Frame Rust problems of the 2000 Hyundai Sonata - part 2

While driving straight down a newly paved access road at approximately 20mph, the control arm broke free of my rotted/rusted out subframe. I have recently had the car in for an alignment, and brake work and no problem was detected with the rusted subframe. The car immediately seized up as the wheel slammed into the wheel housing and the car came to an immediate stop and was immobilized. The car is now in the shop and I am contacting Hyundai directly regarding the unlikely fact that many drivers are experiencing this very dangerous problem. I suspect that this problem will be increasing dramatically in the near future as the Hyundai Sonata's 1999-2001 continue to age. I have noted at least a dozen instances of complaints regarding this issue online and almost all instances appear to be very dangerous.

I have a 2000 Hyundai Sonata which I purchased used in 2003 from koeppel hyunda idealer in long island city new york. I have not had any major problems with the car at all. This week I began to notice something not feeling right in the front end, so I brought it to my mechanic. He said the struts needed to be replaced, but that I have a bigger problem than that. It seems that the entire subframe of the car is rusted and rotting away. He tried to locate a used frame from a junkyard,(because this is not covered by the warrenty), but was unable to get one. Each person he spoke to at various junk yards knew exactly what he needed , but informed him that a used subframe for the Sonata was impossible to come by because on all the Sonatas that were junked, the subframes were rotted through from rust. I'm betting that some of these cars were junked for that very reason. Apparently there's a problem here, but Hyundai is unwilling to acknowledge it. When I call they tell me they've never heard of this problem before. Hard to believe. I was told a new frame would cost me1300 dollars. The only thing the mechanic can offer to do for me is to weld steel to the parts of the frame that are still solid and try to reinforce the frame. At this point I am very frustrated, because I work at night and need a car to get back and forth. I have been paying for a rental for the past 3 days and it's getting expensive. Hyundai needs to address this problem before somebody gets seriously hurt.

Pulling up to a left turn into the daytona sams club, the right front wheel and lower wishbone assembly completely separated from the vehicle's sub-frame and my wheel came off the car. My mechanic determined that the sub-frame had completely rusted out from the inside. There is not a speck of rust anywhere else on the car! it was by god's grace that I was only going about 15mph for just moments earlier I was doing 70mph on i95! my mechanic told me that this would have been catastrophically deadly! it only had about 58,500 miles on it at the time of the separation. I have been told by someone who used to work for Hyundai that this is a know defect because Hyundai used recycled metal to manufacture these frames without using rust inhibitors. I have the defective parts in storage and I have clear photographs showing the rust holes where the wishbone bolts pulled out of the sub-frame and I would like to make them available to you. There are thousands of these cars on the road with this potentially catastrophic defect and Hyundai is burying its head in the sand. I contacted them and their attitude was that it was not their problem since I was the second owner. I contacted them twice, and they said they would investigate, but they never called me again. I have over $2000 in repairs to replace this sub-frame and make the vehicle drivable; not including the body damage caused by the wheel hitting the right fender. Hyundai is conducting itself in a wholly reckless manor as this defect can, and probably will, take human lives as these sub-frames rust apart! this car has been a nightmare with other problems, but none I would contact NHTSA over these since they are not-safety related, but however, this issue has a huge potential for loss of life and must be addressed!.

Frame of 2000 Hyundai Sonata was found during oil change to be severely rusted to the point where vehicle was unsafe to drive. Went to dealership where we were told to contact Hyundai corp. After 2 week period we were told Hyundai would do nothing to correct problem. Went back to dealership and after 3 days were again told nothing would be done to fix problem. The car only had 88,000 miles on it when problem was discovered and still had original muffler. Does frame usually rust out before muffler? eventually because of need for vehicle were forced to have vehicle fixed out of pocket. Repair shop told us they had repaired several Hyundai Sonatas over the last year with rust all in the same spot on the frame and that some couldn't even make it to the shop without a tow. We paid to have a refurbished frame put on the car, at the cost of $1150, not to mention the inconvenience caused over the course of 3 months it took to get it fixed. We had pictures taken of the frame on the car and as it came off.

On Nov. 6th 2008. I was driving my 2000 Hyundai Sonata GLS. I was approaching a red light when I heard a loud,"boom". The car stopped and the engine dropped. At first I thought I had blown my tire. I got out of my car and checked the tires,they weren't flat but my right front time laid slightly titled inward. I couldn't move my car. My daughter,grandson and I were shaken. There was rust and a baring lying in the road. They came from my car. I had the car towed to my house. My mechanic said the right axle had broken. After he checked the car,he told me the subframe had rusted through and was cracked badly. He said that's why I heard the boom and the drop. I researched this on the internet and discovered that Hyundai has a safety issues with these subframes. This is a life-threatening issue! the potential for grave harm is immense. I can't drive my car now. It will have to towed to a garage. I feel that Hyundai is responsible for this. All 3 of us could've been injured if I had been going the speed limit. I want corrective action taken. The public is at risk as well. The subframe is a manufacturers defect. Thank you.

Rusting on sub frame, right front location of car.