2004 Hyundai Santa Fe

I DRIVE A USED, 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE GLS. VERY RECENTLY, I WAS JUST LEAVING WORK WHEN A SEEMINGLY VERY ORDINARY THING HAPPENED TO MY CAR. I WAS STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN, WAITING TO TAKE A LEFT TURN. AS SOON AS I ACCELERATED AND BEGAN TO TURN, MY VEHICLE SUFFERED A BLOWN-OUT FRONT-PASSENGER SIDE TIRE. AS THE TIRE BLEW OUT, I HEARD A LOUD "CLUNK"AND THEN A "POP". SURPRISED, I PULLED THE CAR OVER AS SOON AS I COULD, OFF OF THE MAIN ROAD. I HAD ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE COME OUT TO CHANGE THE TIRE, BECAUSE I FOUND THAT I DID NOT HAVE THE TOOLS REQUIRED IN MY CAR TO CHANGE A TIRE. AFTER THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER PUT ON THE SPARE, I PAID HIM FOR HIS SERVICES AND WENT TO LEAVE. AS I TURNED THE WHEEL TO LEAVE, MY VEHICLE SUFFERED ANOTHER BLOW-OUT, SAME SIDE. MY CAR THEN HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE NEAREST SHOP TO BE LOOKED AT. TURNS OUT, MY FRONT-RIGHT COIL SPRING SNAPPED AND PIERCED MY TIRE(S). I CURRENTLY HAVE 73,000 MILES ON MY CAR, WHICH IS A GOOD AMOUNT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, COIL SPRINGS DO NOT JUST SNAP FROM NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. THE VEHICLE IS 7 YEARS OLD, NOT TWENTY. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? I FOUND OUT THAT WHEN THE COIL SPRING SNAPPED, IT ALSO SNAPPED THE STRUTS AND THE STRUT MOUNT, ON TOP OF MY TWO TIRES. THE TOTAL AMOUNT FOR THE DAMAGE WAS ABOUT $1200.00, AS BOTH SIDES NEEDED NEW PARTS TO ENSURE THE BEST HANDLING OF THE CAR. ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS, WHAT IF I WAS ON THE EXPRESSWAY DOING 65? IT'S A SCARY THOUGHT TO KNOW THAT I MAY NOT HAVE COME OUT OF THIS ALIVE. I AM VERY LUCKY IT HAPPENED AT SUCH A LOW SPEED, WITH HARDLY ANY CARS AROUND, OR ELSE I WOULD NOT HAVE LIVED TO TELL THE TALE. I HAVE NOTICED THAT SEVERAL OTHER SANTA FE OWNERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. AND GOD FORBID, MAYBE EVEN MORE THAT HAVE NOT LIVED TO TELL. THIS IS A DANGEROUS DEFECT, AND IT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT. *TR

I BOUGHT MY 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE NEW IN FEBRUARY 2004. ALL OF THE BRAKE PADS HAD TO BE REPLACED AT 23000 MILES DUE TO RUSTED CALIPERS. HOWEVER, MY COMPLAINT IS ABOUT SOMETHING MUCH MORE SERIOUS. THE COIL SPRINGS ON BOTH FRONT MCPHEARSON STRUTS BROKE AND PENETRATED THE TIRES. THE LEFT FRONT SPRING BROKE IN FEBRUARY 2009 AT ABOUT 23000 MILES. THE RIGHT FRONT SPRING BROKE ON 6/9/09 AT APPROXIMATELY 24500 MILES. FORTUNATELY, THE SANTA FE WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE BOTH TIMES THE SPRINGS BROKE. HAD THE SPRINGS FAILED WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD OR ON THE THRUWAY, THERE'S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT I WOULD HAVE CRASHED OR ROLLED OVER. ALTHOUGH THE TOWS AND REPAIRS WERE MADE UNDER WARRANTY AT NO COST TO ME, I DON'T TRUST THE SANTA FE ANYMORE AND I DO NOT INTEND TO KEEP IT. *TR

ONE MONTH AGO,WITH 40,600 MILES ON MY HYUNDAI SANTA FE THE RIGHT FRONT SPRING BROKE AND SHREDDED MY TIRE WHICH THE HYUNDAI DEALER REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THREE WEEKS LATER THE LEFT FRONT SPRING BROKE AND SHREDDED THAT TIRE ALSO. IF I HAD BEEN ON THE EXPRESS WAY, I PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE HERE TO TELL ABOUT IT. IN THE PAST FIFTY YEARS I HAVE OWNED 15 CARS AND NEVER HAD A FRONT SPRING BREAK DOWN MUCH LESS TWO IN THREE WEEKS. EVEN THOUGH THE HYUNDAI DEALER,PATRICK OF SCHAUMBURG, REPLACED THESE SPRINGS UNDER WARRANTY, I STILL INCURRED A $200.00 CAR RENTAL BILL. HYUNDAI DOESN'T SEEM TO KNOW WHAT THE CAUSE IS OF THESE SPRING FAILURES AT ONLY 40,600 MILES. ANY HELP AS TO THE CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR

NO PRIOR WARNINGS OR CONDITIONS EXISTED PRIOR TO FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED BY A FELLOW COWORKER TO BE THE FUEL PUMP. AAA WAS CALLED TO TOW THE VEHICLE , AND UPON ARRIVAL, PUT CAR IN NEUTRAL TO BACK IT UP IN ORDER TO TOW. IMMEDIATELY, THE FRONT DRIVER TIRE WHEN FLAT, AND IT WAS A RESULT OF THE FRONT STRUT ASSEMBLY BREAKING AND CAUSING THE COIL SPRING TO SNAP AND PIERCE THE FRONT TIRE. IT HAS BEEN 6 DAYS , AND I WAS STILL WITHOUT THE VEHICLE WHICH WAS ONLY 3 1/2 YEARS OLD WITH 65,000 MILES. I WAS TOLD THAT NOTHING WAS COVERED BY WARRANTY AND REPLACEMENT PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. IN ORDER TO GET THE VEHICLE FIXED QUICKLY I HAD TO ACCEPT PARTS FROM A 2006 VEHICLE.*AK