[Faulty I30 Door seal]

Today I also noticed my drivers door seal has failed after just 18 months (August 2013 car) and 30,000Kms. I spoke to the dealer in Maroochydore about it who dais he has had a few in with the same problem and Hyundai has stopped repairing them under warranty by calling it wear and tear. He even told me he had a car with only 15,000 km come in with the same problem. He said he won't replace them any more under warranty because Hyundai stopped reimbursing him the cost of it.
I spoke the ACCC (in Australian it's called the "AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION  AND CONSUMER COMMISSION". They said and new product purchased since 1 January 2011 under the value of $40,000 including cars must be of acceptable quality and fit for the purpose including being durable, under Section 54 od the Competition and Consumer act 2010. It seem this is a common problem given what the dealer told me  for the Door seal to prematuraly break on the drivers door near the lock because the drivers Bottom  seems to rub against it on entry and exit. When I felt the compound of the rubber it seemed very soft compared to my Toyota and together with it positioning on the car seems exposed and prone to failure. If this is the case it may be a design fault and as such not satisfy the requirements of Section 54 of the Act.
Maybe we should all complain if it is such a common problem and see if Hyundai will do the right thing by its customers and recall and replace the affected cars.

Cheers

[Asterix]

Hi Faulty I30 Door seal

 

If the sealing is damaged because you rub your back on the sealing when entering the car it is wear and tear. The sealings purpose is to seal the door nothing else.

I've seen this issue earlier when I was a service manager at a VW/Skoda dealer.

When you walk through the doors in your house you make sure not to hit the walls, right..? 

[Dazzler]

Have you heard of any problems like the one Ive discussed?

Welcome, we have had a handful of members with this issue. Not aware of any fixed under warranty. It appears to be people of larger stature usually. It does seem to be more exposed to damage than some other vehicles. Probably not common enough to result in a recall though.. Sorry :-(

[Phil №❶]

I don't think it is advisable to invite mass complaints from forum members about an issue that is clearly in a minority. Not very many member's have had this problem and the forum will not be manipulated. There is nothing wrong with the seal material, as if it were defective, your passenger door seal would also be damaged.

It is a case of wear and tear and I suggest that you open the door wider to enter and exit.

Your username indicates that you have joined with a particular purpose in mind, not good.

[Doggie 1]

 

I hope it's sorted out for you.

[rustynutz]

I don't think it is advisable to invite mass complaints from forum members about an issue that is clearly in a minority. Not very many member's have had this problem and the forum will not be manipulated. There is nothing wrong with the seal material, as if it were defective, your passenger door seal would also be damaged.

It is a case of wear and tear and I suggest that you open the door wider to enter and exit.

Your username indicates that you have joined with a particular purpose in mind, not good.

geez, that's a bit harsh, Phil.... 

As an owner that had a door seal fail after around 6-7 months I believe that there is something wrong with the design of the seal if it fails in that short a time....And yes I'm a big bloke but since when has Hyundai had a size limit on drivers?
This issue has even been mentioned in a "buying a used i30 review" so it's obviously not just an isolated problem.

As for opening the door wider, that doesn't make any difference...the problem is that when you have the seat extended right back you're actually seated back past the "B" pillar so have really no other option but to brush past the seal.

[Wingerdave]

 

[bumpkin]

Surely though that is suggesting that the overall design of the i30 is wrong if the seat being moved to accomodate a larger frame results in the B pillar getting in the way?   That then is no longer a seal defect but a major design flaw which would be in common with most other makes in the segment, given that the Hyundai/Kia cars boast the larger cabins and loadspace in the segment, does this mean Ford are "making" better seals?  No, a quick Google reveals Ford are currently replacing seals on the Fiesta, in some cases customers are onto their third set in a 12 month period.

Factor in then the many thousands of i30's sold since release in 2007 and then the number of seal "failures", is it really a fault?

If we use the forum as the basis for the complaint as the OP has requested, then we would be complaining about 4 (as far as I remember) failed seals across 5,882 members, a fail rate of 0.0007%.



Still think there are grounds for complaint?

[Surferdude]

I tend to agree with you Brian.  My car is 5years and 4 months old.
I am 6'2" plus a bit. I have the seat fully back and a bit more rake on the seat back to accommodate my long arms and legs.
I also have a chronic lower back problem.  More restrictive than painful but I always slide into the seat against the door seal.
it's still unmarked.
Knowing a bit about rubber compounds,  it's unlikely to be a bad batch - in fact that is a misnomer in most cases.
So, whilst I can't explain the rare failures recorded here, I feel confident it's not a design fault.
A fit for purpose claim would seem unwarranted on the same basis.

[Shambles]

And it's definitely no basis for any kind of "class action". More so given that the OPs sole reason for joining with the name he chose, was to get something off his chest (so to speak).

[cruiserfied]

Hehehe my favourite bit was when he said they should "recall and replace the affected cars"

[Shambles]

Today I also noticed my drivers door seal has failed ...

