassingly low ethical standards and actions.

So, don’t bother with Stew Hansen, Progressive Insurance, or the Better Business Bureau.

I wish I had a suggestion of where to go instead, but all I can say is that you shouldn’t involve yourself or any of your efforts with these three...