NHTSA Investigation PE08040

REAR SUSPENSION TRAILING ARM FAILURE

IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER SENT BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) DURING THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION, HYUNDAI PROVIDED ODI WITH 15 ALLEGATIONS OF CORROSION FAILURE OF THE LEFT- AND/OR RIGHT-REAR SUSPENSION TRAILING ARM.THREE OF THE 15 CONSUMERS ALLEGED A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AS A RESULT OF A REAR TRAILING ARM CORROSION FAILURE.SIMILARLY, ODI HAS RECEIVED 12 COMPLAINTS OF REAR TRAILING ARM FAILURE (ONE IS A DUPLICATE OF A COMPLAINT FILED WITH HYUNDAI).OF THE 12 ODI COMPLAINTS, 4 CONSUMERS ALLEGE A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. IN TOTAL, ODI IS AWARE OF 26 CONSUMER ALLEGATIONS OF REAR TRAILING ARM CORROSION FAILURES AND 7 ALLEGATIONS THAT THE FAILURES AFFECTED VEHICLE CONTROL.ALL OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE BEEN OPERATED PRIMARILY IN SALT BELT STATES (CONNECTICUT, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, DELAWARE, IOWA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, KENTUCKY, MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND, MAINE, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VIRGINIA, VERMONT, WISCONSIN AND WEST VIRGINIA).HYUNDAI IMPLEMENTED A DESIGN CHANGE IN THE MODEL YEAR 2003 PRODUCTION TO ADDRESS THE CORROSION ISSUE.THUS, THE SCOPE OF THE ENGINEERING ANALYSIS WILL BE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED IN MYS 2001 THROUGH 2003 AND SOLD IN SALT BELT STATES.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA08-023) TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY AND POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.