I have a 2012 Hyundai Sonata with a 2.0 turbo engine and just under 60,000 miles. Recently, I began noticing that at higher speeds (60+ mph), the whole car would periodically shake rather violently.
I took it to the dealership, where they informed me that I have:
three bent wheels
both CV joints loose
right inner tie rod wear/damage
something wrong with a “coupler” that I did not fully understand
Two questions: First, other than the occasional pothole, I haven’t had any collisions with this vehicle. For a 60K mileage car, is this normal?? I’ve never had such extensive damage with a previous car.
Second, the total cost for the repairs was quoted at $3,200 – which blew me away. Does that seem right given the problems listed? It is admittedly way more damage than I could’ve imagined.
First of all any good tire shop can sell you rims (after market ) for less than original like came on your car. You most likely need tires also. An independent shop can do the other repair for less money. And no this is not normal wear and tear. Have you let someone drive this thing other than yourself? Also you need to find out just what Coupler means.
Thanks, guys. I had to get the info over the phone as I dropped the car off on my way out of town (long story), so I’ll get more details re the coupler, etc. tomorrow.
I really can’t think of a soul who I’ve let drive it… it’s truly bizarre. Washington, DC (where I live) does have a few bad potholes, but to bend 3 wheels is pretty shocking.
Definitely not normal. I’ve worked in construction for a number of years and was raised on a farm with gravel roads. Only one bet wheel due to a tire blowout on a curve in a 50+ year period!.
As suggested, get a second opinion from an independent garage. Rims are cheap, about $50 each.
It’s not uncommon for cars to suffer curb strikes (often repeatedly) and the driver will never remember a single one of them later.
When my daughter first started driving she could not keep the right side of the car off of curbs. Detectable by scraped wheels or scuffed tire sidewalls.
According to her she NEVER, EVER curbed a car no matter what the evidence was. Thankfully her habits changed after a few years.
I’m sure that most of us have seen cars where the original whitewall or the original white letters have been gouged and worn away to the point where most of the sidewall is white.
And yet, if you asked the driver (almost always female, I sadly have to point out) about those curb strikes, you would likely get a blank stare–if you were luckier than I am.
Several years ago, while exiting my car in the parking lot of the state office building where I worked, a car pulled up next to me with a dangerously underinflated right front tire.
Trying to be helpful, I waited until the driver exited from her car, and I pointed out the tire problem to her, along with the recommendation that she get it changed/fixed before driving again.
She then asked me, “Why do you think it lost air?”.
I responded that she might have a nail or a screw in the tread area, or that there could be a sidewall leak as a result of a couple of HUGE gouges in the sidewall.
She then asked, “How would the sidewall get gouged?”
I responded that somebody had obviously hit a curb very hard on a few occasions.
At that point, the woman began SCREAMING at me, “How dare you accuse me of hitting the curb”!
I simply turned on my heel, muttered “Have a nice day”, and went to my office while pondering the wisdom of an old saying:
Rims can be repaired, google it in your area. And what is your tire size? If it has low profile tires it can be surprising easy to bend rims. Especially if they aren’t fully inflated. You obviously have a problem (‘shake rather violently’), so get this checked out and fixed ASAP.
