All, I need your input here. Is the dealership ripping this lady off?

Hey Forum members, I need your advice. (Hyundai TSB T3G)

A customer brought me a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, 2.5L GDI, 78K miles that she just got back from the local dealership with a $7,200.00 estimate to replace the engine wiring harness. According to the service writer, the wiring harness had “wicked up” oil (against gravity I might add) and it flowed into and accumulated in the forward PCM connector; the rear connector on the PCM was dry.

When I got the car, I performed an inspection of the engine bay and pulled the belly pan expecting to find a mess oil because the owner says the engine consumes a lot of oil. I didn’t see any oil leaks other than some slight seepage near the valve cover, and some oil on top of the valve cover where the owner spilled some oil when servicing.

I disconnected the forward connector at the PCM and found it flooded with engine oil. The dealership provided the owner with a picture of the connector on the repair estimate showing the forward connector full of oil. I used CRC electrical contact cleaner to clean up the male pins on the PCM and the female pins on the connector. I then cut the zip-tie on the connector and removed the back-shell. There was no oil on the wiring, but according to the dealer, the wiring “wicked up” the oil and it got into the connector and the PCM socket. To me, it looks like the individual who performed the “free” 128 point inspection purposefully pulled the PCM connector and filled it with oil. I mean come on, how many 128 point (or however many point) inspections tell you to disconnect the PCM connectors and look for oil?

So, now I’m debating confronting the service department manager with my findings or simply taking the car to another Hyundai dealership.
What are your thoughts? See attached video.

I have seen more than one harness wick oil or coolant from a sensor all the way back to the PCM. Oil pressure is more than enough to defeat gravity and make it to the opposite end of the harness. It isn't simply the harness getting wet with oil and carrying it to the PCM. The oil pressure sensor develops a leak into its own connector, then pushes oil inside the wire insulation all the way to the other end of the wire.
This scenario sounds legit to me having seen it on other brands of cars.

Thanks Noah! This vehicle did have a leaking oil pressure switch; the switch was changed out by one of the local "quick change lube" places before the owner brought the car to me. However, I looked up the schematic in Mitchell, and the oil pressure switch is a single wire (block ground & no splices), and that single wire goes to the instrument cluster not the PCM. I think I'll start tracing the PCM connector back to see where the oil was coming from. If this "wicking" is possible as you've described, simply changing the harness won't fix the problem. You have to stop the oil at the source.

Well, I may have found the suspect wire that was wicking the oil up. While the oil pressure switch (the item that was leaking) goes to the instrument cluster, it is right next to the variable intake solenoid (VIS) connector; the VIS wire goes to the PCM connector C100-B that had all the oil in it.

Now off to the dealer to address the P1326 DTC and the loud knocking noise from the engine. Looks like another poorly assembled Hyundai engine that will need to be replaced under their lifetime warranty.