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.
I currently own a year 2000 Hyundai Sonata V6 gls. On the morning of July 17th, 2008 at approx. 3:45 am I was driving my vehicle on a newspaper route for a local distribution company. I was making a right hand turn off a main street onto a side street as I my steering wheel jearked to the right very quickly, and my car out of the blue went out of allignment, to a degree that it would appear that I must have crashed into something. But I did not. As time went on, my tires began shreading themselves onto the area surrounding the actual two front tires. When I went to a local Firestone to get a allignment and two new front tires, they lifted it up and informed me that the problem was a part called the "subframe" and it was extremely rusted on the right hand side. After reading various reports on the internet, I decided to write a formal complaint on this vehicle. I have yet to contact Hyundai directly as it is the weekend, but my intent is to inform them on Monday morning. The approx. Mileage on this vehicle is 122,000 miles.
Hello. I own a 2000 Hyundai Sonata. I took it for an inspection in April of 2008. It failed due to the subframe being rusted. The mechanic showed me the rust. It was a 'fist-sized' rust hole on the subframe. I believe it was on the driver's side (not sure). I got a quote for $1400 from a Hyundai dealership to replace the subframe. Hyundai representatives then made a 'good will' gesture and decided to pay for the replacement of the subframe in full. It took six weeks for the subframe to arrive at the shop. Also, I was told the bolts that hold the subframe to frame of the car were rusted as well, they are being replaced. The car has 85,300 miles on it and I am the second owner. I believe the first owner lived in New York, I live in Pennsylvania. I've been reading about this issue and some people have mentioned how their tires went bald quickly and seemed out of alignment. I had a similar issue in that the tires wore unevenly and caused the car to veer significantly to the right. I don't know if this could be an early sign of the weakening of the subframe, I just wanted to mention it. I believe there is an ongoing investigation to this problem. It is NHTSA action # PE08029.
When I was at the grade school picking up my daughter, the car started to lurch and then stopped. I got out and the front tire on the passenger side was twisted to the side. The right axle had blown out. I could no longer drive the car. I was in the process of moving back to Illinois at the end of may I had to rent a car dolly to tow the car behind the U-haul. Upon taking it to our automotive repair shop, he called us the next day to say that the front right frame cradle had rusted in half. We went to take a look and yes it was rusted through the cradle with a spot the size of an orange the frame had broken in half. We have finally gotten to the Hyundai dealer. They have said that they will fix the axle and the frame. But the 2 front tires are now not any good 1 of which was new, they will not replace either of them. They said that tire dealer that put the new one on should of noticed the problem and so it is their fault. Also when the tow truck went to pull the car up on the flat bed the front right tire gave way and bent under the car in the process doing damage to the front fender, this also Hyundai said that it was the fault of the tow truck driver and that they would not pay to fixed it. As of today July 9, 2008 I am not sure what is going to be fixed or not.
I was driving my 2000 Hyundai Sonata at 15 miles/hr on good-condition road when I heard a cracking noise and felt the front right side sink to the ground. I discovered that the front right wheel was completely detached from the frame, and the front axle was displaced. There was serious corrosion on the right side of the frame where the point of breaking was. No one was hurt since the speed was slow. But it could be very serious if driving on the freeway. The frame / axle are original parts and have never been repaired previously. I found similar reports online (see the following link: www.motorauthority.com/news/industry/Hyundai-Sonata-frames-rust-us-NHTSA-investigates/ ). I think this could be something that needs to be recalled.
- Piscataway, NJ, USA
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My wife was driving to work on June 9, 2008. She had to stop suddenly and heard a pop in front end of car. Car swerved to right and she thought she was going to hit another car. Drove car slowly to hatfield Hyundai. They had a long wait for the part, and we got the car back on June 26, 2008. The service order said "replace the sub-frame it was very rusty." The car is a 2000 Sonata and had 116,844 miles on it when this incident occurred. This is in line with your investigation PE08029. They did not charge us for the repair.
The contact owns a 2000 Hyundai Sonata. The contact took his vehicle to a local mechanic due to a noise caused by the wheel bearings. The mechanic informed him that the frame of the vehicle, which supported the engine, was rusting. The mechanic also noticed a hole in the right front side of the subframe behind the right front wheel. The failures are nearly identical to the ones noted in investigation number PE08029. The dealer has not been notified and the vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 148,000. Updated 07/22/08 updated 07/21/08
Went for oil change and technician noticed extreme rot on the front sub frame which holds up the engine and holds the tires and struts. It is currently in the shop awaiting parts which I was told were on backorder since May 19, 2008. This is a major safety issue and have researched and found that the defect is a known issue with the 2000 Hyundai Sonatas.
My son was getting on the on ramp to I-35 turning to the right. He was going about 20 mph and the car made a noise and started grinding. He pulled it off to the side and called me. I called my other son who is a mechanic to go and take a look at it, he said that it looked like a bearing had worn out and came apart and it needed towed. We had it towed to a trusted service station that put it on the lift and said the front subframe/crossmember had rusted through causing the control arm and cv axle to come apart. I called Hyundai and they said the car was out of warranty. Well our car has been sitting at the service station for eight months waiting for a used subframe that isn't rusted through. They the service station has ordered 4 used subframes and all have been rusted through. My brother runs a body shop in N.C. and has been looking for one for us and cant find any that aren't rusted. Supposedly as soon as there is one that isn't rusted its sent to "the salt belt" for a thousand dollars to repair a car that should not need it. Our family has 2 cars one 13 years older than this Sonata and one 16 years older than this Sonata. Their frames aren't rusted through both have been outside in the salt and snow more than this Sonata. This is a major problem this part should be the last thing to rust through on a car. From the complaints I've read on this site and others Hyundai is not doing anything about this. Hyundai wants 13 hundred dollars just for the subframe and its about the same for labor. It is just a matter of time before someone gets hurt because of this.
