Hi Pizzaman....this also happened to me,this could have been a very scary situation,my left control arm broke in June of 08,I got it fixed by my mechanic,he had never seen this happen before,....then in early March my right control arm broke.I am in Nova Scotia but I will be reporting this to Transport Canada,the governing body here in Canada,I was unaware of how much of a problem thia was 'till I looked online,My car also has minimal mileage considering it's an 02,...with 63.000 miles on it,I shudder to think what could have happened if I was on the highway with my family when both situations occered,however I was going very slow on both occasions

 

I just registered for this thread. I have a 2003 Elantra and the arm rusted through and broke on 3-18. We were only going about 30-35 at the time, thankfully. We were going along like everything was fine and suddenly it felt like we fell in a big pothole. The car would not move at all afterward. The axle was also broken. The wheel well, front bumper and misc other parts were also damaged. We just got the car back yesterday after 2 weeks with no car (no loaner was offered). They claim the other arm is fine but we are having our mechanic look at it to make sure. Scary thing. It was all covered under my extended warranty.

I have no read the whole thread but I am going to report it to the NHSA online site. I suggest others do the same so they can follow this potentially very dangerous situation.

 

Thanks for your replies.

We were very fortunate to escape unharmed!

Please try to spread the word. If you see someone with what looks like a '02-'03 Elantra , mention to them of a potential " DANGEROUS " problem!

Here is a link to Consumers Affair Complaint:

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

PIZZAMAN.

 

HUGE Hyundai recall for rust and brake lights:
https://www.hyundaiforum.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=6251

 

" jsinton " " No, I think this is a problem with the quality of the steel used. I know what you're talking about, the damn thing rusts clean through, and you wonder how you survived. It's not a normal thing to happen, as heavy suspension parts are supposed to be made of a grade of steel that won't just turn to rust like that in 6 years. I've seen this in old VW Beetles, and Chrysler minivans had a problem with the strut towers. Chrysler has a recall to replace the strut towers on 1996 and later vans. Like I said, I think Hyundai got a bad supplier in 2002, and managed to keep it quiet.... "

Here's an interesting article:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ai_rusted.html


Great job jsinton! You were all over that one....you saw that recall coming a mile away.

Thanks for your awesome work on this forum. Keep it up, we need you.

Thanks to Novasource also for that very beneficial link.

pizzaman

 

Glad to be of service.

 

We own two 2002 Elantras and both have been in the dealership in the last month or so for the replacement of lower control arms. Mine had both the fronts replaced and the wife' s had one.
Looking for something else on line and came upon this corrosion thing in the States first, then found this forum.
Here is a recall for the control arms in Canada (I'm from NS too)
Transport Canada Recall Number: 2009121; Units affected: 45,637
2001-2003: On certain vehicles operated in areas of heavy road salt usage (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador), road salt can collect in the outboard portion of the front lower control arm and may result in internal corrosion leading to thinning of the steel in the lower control arms. In severe cases, the corrosion may progress to the point where the lower control arm’s upper and lower panels become perforated. A perforated front lower control arm may fracture between its ball joint attachment and the forward and rearward pivot attachments to the chassis. This could result in a loss of vehicle control and a crash causing property damage, personal injury or death. Correction: Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the front lower control arms. Should the control arms not require replacement, drainage holes will be added, as well as treatment with rust-proofing material to arrest the corrosion process.

I will be returning to the dealership in the next couple of days with work order/bill in hand looking for a refund

 

I signed up just to reply to this thread.

I own an '02 Elantra and one of my lower control arms recently broke as I was getting ready to proceed from a stoplight (fortunately). Luckily I get roadside assistance through work (although its really tough to tow a car with this type of damage), so I had it towed to a Hyundai dealer.

That night, I was searching for problems like this (as I could see the corrosion of the arm and thought it odd on a 7 year old car), and found this thread, including saugen48's note about the Canadian recall.

The good news is the dealer was pretty up front about there being a recall. The less good news is that while they knew a recall was coming, they had not received any specifics from Hyundai Canada as yet. They spoke to them and were told to cover all the parts and labour, and initially just charged me $96 to do a 4 wheel alignment (they didnt check with me first).

In addition, they visually inspected the control arm on the other side and said it looks ok, but did nothing else to it as they didnt have instructions on the procedure for the recall yet.

I sent an email to Hyundai customer service over the whole incident expressing my concern about their product quality, about the lag in time between informing Transport Canada of a recall and informing car owners in dealership, and over getting charged for an alignment because of their faulty part.

Since then, Ive heard a couple more times from the dealer in question and they will be refunding my 96 dollars. I also got a rather terse email from Hyundai customer service today telling me the same thing and treating it like the money was my only concern. Personally I'd much rather have an explanation of how they can have a part that rusts so easily and how a recall decided on in April could be still not sent out in July, but at least I'm safe and the breakdown cost me nothing. I'd also like to know when I'll be able to bring it in and have the other arm treatet or replaced.

Anyway, thanks to those on this forum that shared info. It certainly helped me to know what I was dealing with (and the scope of the defect) in dealing with Hyundai.

 

A salt-belt driven 2003 Elantra was destroyed in a serious collision which involved the driver losing control for reasons unknown (clear weather, no alcohol or cell phones involved). Had we received this recall notice months ago, I can't help but wonder if things would have been different...

Can anyone tell me if the inspection and tests run after an accident would typically reveal a control arm defect? The vehicle in question was damaged beyond repair, and is not likely available for further testing.

Many thanks!

 

I did a search for this problem and came upon this site. The following is what happened to my daughter. Christmas eve she was driving home . Road conditions great. The car went to the side she put her brakes on and ended up going off the side of the road. There was a small snowbank that stopped her from hitting huge trees. Towed it to be repaired,control arms broke. She gets recall notice 4 days later. Call Hyundai recall number, guy says: "oh you got it repaired okay will check off that the work has been done" i say: she could of been hurt badly, he says you said she wasn't though ". I was furious I asked for customer service address. I think they should pay for out of pocket,loaner car, towing. Also her car was inspected in May at dealership and they knew there was a recall I asked the guy at Hyundai about it while I had him on the phone.This is ridiculous someone could seriously get hurt. Sorry for long message..