Federal safety investigators at The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating claims that the subframe on the Hyundai Sonata can rust and corrode so bad that the suspension can fail.
At least 40 complaints from consumers have been lodged with NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation about severe corrosion in the 1999 and 2000 and 2001 and 2002 model year Sonata vehicles.
We’ve talked before about Hyundai’s terrible warranty, in spite of their sales pitch, and our opinion that it was America’s Worst Warranty with its ugly surprise buried away in the fine print. That's bad, but building a dangerous rust thru (not rust proof) vehicle is a whole 'nother thing entirely.
There have even been reports of “fist-sized holes in the frame” that can cause the suspension control arm to detach from the vehicle, according to federal safety investigators. If that happens, the wheel can collapse or separate from the frame. Safety officials euphemistically call that “disablement and or steering anomalies" but if you’re the one behind the steering wheel you’ll probably call it something else. More than one owner has said they're afraid it'll happen to them or their family.
Federal safety investigators acknowledged getting reports of corrosion problems in the engine cradle and front cross-member too and said that “there appears to be an increasing trend in failures, with 10 reported so far in 2008, 19 in 2007, 11 in 2006 and 1 in 2005.”
Most of the complaints come from the “salt belt” states according to NHTSA, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. Of course, if you buy one of the salt belt cars that was shipped to Florida, you may never know the problem exists until the wheel falls off and that’ll be too late.
Apparently some consumers discovered the severe corrosion when they had routine maintenance done but the majority of the complaints lodged with safety investigators claim that they had no clue what was happening until there was a suspension failure or a wheel came off.
The failure can happen at any speed and some Sonata owners reported traveling at speeds up to 65 mph when the suspension failure suddenly occurred.
If you've got a lemon Hyundai, email or call us 1-888-331-6422 Toll Free
. We can make Hyundai take a Hyundai lemon Sonata vehicle back and give you back your money, for free. It's what we do. Everyday.
www. New Car Lemon Law .com
Because life is too short to put up with a rusty bucket.
Click here to see what your state's Lemon Law says a lemon is.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.