2012 Hyundai Elantra Suspension Problems

The contact owns a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. The contact initially received a recall notification from Hyundai Motors of America for an underbody corrosion preventative service. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was provided a list of repairs that needed to be performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where pictures were taken to document the severity of the corrosion on the suspension. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where a second inspection of the corrosion was performed. Pictures of the suspension were taken by the dealer and submitted to the manufacturer; and the contact was provided a priority code number by the dealer. Despite the information that was submitted to the manufacturer, the manufacturer declined the repair. The contact was provided a case number by the manufacturer. The contact had the rear brakes replaced due to the severe corrosion; however, the issue remained. The failure mileage was approximately 29,586

NHTSA ID

11527882

Incident

Mar 16, 2023

Mileage

29,586 mi

On 10/30/2019 as I was driving down the highway at 75 mph, my front right coil spring broke and punctured my tire. Fortunately, I was able to get to the side of the road but was not in a safe area, putting others at risk. The faulty coil spring breaking and puncturing my tire could have caused a dangerous accident. Given my high rate of speed, I am very fortunate this did not cause an accident and injure myself or others. My car needed to be towed to a tire place, who discovered the broken coil spring, before again being towed to the dealership for repair. It was diagnosed that the spring broke and bent the seat on the strut assembly. Hyundai replaced my front right strut and spring under warranty but did not compensate for the destroyed tire to be replaced. On 2/6/2023 my other coil spring (left front) snapped as well. Fortunately it was where I park outside of my house so no tire was punctured and a potential accident was avoided. I just noticed it on the ground when I got out of my car. Hyundai has issued a front coil spring recall but only recalled a small window of manufacturer dates (11/12/10 to 3/31/11) and mine is not included as it was manufactured 8/23/11. It is very unlikely Hyundai changed their coil spring just before manufacturing my car less than 5 months later. There are several people on car forums that also say their car experienced the broken coil spring but their manufactured date is outside of the recall window. The recall is due to rust being in "Salt-Belt states" which my state of MN is included. Given that now both of my coil springs have now broken as well as the other horror stories online, I firmly believe Hyundai needs to expand the recall window to include more manufactured dates and fix their faulty part to avoid a public safety risk due to a tire blow out from the faulty spring breaking.

NHTSA ID

11508228

Incident

Oct 30, 2019

My 2011 Hyundai Elantra with only 73,000 Miles on it was affected. Front Coil Suspension Springs cracked during winter month when road salt was being used for a big storm. I live in Northern KY almost on the Ohio border. It gets cold here and Road salt is used during the winter months which is why I believe the road salt has caused corrosion on the front coil springs .This defect has put my safety at risk as well as a passenger in my vehicle. I never received any type of recall notice ...... But see there is one. The repairs cost well over $1,000.00 . I have been doing alot of research on so many others with the same issue and according to many the recall is only for month specific manufacture date based on the date of manufacture. This is widespread far more than a few months that the vehicle was made. This is something that has slipped through the cracks and is very dangerous as I was told by the shop, In my case the edge of the broken coil spring was sharp and could have caused the tire the blow out. Could have been deadly. I am seeking a refund of the repair cost. I do have an invoice for repairs if needed as I had to repair immediately . This all happened with no warning .

NHTSA ID

11491311

Incident

Feb 7, 2022

The component that failed was the front driver's side spring, and the piece that broke off is available for inspection upon request. The part failed while trying to leave my driveway to go to work on the morning of Fri, 3/18/22. Had the part failed while driving on the highway, I could have had an accident and worse. The vehicle was serviced by an independent service station, and verified that the spring fractured and had replaced the struts/springs on both front sides. The part has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance reps or others. There were no warning lights, but I only heard a very loud scraping noise as I tried to exit my driveway. There were no other symptoms or warnings. Side note: There is Safety Recall on the 2011 Hyundai Elantra for the exact same issue on cars in the NorthEast US States that salt their roads in the winter. That Safety Recall is NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V629000.

