Laguna Niguel Hyundai

Worst dealership service center I have ever had to work with. My car is a 2025 Elantra N. It had 5k miles on it when I brought it to this dealer for no heat from climate control. To start, I will probaby regret to admit, I am infact a BMW Master Technician and have been a dealership employee for 18 years now. This car was purchased for my fiancé in hopes to be a reliable and fun car to drive that I don't have to ever work on! 3 visits later it was finally repaired correctly. 1st visit given car back and told all good. No heat still, not even intermittently. 2nd visit car sat for a week being diagnosed, then told part required was on back order. Picked up car with the knowledge it was not fixed yet. 3rd visit took 2 or 3 weeks, with backordered part not fixing the issue. In dealers defense I was told they were working alongside Hyundai corporate during the diagnosis. Recieved the car back with heat working great. However 48 hours after picking the car up it had to be towed back to the shop. They claimed the failure was unrelated. The heater core was replaced which is a complex job where wiring could easily be damaged or pinched. Told camshaft sensor, then crankshaft sensor, then potentially a harness.I have no proof, but I believe I was lied to. Car was eventually fixed after 2 to 3 weeks. Text communication system with advisor might as well not even exist. Ignored texts and voicemails consistently. During these multiple visits my steering wheel was damaged. I made them aware of it within 15 minutes of picking the car up. I was kind and told them I believed it happened there, due to car being essentially brand new and I felt the damage with my hand instantly. I was told it did not happen at the dealer, essentially calling me a liar and accusing me of damaging my own vehicle and blaming them. To top this all off a couple days after picking up I noticed rat footprints on the dash and droppings on the floor. Those were not there before I dropped off. For context as well, when I went to look at my car at the shop during repairs, the windows were down on the car (car on lift). The car was there for nearly 3 weeks, with I imagine windows down for the duration. I have given up on even approaching them for help because of the way I was treated with my steering wheel being damaged. It you read this far good for you. In closing, during my career I have returned vehicles to customers that I did not perform the repair correctly, diagnosed poorly, damaged interior panels, damaged exterior, everything you can think of learning to perfect my trade. Being honest, decent communication, and holding oneself accountable is all I really asked for from this dealer.

I have had issues with my 2023 Ionic 5 battery. After months of being told everything was ok with the battery I finally pushed the service department to escalate. In 2025 I purchased a new Ionic 5 and it had no battery issues so I now new how a Ionic 5 battery should perform. The service department communicated with Hyundai and Hyundai told them to set up an appointment to make my car available and that Hyundai would send a tech to drive the car. When I went to set this up "Brandon" told me that their dealership would not set up this process. He insisted this was not something they do and that I would have to set up the process directly with Hyundai. (Hyundai of course told me that the dealership would set it up.) I told him he was wrong and that I wanted to speak to his boss. He said fine. His boss, Tim Bright, said he had listened to the conversation and that Brandon was right. One month later I sold the car back to hyundai and bought a new Ionic 5 at another Dealer. Mr. Bright lied to me and would not help. His service agent Brandon is young and still learning his job or he is incompetent. Do not support this service department. Ever since Allen sold the dealership to this new group called Laguna Niguel Hyundai the quality of people in this service department office has fallen.

Laguna Niguel Hyundai had a 2016 Accord Sport w/ manual transmission they were still prepping for sale. I reached out to the dealership and Mia took pictures for me which she texted. Immediate, friendly and professional. Upon arrival, Mia was busy with another customer and had Alicia take care of me. The whole experience was delightful. I am not kidding! Alicia was awesome and took excellent care of me as we went through what can typically be an arduous process. Raul was our middle man to negotiate on my behalf and went to bat for me and knocked it out of the park. Finally, signing the paperwork with Max went smooth as silk. Everyone at the dealership was personable, a joy to engage with, and made me feel elated to be buying a car from them. I feel like I made four new friends! I joked with Alicia after she told me she has sold cars to relatives, to treat me like family and that is exactly how it felt. This sales team did everything absolutely right. Who thought buying a car could be an uplifting experience. It absolutely was, and I cannot do justice with my words to thank Mia, Alicia, Raul and Max, as well as the dealership for how well they took care of me!

Deceptive Practices & Disrespect Toward Women I’m writing this to warn others—especially women—about my and my daughter's deeply disappointing experience at Laguna Niguel Hyundai when trying to purchase a used vehicle. I will start by saying it is very rare for me to leave a bad review and even more rare for me to mention "I was treated poorly as a woman." However when common practices of a business are illegal and unethical, I want to warn others, especially women. We went in to buy a car that was clearly advertised at a specific price. Our sales person Alisa and her manager Raul were very nice, polite, helpful and wonderful to deal with. However, when I told them I did not want the additional $3000 in dealer accessories the general sales manager Arsenio got involved. He refused to sell us the car unless we agreed to pay over $3,000 in “dealer-installed accessories” that we never asked for, didn’t want, and didn’t need. These add-ons included things like paint and upholstery protection. I asked multiple times to have them removed, but Arsenio told me “all our cars come with that” and that I couldn’t buy the car without them. That’s not just unethical—it’s illegal in California, where dealers are required to honor advertised prices and cannot require or coerce you to buy optional accessories. As a woman shopping with my daughter for her first car purchase. I was talked down to, dismissed, and pressured into a deal we did not want. It felt predatory. The entire experience with Arsenio, the general sales manager, was intimidating, manipulative, misleading and very underhanded. I left without the car—and I’m glad I did. If you’re considering buying from this dealership, be extremely careful. Do not be afraid to walk away if they will not remove added costs that you did not ask for, do not need and do not want to pay for! There are honest dealers out there. We left and found a comparable car at Irvine Kia and had a wonderful purchasing experience. William, our sales person respected our "No, thank you" and swiftly removed additional add-ons. No managers came over and tried to pressure us. They respected our decision and happily sold us the car at the advertised price.

