According to the San Francisco lawyer that filed the case, “We noticed an unusual amount of 2003 Tiburon drivers complaining about their clutches failing within the first 30,000 miles they drove the car. Not only was the clutch failing prematurely, but owners were complaining that Hyundai refused warranty coverage for the repairs needed to fix the problem.” Upon further investigation, lawyers discovered that Hyundai found the clutch problem unusual as well and issued a Technical Service Bulletin to its dealers in March 2004 referring to the 2003 Tiburon’s clutch components as “deformed,” and advised that the clutch could be repaired by replacing certain parts with new, non-deformed parts. Surprisingly, when Tiburon owners came to dealerships to repair the defect, Hyundai blamed the premature failure on the owner’s driving habits and refused to cover any costs for replacement parts or for labor to repair the defect.

Lawyers for the drivers claim that “Hyundai specifically lists two of the clutch parts it claims are ‘deformed’ as parts covered under its warranty. This clutch failure is not a problem with individual drivers, this is a problem with Hyundai’s manufacturing. We have complaints of people going out-of-pocket for nearly $2,000 just so they could drive their car again. We feel that owners of the 2003 Tiburon are entitled to full coverage of the clutch repairs under the warranty. Simply stated, Hyundai is not upholding its end of the bargain.”

The case is open to any owner of a 2003 Tiburon GT six-speed with manual transmission whose clutch failed and owner paid out of pocket cost to have the car repaired.