Hyundai - Brakes

My 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe had issues with door seals; they were cut too short and they were replaced free of charge. The power steering mounts were loose and the fluid leaked out onto the serpentine belt. IT was fixed free of charge. The thing that bothers me the most is that at 16,000 miles and two years old, I was told my brake calipers were corroded and sticking, overheating my discs. I asked when they could fix them and they said it wasn't covered on their warranty and I would have to pay. What good is a bumper to bumper warranty when substandard materials are used and not covered. My guess is that these are not the only brakes on these vehicles that were made with cheap materials that fail and corrode at two years of driving under 16,000 miles. Sooner or later, someone will be injured or killed because of it. These should be recalled before that happens. My daughter has a 2011 Hyundai Genesis and and I looked under the the chassis and sure enough, not only were the brakes the same material but the tie-rods and stabilizer arms were aluminum. It obviously is a cheaper, lighter material but its life is worth a higher profit to stockholders.

These cheaper materials that fail at two years should be replaced on recalls before someone pays the ultimate price if it hasn't already happened. My previous car was a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder and I had that vehicle 6 years and never had a problem with the brakes, so to say that it is the snow, salt and driving conditions is absurb and an outright lie. If they can make brakes that withstand the weather here, why can't Hyundai? Looking at some of the other complaints apparently Santa Fe's aren't the only vehicles with the substandard aluminum brakes.

Approx. 6 weeks ago, the brakes in my 2009 Sonata failed. I brought the car to my mechanic and he replaced the rear brakes. Two weeks later, the same thing happened. I had the front brakes replaced. Again, 2 weeks later, I slid through a red light because the brakes failed yet again. I had the car towed to the nearest Hyundai dealer. They informed me that they found nothing wrong with the brakes until I told them that I would not drive that car. So, they had better look again. Miraculously, 10 minutes later, they found that the caliper was broken and blamed it on the mechanic that replaced my brakes. So now, it was not under warranty. I paid the bill of $413.54 to replace the part. Not quite 2 weeks later, the car was making a very loud screeching sound -- like metal on metal. I had the car towed to the Nemet dealership where I originally purchased the vehicle. The mechanic, Jeff, told me that I needed new back brakes. When I tried to explain the entire situation, he did not want to hear it, and he told me that what happened at the other dealership did not matter, "kind of like McDonalds is a chain of stores owned by different people, so is the Hyundai dealerships".

He also informed me that I would be charged $625.00 to replace the back brakes again and if I did not want to pay, I should take the car back to the mechanic that did the brakes originally.

I paid for a tow truck to take the car to Nemet, and again, to pick it up from Nemet to be brought to my mechanic. He replaced the left caliper that had already been replaced by Advantage Hyundai! That's another $221.02 spent! I was livid, so I called Nemet and explained to the salesman what was going on again. He told me to bring the car into his dealership and when I got it back, they would work something out with me.

Two years ago, I paid a down payment on a car that I thought would last me a good long time. Now, I find that this product is not backed by the company that sells it. This is the 3rd Hyundai I have purchased through Nemet.

I do want a new vehicle that is comparable to the one I bought, not smaller. I already paid 2 years of a loan. Why should I have to start over when I have only 3 years left on a vehicle that is defective? I don't feel I should have to pay another down payment, or a higher monthly payment and I should not have to pay for more than 3 years!

I called the dealership (Nemet) when I returned home and asked for the name of the CEO and was told that the CEO died. And then I requested to speak with the General Manager. She asked what was it in reference to and told me to hold on. She came back on the phone and asked for my name. When I told her who it was, all of a sudden Scott ** was unavailable to speak with me, when I know he was there for a meeting with his sales staff that morning because I had to wait for the sales person!

The advertisement reads "our customers are number 1". Really, when does that apply?

Financial consequences would include $1,000 in deductibles, having to purchase a vehicle to replace the Elantra GT, the cost that we had incurred in car payments to date of the accident (we were less than 2 years from pay off). There has to date been no evidence of physical damage, however I still cannot get in the car with out hearing my 3 year old remind me of car accidents and stopping for red lights, if we have to hit the brakes hard at all he gets concerned about being involved in another accident.