Request for Resolution – Service Experience and Concerns Regarding Warranty and Communication *Read Yelp reviews* Dear Mr. Newton Lim, I hope this message finds you well. I’m reaching out in the hopes of resolving an unfortunate experience I’ve had with your dealership’s service department. I believe in giving you the opportunity to correct issues before escalating further with my close contacts at Hyundai corporate and beyond. I’m confident that you would want to be made aware of what has transpired. I recently brought my 2023 Hyundai Tucson—still under warranty—to your dealership for AC issues and other concerns. Unfortunately, the experience left me with unresolved problems and concerns that need your personal attention. 1. Concern Over Violation of California Privacy Law Your service representative, Brandon, recorded our phone conversation without informing me or receiving my consent. As you may know, California is a two-party consent state (California Penal Code § 632), and recording a confidential conversation without consent from all parties is prohibited. When I asked his manager, Mr. Tim Bright, about this, he said Brandon had obtained my consent, which is simply not accurate. I asked to review the recording if that were the case, but my request was denied. If you believe this was a misunderstanding, please clarify and resolve this appropriately. 2. Unresolved Warranty Repairs I’ve brought the vehicle in for service, but the AC issue—despite being covered under warranty—remains unrepaired. I was not informed in advance that no repairs had been made when I was called to pick up the car. Instead, I only discovered after returning home that none of the issues had been addressed, even though I had made them clear at drop-off. To accommodate the service visits, I incurred expenses for rental cars and Uber rides, thinking the problem would be resolved during that time. Unfortunately, the issue remains unresolved, and I am still without a working AC, which is particularly concerning with a baby in the car during the summer heat. 3. Refusal to Accept the Vehicle for Future Service Mr. Bright informed me that I would not be allowed to bring the vehicle back to your dealership, despite it being covered under Hyundai’s warranty. This came as a surprise, and I’m not sure it aligns with the spirit of Hyundai’s customer care or warranty policy. I’d like to believe your dealership would continue to support a customer under warranty and that this can be revisited. 4. Communication Gaps During Diagnosis Had a technician contacted me directly during the service appointment, I could have clarified the symptoms of the AC issue more precisely. Instead, I was told that if the issue couldn’t be quickly identified, the car would be returned the next day without resolution. I completely understand scheduling limitations, but I was hoping for a bit more collaboration to get the issue fully diagnosed. Additionally, I left voicemails for Brandon—both before and after the visit—and unfortunately, none of them were returned. This made the situation more difficult to navigate and contributed to the breakdown in communication. 5. Difficulty in Escalating and Obtaining Ownership Contact When I asked for your contact information in order to escalate my concerns respectfully, the request was declined. That’s why I’m reaching out now in this format—hoping to give you the opportunity to be aware of what happened and step in directly. What I’m Hoping For: Bring my vehicle back for proper diagnosis and repair of the AC issue. Reimbursement of rental and Uber expenses related to this ongoing problem. Clarification and, if necessary, resolution of the call recording matter. Reassurance that I can continue receiving warranty service through your dealership.

Worst customer service EVER. I am kind blown away how they treat people. They do not value their customers. Listen to the negative reviews especially when it comes to Tim Bright.

Worst Service Department. They treat seniors and women horribly. Don't use them. Try another

My teenage son brought his car in because it was revving while switching gears. They said the problem is a crankshaft sensor issue. Cost to repair: about $800. After this is done, a tech calls him saying that now the car doesn't start because the batter is cleaning and needs a new battery cable for $400. Ok... It's weird since the car never had issues starting, but he trusts them. After both items are completed, the tech calls and says the car issue isn't fixed at all, and actually, it's a transmission issue! Cost to fix: about $4000. This is pure insanity! They completely misdiagnosed the actual issue, started throwing parts at the car, and kept wanting to "fix" something else that actually didn't fix anything. After talking to James Contreras who was the "service advisor" (who literally hung up on me as I was speaking) and the "manager" Timothy Bright (who didn't even apologize for his team's behavior and has the customer service skills of a rock), we got nowhere. There are several complaints against this location on the BBB website, and I understand why. We are filling a complaint as well for deceptive business practices and with Hyundai corporate.

The absolute worst Service department I have ever seen. - If anyone is looking to easily steal a vehicle, wait outside this Service department where they leave unlocked vehicles with the keys inside and no oversight -Jim has no business in any client facing role anywhere -Communication between Parts and Service is a joke -Communication between Service and Customers is nonexistent -Will not buy or lease another Hyundai from this location ever again -Do not buy or get service here, you'll regret it -Management aware and not interested in fixing

I checked the inventory online and narrowed it down to two vehicles. I contacted Garland Latta and he ran some numbers and called me back with a very fair offer. I settled on the new Sonata. The finance person had me fill out everything online and sign 80% of the documents. I live an hour from the dealership and Garland had a very nice lady deliver the car to my home and pick up the trade. I usually find the car buying process to be a pain in the ...... but Garland made it painless.