The subframe on my 2000 Hyundai Sonata has rusted and broke in half causing my half shaft to brake apart and causing the right side front tire to come detached and my car was stuck and not drivable!
Suspension system suddenly collapsed on right side while I was driving in parking lot in fairfax, va. Car would not move. Had to be towed to Hyundai dealer. Dealer stated that tie rod and engine cradle damaged. I had originally thought that I had hit something during a recent thunderstorm when tree branches fell, but now I know otherwise. Have read reports on the internet of numerous incidences like this one. I was lucky I was not on the road.
The contact's spouse owns a 2000 Hyundai Sonata. While driving 5 mph out of a parking lot, the contact heard a snap and the vehicle stopped moving. She exited the vehicle and discovered that the front passenger side tire was laying inward. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic, who stated that the subframe failed. The current and failure mileages were 110,000.
My right front tire pulled away from the frame. Upon examination I found that the engine cradle had completely rusted apart. It wasn't drivable, had a mechanic friend look at it and he showed me where it was completely rusted out. Luckily he was able to fix it himself by taking off the arm and completely redoing it. Not sure of details but he welded it back together and fixed it.
Got the Sonata in 2006. Was diligent with the oil changing and the works. It got to 127K miles so we took it in for the 120mi service as we intend to have the car in its good condition.. seemed ok.. after driving it for 2 weeks my wife resumed to use it to go to work. She said about it needing another alignment check coz it was driving funny. Said we'll have it check on her next day off work. My wife drives 39 miles to work on freeway (I-70; 670. Us-315), it is no laughing matter when someone is driving 65 mph merging and changing lanes during rush hour and start losing control of the car. She was trying to get to the shoulder but she couldn't even steer it and one big clunk sound the car stopped, the front right tear was off. Luckily she wasn't injured, but she was so shaken up, she didn't even reach the side road, and she could easily B struck by other cars, police had to push the car off the road. As with the other complaints here, my mechanic said its the subframe and we contacted Hyundai and was told to have it towed to their dealers while they review the incident. Im so shocked about the complaints on here, this should B put out and not let people go through this. I was thinking what if she has our child with her like she usually does...
I was driving down the road when I had to suddenly turn my steering wheel quickly to the right. Upon doing so, I heard a loud noise, and was unable to steer my car. It was taken to a Hyundai service department, and I was told that the sub frame had rusted out and let everything come down on my suspension. The cost of the repairs would be $1,883. The service department gave me the number of Hyundai Consumer Affairs (1-800-633-5151). I called them and was told that there was a problem, and they were handling them on a case by case basis. They gave me a case number and forwarded my case to the regional investigator. Within 2 days, I was called by the service department and told that Hyundai agreed that it was a major rust problem and agreed to pay for the repairs to be done on my car.
My seventeen year old daughter was traveling 10-15 M/hr returning home from work and has she turned onto our street our 2000 Hyundai Sonata had a completed right front wheel collapse/separation from the car. Upon inspection at our local garage it was determined that this was a result of complete subframe rusting of my Sonata. This was a very expense repair (mat'L costs alone were $1,600) and more important I feel this is a safety issue that should be addressed by Hyundai. I'm not sure what action I can take on this (looking for guidance) because of the high mileage (117,049 miles), but a car subframe should not rust out like this in 8 years.
I was called by my local mechanic this evening to come look at my 2000 Sonata while it was on the rack to replace the alternator and belts. He told me I had a serious problem and needed to come see it for myself. There is a rusted out section of the unibody subframe on the right front just under where the swaybar attaches. You can push the metal and it falls apart. It goes around, almost like a seam, but has not made it all the way, yet. The left front is also showing signs of spot rusting. I was going to contact a body shop to see if it could be repaired and was searching online for advise when I began noticing that I am not the only person with this problem. I was looking for information on repairing this before someone got hurt. While researching online I noticed that there is an NHTSA ODI preliminary evaluation that has just begun concerning reports similar to mine. I contacted Hyundai Consumer Affairs and they advised me to have the car towed to my local Hyundai dealer for evaluation and not to drive the vehicle until it has been seen by a Hyundai dealer. I was told that the regional department of Hyundai would contact me after that. I am taking it to them on May 2. my Hyundai case # is 3282801.
Pulling up to a left turn into the daytona sam's club, the right front wheel and lower wishbone assembly completely separated from the vehicle's sub-frame and my wheel came off the car. My mechanic determined that the sub-frame had completely rusted out from the inside. There is not a speck of rust anywhere else on the car! it was by god's grace that I was only going about 15mph for just moments earlier I was doing 70mph on I95! my mechanic told me that this would have been catastrophically deadly! it only had about 58,500 miles on it at the time of the separation. I have been told by someone who used to work for Hyundai that this is a know defect because Hyundai used recycled metal to manufacture these frames without using rust inhibitors. I have the defective parts in storage and I have clear photographs showing the rust holes where the wishbone bolts pulled out of the sub-frame and I would like to make them available to you. There are thousands of these cars on the road with this potentially catastrophic defect and Hyundai is burying its head in the sand. I contacted them and their attitude was that it was not their problem since I was the second owner. I contacted them twice, and they said they would investigate, but they never called me again. I have over $2000 in repairs to replace this sub-frame and make the vehicle drivable; not including the body damage caused by the wheel hitting the right fender. Hyundai is conducting itself in a wholly reckless manor as this defect can, and probably will, take human lives as these sub-frames rust apart! this car has been a nightmare with other problems, but none I would contact NHTSA over these since they are not-safety related, but however, this issue has a huge potential for loss of life and must be addressed!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chesterfield, MO, USA