Frame And Members problems of the 2000 Hyundai Sonata - part 2

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.

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.

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. . .

The car wouldn't pass inspection. I was told the subframe was rotted and needed to be replaced. Luckily it is a bolt on part, but cost well over $1,000 for parts and labor. I was told the replacement part was of heavier metal and had more drainage holes than the original.

I am unable to get my car inspected due to drivers side front fame is rotted. My car was due for inspection in April. I don't feel I can sell the car . And I am still paying on a car loan which I owe $2000. 00.

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.

The car was not steering correctly and was taken to a mechanic to have the alignment fixed. The mechanic said the problem was not the alignment but that the engine cradle was rusted. The car has less than 100,000 miles on it, but because we are not the original owners we are not covered under the warranty. It will cost us around $2000 to have fixed, and we are not sure it will even be able to be fixed. The mechanic said we are lucky that the engine did not fall out, the cradle was so rusted. At this point it is not safe to drive the car and, again we are unsure it can even be fixed.

I've had a 2000 Hyundai Sonata for a little over a year, and recently I had to take it in for what I thought was just an alignment problem because the inside of my tires where wearing out too fast. So I took it to a local shop to have it looked at, and they told me that the engine/trans cradle(sub-frame) was almost totally rust out and that it has been that way for a very long time(which also meant that the dealer I got the loan from sold me the car knowing it was in bad shape). It was rusted out so bad that the control arms where about to fall off and that the car was very unsafe to drive. The dealer I got the car from does not cover those parts under the service agreement(the car is out of manufacturer's warranty with over 137000 miles). So I took the car to a frame shop that wanted over $1800 to install the cradle and control arms. The end of the story is that I'm still drive the car, because its my only way to work, and still trying to save money to get the thing fixed. I'm just wandering which pot hole I hit is going to knock the control arms off the rest of the way.

Im seeking help getting Hyundai USA motor CO. To pay for the repairs necessary to make my 2000 Sonata safe to drive and to try and start an investigation of the need of a recall on all similar Sonata models 1999 2001 and possibly 2002 2005 as well. The problem is the front sub-frame was not designed with sufficient corrosion resistance and is rotting away. Hyundai customer affairs (1-800-633-5151) states that because the vehicle is 8 years old and has 120k miles on it that it is out of warranty. I believe that an automobile manufacturer has certain liabilities for safety and the structural integrity of the vehicles they produce beyond the normal warranty period. The first I new of the issue was when I hit a pothole in a parking lot and the car immediately started pulling to the right. The next morning I jacked the front of the car up thinking a wheel bearing was gone or something. I was shocked when I looked under the car and saw the elbow that comes from the floorboard area to the wheel was rotted through on the corner and splitting down the seam. The drivers side is also corroded but not nearly as bad. I called Hyundai consumer affairs and was instructed to take it to the nearest dealer for evaluation. They informed me that the sub-frame needed to be replaced and would cost $2300. After several phone calls back to consumer affairs they wont change their opinion that because its out of warranty they are not responsible. Since they have had to fix this on other vehicles shouldn't the dealers be on the lookout for the corroded sub-frame. My Sonata was at the dealer several times between 2003 -2006 and the vehicle was still under warranty. My main concern is there are people out there driving cars that the frame has been weakened by corrosion and could have a catastrophic failure. If I had hit a pothole on the interstate instead of in a parking lot, my wifes lawyer could very well be addressing this issue instead of me.

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 contact's daughter owns a 2000 Hyundai Sonata. While the contact's daughter was pulling into the driveway, the passenger side front wheel detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the engine cradle rusted out where the two bolts were attached to the subframe. The vehicle was inspected by a mechanic and he confirmed the failure. The speed was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 143,000. Updated 01/23/08 . Updated.

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.

Car has never been in an accident ,and has had 1 owner. Vechicle is housed in central n. J. ,vechicle has been serviced as to Hyundai's service manual recomendations. Also vechicle has recently been serviced just before manufacturers warranty expired for defective transmission servos (car was on lift at time of service ). Also this vechicle still has orginal exhaust system including muffler. On august30,2007 my self my child and my nephews were driving on the parkway at 65 mph at approximatly 9 pm when the transmission exploded and left me stranded in traffic lane with vechicles approaching at high rates of speed and swerving around me there was no way to get out of harms way I was trapped in car with children we called 911 and the state police had to push vechicle to a safe zone where we waited for a tow truck. Uponfurther inspection of vechicle it was found to be caused by a severly rotted subframe which caused the motor and transmission to drop causing the axle to be torn through transmission housing and the lower control arm to break away from rotted subframe also(as stated earlier the vechicle was never invloved in an accident and has no body or undercarrriage rust including the exhaust system. This is a serious structual problem as subframe carries entire drivetrain (motor and transmission and all stering components). At this time nothing has been done by Hyundai to rectify this situation we were told its not covered by warranty we were nerer made aware of any problem at time of service at authorized Hyundai dealer. Still waiting to hear from a supervisor from Hyundai consumer affairs.

On August 25th, 2007, my wife and I were driving home on the southern state parkway. There was quite some traffic (stop-and-go kind of thing) so we weren't at a high speed. When the person in front of me had to stop short, I stepped on the brakes, and the front right wheel of my car sunk, and there was a loud noise like metal scratching against the pavement . After I finally managed to stop the car without getting hit by another driver, and checking to see if my wife was ok, I got out of the car just to find out that my front right wheel was in an almost horizontal position. After towing the car to the repair shop, my mechanic found out that the axle and the lower control arm broke because the engine cradle was severely rusted, and therefore there was no support for the axle and the control arm to sustain the weight and pressure of the sudden stop. Needless to say, I believe that my wife and I are very lucky to not have been injured, or to cause somebody else an injury. The repairs were costly, but I had to do it. I need the car to work, and we live in a place were the car is an everyday necessity. The cradle for this vehicle was damaged and completely rusted away and needed to be replaced completely at a cost of $2,897. 22. We also incurred the following expenses due to the cradle failing while we were driving the car on the southern state parkway on August 25th, 2007: towing charge of $168. 37, car rental charges of $164. 53. A written estimate from a local body shop for $996. 59 should be added to cover the body damage sustained when the right side axle and right side lower control arm cracked, causing the front right side wheel to bend the right side bumper cover. My mechanic kept the old cradle up to a couple of months ago, when after dealing with the local dmv office and explaining the situation they informed us that "a dmv judge wouldn't even look at this case". I do still have pictures of the rusted cradle where you can see the fist-sized holes in it.

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!.

I had to replace my subframe in June 2007 (2000 hundai Sonata GLS v6). Luckily it was caught before an accident happened. It very obviously was due to problems the same problems listed in campaign 089. Why am I not being offered a full refund for my damage as well? because I bought the car from my sister, they would not honor the warrantee. I bought this car in 2005 and it had 28,000 miles on it.

The alignment appeared to be off on my 2000 Hyundai Sonata. On oct. 1, 2006, the vehicle was inspected at a local firestone station. The manager showed me the cause of the mis-alignment: the original engine cradle had nearly rusted through on the passenger side of the car. There was a rusted out hole in the engine cradle that my hand could have fit through. The vehicle was subsequently towed to a Hyundai dealer's service center. Due to the price of the repairs compared to the value of the car, I elected to forgo repairs. The car will be sold to a salvage yard for parts. The car had been at a Hyundai dealer for repairs in ohio in March and may 2006. At neither time was rust identified as a threat to the integrity of the vehicle. Thankfully, the defect was discovered before accidents or injuries occurred.