Steering Rack Problems of Hyundai Sonata

My 1998 Hyundai Sonata has been a challenge to maintain. Twice the driver's side door spring has rusted through and window regulators have failed. This particular incident was a fortunate stop in the car shop to check something else. They discovered that the rack and pinion unit was leaking power steering fluid. I had been complaining to the mechanic that the car "clunked" in the front end going over a bump. This despite replacing the ball joints, struts and one tie rod. It seems that the clunking noise must have been coming from the rack and pinion. They also discovered at the same time that two out of four engine mounts were cracked and the other two were sagging. I'll be replacing those as well and hoping that the car doesn't cause any further problems for a while. I believe in maintaining my cars, but this car seems to have had more problems than most I have owned. The car has also overheated twice, once due to a burst hose and the second time due to a leak in one of the engine coolant temperature sensors in the block. For the latter incident there was absolutely no warning (gradually increasing operating temp over time). It also has the hard down shift from 3-2 (automatic transmission) that others have noticed. I won't be purchasing a Hyundai again as I feel that this is way too many problems for a car with only 90,000 miles on it.

See all problems of the 1998 Hyundai Sonata 🔎.