2002 Hyundai Sonata problems

What is wrong

Hyundai is recalling 82 model year 2002-2003 sonata vehicles. Repeated use of the interior door handle may cause wear of the chrome plating. If the top edge of the handle has very thin chrome plating that portion of the plating may wear away more easily than more thickly plated areas as the door handle is used. The worn chrome plating on the upper edge of the handle may result in a crack or separation between the chrome plating on the inboard and outboard surfaces of the handle, which may form a sharp edge.

Risk

A sharp edge could lacerate or otherwise injure a vehicle occupant.

Remedy

Dealers will repair the chrome plated interior door handle free of charge. The recall began on september 16, 2009. Owners may contact hyundai of puerto rico at 1‑787‑999‑3333.

Recall number 09V317000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Hyundai is recalling 91,350 my 2002-2003 hyundai sonata vehicles. Repeated use of the interior door handle may cause wear of the chrome plate. If the top edge of the handle has very thin chrome plating, that portion of the plating may wear away more easily than more thickly plated areas as the door handle is used. The worn chrome plating on the upper edge of the handle may result in a crack or separation between the chrome plating on the inboard and outboard surfaces of the handle, which may form a sharp edge.

Risk

This may inflict laceration injuries to anyone using the door handle.

Remedy

Dealers will repair the chrome plated interior door handle free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during june 2009. Owners may contact hyundai customer assistance center at 1‑800‑633‑5151.

Recall number 09V171000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Hyundai is recalling 188,282 my 2001-2004 sonata and my 2001-2004 xg300 and xg350 vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. Road salt applied in these jurisdictions during the winter months may result in progressive, internal corrosion of the front sub-frame on the vehicles, and may result in thinning or perforation of the sub-frame steel. The corrosion is frequently visible and often discovered during inspection or routine maintenance, and owners may also hear noises or notice tire misalignment and steering pull. If these signals are undetected or unheeded, the corrosion may progress and the forward mounting of the lower control arm may detach from the sub-frame.

Risk

If that happens, the vehicle may lose drive power to the wheels, and the front wheel may make contact with the fender or wheel well, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will measure the thickness of the front sub-frame and inspect the front sub-frame for corrosion damage and, if necessary, the front sub-frame will be replaced with a new sub-frame that incorporates additional holes in the upper and lower panels. If the front sub-frame does not require replacement, the dealer will add drainage holes to the sub-frame and will treat the sub-frame with rust-proofing material to stop the corrosion process. This procedure will be performed free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during april 2009. Owners may contact the hyundai customer assistance center at 1‑800‑633‑5151.

Recall number 09V124000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 301, "fuel system integrity" a valve on the fuel tank assembly may not close properly. If a vehicle rolls over and the fuel tank assembly valve is not properly closed, fuel spillage may occur.

Risk

Fuel spillage in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.

Remedy

Dealers will install an additional fuel tank assembly valve. The recall began on october 5, 2004. Owners should contact hyundai de puerto rico at 1‑800‑981‑0188.

Recall number 04V369000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Some passenger vehicles contain a fuel tank assembly valve that may not close properly. If a vehicle with a fuel tank assembly valve that is not properly closed were to roll over, fuel spillage may occur.

Risk

Fuel spillage in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire.

Remedy

Dealers will install an additional fuel tank assembly valve. Owner notification began on june 30, 2004. Owners should contact hyundai at 1‑800‑633‑5151.

Recall number 04V178000 · Recall details

What is wrong

On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a traction control system (tcs), if the t125/70d-15 compact spare tire is installed on a front wheel position, the tcs may inadvertently activate beginning at speeds of 20 MPH.

Risk

Inadvertent activation of the tcs will cause automatic application of the brake at the wheel where the compact spare tire is installed. Inadvertent brake application could cause overheating and damage to the brake, and may prevent the vehicle from being driven at speeds above 20 MPH, which could result in a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the spare tire with a new larger diameter t125/80r-15 compact spare tire and a new tire pressure label will be installed on the driver's door to provide information applicable to the t125/80r-15 compact spare tire. Vehicles produced from november 15, 2002 through december 16 2002, already contain t125/80r-15 compact spare tires, will only require new tire pressure labels. Owner notification began june 30, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact hyundai at 1‑800‑633‑5151.

Recall number 03V097000 · Recall details

What is wrong

On certain passenger vehicles, the supplemental restraint system (SRS) side impact air bag satellite sensors may be too sensitive to some lateral accelerations that are not caused by side impacts to the vehicle, such as forcefully slamming a door closed.

Risk

Inadvertent deployment of a SRS side impact air bag when a side impact crash has not occurred could increase the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the side impact air bag satellite sensors. Owner notification began july 8, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact hyundai at 1‑800‑633‑5151.

Recall number 02V145000 · Recall details

The manufacturer has issued a safety recall notification as a result of this investigation.the recall affects 91,202 my 2002-2003 subject vehicles produced from january 28, 2002, through march 22, 2003.the vehicle recall population was defined by the manufacturer's use of a new supplier for the chrome plating process beginning in january 2002, and a production change in march 2003 to improve adhesion of the plating to the door handle.vehicles being recalled represent 59 percent of the total my 2002-2003 production, but account for 91 percent of the consumer complaints received.the process change for my 2002 vehicles resulted in a dramatic increase in complaints (1200 percent on a per unit rate basis).my 2003 vehicles built after march 2003 production change showed a similar decline in the complaint rate.based on the manufacturer's action, this investigation has been closed.