NHTSA ID

11457726

Incident

Mar 18, 2022

I WAS DRIVING HEARD A LOUD BANG THEN I GOT HOME AND LOOKED THE STRUT COIL FRACTURED AND SNAPPED OFF AND WAS HANGING THERE

NHTSA ID

11415832

Incident

May 10, 2021

Mileage

125,000 mi

WHEN I'M DRIVING AND I COME TO A STOP MY CAR WOULD MAKE CLANKING NOISES I TURN MY CAR OFF AND TURN IT BACK ON AND IT WOULD STOP. WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR AN OIL CHANGE I CHANGED MY OIL AND ONE NIGHT I'M DRIVING HOME AND IT MAKES THE CLANKING NOISE AGAIN ALONG WITH A BURNT SMELL I PULL OVER TURN MY CAR OFF TURN BACK ON IT STILL CLANKING AND HAS CLANKED EVER SINCE. I TOWED MY CAR HOME AND HAVEN'T DRIVEN IT AGAIN BECAUSE WHEN INSPECTING IT, WE NOTICED MY OIL LEVEL WAS PERFECT BUT TIMING CHAIN WAS EXTREMELY LOOSE AND METAL SHAVINGS IN MY OIL.

NHTSA ID

11331341

Incident

Jun 20, 2020

Mileage

155,000 mi

DRIVING IN A 35 MPH ZONE WHEN I DROVE OVER A SMALL POTHOLE. THE CAR MADE A LONG BANG NOISE, CAR BEGAN TO SWAY SIDE TO SIDE UNCONTROLLABLY. I LEARNED THAT MY COIL SPRINGS WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED AND HAD BENDED MY RIMS OF THE WHEELS INWARDS, AND THUS MY REAR WHEELS BECAME DEFLATED. HAD TO CHANGE THE COIL SPRINGS AND RIMS, BUT I NOTICED THAT 3-4 MONTHS LATER, THE COIL SPRINGS AND SHOCKS ARE DETERIORATING ONCE AGAIN AND CONTINUE TO HAVE THE LOUD BANG NOISES AND CAR DROPS HEAVILY AFTER GOING OVER SPEED BUMPS. ALSO, CAR IS HARD TO KEEP STEADY IN AREAS WHERE THERE IS WIND EVEN IN THE MILDEST FORMS, WHICH IS SCARY WHEN THERE IS HIGH WINDS DURING MY COMMUTE IN THE FALL AND WINTER. CAR WILL BE SWAYING SIDE TO SIDE EVEN WHEN DRIVING WAY BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT (SAY 30 IN A 50 MPH ZONE, OR 40 ON FREEWAY). *TR

NHTSA ID

11327583

Incident

Aug 26, 2019

Mileage

130 mi

BOTH FRONT SHOCKS HAVE BROKEN DURING DRIVING AND PUNCTURED THE INSIDE OF THE FRONT TIRES, CAUSING ME TO DRIVE OFF THE ROAD. THE SHOCKS DID NOT BREAK AT THE SAME TIME (FRONT PASSENGER SNAPPED FIRST AND THE FRONT DRIVER ABOUT 6000 MILES LATER.) THE FRONT PASSENGER BROKE WHEN DRIVING ON A CITY STREET AND THE FRONT DRIVER BROKE WHILE STATIONARY IN MY DRIVEWAY. THIS VEHICLE HAS UNDER 130,000 MILES, BUT HAS BEEN IN MIDWEST WINTERS FOR AT LEAST THE PAST 6 YEARS.

NHTSA ID

11322955

Incident

May 2, 2019

Mileage

125,000 mi

FRONT COIL SPRING (DRIVERS SIDE) FAILED, RIPPING TIRING OPEN. LUCKILY THIS HAPPENED SOME TIME AFTER I PARKED AT A SUPERMARKET CAUSING NO PERSONAL INJURY. I DID SEE ON-LINE THAT THE 2011 ELANTRA HAD A RECALL FOR SIMILAR PROBLEM

NHTSA ID

11318524

Incident

Mar 13, 2020

Mileage

90,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH THE CAR WENT OVER A SMALL BUMP AND DRIVER FELT AN ODD VIBRATING FEEL FROM THE CAR. THERE WAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF WHITE SMOKE VISIBLE IN REAR VIEW MIRROR BEHIND THE CAR. DRIVER PULLED OVER AND FOUND THE DRIVER SIDE STRUT COIL SPRING HAD BURST THRU THE STRUT MOUNT AND WAS RUBBING AGAINST THE TIRE SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE. DRIVER REPLACED THE TIRE WITH THE DOUGH NUT SPARE TIRE, WHICH WAS SMALL ENOUGH TO AVOID THE EXTENDED SPRING, AND CAREFULLY DROVE HOME. DRIVER REPLACED THE STRUT HIMSELF AS CAR HAD 170K MILES AND OUT OF WARRENTY.

