general problems of the 2003 Hyundai Elantra

During service on 2003 Hyundai Elantra gt to repair the subframe and lower control arms due to corrosion damage (this was part of recall campaign), the dealer indicated that the 2 hoses to and from the power steering pump were corroded and leaking. Subsequently, the dealer broke the high pressure line when attempting to determine the location of the leak. Both the high pressure and return hoses had corroded beyond repair and required replacement.

I was driving downhill to a stop sign (from about 20mph), and pressed the brake pedal, at which point I heard an awful crunch noise, and the front right corner of my car jolted, shook, and sounded like something was grinding together. I got out of the car to look at the front right wheel, and saw that it was turned in towards the center of the car, and bent under the front of the car, about 1/4" away from the back of the wheel well, while my other front wheel was aimed straight ahead. I drove the car 100 feet to a safe place off the street, during which trip the steering wheel tried to spin wildly in various directions, and the crunching, jolting noises and motions continued. The car was not drivable, so I called a flatbed tow truck, who towed it to my mechanic. . When the mechanic was able to look at the vehicle, he determined that the control arm had completely snapped in half, as a result of rust corrosion from the inside out. Visual inspection of the control arm confirmed that the metal it is constructed out of was corroded down to a thickness of approximately 5 or 6 sheets of paper. Water kicked up from wet roads by the tires had gotten inside the control arm (through a faulty seal) and, as there are no drainage holes in the control arm, it remained inside, eating away at the metal until finally the weight of the car snapped the arm in half. This failure of the control arm also wrecked the suspension of the car, as well as the cv shaft, the right front axle, and the sway bar links. The control arm, the cv shaft, and the sway bar links had to be completely replaced, and the car needed a realignment.

Consumer 2003 Hyundai Elantra has a design flaw, in the positioning of the brake pedal and its proximity to the gas pedal. ** answer required*** the vehicle suddenly backed down the driveway into the curbside mailbox. On another occasion the consumer stopped the vehicle, but the vehicle bucked and hit a vehicle in front of them. The consumer noticed how the pedal was considerably higher and not as close to the gas pedal.

Extremely loud wind noise when driving into or with a crosswind. Noise seems to emanate from front of vehicle. Dealer has been unable to repair.

Defective windshield-2003 Hyundai Elantra GLS. There was a terrible glare from the sun hitting the windshield which made it extremely hard to judge the distance of objects. The dealer was notified and stated that the glare was a characteristic of the car. The vehicle experienced brake noise. The dealer did some work on the car but is was still noisy. The defroster took 15-20 minutes to clear the windows and heated mirrors. When it rained the water was on the inside the vehicle on the underside of the car door.