This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle began to swerve left to right rapidly. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted, but the failure recurred. The contact noticed that the rear driver's side wheel was almost touching the inside of the rear fender. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to a nearby independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear trailing arm was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was later towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer because it was eighty miles away. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000.
I was entering my apartment complex when my car made a noise. It felt like we had a flat tire and I lost control of the vehicle. I parked the car and then saw that the rear trailing arm was fractured. I looked in the internet and saw campaign id number 09V123000. This campaign mentions all cars manufactured from 2001-2003. My car was manufactured in 2001 and was sold in the state of New York. I called the Hyundai and they say my VIN does not fall onto this campaign yet it has all the symptoms and characteristics to be included. Please help!
I have a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe that had a recall under campaign # 09V123000. The recall started in August 2009, however, I was never notified. In December, 2010 I noticed extreme pulling in my vehicle when I almost drove into a ditch. I immediately stopped driving my vehicle. I contacted the dealership, and was then informed of the recall. I had my car brought in for repairs, but during repairs, where my trailing arms were not only corroded but also bent, it was noted that my tires which were all at half life (which leaves about 40K miles on them) were abnormally worn on the inside of the rear tires. With the type of abnormal wear, this is most often because of misalignment, which is noted as something that will happen if repairs are not made to the vehicle per the recall. I asked Hyundai to replace the tires as this was their negligence in notification of the recall, they denied it. I spoke to the head of the dealership, who set up a meeting with a representative from Hyundai, who made it very clear they Hyundai, under no circumstances, warranties tires. This "under no circumstances" does not fit, since their recall and rear suspension problems caused the issue and I had to replace my tires long before would have been necessary because they did not inform me of the recall. They also had put a note of the recall on a previous work order in 2009, but had not made note of this to me when I checked out with them, nor did they take care of the repairs that day while my vehicle was already in the shop.
On June 30, 2010 at approx 9:50 am cdt, I suddenly lost control of my 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe while driving approximately 65 mph on the highway in Oklahoma city, ok. My vehicle began to swerve as if on a sheet of ice. Road conditions were actually optimal with no water, ice or other adverse road conditions. I was able to wrestle my vehicle off the highway onto an exit while gently applying my brakes to gradually reduce speed. The vehicle was canted on the roadway (rear end significantly displaced to right) as I drove it to a nearby repair shop. I was basically dragging the rear end behind me. A friend confirmed this appearance and that the passenger-side rear tire was also deviated toward the right and that both tires were angled inward as he followed me to the repair shop. At this time, I was unaware of a safety recall (NHTSA action # EA08023, recall campaign # 09V123000) that applied to my vehicle. The rear trailing arms are susceptible to corrosion and failure. Unfortunately, only owners who had purchased that vehicle in a salt-belt state, or were registered in a salt-belt state at the time of the recall (April 2009) were notified of the danger. My vehicle had been purchased in Oregon and I have resided in Oklahoma for the 4 years. I did spend 4 years driving this vehicle in 2 salt-belt states, however, exposed to the conditions that accelerated the corrosion of the flawed parts. After I discovered this recall on my own on 7/8/2010, I got the vehicle towed to edmond Hyundai in edmond, ok and began trying to get this recall work done. The service manager agreed that both rear trailing arms had failed and had significant corrosion. Hyundai agreed to replace the rear trailing arms, but has refused to pay for towing and other vehicle damages that resulted from this component failure. They also refused to provide a vehicle while mine is in the shop or pay for a comparable rental vehicle. I have escalated this to Hyundai's national office.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, the driver heard a loud noise; both trailing arms fractured due to corrosion. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. The contact called the manufacturer who informed her that recall 09V123000 (suspension: Rear) was in effect. The rear suspension was repaired and the rear axle replaced according to the recall. Since the repair, the vehicle shakes, shimmies and rattles. The check engine light was illuminated at all times and the vehicle was hard to steer as it pulled from left to right. The current and failure mileages were approximately 129,000.
- Power City , PA, USA
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Regular interstate driving, I then suddenly lost control, and crossed three lanes, darting back and forth across traffic and got it under control to the side of the road. There is where I discovered the rear right wheel was hanging off.
At about 11:00am on Saturday, January 16, 2010, I was driving my 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe outbound on roosevelt bridge in Washington, DC. Speed was about 30-40 mph when, without warning, I lost control of vehicle, which began to fishtail first left then right. Miraculously hit nothing and was able to regain steering control and bring vehicle to a stop after about 3/10 of a mile. I later learned that this event was caused by a total fracture of the driver side rear trailing arm of the vehicle. It had fractured as the result of excessive corrosion of the part. Vehicle was carrying no load but me as driver and did not hit a pothole or other obstruction. Could have been extremely serious at a higher speed with traffic on either side of vehicle. I have 50 years of driving experience, much of it in snow and ice in new england, and never experienced totally sudden and unexpected loss of control like this. I understand that NHTSA has studied this situation and that Hyundai has a recall in "salt belt" states only (includes DC and Maryland but remarkably not northern Virginia which is the area of Virginia in which I live). Seems ridiculous that DC and md are included, but not northern Virginia despite the fact that so many northern virginians drive in DC and Maryland every day. I have retained the fractured part which I had replaced. Hyundai is now telling me that passenger side rear trailing arm has no rust. This seems strange and is hard to believe given what happened to the part that is about 6 feet away on the other side of the car and given that both are original parts.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving 30 mph under normal conditions the contact heard a loud noise and began losing control of the vehicle; however, he was able to regain control and shut the engine off. The contacts mechanic drove the vehicle to his repair facility where he found that recall 09V123000, suspension rear was the cause of the failure. The local dealer and manufacturer advised the contact wait several weeks to have the vehicle repaired or travel to a dealer which is 30 miles away. The current and failure mileages were 150,000.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. During state inspection he was advised that the front motor control arm was loose. A technician from a local repair facility replaced the component at an expense of $190. After the repair he received a recall notice for the rear trailing arm. The dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120000. The current mileage was 126000.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. While driving approximately 30 mph, the rear passenger side coil spring failed and caused the wheel to bend. The manufacturer filed report number 3632527. The vehicle will be towed to the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 108,000.