NHTSA ID

11290286

Incident

Jul 25, 2019

THE BACK END SWAYS SIGNIFICANTLY BACK AND FORTH WHENEVER THE CAR GOES OVER AN UNEVEN BUMP IN THE ROAD (AS LONG AS BOTH SIDES DON'T HIT AT THE EXACT SAME TIME). I'VE DONE RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE, AND FOUND THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF REPORTS/FORUMS ALL REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM. MANY PEOPLE ARE REPORTING COMPLETE LOSS OF CONTROL LEADING TO CRASHES, WHICH I DO NOT FIND HARD TO BELIEVE. IT TAKES AN EFFORT, WITH GOOD DRIVING CONDITIONS TO KEEP THE VEHICLE FROM SWERVING. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW EASY IT WOULD BE TO LOSE CONTROL AND GO INTO A SPIN DURING RAINY OR SNOWY CONDITIONS.

NHTSA ID

11257638

Incident

Sep 16, 2019

Mileage

60,000 mi

WAS DRIVING CAR MADE A BANG NOISE, PULLED OVER FOUND COIL SPRING BROKE ON FRONT DRIVERS SIDE. HAD TO CALL TOLL TRUCK. CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF IN EXCELLENT SHAPE. THANK GOD I WASN'T ON HIGHWAY GOING 55 MPH. COULD HAVE BEEN A BAD ACCIDENT AND PEOPLE COULD HAVE GOT HURT . THERE WAS NO WARNING !

NHTSA ID

11253372

Incident

May 3, 2019

Mileage

49,072 mi

WHILE TRAVELING ON A CITY STREET AT ABOUT 20 MPH, I HIT A POTHOLE WITH MY 2012 HYUNDAI ELANTRA AND THE CAR CAME TO A STOP, AFTERWARD THE TIRE BURST. NOISE WAS A LOUD RUBBING SOUND COMING FROM THE FRONT PASSENGER WHEEL. A DEFECTIVE STRUT COIL/SPRING RIPPED AND CUT THROUGH THE INNER SIDE WALL OF THE TIRE. AAA TOWED MY CAR TO ONE OF THEIR REPAIR SHOPS. TOTAL COST OF NEW STRUTS AND TIRE WAS $895.

NHTSA ID

11244555

Incident

Aug 14, 2019

Mileage

28,463 mi

GOING OVER A STANDARD LOW GRADE SPEED BUMP. MY DRIVER SIDE COIL SPRING SNAPPED. THIS WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER UNDER WARRANTY. SHOULD THEY HAVE DONE THE PASSENGER SIDE PREVENTIVELY?

NHTSA ID

11240402

Incident

Jul 5, 2019

Mileage

1,100,000 mi

VEHICLE FRONT COIL SPRINGS FAILED WHILE GOING OVER A SPEED BUMP AT LOW SPEED OF LESS THAN 10 MPH. COIL SPRINGS FRACTURED AS SEEN IN THE PHOTOS ATTACHED TO THIS WRITING. COIL SPRING FAILURE FOLLOWS A SIMILAR PATTERN TO THE COIL SPRINGS IN THE HYUNDAI ELANTRA 2011, WHICH WAS RECALLED OVER THIS ISSUE. I BELIEVE THIS FAULTY PRODUCT HAS MADE ITS WAY INTO THE HYUNDAI ELANTRA 2012 SUPPLY CHAIN. HERE IS A LINK TO A WEBSITE LISTING OTHER HYUNDAI 2012 OWNERS HAVING THE SAME FRONT COIL SPRING ISSUE. HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/HYUNDAI/ELANTRA/FRONT-SUSPENSION-COIL-SPRING-PROBLEMS.PHP IF THIS FAILURE WERE TO OCCUR AT SPEED, PARTIAL LOSS OF CONTROL WOULD HAPPEN. IT IS CONCEIVABLE THAT DEADLY, TOTAL LOSS OF CONTROL COULD OCCUR AT SPEED.

