wow, that really surprises me for you to have something like that malfunction after only 20k. i've had my XC for more than 3 years, and have put over 40k on it, and have NEVER had any problems what-so-ever. of course, i've been frantic about maintenance the entire duration of those three years, so that may be a factor, someone said a few posts back that you should use a high quality rubber conditioner on rubber engine parts. i've found that arm-in-hammer rubber cleaner works quite well.
anyways, i hope you haven’t lost your faith in this amazing car, im sure that it was either a fluke, or you just need to be sure that you maintain engine parts.

Kate