Wheel Cover/hubcaps Problems of Hyundai Sonata

I purchased a 2005 Hyundai Sonata new on 2/18/05 and the dealer, paar Hyundai in bremerton. On August 16, 2007, I had my car maintenance at the dealers location in bremerton. They suggested I purchase new tires. I have 46,000+ miles on the car. I had a local tire dealership, les schwab in poulsbo, put new tires on the car. In doing so, three of the small hubcaps were damaged. Despite being careful in reinstalling the hubcaps, several of the plastic retainers broke off. Les schwab will not pay for the damage, claiming that this often happens with certain Hyundai and Nissan hubcaps. The Hyundai dealer will not pay either and claims they have never had a problem before. This is doubtful. I retained the hubcaps. The plastic tabs that hold the hubcaps are very week, I can easily break them off, and they show signs of wear and tear and fatigue. My concern is that the hubcaps are manufactured using very poor materials and could come loose. Even though fairly small, a hub cap flying off a car at 60-70 miles per hour could easily smash a windshield or knock a cyclist off his/her motor cycle.

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Tire valve stem failed on 2004 Hyundai Sonata. There were defective wheel covers. All tires were replaced on this vehicle on 11-10-2006. Mileage wa s37,063. Vehicle was taken to dealer for tire rotation on 6-21-2007. On 6-26-2007 while travelling at 70+ mph on the interstate, I experienced sudden loss of air in the left front tire. Luckily, I was able to control the vehicle to a safe stop. Took the tire to the vendor. Determined that the cause of the failure was a broken valve stem. Vendor stated that they have had problems with the Hyundai wheel covers. Affected tire was unusable due to the time it took to get stopped from 70+mph and was replaced. After that event, I began watching the wheel covers and observed that the wheel covers rotate on the wheel while driving, and bend the valve stem with significant force. I frequently removed and re-installed the wheel covers to relieve the force on the valve stem, only to find out that the problem would re-occur with less than 100 miles of driving. I became concerned and worried to drive my car at interstate speeds due to the possability of a potential crash due to the rapid loss of air should another valve stem break. Consulted the internet (google) and seached for "hyunadi Sonata valve stem problems. " others have experienced the same problem. Also, found this problem being investigated on 2002 - 2003 Hyundai Sonatas. See NHTSA "pe05-059 2002 - 2003 Hyundai Sonata tire valve stem failures 07-Nov-2005 " note: today, I replaced the original Hyundai wheel covers with ftermarket wheel covers purchased from auto zone. These wheel covers have a close apparence to the originals and appear that they cannot bind the valve stems. A $29. 95 fix. My opinion is that the factory Hyundai wheel covers are improperly designed and represent a safety hazard. Had I not been an experienced driver and paying attention to my vehicle, I could have easily wrecked at 70 mph.

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After buying new tires for my 2004 Hyundai Sonata, I started experiencing flat tires on my front tires. All flats involved problems with valve stems. It seems that the wheel covers on this car are not meant for some brands of replacement tires. The torque of the front wheel seems to cause the wheel covers to rotate thereby cutting into the valve stems. The dealership I went to would not warrant the problem, but he was aware of seeing many other Sonatas with the same problem. I was not warned when I bought the car that I had to pay close attention to what brand of tires I used as replacements. One of my flats occurred when I was traveling at 60 mph and nearly caused me to lose control of the car.

I have had several valve stem failures after the replacement of tires on my 2004 Hyundai Sonata. The wheel covers shift and cut the valve stems and have left us with rapid air loss. Please refer to your case number pe05-059. I have even had new wheel covers placed on the vehicle, but they have also slipped over the valve stems. This is a concern because at highway speeds this could cause a blow out and an accident, leading to injury or death.

Hubcaps on 2003 Sonata slide around pinching valve stems. This was first noticed when I replaced tires from michelin to bf goodrich . Tires are proper size . This problem of the hubcaps shifting happens daily as I have to remove hubcaps and straighten. Have now removed hubcaps permanently for safety reasons. Have had one blow-out due to stem being twisted. Number of failures below are estimated but the hubcaps until recently were out of position daily. Date of blow-out below is estimated someone around the middle of August.

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I have a 2003 Hyundai Sonata. A problem has developed recently in which my hubcaps are rotating on the wheel and cutting the tire stems thus resulting in both of my front tire going flat at once. I reported this thru the Hyundai complaint hotline. They thought I was nuts. I did a google search and found other Sonata owners with similiar problem. They also reported this to the Hyundai complaint hotline with similar unsatisfactory results. I believe this is a safety problem. The last occuarance that this happened was in heavy traffic on interstate 75 in ohio. After a "hard brake" both front hubcaps rotated and cut both hubcaps at once resulting in a dual flats in heavy traffic.

