Grille design is such that road debris enters and damages radiator and/or air conditioning condenser
Yup, you are correctâŠ
Now with that said, did you have a question for us???
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Has anyone experienced damage to the radiator because of this design?
I donât know, but my guess, very few. My truck has an air scoop arrangement below the front bumper. Truck is 11 years old, no damage yet.
If you are really concerned, attach screen between grill and radiator.
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Had a customer in a high end newer but out of warranty Lexus or Infinity car that had a rock hit the condenser and put a hole in it, bad part is the radiator and condenser/dryer is made as an assembly, dealer only part and was over $600 wholesale⊠This happened around 2016âŠ
Does it happen, yes, but on normal road, not often⊠but I have seen it many timesâŠ
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With 2454 miles on my 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe on I-45 here in Houston I got a very small piece of debris that went through the grille and damaged a tube in my radiator. Had to replace at my expense ($2800) as it is not warranted.
The design of the large eggcrate grille without factory installed protection is the problem, IMHO! Some research has indicated it is more of a problem than Hyundai is admitting to the consumer.
I have purchased a set of third party screens to be installed behind the grille but Iâm having a hard time finding someone to do it as they are concerned about possibly disconnecting a sensor that will require a new calibration.
I ordered the screens from this company if anyone is interested.
Hyundai Santa Fe (weebly.com)
Iâd think many, if not most, vehicles can have this damage, and Iâve not seen one with âfactory installed protectionâ.
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You have glass coverage for rocks but no coverage for rock damage to new condenser? This is not due to rust or corrosion. Iâd blame your insurance co not covering damage? Itâs not broke. It has damage from road debris.
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Hey, if they buy a high end car, they need to expect high end parts and repair prices.
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If you are going to add âscreenâ behind the grill, I would advise against plain old house/window screen, especially the nylon type⊠Use the steal 1/4" stuff, it goes by various names: âSteel Mesh Sheetâ, âHardware Clothâ, â1/4â Mesh Screenâ, among other variations. It is available at many sources, your local hardware store, ACE, Lowes, Home Depot, and othersâŠ
I have seen stones dropped off dump trucks that took out a section of the plastic grill before damaging the radiator. Anything that gets through this screen is too small to damage anythingâŠ
And if you are of the âMad Maxâ mentality, get some for your windshield⊠L 
L . . .
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The stone that damaged my radiator tube was about .125 inch in diameter.
I have replaced a few A/C condensers for customers due to stone damage, the customer usually makes an insurance claim.
Vehicle manufactures place style ahead of function these days, some vehicles have very poor cooling system protection.
I would use nylon screen in the grill for protection. Metal screen might cause interference with the radar sensor (Pre-Collision/Auto braking).
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What kind of car have you ever had that had a grille that would prevent a 1/8" rock from traveling through it?
One of the favorite front ends of the cars Iâve owned wouldnât come near to preventing your damage.
Why didnât your insurance pay for the road debris damage? Did they somehow think you intentionally hit a 1/8" rock?
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I was thinking that as well. I donât think this is anything special to Hyundai. Itâs just bad luck, like catching one on the windshield.
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youâre overthinking this . . .
Yes, it happens from time to time, on lots of different brands
Just move on with your life
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I cannot imagine that a âstoneâ so small could have been traveling so fast with such force to penetrate your radiator, but I am not the "âAll Seeing OzâŠâ I am not saying it did not happen, I just cannot imagine it⊠I cannot imagine âSpace Aliensâ either, but I believe they exists, otherwise the vastness of the Universe is a huge waste of space⊠(like that trunk in your Caddie⊠L L . . .)
But back on the Screen, even though the screen has openings of 1/4", the wire takes up space and it is entirely possible that the stone might have hit or even nicked the screen and would have been deflected away harmlesslyâŠ
One might say, itâs too late now, the cow has gotten out of the barn, but there are still lots of âcowsâ (stonesâŠ) still out thereâŠ
+1 to this and @Cavellâs similar post. I put this in the same category as tire damage from road debris. It doesnât happen often but isnât remarkable in its rarity.
Like to see how ac condenser is assembled to coolant radiator to form 1 piece assy. But Hyundai is talented. Iâd have requested old assy since itâs yours. Sell it on FB. Only 1 small hole. Easy fix.
We were in the middle of putting on a new roof that was being covered by the insurance. I didnât want to file a claim for this.
Believe what you want the rock was as described and I didnât believe it either until they showed me the damage.
These radiators arenât like the old days where you could take them out and solder them. The tubes are very thin aluminum, and they canât be brazed, either.
Just has welded brackets holding them together, simple, just stupid, but I am sure it is to help save the planet somehowâŠ