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Hyundai has reached a class action lawsuit settlement over subframe corrosion in some of its vehicles. If you currently own or lease one of the following Hyundai vehicles in the United States, you may be able to receive a free inspection, repair or reimbursement from the Hyundai settlement:
2001-2003 Hyundai Elantra made from June 30, 2000 to May 26, 2003
2001-2003 Hyundai Santa Fe made from March 31, 2000 to June 3, 2003
1999-2004 Hyundai Sonata made from September 15, 1998 to November 20, 2003
2003 Hyundai Tiburon made from October 26, 2001 to May 27, 2003
2001-2004 Hyundai XG300/XG350 made from July 13, 2000 to November 20, 2003
The Hyundai class action lawsuit settlement will resolve claims that certain Hyundai vehicles suffered from severe corrosion on their front subframes and certain other suspension parts. The class action lawsuit claimed that the corrosion could cause the subframe or suspension components to fail, possibly leading to suspension failure, wheels falling off, loss of vehicle control and vehicle disablement.
While this lawsuit was going on, Hyundai started a recall and reimbursement program for these vehicles in states where large quantities of salt are used to de-ice roads during the winter months. The plaintiffs in the case, entitled Nicholas Cirulli and Robert D’Elia v. Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Motor America, believed Hyundai’s plan was insufficient.
The Hyundai salt corrosion class action settlement will provide certain inspection and repair or replacement services, free of charge, to certain owners and lessees for possible corrosion of certain suspension components, such as front subframes, front lower control arms and rear trailing arms. The class action settlement will also reimburse owners and lessees who paid expenses in the past for replacement of specified parts due to corrosion as long as these expenses have not already been paid by Hyundai.
To participate in the free inspection or repair program under the Hyundai corrosion settlement, you must pre-authorize the inspection via either the settlement website (saltbeltcorrosion.hyundaiusa.com) or by calling (877) 277-0012. If the court approves the settlement in April, Hyundai will begin permitting pre-authorized inspections in May 2011.
If you wish to obtain reimbursement for repairs you previously performed on your vehicle relating to the corrosion problem, you must mail your proof of repair and payment receipt along with a “model reimbursement form” found on the settlement website.
For more information about your rights in the Hyundai Salt Corrosion Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, including more details on how to determine if your car is eligible, go to saltbeltcorrosion.hyundaiusa.com.
Updated February 23rd, 2010
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79 thoughts onHyundai Subframe Corrosion Class Action Settlement
My rear subframe in my 2003 Tiburon literally snapped in half AS i was driving. I was aware of how rusty and corroded it was but honestly… Your car should not snap in half. I then called my local hyundai dealership and the recall does not work on my vehicle even though it is in the right time frame. Lovely hyundai, lovely. Was lucky i was going slow..
My husband and I purchased a 2003 Hyundai Sonata in 2010. A year into owning the vehicle we started having some issues with the rear-end swaying. We purchased new tires for it and it seemed to go away so we didn’t really think about it again. Then winter came and with winter, the swaying returned. He changed axles, ball joints (or bearings, I am not the mechanic) and brakes. This did nothing so we took it to Belle Tire and told them what we did and also told them we had no idea what was wrong. They took it and basically told us we needed a whole new rear-end. $1200 dollars later the issue still wasn’t fixed. They finally put new tires on it…again…and it fixed the problem for about 6 months. It started swaying again recently and the crank sensor went out on it. We went to replace the sensor and my husband noticed a belt had gone bad, the balance shaft belt. He also noticed at that time the sub-frame under the control arm on the front passenger side was cracked clean through. So, now, we have a car that we’ve put almost two thousand dollars into (and still owe $1000 of that to a credit card) that wont run and with a broken sub-frame. I regret buying this Hyundai and wish I had never seen it as a low income family, we have no idea how we are going to recover from this.
