Genesis GV80 SUV shipment delayed over engine issue

Genesis GV80 SUV / Courtesy of Genesis

By Baek Byung-yeul

Hyundai Motor Group's luxury car brand Genesis has suspended shipment of its diesel engine-powered GV80 SUV due to an engine vibration issue, the automaker confirmed Sunday.

According to the group, Genesis sent a text message to the diesel model owners on Friday that reads “there have been intermittent vibration problems with the engines of some diesel-powered GV80s. The issue is caused by carbon buildup when the engine is in low ration-per-minute mode for prolonged periods.”

A group official confirmed that it has stopped shipments of the diesel engine model starting Friday. “We have acknowledged that the shaking problems have occurred in some diesel models due to carbon buildup,” the official said.

He added that the company does not yet know when it will resume shipment of the GV80. For GV80 drivers who are experiencing a similar issue, the official said Genesis will provide a carbon deposits removal service at its customer service center. The cost for removal of carbon buildup will be covered under warranty.

The decision to suspend the delivery came after several owners have recently reported vibration problems. Some said they were shaken so hard by the vehicle that they couldn't hold a conversation when driving the diesel model.

Genesis has sold around 8,000 diesel engine-powered GV80 SUVs and about has about 10,000 pre-orders. The diesel vehicle uses Hyundai Motor Group's first inline six-cylinder 3.0-liter engine that can generate 278 horsepower and a maximum torque of 60 kilogram force meter (kgf.m). Given Genesis has sold a sizeable number of the GV80 SUVs, it remains to be seen whether the government will order a recall of the vehicles.

Genesis released its first SUV model in January with a hope to seek a further boost in the growth of the six-year-old luxury brand. The carmaker said the delayed delivery of the diesel model doesn't mean that Genesis has stopped production of the GV80 because the SUV also comes with two gasoline engine variants ― 2.5-liter turbo and 3.5-liter turbo ― that don't suffer the same issue.

The company is also receiving pre-orders from the United States, another of the company's important markets. Even though there has been a low demand sentiment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Genesis said it has garnered more than 11,000 pre-orders from the U.S.

The carmaker will release two gasoline engine-powered models there ― a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine model and 3.5-liter twin turbo engine-powered model.