2001 Hyundai Santa Fe suspension problems

“I live in Roy city utah and i drive a santa fe 2001 and my trailing arm in the rear driver side snaped while i was going 45 mph. when i took it in to a shop to have it looked at they said that my trailing arm had snaped do to the rust corrision under the car. I know that there are recalls on the santa fe for the rear suspention trailing arms but only if you live in a salt belt state and utah is not one of those states and i think it should be because of the salt we use on our roads as well as i live 20 mins from the great salt lake . i have bearly had my car 5 months befor it broke i paid 2000.00$ for it. i guess i didnt fully understand the saltbelt state thing and i called young hayndai in ogden utah and they called a tow truck and had my car towed to the dealer ship they had it like 12 days or something befor they diganosed it. when they said that its not on recal because of the salt belt state thing they are trying to charg me 274.00$ just for them to tell me what i already knew was wrong with it and for the towtruck. because of my broken car i just had lost 2 highpaying jobs and i have no money to pay the dealership so they said that i cant have my car…”

“The contact owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that on separate occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was towed to Marco’s body shop where it was diagnosed that both struts, new tires, front passenger side wheel cylinder, wheel mount, tie rod, and wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the mechanic noticed that the driver’s side cross member had fractured and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the contact stated that the subframe was corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number and advised to take the vehicle to the dealer at a different location. The failure mileage was 140,000.”

“The contact's friend owns a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that while a friend was driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle began to veer off to the right without warning and the driver began losing control of the vehicle. Despite the failure, the contact's friend was able to drive the vehicle to her home at slow speeds. Another friend was able to inspect the vehicle and discovered that the rear passenger’s side trailing arm had fractured due to severe corrosion. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V123000 (Suspension) which he linked to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were both notified of the failure and he was informed that his vehicle was not under recall. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.”

“MY WIFE WAS ACCELERATING TO 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SWERVE LEFT TO RIGHT RAPIDLY. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. SHE COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND POWERED OFF THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. SHE NOTICED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL WAS ALMOST TOUCHING THE INSIDE OF THE REAR FENDER. SHE WAS ABLE TO LIMP IT ABOUT A MILE HOME TO DRIVEWAY. SHE CONTACTED HYUNDAI & THEY TOLD HER TO TOW IT TO CLOSEST HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP & REAP SUSPENSION PROBLEM WILL BE FIXED UNDER RECALL. AFTER WE PAID TO HAVE IT TOWED TO DEALERSHIP IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR TRAILING ARM WAS CORRODED AND ALMOST BROKEN & NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER SERVICE TECHNICIAN CALLED MY WIFE THE NEXT DAY TO INFORM HER THAT HER SANTA FE REAR TRAILING ARMS HAD NOT BEEN REPLACED BY HYUNDAI. SHE IMMEDIATELY CALLED HYUNDAI TO SPEAK WITH PERSON THAT TOLD HER TO HAVE IT TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. HYUNDAI OPENED A CASE NUMBER FOR HER SANTA FE. HYUNDAI CALLED BACK COUPLE DAYS LATER SAYING THEY HAD RESEARCHED HER SANTA FE UNDER RECALL CAMPAIGN 090 AND THAT IT DID NOT QUALIFY BEING THAT IT HAD NOT REGISTERED WITHIN THE 20 SALT BELT STATES…”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 10 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL POPPING SOUND COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT DROVE BACK TO HER RESIDENCE WHERE HER HUSBAND INSPECTED THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT'S HUSBAND DISCOVERED CORROSION ON THE REAR CONTROL ARM. DUE TO THE CORROSION, THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR CONTROL ARM FRACTURED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. UPON INVESTIGATION, THE CONTACT LINKED HER FAILURE TO NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 09V123000 (SUSPENSION) HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 161,000. *LN*JB”

“OUR MECHANIC HAS IDENTIFIED SIGNIFICANT CORROSION TO THE DRIVER'S SIDE REAR TRAILING ARM, A SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL VULNERABILITY CONSISTENT WITH NHTSA SAFETY RECALL NOTICE 09V123000. THE NHTSA SAFETY RECALL OBSERVES THE DANGER OF THE REAR TRAILING ARM FRACTURING, AND INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH. WE HAVE CONTACTED THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND THE MANUFACTURER, HYUNDAI, ABOUT THE SAFETY VULNERABILITY, RESULTING FROM THE LATENT MANUFACTURING WEAKNESS. AS DETAILED IN THE ATTACHED FILE. THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT IS INDIFFERENT TO THE FAULTY VEHICLE PART AND SAFETY VULNERABILITY, AND NO RESPONSE HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE MANUFACTURER. WE ARE ATTACHING PHOTOS OF THE REAR TRAILING ARM CORROSION CONSISTENT WITH THE MANUFACTURING FAILURE IDENTIFIED IN THE NHTSA SAFETY RECALL.”