Common Hyundai Exterior Problems

  1. Hyundai's Self-Peeling Paint

    Hyundai’s self-healing paint is advertised to heal minor scratches using a chemical compound called scratch recovery clear. However, owners content over time that same compound allows the paint to come off in large sheets.

    Continue reading article "Hyundai's Self-Peeling Paint" White paint is peeling to reveal the gray underbody just above the windshield.
  2. What Are We Missing?

    We know there's more problems than this. Let us know which one you'd like to see us cover next.

    Continue White paint is peeling to reveal the gray underbody just above the windshield.

Where Exterior Complaints Happen

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

What Hyundai Owners Say About Their Exterior

My driver door handle broke this time. Extremely frustrated. I was carrying several things and literally used my pinky finger to open the door, the door swung open but I heard that horrible snap. I now have three broken handles and have to either leave my window rolled down to open it from the inside or crawl in from the rear passenger side door, though there's apparently a pretty good chance that's going to break too.

2010 Sonata Owner in MN

This is something that needs to be addressed. There is no way to operate a vehicle if you can not even get inside and this has been happening too often with 2010 Hyundai Sonata. I will not purchase another one of these vehicles again.

2010 Sonata Owner in MS

This seems to be a common problem for [Elantras]. Door handles just shouldn't come off. So strange.

2009 Elantra Onwer in IL

Recent Exterior News

There's a lot of news out there, but not all of it matters. We try to boil down it to the most important bits about things that actually help you with your car problem. Interested in getting these stories in an email? Signup for free email alerts over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. Hyundai’s “smart trunk” is supposed to open all the way without using keys or pushing any buttons.

    However, a lawsuit alleges that while the trunk unlatches, it never really works as advertised.

    Hyundai has marketed the Smart Trunk as a feature that automatically opens the trunk fully, or at least enough for a person to put large items into the trunk. But according to the lawsuit, the trunks are defective because they fail to open more than a few inches, or sometimes not more than a small crack.

    I never saw the appeal in this feature, especially given its $950-$1,900 price.

    keep reading article "Lawsuit Says Hyundai’s Smart Trunk is Really Kind of Stupid"
  2. A peeling paint lawsuit has fallen apart after a judge’s recent dismissal.

    The judge said this dismissal is with prejudice because the plaintiffs keep repeating the same allegations that were already dismissed.

    In other words, the plaintiffs had their chance and blew it. The original lawsuit alleged that Hyundai’s paint falls apart as the polymers break down and make the paint susceptible to peeling and flaking.

    keep reading article "Judge Puts Nail in then Coffin of the Hyundai Peeling Paint Lawsuit"
  3. The bad news: the Santa Fe (and Sport) have hoods that can fly open and need to be recalled.

    The good news: this is an issue with the secondary latch, which is basically your safety net in case the primary latch fails.

    Hyundai says the 2013-2017 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport SUVs have secondary hood latch actuating cables that can corrode and bind, causing the secondary latch to stay unlatched when the hood is closed.

    keep reading article "Some Hyundai SUVs Recalled Because Their Hoods Fly Open While Driving"
  4. A class-action lawsuit accuses Hyundai of failing to meet industry standards with their paint in the 2006-2016 Santa Fe, Sonata, and Elantra.

    The plaintiffs say the self-healing process won't work if the scratch is deeper than a surface scratch, such as a chip in the paint caused by a rock flying off the road and hitting the car. Further, there is a concern that if the self-healing process does not occur, the scratch or chip may cause further breakdown of the paint’s molecular structure, in essence triggering the technology to operate in reverse.

    Hyundai’s “self-healing” paint is advertised to heal minor scratches. A chemical compound called scratch recovery clear contains a polymer which, when exposed to ultraviolet light, becomes molten and fills gaps in paint.

    That sounds great, but the plaintiffs claim that long-term exposure to ultraviolet light eventually breaks the polymers down, turning the paint into an ever-molten state that allows it to peel off in sheets.

    keep reading article "Lawsuit Says Self-Healing Paint Does More Harm Than Good"