NHTSA ID

11180350

Incident

Feb 13, 2019

Mileage

70,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 HYUNDAI ELANTRA. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, AN ABNORMAL NOISE WAS HEARD IN THE VEHICLE. UPON PULLING OVER AND INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE FRONT COIL SPRING PUNCTURED ONE OF THE TIRES. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST SINCE THERE WERE NO RECALLS ATTRIBUTED TO THE VIN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000.

NHTSA ID

11102273

Incident

Jun 16, 2018

Mileage

40,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING THROUGH A STORE PARKING LOT AND WENT OVER A SPEED BUMP. MY FRONT SUSPENSION COLLAPSED. LUCKILY I WAS CLOSE TO A CAR REPAIR PLACE AND WAS ABLE TO GET IT THERE THROUGH BURNING RUBBER AND INCREDIBLY LOUD NOISE. I BOUGHT THE TIRES A MONTH PRIOR. WHOLE FRONT SUSPENSION WAS REPLACED.

NHTSA ID

11090181

Incident

Apr 23, 2018

Mileage

52,000 mi

STEERING WHEEL CLICKS WHEN MOVED EITHER LEFT OR RIGHT, EVEN WHEN NOT MOVING.

NHTSA ID

11085127

Incident

Apr 1, 2018

Mileage

69,000 mi

THE FRONT COIL SPRING FRACTURED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET AND CAME INTO CONTACT WITH MY TIRE. THE COIL STARTED TO RUB AGAINST MY TIRE UNTIL IT WAS PUNCTURED. I THINK THIS MAY RELATE TO THE RECALL FOR THE 2011 ELANTRA (15V629000).

NHTSA ID

11040657

Incident

Oct 19, 2017

Mileage

60,000 mi

FRONT AXLES ARE LOUD WHILE DRIVING. CHANGED TO A SOFTER COMPOUND TIRE AND MADE A DIFFERENCE. HOWEVER, THE ROAD NOISE HAS BECOME LOUDER AT 77,986. TOOK VEHICLE TO SERVICE AND THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AROUND 20,000 MILES.

NHTSA ID

11031377

Incident

Oct 1, 2013

Mileage

20,000 mi

WHEN DRVING THE 2012 ELANTRA OVER A POT HOLE, A MAN HOLE OR ANY OTHER UNEVEN SURFACE OR IMPERFECTION ON THE ROAD THE ELANTRA SWAYS IN AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE MANNER, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A FIRM GRIP IN THE STEERING WHEEL YOU CAN DEFINATELY LOOSE CONTROL AND HAVE OR CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. HYUNDAI SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND CORRECT THE PROBLEM, THERE ARE SO MANY OWNERS COMPLINING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11020195

Incident

Mar 7, 2017

Mileage

82,000 mi

MY HUSBAND BACKED THE CAR UP 3 INCHES IN OUR DRIVEWAY AND THE FRONT COIL SPRING BROKE, SHOT THROUGH THE TIRE AND THE TIRE EXPLODED. WE BOUGHT OUR 2012 ELANTRA IN OCTOBER 2011 AND APPARENTLY THERE WAS A RECALL OF THE 2011 ELANTRAS FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE FOR CARS THAT ARE OWNED IN THE "SALT BELT" / COLD WEATHER STATES WHICH IS WHERE WE LIVE, BUT THE RECALL WAS ONLY ISSUED FOR ELANTRAS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 11/12/10 TO 3/31/11. MINE IS A 2012 WHICH WAS PURCHASED IN OCTOBER 2011AND MANUFACTURED SOMETIME BETWEEN MARCH 2011 AND OCTOBER 2011. I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT HYUNDAI, WHICH APPARENTLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUE UNTIL AN INCREASE IN WARRANTY CLAIMS ON THE ISSUE STARTED AN INVESTIGATION OF IT IN 2014, CHANGED THE FRONT COIL SPRINGS THEY WERE USING TO MANUFACTURE THE SAME CAR JUST 1 "YEAR" NEWER BETWEEN THE END OF THE RECALLED VEHICLE DATE AND THE MANUFACTURE DATE OF MY 2012 ELANTRA. I NOW HAVE TO REPLACE BOTH, RELATIVELY NEW TIRES, AND FRONT STRUTS AND SPRINGS. I BELIEVE THE RECALL SHOULD INCLUDE MORE VEHICLE YEARS SINCE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO REASON FOR THEM TO CHANGE THE PARTS THEY WERE USING BETWEEN 2011 AND 2012 MODELS IF THEY WERE UNAWARE OF A PROBLEM. ALSO, A 2012 ELANTRA THAT WAS POSSIBLE MANUFACTURED IN THE RECALL TIME FRAME SHOULD ALSO BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL.