2001 Hyundai Santa Fe lower control are completed rotted out on the left side of my vehicle. Called Hyundai they said they were aware of the problem and save the control arm which I did. The cost of repairs were $500+. now the right hand side is rotted and will need to be replaced in a few months. My mechanic said this should not happen.
While driving our 2001 Santa Fe, my stepson experienced driving difficulty when he could not easily control the direction of the vehicle. Upon investigation I found that the right rear wheel was bent outward approximately 30 degrees laterally. When the wheel was removed I noticed that the right, rear trailing arm had rusted through and collapsed. The left, rear trailing arm is also showing signs of rust-through. I have deemed this vehicle unsafe to drive and am thankful that nobody was hurt.
My wife and daughter were on their way home and went across the railroad tracks when my wife heard a clunk and thought a chunk of ice fell off the car. She said the car then handled as if it were on black ice all over the road. I pulled the car in the shop and found the left rear trailing broke next to the spring mount towards the wheel. Not having dismantled any components, using a visual inspection the part had only a few spots that had been holding judging by the rust on the broken part. The car is still in my shop and I will be calling Hyundai Monday to find out about this part. My concern is if this would have happened going down the road at highway speeds, my wife and 17 month daughter could have been seriously hurt or killed. Please review this problem. I have never seen trailing arms, control arms or major suspension components break like this one did without having been in some type of accident. This part failed from the top down.
Rear suspension: Lost steering going over a bridge. Looked under car and all rods and springs are rusted out with huge rusted holes. Cracked and rusted, entire rear suspension needs to be replaced.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. While making a left turn at approximately 20 mph, the contact felt the tires rubbing against the frame. Immediately following, the vehicle became difficult to control due to the steering column vibrating uncontrollably. The vehicle was driven to a tire shop and the mechanic stated that the rear driver's side control arm and ball joints were rusted and cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic also advised the contact to have the vehicle towed to a local repair shop or her residence because it was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The VIN was unavailable. The current mileage was 104,800 and failure mileage was 104,785.
In April 2008, the right trailing arm of my 2001hyundai Santa Fe rusted through causing the rear of the vehicle to drop. Replacement was $712. Lat week (November 2008) the left trailing arm rusted through causing the rear of the car to drop, crashing through the strut, wheel balancing against side. This replacement cost $762. Hyundai never allowed for drainage in the trailing arms from 2001 to 2004. No recall as it happens in high salt states. I believe they are being investigated for this now. Very dangerous. We were lucky both times, but this has caused other vehicles to flip over and caused deaths.
Our 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe...going along the highway we heard a thunk and the SUV almost went out of control...fishtailing...finally brought it to a safe stop and towed....my mechanic couldn't believe how thin the rear control arm was ( which is what broke) stating it was completely rusted out, mainly because there is no place for the water to drain causing premature and dangerous conditions...the other side was ready to break through too he observed. Luckily there was traffic that night and we were not going that fast, had that happen at 65, the truck would have been apt to roll over.
As my wife was backing up the 2001 Santa Fe SUV at a local park, she heard a loud thump. She thought she went over a pothole, and got out of the car to look. She didn't see a pothole, and got back into the car. As she drove down the road, a rhythmic screech became very loud from the right rear side. She stopped the car, and again got out to take a look. The right rear tire looked normal. She got back into the car and continued to drive home, slowly. The screeching became louder and louder. When she got home, she looked at the right rear tire and was shocked to see that it was caved inward, and a metal part was broken and hanging down. The car was not drivable in this condition, and a tow truck had to come to our home and load the car onto a flatbed truck and take it to the local Hyundai dealer. The Hyundai mechanic discovered that the center of the right rear control arm had fully rusted out and the suspension had broken through. The right rear control arm, the lateral link, the ABS sensor, cam volt, and nut had to be replaced to fix the problem. The total cost was $1,549.22. The dealer told me that this was not covered under the warranty of the car. I thought this was an isolated case. However, after discovering there were numerous cases of 2001 Santa Fe control arms rusting out, I decided to file an NHTSA complaint. I am very grateful that this did not happen as my wife was driving at a high speed on the tollway. It is my opinion that Hyundai should take responsibility for the poor design of the control arm. Furthermore, in the past two weeks, I have discovered that the left control arm is showing the same signs of rust that caused the failure of the right control arm. It will soon need to be replaced, which will be expensive. I feel it should be part of a safety recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Spirit Lake, IA, USA