2009 HYUNDAI ELANTRA TOURING Complaints

ON 8/3/18, WHILE EXITING OFF HIGHWAY, I WAS STATIONARY AT A STOP LIGHT AT TOP OF RAMP. WHEN LIGHT CHANGED, I TRIED TO TO TURN LEFT, BUT THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. IT WAS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN SO I THREW ON MY FLASHER TO HELP AVOID BEING REAR ENDED. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT AT HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, 8/6 AND THEY PERFORMED DIAGNOSTICS TESTS WHICH PULLED UP CODES RELATING TO MALFUNCTIONS TORQUE SENSOR, STEERING ANGLE SENSOR, EPS FAILURE, ECU FAILURE. AT LOW MILEAGE OF 32,485 MILES, THE DEALER RECOMMENDED I REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN AND EPS DUE TO INTERNAL FAILURE. COMPUTER WAS UNABLE TO READ TORQUE TO ECM. I PROMPTLY FILED A COMPLAINT WITH HYUNDAI USA TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS REGARDING MAJOR MANUFACTURING DEFECTS WITH STEERING PARTS BREAKING, MALFUNCTIONS, AND RECALLS THAT HAVEN'T FIXED THE CRITICAL UNDERLYING PROBLEMS THAT RESURFACE. EPS MODULE RESET/REPLACEMENT DURING RECALL IN 2015 DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER STATED, THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. WHY ARE MAJOR STEERING MALFUNCTIONS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE WITH HYUNDAI USA?

THERE WERE NO ISSUES WITH THE CAR UNTIL EPS (RED) AND ESC OFF (YELLOW) LIGHTS CAME ON WHEN THE CAR WAS STARTED ONE EVENING, AND IN TURN THE POWER STEERING WAS LOST. VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN EARLIER IN THE DAY WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. IT WAS PARKED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES OR SO, AND WHEN IT WAS TURNED ON AGAIN THE LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE STEERING WHEEL FELT LIKE IT WAS LOCKED. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AT LOW SPEEDS. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER WHERE ERROR CODES C1260, C1604, AND C1513 WERE DIAGNOSED. THE DEALER PERFORMED THE STEERING ANGLE RE-CALIBRATION AND THE ECU SOFTWARE UPDATE, BUT THE ERRORS PERSISTED. THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING COLUMN AND THE STOP LAMP SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THESE EXACT TWO PARTS WERE A SUBJECT OF TWO SEPARATE RECALLS FOR THIS VEHICLE (CAMPAIGNS # 110 AND 127) AND WERE REPAIRED/SERVICED IN 2015 AND THE RECALL WAS CLOSED. IT IS VERY STRANGE THAT BOTH OF THESE PARTS WOULD FAIL AGAIN WITHOUT ANY NOTICE, PARTICULARLY THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING COLUMN, CONSIDERING THAT THE CAR ONLY HAS 47000 MILES AND THIS PART WAS REPAIRED IN 2015.

NEXEN N5000 SERIES TIRES. I HAD TWO WITH SIDE BUBBLES AND TWO THAT THE TREADS ARE SEPARATING FROM THE TIRES. IT LOOKS LIKE RETREADS. ONE TIRE WAS READY TO SEPARATE AT ANY MOMENT. I HAVE PICTURES OF ALL THE TIRES AND A DOCUMENT FROM THE AUTO REPAIR PLACE. LUCKILY, WE COULD THIS IN TIME BEFORE MY DAUGHTER WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED DUE TO THESE TIRES.

STILL WAITING FOR A SAFETY RECALL ON PASSENGER FRONT AIRBAG. WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO A SENSOR FAILURE INSIDE PASSENGER SEAT THAT DETECTS WEIGHT OF OCCUPANT. OEM REPLACEMENT W/O LABOR IS $1800.

EMERGENCY BRAKE HANDLE IS LOOSE. RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING THE EBRAKE LIGHT COMES ON THE DASHBOARD. TO MAKE THE LIGHT GO AWAY, I HAVE TO TAP THE BRAKE DOWN. THE LEVER HANDLE IS LOOSE AND SHAKES WHEN I AM DRIVING. THIS COULD BE A DANGEROUS SITUATION. THIS HAPPENS DAILY. THIS STARTED HAPPENING A FEW MONTHS AGO.