NHTSA ID

10994414

Incident

Jun 10, 2017

Mileage

72,000 mi

FRONT LEFT COIL SPRING BROKE AFTER GOING OVER A POTHOLE AT VERY LOW SPEED (ABOUT 15MPH). I'VE RECENTLY LEARNED THAT MANY 2011 ELANTRAS IN SALT BELT STATES/AREAS HAD A RECALL ON FRONT COIL SPRINGS AFTER SIMILAR ISSUES. I'M CONCERNED THAT THE FRONT COIL SPRINGS IN MY YEAR MAKE/MODEL (2012 ELANTRA, ALSO IN A SALT BELT STATE) HAS THE SAME ISSUE AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED FOR A RECALL.

NHTSA ID

10909526

Incident

Jun 10, 2016

Mileage

29,000 mi

BIG PROBLEM WITH THE FRONT COIL SPRING. MINE BROKE AND PUNCTURED THE NEW TIRE I HAD INSTALLED THIS YEAR. THE SPRING BROKE IN HALF. I WAS GOING OVER A SPEED BUMP LEAVING A BASEBALL STADIUM WHEN ALL THIS OCCURRED.

NHTSA ID

10902030

Incident

Aug 20, 2016

Mileage

97,000 mi

I PURCHASED THIS CAR NEW FROM A HYUNDAI DEALER IN MARCH 2012 PROBLEM 1. SINCE EARLY ON, THE CAR ALWAYS EXHIBITED A SERIOUS INSTABILITY IN THE REAR END. SPECIFICALLY SPEAKING, WHEN DRIVING ON ANY SMALL BUMP FOUND ON ANY NORMAL ROAD, THE CAR REAR SUSPENSION WILL NOT ABSORBE THE BUMP LIKE ANY NORMAL CAR WOULD BUT INSTEAD SEVERELY JUMPS AND THEN 'DARTS OR SHIFTS' LATERALLY. EVEN IN DRY PAVEMENT. HAVING LIVED IN THE NE AND ILLINOIS NOW, I AM A VERY EXPERIENCED DRIVING IN SNOWY CONDITIONS. DRIVING THIS CAR IN EVEN 1/2" OF SNOW IS DOWNRIGHT TERRIFYING. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REAR END CONTROL AND TOTAL INSTABILITY NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL YOU DRIVE. I HAVE FOUND MYSELF NOT KNOWING IF I WAS GOING TO MAKE HOME WITHOUT GETTING INTO AN ACCIDENT. THE PAST TWO WINTERS I HAD TO USE OTHER VEHICLE EVEN IF THE WEATHER FORECAST CALL FOR SNOWN FLURRIES. I HAVE NEVER DRIVEN A CAR SO UNSTABLE IN MY 45 YEARS OF DRIVING. BY THE WAY, LOADING UP THE CAR WITH PASSENGERS OR ADDITIONAL WEIGHT HAS ZERO IMPACT REDUCING THE SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM. PROBLEM 2 THE REAR TIRES WEAR OUT VERY FAST. EVEN THOUGH I ROTATE THEM EVEN 5K MILES, THEY WEAR SO BADLY THAT THEY PRODUCE A LOUD ROAD NOISE FROM UNEVEN WEAR. I AM ON MY THIRD SET OF TIRES AND THESE NEED REPLACEMENT NOW. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO TO HYUNDAI, THEY CHECKED ALIGNMENT AND SAID THERE IS NOTHING WRONG AND THE PROBLEM MUST BE THE TIRES. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, I LEARNED THESE CARS HAVE A SOLID , NON-ADJUSTABLE REAR END WITH A FIXED TOE-IN AND CAMBER. I AM CERTAIN THAT BOTH PROBLEMS I LISTED ARE CAUSED BY HYUNDAI'S REAR END DESIGN. THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM AND HYUNDAI REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. IT IS A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE ACCIDENTS WITH LOSS OF LIFE WILL OCCUR. WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO THIS COMING WINTER? .A NEIGHBOR WITH A 2013 ELANTRA COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SAME INSTABILITY.

NHTSA ID

10889146

Incident

Dec 1, 2012