By a frustrated Florida woman’s account, she’s talked to Hyundai corporate, her dealership, the Better Business Bureau, the Florida Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, and even a claims rep using two different names, all to try to fix one blown engine.
A series of dozens of viral TikToks from creator Donna (currently @justamom312, formerly @phoneafriend13) chronicle the string of failed warranty claims and appeals filed on her 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, offering a raw look at what happens when extended warranties meet inconsistent documentation, high mileage, and a desperate driver who spent weeks trying unsuccessfully to convince Hyundai representatives that she was in the right.
"I hope you're happy. I hope you have one more car sitting on your lot that you don't need," Donna said in the latest video in the series, which cumulatively has hundreds of thousands of views. "I hope you are happy that you took a vehicle from a family who busted their [expletive] to keep that vehicle, and you say that we didn't."
Warranty Fight Becomes a Public Crusade
Donna’s first video begins with her limping the Santa Fe home at 20 mph, hazard lights on, narrating the sputtering and stalling as it happened. According to her account, the SUV had been displaying warning lights for months and consuming oil at an unusually high rate, but no mechanic was able to pinpoint the cause. The night it finally failed, she says her teenage son was driving when the steering locked and the engine quit at a red light. After the vehicle was dropped at a Hyundai dealership, she says she was told the engine had "sludge" and "slosh," terms she repeats throughout the series without any deeper technical explanation.
From there, the videos shift into a running chronicle of warranty attempts. Donna says she filed an initial claim with Hyundai Motor America, which was denied; she then appealed and was denied again. She says a third attempt was opened only after she continued calling, but it was also rejected by the same claims representative she had dealt with earlier in the process. In one video, she shows a stack of printed receipts and a page from her Carfax, insisting she had "years worth" of maintenance history on her end.
Via email, a spokesperson for Hyundai North America told Motor1 in part, "When assessing engine concerns, Hyundai reviews inspection results and service history to determine the root cause. Findings of sludge or oil starvation often indicate improper maintenance, such as extended oil change intervals or use of incorrect oil specifications. For vehicles with multiple owners, documentation showing proper maintenance, such as receipts or service records, is typically required to confirm warranty eligibility."
The company further stressed its commitment to providing "high-quality vehicles and supporting customers through comprehensive warranty programs and recall initiatives."
We encourage all owners to maintain their vehicles according to the recommended schedule and to reach out to Hyundai Customer Care with any questions regarding coverage or service requirements," it added.
One of the most important ambiguities in Donna’s saga is what warranty she believed covered her engine at nearly 150,000 miles. A 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe originally came with Hyundai’s standard 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, but that longer powertrain coverage applies only to the first owner. Subsequent owners, regardless of purchase mileage, revert to the shorter 5/60 powertrain term.
The only Hyundai-backed warranty known to extend engine coverage to 150,000 miles is the result of a series of recall campaigns and class action settlements related to certain Kia and Hyundai engines prone to failure. These include the Theta II engine family, which led to Hyundai issuing multiple recalls beginning in 2015 and extending factory coverage for affected VINs.
Some vehicles, including certain 2011–2019 models, were later granted a Lifetime Warranty Extension under a class action settlement, but only for specific engines and VIN ranges.
There is no public indication yet that Donna’s 2017 Santa Fe falls under any of those extended-coverage programs. Determining whether her specific vehicle qualifies would require Hyundai’s confirmation using the VIN, something she does not show in her videos. Without that applied coverage, a Santa Fe with nearly 150,000 miles would generally be outside the factory warranty.
‘Sludge’ and Service Records
The central dispute in Donna’s narrative concerns Hyundai’s determination that the engine showed "sludge," a buildup of oxidized oil byproducts that can block critical lubrication passages. Numerous automakers treat sludge as presumptive evidence of insufficient oil changes, making it a common cause for denying warranty claims across the industry.
Donna maintains that she performed regular maintenance and presented receipts to substantiate her claims. Hyundai, she says, told her that there was a "gap" in her service history between roughly 300 and 29,000 miles, years before she owned the car. The videos do not provide documentation of what Hyundai actually wrote to her, and it remains unclear whether this explanation was a miscommunication between the dealership and Hyundai corporate, a misinterpretation by the owner, or an accurate statement of Hyundai’s position.
Industry experts note that OEM powertrain warranties typically require proof that the vehicle received oil changes at normal intervals. When a car is purchased used, especially from an independent lot, earlier records may not follow it. In most automaker programs, a car with a missing maintenance history is unlikely to qualify for Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) status, as CPO eligibility requires a documented and verifiable service record.
Whether Hyundai formally requires pre-ownership maintenance records for a warranty claim depends on the type of claim and the specific extended-coverage program; however, claim disputes over documentation are common.
As the weeks passed, the videos shifted from focusing on the engine itself to emphasizing the customer service experience. Donna alleges that a claims representative used two different names and phone numbers, that her file was transferred between different departments, and that she was unable to obtain photos or diagnostic reports from the inspection. She also says the dealership kept the car for more than three weeks without providing a loaner or alternate transportation.
Such customer service disputes are not uncommon in complex warranty cases, and it’s still unclear what happened behind the scenes in Hyundai’s claim review process. Automakers rarely discuss individual cases publicly, and dealerships handle the initial documentation before corporate warranty administrators review one.
Another unusual twist is the increased public visibility of the process. Like other recent viral automotive disputes, social media has become Donna’s primary leverage tool, tagging Hyundai corporate, local media outlets, state agencies, and even national media outlets in hopes of drawing attention.
In her most recent videos, Donna stated that Hyundai has denied the claim for a third and final time and informed her that there is no further internal escalation available. She said she is now attempting to retrieve the Santa Fe from the dealership and will pursue outside remedies, including the Better Business Bureau, state regulators, and private attorneys. She has also implied she may try to contact prior owners of the vehicle after believing she inadvertently received identifying details in printed paperwork, a claim that has not been independently confirmed.
Her experience appears to reflect the tension between complex warranty requirements, gaps in used car maintenance history, and the expectations many owners have about extended warranty coverage on high-mileage vehicles.
Even as the facts of Donna’s case remain partially unclear, her story mirrors the frustration reported by many owners of older Hyundai and Kia vehicles with engine problems over the past decade. The automaker has issued multiple major engine recalls since 2015, including those tied to bearing failures and the potential for stalling or fire. The company paid a combined $210 million civil penalty in a 2020 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration settlement related to defects and recall delays.
The vast majority of engines covered under those programs are repaired or replaced under warranty. However, for vehicles outside those VIN ranges or with inconsistent maintenance histories, claims are more likely to face scrutiny or be rejected.
Cases like Donna’s show just how confusing that line can be for owners who believe their vehicle is still protected.
For now, the only thing that seems certain is that her Santa Fe is no closer to being repaired.
Motor1 reached out to Donna via direct message and comment left on her post. Motor1 also contacted the Coconut Creek Hyundai dealership for comment. This story will be updated if either responds.
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