The wheel covers on my 2003 Hyundai Sonata are moving on the rims of my tires causing the tire valve stems to flatten and eventually wear through causing sudden tire failure. I have had two (2) sudden tire valve failures since purchasing four new uniroyal tiger paw 205/65r15 tires from b. J. 's wholesale club on may 7. 2005. The tires I bought were the exact size specified for my car in the b'j's tire catalog and my owner's manual. The Hyundai dealer tried putting on new wheel covers but that didn't help. Later they said that the tires were sticking out too far over the rims, causing them to be in contact with the wheel cover, which caused the wheel covers to move and flatten the valve stems. They acknowledged that the tires were the right size but said they were somehow different from the tires that came with the car. There is nothing in the Hyundai owner's manual which specifies any particular tire or brand of tire, or which states that certain tires cannot be used. The only specification is the size, which is 205/65r15, exactly what I purchased. The problem is ongoing. At the dealer's suggestion, I am driving without the wheel covers. Even if I buy another set of tires, how do I know they won't cause the same problem? Hyundai admitted that they are aware of the this problem but would not take responsibility.

2003 Hyundai Sonata had to flat tires due to the wheel covers rotating and cutting or piercing the valve stems.

Something is cutting the stem and the tire around the stem area. Twice the dealer replaced the tire and they are unable to locate the cause. The problem is still recurring. The dealer has passed this information over to the manufacturer. The consumer indicated tha the hub cap cut the tire and valve stem. Here has been 3 stems cut all on the front tires.

1. ) driving at highway speeds 2. ) valve stem cut, leading to deflation of tire. Has nearly caused me to have a wreck on the interstate. 3. ) I had to have upward to 12 tires fixed or replaced on the front end of my car during 1 year. About a year ago the tire company told me to take off my hub caps (original to the car) to see if it helped. Since that time I have had no more flats.

Factory installed hub caps turn on wheels with acceleration and braking, causing pressure on tire valve stems. This leads to piercing of tire valve stem and rapid deflation of tire. Hub caps have jagged edges on hub cap where contact is made with tire valve stem. There is no mechanism to prevent the hub caps from moving.

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In Apr 04 I purchased new tires for my 2003 Hyundai Sonata. Inside of thirty days, I had the right front tire go flat while driving on a major highway. I was able to get to the shoulder to change the flat. I went back to national tire & battery (ntb) where I had purchased the tires. They could not find an obvious cause for the tire failure. They replaced the tire, and three days later, the tire went flat again while travelling on the highway. I expirenced two more flat tires on the same wheel within the next two weeks, and then a few days later the left tire went flat. It was determined that the valve stem was being cut by the hubcap. Ntb suggested that I go back to the dealership and have them investigate the situation. I went to pohanka in fredericksburg, va and the service technician said that the hubcap was making contact with the tire when there should be a small gap separating the two. The suggestion from the dealership was to change the tire or replace the rim. I went back to ntb, and they conferred with bf goodrich, the manufacturer of the tire, and they suggested that I go back to the stock tire that was on the car. I had also filed a claim with Hyundai, and their suggestion was the same. My problem with all of this, is first, I selected a tire that was the proper size for my car (bf goodrich traction t/a 205/65r15). Nowhere had it been indicated by Hyundai or bfgoodrich that the selected tire was not suitable for my vehicle. Secondly, my life and the life of others became endangered by this problem. Thirdly, I am being forced to make tire selection, because neither Hyundai, nor bf goodrich have provided limiting information on the tires that will properly function with my car. This is serious and needs immediated attention by someone, before there is loss of life or serious injury to someone because Hyundai's hubcap for the Sonata is not compatible with the tire size that it has indicated within the owner's manual and the label on the car.

Goodrich control plus tires caused problems with 2002 Hyundai Sonata. This problem has been present since the first day of ownership. With 25 miles on the tires, a flat tire was present. The tire dealer informed the consumer that the valve stem had been cut and needed to be replaced. Two days later another flat tire was present. The left front tire each time. It was recommended to change from a "t" series rated to tire to an "h" rated tire. Soon after placing the "h" rated tire, and using a shorter valve stem, the hub caps continued to rotate on the rim, caused by the tire flexing against the hub cap.

2002 Hyundai Sonata experienced a flat tire due to a leaky valve. Two days after the tires were replaced the driver's side front tire went flat due to a leaky stem valve. The vehicle was taken back to the tire dealer and the tire was remounted with a new stem valve. Three days later the same tire was flat again and a few days later the front passenger's side tire was flat also. After inspecting the wheels the consumer observed that the tire bulge was causing the wheel cover to spin. The cover would spin until the stem valve was pressed against the edge of the access hole in the wheel cover. Eventually the wheel cover would cut into the stem valve and cause a flat tire. It was later determined that the hub caps had been installed incorrectly. After removing all four hub caps the vehicle had no more flat tires.

While driving extended distance, the consumer noticed a dragging noise coming from under vehicle. Consumer had vehicle towed to dealership technician noticed worn wheel bearings. Vehicle is now on it's sixth repair. Please provide details.

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