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 Elantra. While driving approximately 25 mph, the contact was unable to control the vehicle and crashed into a snow bank. The passenger sustained minor injuries by striking her head on the passenger door. The vehicle was towed to an auto repair shop where the contact was advised that the drivers side lower control arms needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign id number: 09V125000 (suspension: Front: Control arm) and was taken to the dealer for repairs one year prior to the crash. The contact stated that the technician did not replace the lower control arm but applied a corrosion treatment and added a wax application instead. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure was 78,800.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Elantra. The contact stated that the sub frame broke on the vehicle a year ago. The failure also caused the front driver side axle and the front driver side wheel well to break. The left front fender was also damaged. The contact stated that after this work was done, the front right axle and the wheel well broke off while driving 55 mph. The contact lost control and a crash occurred because of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that recall 09V125000, front control arm was related to the failure. There was additional damage to the vehicle because the control arm failed. The contact didn't mention if there were any injuries. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 100,000.
I drive a used 2001 Hyundai Elantra GT. After running a search and finding that you investigated the sonatas for severe rust issues in the wheel well area, I knew I should write to you. My car started veering to the passenger side. I brought the car to the dealer. They found a rust-caused hole in the front passenger side control arm. It had come from the inside out and eaten all the way through the arm. They told me I was lucky that my wheel well had not snapped off the chassis. When I went to pick up the car after it was fixed, they said they had put the broken control arm in a vice and it had snapped easily.
I have a pending case no. [xxx] with Hyundai. My son's vehicle has been at advantage Hyundai in hicksville, NY (the "dealer") since April 5 pending a recall repair (NHTSA campaign id no. 09V125000). I contacted the dealer again today and spoke to michael keily (516-465-7700) who informed that he had no idea when the needed part will be available and therefore he was unable to give me a date by which I can expect the vehicle to be repaired. Mr. Keily also informed me today that Hyundai corporate will only pay $35 per day for a rental replacement vehicle. I contacted enterprise car rental and they informed me that a compact vehicle will cost $58.50 per day given that my son is 21 years old. My son has been without a vehicle for a month, has no means of transportation to get to his summer job and cannot afford the economic hardship of paying an additional $23.50 per day. I contacted Hyundai corporate (1-800-633-5151) and after being on 'music hold' for over 2 hours, two different customer service representatives informed me that they would need an additional 2 to 3 business days before they could provide me with an answer as to whether Hyundai would absorb the full cost of a rental vehicle. Hyundai has failed to repair my son's vehicle 'within a reasonable time" (page 14 NHTSA "motor vehicles safety defects and recalls- what every vehicle owner should know") and therefore they should be compelled to pay for the full cost of a rental vehicle without further delay. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
2001 Hyundai Elantra, 72K miles, driver's side control arm fractured while going 5 mph. It had rusted paper thin and gave no warning. Axle, fender and front bumper are destroyed too. Loren Hyundai of glenview, il acted stupid about it, like they had no idea what I was talking about and no concept of the potential liability involved in such a manufacturing defect. I will talk to corporate on Monday. I am reporting this incident out of concern for public safety. This must be addressed by a recall, in my opinion.
We purchased a used 2001 Hyundai Elantra for our son to take to college. On Monday evening (9/21/09), he was stopped at a stop sign when the wheel fell off of the vehicle and the front axle fell to the ground. The policeman at the scene informed my son that he avoided a serious accident because he was stopped when the incident occurred. Upon researching a "carfax" site, I found that the vehicle was subject to recall for corrosion and fracture of the suspension system. We were never notified of the recall, neither by the manufacturer nor by the dealer from whom we purchased the vehicle.\ my concern is that this was a potentially deadly condition and we had no idea that it existed.