After careful consideration, maybe we're all misinterpreting what Faulty I30 Door seal is actually reporting here:

(click to show/hide)

[AlanHo]

Off topic - that's not a Hyundai i30 - it's a Renault seal....

[rustynutz]

More so given that the OPs sole reason for joining with the name he chose, was to get something off his chest (so to speak).

I suspect many others sign up on this forum for similar reasons...ie, they have a fault or problem with their vehicle and wish to see if it's a common fault or not...
Should a new member be crucified for attempting to seek answers?? 

While crook seals obviously aren't a huge problem for most with an i30, there are certainly a number of owners that have had an issue.

This problem may very well be only an issue for those with a larger body such as myself.
As mentioned earlier, Hyundai, (as far as I know), don't have a size limit restriction so bearing that in mind I don't believe its unreasonable to expect a seal to function for many years before having to be replaced. For it to be exposed to this sort of wear would suggest a lack of thought in the designing stage...

Obviously Hyundai aren't on their own when it comes to this complaint, witness the Ford Fiesta issues but on the whole, there would seem to be plenty of other manufacturers out there that are capable of designing a door seal that isn't subjected to wear from occupants getting in and out...

[bumpkin]

But are there not WAYS of finding out answers without being so blatant in the first place?

Nobody else has joined here with a username so obviously designed as "I am here to get one answer then I am off"

Now to the seal - what is it's job?  To prevent water ingress to the vehicle via the hole they put in the side of it to allow us entry / exit when we wish to go somewhere.

What is not it's job? - To be subjected to a rubbing motion upon a part of it that is not supposed to be in contact with anything else other than the door.

How big should a door opening be? - Subjective but on a hatchback sized car within a certain tolerance of what the customer expects with regard to overall length and to accommodate two doors down either side there has to be a maximum and looking at any car in the segment they all tend to be much the same.  also factored into this would be the safety cell, indeed many much larger cars would not have much larger openings for that very reason.

BELOW WRITTEN WITH TONGUE IN CHEEK - DO NOT PROCEED IF EASILY OFFENDED!

(click to show/hide)

Should manufacturers include a "vertically challenged option pack"?  Booster seat, blocks on the pedals?
How about a "tall person option" - Remove the back seats, spare door seal pack
Wide person option - Remove the passenger seat, spare door seal pack.

How would this be assessed?  Would the consumer be happy rolling up to a dealer showroom and being automatically ticked into a certain category who require a certain style of vehicle or options to make it compatible with their body size/shape?  Of course they wouldn't, they would be taking you to court, so what do manufacturers do?  That's right they make something that fits the average and add or subtract a given tolerance (recognising that this will be OK for the majority of buyers)

Those that have any issues outwith "the norm"  (in this case approx. 0.0007%) then need to understand and manage their own expectation, if I am a bit bigger and prone to rubbing the opening edge when I enter and leave then I have to accept that this may be creating a problem which the design was never intended to deal with and which I may have to make a payment for later.

It is no more a design fault than the larger person having a design fault themselves, humans are not created equally, cars are.

[rustynutz]

What is not it's job? - To be subjected to a rubbing motion upon a part of it that is not supposed to be in contact with anything else other than the door.

So therefore it should not be placed in a position in that it's exposed to rubbing, surely? 
It can't be that hard to protect it with part of the "B" pillar or perhaps with some plastic trim... 

Those that have any issues outwith "the norm"  (in this case approx. 0.0007%) then need to understand and manage their own expectation<

You don't work for the Government do you Brian, they like to make up statistics and then quote them to suit...lol.
If you're gonna take the membership into account, surely you need to know how many of them are tall and of a large frame, which seems to be what is causing these seal failures. 

Anyhow, that's it from me.... 

[bumpkin]

What is not it's job? - To be subjected to a rubbing motion upon a part of it that is not supposed to be in contact with anything else other than the door.

So therefore it should not be placed in a position in that it's exposed to rubbing, surely? 
It can't be that hard to protect it with part of the "B" pillar or perhaps with some plastic trim... 

Those that have any issues outwith "the norm"  (in this case approx. 0.0007%) then need to understand and manage their own expectation<

You don't work for the Government do you Brian, they like to make up statistics and then quote them to suit...lol.
If you're gonna take the membership into account, surely you need to know how many of them are tall and of a large frame, which seems to be what is causing these seal failures. 

Anyhow, that's it from me.... 

No sign of "made up" stats here Russ, we have had 4 people to my recollection with this issue from the membership and that equates to the figure given as a percentage, it's not stats, it's simple mathematics which go to prove my point - no manufacturer would alter their design to accommodate that level of "failure" or "complaint" or however we want to describe it, they would simply live with the fact that they may lose that percentage of customer when it came to their next purchase, because nobody can please all of the people all of the time.

Also I suspect that there are a proportion of "large" and "tall" people (because that is a subjective measurement) who have had no issue.........