I am looking into buying a 2011 Sonata SE. I am curious if anybody has had issues with the 18" rims getting damaged or bent from hitting potholes. Also, if you have had any more flat tires than typical due to less sidewall to absorb shock. Please let me know what you guys have experienced, or if you think this could/would be an issue. Thanks!

 

I've been driving on 18" rims and 235/50-18 tires for 2 years without any problems.

Remember, Hyundai warranties the car. They wouldn't install wheels and tires that thought would cause problems they would have to pay to fix.

 

I don't think that Hyundai's warranties would cover bent rims. Do you know for sure that is the case?

 

If the 18" rims were susceptible to bending, a large portion of Sonata owners would have bent rims which would eventually create a recall.

Hyundai isn't the first company to sell cars with 18" rims and this isn't their first car with 18" rims. Don't worry, unless you plan to drive hard over some very rough terrain, you won't bend a rim.

 

Warranty does not cover physical damages from hitting curbs, potholes, road debris, or anything that will cause physical damage...

Be kinda hard to prove defect in material and workmanship when you wrecked it.

 

That's what I was trying to say. If you drive normally, you won't have an issue. If you abuse the car, it won't matter what size rims you have or how tall the sidewalls are.

 

All of the previous posts make sense. The reason I ask is, I was getting a nail taken out of the tire of my current car and asking questions about the bigger rims. The tire guy (at a local tire shop by my house) says he recommends people NOT get sportier larger rims because he says from his experience, typical potholes cause significant damage to the larger rims.