PE08071

In a letter dated april 14, 2009, hyundai-kia america technical center, inc (hyundai) notified the federal safety agency that hyundaiis conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 1999 through 2004 hyundai sonata vehicles manufactured prior to november 20, 2003 that are registered and operated in the following salt belt states and the district of columbia: connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, and wisconsin.hyundai is recalling the vehicles to remedy a condition where internal corrosion of the front subframe may lead to separation of the lower control arm at the forward mounting point and/or separation of the axle from the transaxle.this could result in a loss of vehicle control and/or vehicle disablement. The subframes will be inspected in the recalled vehicles using a procedure developed by hyundai to measure metal thickness.parts with perforations from corrosion or with metal below the specified thickness will be replaced with redesigned subframes.if the minimum metal thickness is met, drainage holes and rust proofing material will be added to the existing subframe. Odi's analysis of complaint data revealed that 98% of the consumer complaints were from vehicles either originally sold or operated in saltbelt states. Similarly 99.7% of the warranty claims were from vehicles originally sold or operated in saltbelt states.odi identified 105 reports of lower control arm detachment and/or axle separation from the transaxle through analysis of warranty and complaint information and consumer interviews.one hundred three (103) of the 105 incidents involved vehicles in states covered by the recall.in addition to the subject vehicles, hyundai also noted in the april 14, 2009 letter that my 2001 through 2004 xg300 and xg350 were also being recalled as they were manufactured with subframes similar in design the subject vehicles.based on hyundai's decision to conduct a safety recall this engineering analysis is closed.

EA08016

The office of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation, pe08-029, on april 22, 2008, based on 40 consumer complaints alleging front sub-frame corrosion in model year (my) 1999 through 2002 hyundai sonata vehicles.complaints describe severe corrosion of the vehicle sub-frame in the area where the right-front lower control arm is attached.in some vehicles, sub-frame corrosion has caused complete or partial detachment of the control arm, resulting in wheel collapse or separation. In response to odi's information request letter for pe08-029, hyundai provided owner complaints, field reports, and warranty claim data for approximately 197,906 my 1999 through 2002 subject vehicles sold or leased in the united states.the base warranty for the subject vehicles is 60 months or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first.according to hyundai, prolonged exposure to the road salts may result in corrosive damage to the subframe.hyundai redesigned the sub-frame early in the my 2004 production (november 2003) to address problems with premature corrosion of the crossmember near the right-front suspension attachment. Odi's analysis of both complaint and warranty data for the my 1999 through 2002 sonata vehicles shows that the failure rates are significantly higher in salt belt states, which account for approximately 50 percent of vehicle sales and over 90 percent ofcomplaints and warranty claims related to the alleged defect (note:for purposes of this investigation the salt belt includes connecticut, delaware, the district of columbia, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia and wisconsin).according to hyundai, the alleged defect results in a progressive loss of structural integrity of the subframe and there is ample opportunity for the problem to be detected (by inspection, steering feel or tire wear anomalies) and repaired before it reaches a state where a safety related incident may occur.hyundai identified 4 allegations of vehicle disablement and 1 allegation of a crash; where the lower control arm broke from the vehicle while driving at 55 MPH and the driver lost control and drove into a yard.there were no reported injuries.odi received a separate allegation of a crash, where the complainant alleged that while driving around a slight curve at 65 MPH on a freeway, the vehicle sub-frame fractured and the driver lost control of the vehicle and went off the road.again, no injuries were reported.approximately one-third of the complaints to odi allege that the sub-frame corrosion resulted in a loss of control and/or a vehicle disablement due to wheel collapse or separation.this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea08-016) covering my 1999 through early-2004 hyundai sonata vehicles in salt-belt states and equipped with the subject sub-frame design to further assess the frequency and safety consequences of the alleged defect.

PE08029

The office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe), pe05-059, based on nine consumer complaints of tire valve stem failures.the alleged valve stem failures occurred only after tire replacement from the original equipment (oe) tire (michelin 205/65r15 energy mxv4 plus) to a non-oe? Aftermarket tire.ninety-eight percent of the aftermarket tires alleged to be associated with the tire valve stem failures were determined to be aftermarket tires produced by brands of michelin group (bf goodrich and uniroyal).michelin issued a technical bulletin on september 15, 2005 making retailers aware of a potential wheel cover incompatibility with bf goodrich traction t/aand touring t/a pro series tires that could cause wheel cover movement and in extreme cases tire valve damage. Michelin has, additionally, redesigned the bf goodrich and uniroyal tires allegedly associated with the valve stem failures, as of the first quarter of calendar year 2006. The previous design version of both tires is no longer available.no complaints have been submitted to odi for tires manufactured after the introduction of the redesigned tires.there have been no accidents, injuries or loss of vehicle control attributed to the alleged defect.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted.

PE05059