Hyundai repaired the front subframe.of our 2002 Sonata in 2010. Daughter had oil changed, when she picked it up, brake pedal went to floor. When I crawled under it I was horrified. All brake lines are corroded at least one of which leaked out all oil so I dont know know if the others.. The frame behind the rear most crossmember is rusted all the way thru> I can put two fingers right thru it. One strap that supports the gas tank is rusted so thin that it could be cut with cuticle scissors. Actually you could break it off with your little finger. When I called Hyundai, I was told there are no open recalls and did not mention the class action suit. I am going to drop a note to an attorney. Most likely they will find enough corrosion complaints to warrant a suit
I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe I just the recall done on the front coil springs, we we’re notified of the recall after a failed inspection. Also the rear sub frame has rotted out due to corrosion (I live in Maine). I was told by the service dept. that it wasn’t covered and I would need to pay out of pocket. I’m getting ready to contact my attorney generals office and an attorney. This is a HUGE ISSUE! It looks as thousands of customers have the same problem. The other thing is the service dept. says trade it in! Well two issues with this, one the car runs perfect, and the second issue is say I trade it in then it gets sold to one of these dealers who will buy it cheap and resell it to some other sucker! I know you’d probably say we’ll they can’t sell it in that condition, well they DO! I would like to have this issue behind me so my family can use our car again. Thanks!
Your 2003 what? Sonata, Elantra, Santa fe, Tiburon, Xg300/350? You need to be more specific. First off it it was for the front lower tables, most likely you required the entire front subframe as well. If its for rear trailing arms, Im assuming you have a Santa Fe and most probably an AWD. They truly are a bitch to change but both should be replaced just the same. Any resulting damages/broken or damaged parts related to the replacement of the defective and corroded parts should be covered by Hyundai and the dealer will have to make a claim and should be compensated but still usually take a loss and this is why they try to get out of it. Ive replaced so many my head would spin. The awd rear axles are usually seized in the hubs, the main bolt on the forward section of the trailing arms never want to come out and are located dangerously close to the gas tank so the use of a torch is not recommended. It really is a bitchy, dirty and nasty job that no tech looks forward to. It also never seems to be the two wheel drive models requiring trailing arms. (some what easier of a job) So to sum it up, there were many different recalls for this issue and the codes differed depending on the model. R0058, R0059, R0060, R0061. The other easy refusal by the dealer is if your gas lines look like they leak, you will be refused due to the possibility of an explosion should the torch be required, which 95% do require. As for the person complaining of poor tire wear, The dealer I worked for never really needed to do an alignment after replacing any subframes but always had to remove and reinstall the steering wheel to obtain a centered position. they always seemed to be off to the right after the recall was performed. It never changed the original alignment. On cars like the Sonata that only required subframe replacement and to keep the existing lower control arms, many of the times, the rear bushings on these arms required replacement due to wear and coming apart. This is due to normal use and was not covered by the recall. However, the usual 3 hours quote for labor is drastically reduced due to having the part off the car during the subframe replacement. Other things to consider, if your exhaust and or flex pipe is either falling apart or noisy, you may get your car back with a louder exhaust noise than when you came in. There is nothing they can do for that, It needs to be disassembled at the front to perform the recall. I hope this helps out for the understanding of these recalls. Older hyundai cars were better built than the new ones in many ways, I feel truly sorry for anyone who owns an more recent elantra with the china 1.8l engine. Noisy knocking starts, drive normal for 10 mins, then put the car in neutral and stomp on the gas while looking out the rear window… what do you see? A huge cloud of blue oil burning smoke. The dealers never needed to keep engines in stock until these pieces of crap entered the market. You wont get past 50-60k before needing a motor. Sell it, trade it in, the 2.0l older motor was a great lil motor and totally reliable. Why change? to cheap out and come up with better fuel economy and emissions at the owners expense. Remember, after the warranty, its you buying the new motor! Good luck all. I still love my 2005 Elantra. One of the good ones!
Went to get my 2002 Hyundia Elantra inspected and they told me my subframe for the back is rotted. So is the brake lines and fuel lines.
Just went to get my car inspected and the subframe was rotted need a new one.
Live in Nashville Tennessee
I bought a 2000 Sonata earlier this year and just today the left lower control arm pulled completely out of the rusted frame while my daughter was driving it. Luckily she was slowing down to turn and was going very slow when this happened. I love my Hyundai cars, I have a 2012 Elantra Touring, 2006 Tiburon GT and bought the 2000 Sonata for daughter to drive. Guess I should have had better inspection before buying, but was hoping there was still a possibility of some sort of assistance from Hyundai in repairing. Are there still any ongoing claims with Hyundai on this issue?
I live in Tennessee
If this helps