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 65 MPH, POWER STEERING WENT OUT. WHEN I REACHED MY DESTINATION WHICH WAS ANOTHER 20 MILES AWAY I RESEARCHED AND A BIT AND WHEN I TURNED CAR BACK ON A FEW HOURS LATER IT WAS WORKING AGAIN. I RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER ABOUT IT ALMOST A YEAR LATER. WHY DID I JUST RECEIVE THAT? TOOK TO DEALERSHIP FOR THAT AND THREE OTHER RECALLS (TWO I WAS NOT AWARE OF. THE STOP LIGHT I DID GET A LETTER ABOUT, HOWEVER THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR MONTHS AND I SEE BY READING THESE OTHER COMPLAINTS THAT THERE SHULD BE A RECALL ABOUT THAT. DEALERSHIP TELLS ME THE WHOLE STERRING MECHANISM IS BAD AND ARE REPLACING THIS WEEK. THE HIGH PROFILE TIRES HAVE BEEN A NIGHTMARE SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE, EXPENSIVE FOR THAT SIZED CAR AND DON'T LAST MORE THAN 30K MILES. I DON'T THINK THE TIRE ISSUE HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE BRANDING. AFTER READING ALL THESE COMPLANTS, I MOST LIKELY WILL NOT BUY FROM HYUNDAI AGAIN. THE AIRBAG ISSUE IS AN EXPENSIVE FIX, A POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD AND SHOULD BE RECTIFIED BY HYUNDAI. STAND BEHIND YOUR PRODUCT, SIMPLE ETHICAL EXPECTATION

AIRBAG LIGHT IS CONSTANTLY ON, INDICATING A FAILURE. ON FURTHER DISCOVERY, IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE REFERENCED MODEL FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT SENSOR TO FAIL. THE CAR DOES NOT RECOGNIZE WHEN A PASSENGER IS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND WHEN NOT, CAUSING AN AIRBAG FAULT AND POSSIBLY FAILING TO DEPLOY AIRBAG IN AN ACCIDENT. THE REPLACEMENT PART EXCEEDS $2000 (REMEDY IS TO REPLACE THE SEAT). ...UPDATED 08/20/15 *BF

AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED IN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND HAD THEM LOOK INTO IT AT THAT TIME. THEY SAID THE WEIGHT SENSOR IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT IS MALFUNCTIONING. THIS SENSOR TELLS THE AIRBAG SYSTEM IF SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAT AND WHETHER IT SHOULD BE ON OR NOT. THE ON/OFF LIGHT BY THE CONTROLS APPEARS TO BE WORKING PROPERLY. MEANING IF SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE SEAT, THE AIRBAG OFF LIGHT IS NOT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE SENSOR IS MEASURING A NEGATIVE 100+KG. THE ONLY WAY TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM IS TO REPLACE THE SENSOR WHICH ENTAILS REPLACING THE SEAT BOTTOM. THEY QUOTED $1500 TO DO THE JOB. THE AIRBAG SYSTEM IS STILL WORKING BUT IT TAKES OVER 100 KG TO TURN ON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG.

THE PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT CLASSIFICATION SENSOR FAILED AND AS A RESULT THE CAR SHUT DOWN THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT IS ON AND AS SUCH NONE OF THE AIRBAGS WILL FUNCTION. THE DEALER QUOTED ME AT NEARLY $2,000 TO FIX THE PROBLEM, AND MENTIONED REPLACING THE ENTIRE SEAT BOTTOM. REQUIRING A COMPLETE SEAT REPLACEMENT FOR A SIMPLE SENSOR SEEMS LIKE A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW. MEANWHILE, THIS REALLY AFFECTS THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE AS THE AIRBAGS ARE NOT FUNCTIONING. *TR

WHEN I TRIED TO START MY 2009 HYUNDAI ELANTRA TOURING, I COULD NOT MOVE THE IGNITION KEY OR THE STEERING WHEEL. WITH GREAT EFFORT IN TRYING TO TURN THE WHEEL, IT HAS BEEN POSSIBLE TO GET IT TO MOVE. AFTER THIS HAPPENED FOR THE THIRD TIME, I TOOK IT TO THE HYUNDAI DEALER IN PUNTA GORDA, FL. BEFORE HE EVEN LOOKED AT IT, THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME ALL CARS DO THAT. THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO FIX IT. SOMETHING ABOUT AN ANTI THEFT FEATURE AND THAT I HAD TO LEAVE THE STEERING WHEEL AT 11:00 O'CLOCK POSITION. THE CAR NOW HAS ONLY 23,232 MILES ON IT AND I WAS STRANDED AGAIN IN THE GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT. THIS HAS NOW HAPPENED TO ME 5 TIMES, IN FLAT PARKING LOTS, IN THE HOT SUN IN FLORIDA. I HAD TO CALL AAA, TWICE, AS I WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO MOVE THE WHEEL. WHAT GOOD IS A 100,000 MILE WARRANTY, IF THEY CAN'T OR WON'T FIX THE CAR? I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT, AS I WOULD NOT WANT TO GET STUCK SOMEPLACE UNSAFE. *TR