During normal driving conditions at approx 40 mph my wife's Hyundai Elantra's passenger side front wheel popped and began rubbing the back of the wheel well. Luckily she was able to avoid other vehicles and continue about one block into a repair shop lot. It was determined that the control arm had rusted through and just broke. The shop replaced both side control arms with used parts.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Elantra. While driving approximately 60 to 65 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and the speed decreased to approximately 10 mph. He heard a loud noise and noticed that the front passenger side tire was against the wheel. The vehicle was towed to the repair shop and it was discovered that the front passenger side lower control arm and the lower ball joint stabilizer failed and was corroded. The total repair cost was $1,200. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 79,500.
Lower control arms on 2001 Hyundai Elantra. Car has 79000 miles on it and came to a stop sign and the drivers side lower control arm rusted through and cracked causing the wheel to tilt and pull the vehicle. Also caused the sub frame to crack. Thankfully I was only on a side street and not on a highway when this happened. Who knows the car would have reacted at 65 mph, would I still be alive? car has been fixed at a bill of $2400. This is more than the car is worth at this time.
The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Elantra. While driving 25 mph, the driver was unable to stop the vehicle. The driver's side of the vehicle crashed into a curb. There were no injuries. The contact noticed that the frame of the vehicle was rotted. There were no warnings prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the lower front control arm was rusted. No repairs have currently been made to the vehicle. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that they would cover the repair costs. The failure mileage was 99,000.
On 2 different occasions there has been catastrophic failure of front suspension (lower control arm) for my 2001 Hyundai Elantra, and loss of control of vehicle. One incident in which the drivers side control arm had rusted from the inside out causing it to snap, happening about 7 months prior to this incident happening last night. The car then spun in the road causing endangering to traffic and a near head on accident. This new incident, (same problem) the control arm snapped on the passenger side of the vehicle causing the vehicle to spin out of the road. While operating the vehicle, I experienced sudden loss of control of vehicle without warning and nearly experienced a roll over while driving. From research, I have found there are numerous people with the same problem with Hyundai and this seems to be a defect. I also noticed that the NHTSA has an ongoing investigation on the Hyundai sonata for the same exact problem, lower control arm suspension failure with rust corrosion. I am afraid this is an ongoing problem with Hyundai and is going to cause someone to get severely injured or killed. As far as I'm concerned this is a design flaw and should be corrected with a recall of both lower control arms.
While pulling away from a stop light, the car lost steering control and went into on coming traffic. I was able to get the car off of the road and luckily avoided a head on collision. I had the car looked at by a mechanic, and he said the passenger side lower control arm had rusted away. He said he had never seen anything like it. This is a very dangerous part to have a failure on, you lose complete control of the car.
During routine oil change my mechanic noticed that the driver side lower control arm is rusted so severely that failure is immanent. I brought the vehicle to my dealership and was told this is normal for a 7 year old car with 66K miles on it and they would repair at the normal charge. From my research this is a severe safety issue that should be handled by the dealership at no cost and is not "normal". luckily it was caught before the part failed on my commute down interstate 495 twice a day. I will be following up with Hyundai corporate to get this issue fixed - they should stand behind their product.
Left front, lower control arm failure, while operating vehicle at less than five miles an hour, while making left turn across roadway, to enter driveway. At edge of roadway, just before reaching driveway, experience fall of front portion of vehicle to road and loss of control. Inspection reveals left lower control arm separated into two pieces. One piece remains attached to ball joint, one piece remains attached to car. Further inspection reveals lower control arm rusted through, from inside out. Only a minute before, vehicle was operated on limited access highway, at highway speed. Note: Vehicle garaged, within attached garage, with concrete floor. Vehicle serviced regularly.
Traveling less than 25 mph I applied brakes to avoid a pedestrian running across traffic. After stopping vehicle was difficult to steer and made loud grinding noise. I was able to get out of the traffic flow. Vehicle was towed to service station. Repair was made to the left front control arm that rusted through and snapped.service mechanic stated that it was fortunate that the failure had happened a slower speed and that a failure at highway speeds would have possibly resulted in loss of control of the vehicle and possible injuries. The part was returned to me.
My wife was driving to work and had just come to a stop when the front suspension collapsed. She had the car towed to our preferred repair shop. They told use that the suspension had rusted out and that they had never seen that before.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Carteret, NJ, USA