I would like your advice please on a problem I have with Hyundai. I think you would agree with me that one of the biggest selling points for the Hyundai range of cars is the 5-year warranty, it certainly was for me as I am a high mileage driver, and the idea of five years of freedom from worries about breakdowns was a major selling point. I have still got the sales brochure for the Santa Fe which I bought new in June 2007, and immediately inside the front cover, in bold type, it talks about the warranty, an excerpt is 'Our warranty is free, fully manufacturer-backed, and lasts for five years of unlimited mileage'. Towards the back of the brochure they devote a whole page to the warranty and restate the above plus emphasising that it is for the whole five year period and is unlimited by mileage. Nowhere is there any mention of any exclusions or limitations.

My car is three years old and, three weeks ago, it had its 100,000-mile service at the Hyundai dealership where I bought the car. This was very expensive, as it involved the replacement of the cam belt, which I knew about, and the replacement of all the brake discs and pads, which was not anticipated. They called me during the day to say that in replacing the rear discs they had found a problem with the offside bearing, which needed to be replaced, and when I collected the car, they told me that they had had a fight with Hyundai about getting the bearing job done under warranty, but eventually it had been agreed and it was done free of charge.

Since then the car has had its MOT done, and the tester pointed out that there was excessive play in the other rear bearing, not enough to fail the test, but it should be attended to. I immediately contacted the Hyundai dealership and they are going to examine the situation. I should point out that I have had a small number of jobs done under warranty on the car and the work has always been done free of charge by the dealership without comment. These recent events have made me look at the warranty document that came with the car, and which of course you only get to see after you have bought the car, and it turns out that the much trumpeted 5-year unlimited mileage warranty is nothing of the sort, and I am now expecting to have to replace the bearing at my expense.

Firstly, it states that the warranty is limited to components which are defective as a result of poor manufacture or materials, at the discretion of Hyundai UK. Then there is a list of service items which are not covered; oil filters, drive belts, wiper blades etc, and all of this I find perfectly acceptable. Then there is a list of items that are only covered for 24 months, and again I find these acceptable, as they are things that you expect to have to replace, like bulbs and batteries, I would not expect anyone to guarantee a bulb for five years.

Next, however comes the part I am perplexed about, because there is a list of items which are covered for 60 months and unlimited mileage, but not for wear and tear, only for defective production, and this includes virtually all the moving parts of the suspension, wheel bearings, ball joints, bushes, track rod ends, dampers and rubber stoppers. So my five years of worry-free motoring is nothing of the sort, as these are the very items that are going to start to need attention as the car ages. Do you think that I have been mis-sold this warranty, as in the case of the recent financial packages that have been in the news?