Hyundai i30N Exhaust Rattle – An Update

Firstly, let me start by saying sorry for the slow pace of updates on this blog. Life gets in the way, and all that. I’m going to try and get into posting more regularly (and restarting YouTube videos). Maybe 1-2x per month.

A while back I’d posted about an annoying exhaust rattle on gear change that occurred whenever the car was in the quiet exhaust modes (basically not N/Sport mode) and it was worse when cold.

The dealer originally fixed this by replacing a spring in the exhaust valve.

This fix lasted for a few weeks, and then the problem re-occurred.

From what I understand, something in the valve opening and closing mechanism (which you can quite clearly see if you peer up the exhaust pipe with a bright light) breaks or fails and in the closed mode – where the exhaust is quieter – presumably the exhaust gasses on gear change can rattle the valve creating an annoying metallic noise.

This noise is worse when cold because the metal is contracted – improving when warm as I’d imagine the expansion of the metal reduces the room for the valve (or whatever exactly it is) to flap around.

In the end the only fix that worked was a complete muffler replacement.

This was carried out for free by Hyundai under a dealer warranty, so if your i30N has a rattling exhaust and is under warranty I’d strongly suggest going back to the dealer and pushing for this repair.

I’ve seen some people online claim that their exhaust was quieter after the replacement muffler was installed (same on the i30 Sedan N/Elantra N and Veloster N which have the same problem as presumably are using the same system). I’ve not noticed this at all. If anything, the car seems even louder!