Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Sedans Hyundai Sonata Hyundai Sonata Brakes
153 messages, Last post on Nov 14, 2009 at 2:45 PM
You are in the Hyundai Sonata Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
|
Replying to: sandman_6472 (Nov 12, 2009 3:13 pm) |
|
|
|
| Per the earlier message from targettuning, my Sonata was brand new when I bought it back in November 2006. I am very particular about my car and have always been told by mechanics that I am extremely easy on my breaks. To have two serious problems with breaks by 55K miles--one diagnosed at 36K as a stuck caliper, and this time as a problem with corroded pins in the break systems that won't allow the pads to move properly (the Hyundai manager's words) and causing uneven wear on BOTH rear wheels--this is ridiculous, and is certainly not because I've abused my vehicle in any way or not taken care of it properly. | |
|
|
I see much traffic here regarding Hyundai rear brakes. Some of the problems seem premature at less than 20K miles while others (st jude) are diagnosed at relatively high mileage. Yes, 55K and 36K miles are relatively high mileages for brakes these days and within the range where brake problems leave the realm of "premature" and into the area of "normal" . Brakes do not and will not last the life of the car and to expect brakes to last much beyond 40 or 50K miles is setting yourself up for disappointment and in st judes case not "ridiculous" at all. No, you have not abused your vehicle BUT you HAVE used it. Apparently there could be a construction material problem on the calipers. Since, as I have pointed out time and time again, almost all calipers (from other manufacturers) are designed the same..there just isn't a lot of creative latitude when designing these because they all HAVE to perform the same function within similar physical confines. With this in mind it can only be the interaction of various materials when salt or slush splash is introduced causing this so-calling sticking of a sliding surface or pin. Another thing I would comment on is the big issue of one pad wearing more than the pad on the opposite side of the disc (on the same wheel). Based on my experience with another brand and year car (1995 Dodge Stratus) this isn't exactly abnormal. I experienced just this with the last pad replacement only a couple of months ago. In no way are my front brakes malfunctioning on that car but one pad on each side had significantly less friction material left than the other. I do not know what the Hyundai problem is except to speculate on the disimilarity of metals (that react negatively to each other) used in caliper construction but if this is the case it should be relatively easy to engineer the problem away...and I am sure Hyundai is doing or has done just that.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: targettuning (Nov 13, 2009 6:35 am)
|
|
|
Replying to: bernardmarx (Nov 13, 2009 7:46 am) So what's your point??? A friend of mine has a 2006 Acura TSX. At 43K miles, his front pads were completely worn (less than 5% pad material remaining), and his front rotors were warped noticeably. He drives about 50/50 city/freeway, and his driving style is moderate; he doesn't abuse the car in any way. I very much doubt the Accord's brake system components are of higher-quality or better design than the more expensive, and sportier, TSX. Is his car's braking system defective? Absolutely not. The front brakes wore out at a typical mileage for his driving style and his mix of city/freeway driving.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: aqua33v6 (Nov 13, 2009 10:03 am) |
|
|
|
|
Just had my front pads replaced at 24k on the odo, luckily the rotors were fine. I do 90% suburban driving and am somewhat hard on on the brakes. I've now started to let the car coast to any oncoming red light when it's safe to do so which uses less braking action. My rear drums are still in great shape and was told the brake fluid is still good when I asked about putting new fluid in. Hopefully my new driving style will help the pads longevity. The Sandman  
|
|
|
In my six years with Hyundai, I would say avg. front brake pad life for a Sonata is 40,000 miles. Rears- 50-60,000 miles. I managed a dealership near San Francisco and these numbers dropped almost in half (due to the hills). Per this discussion of REAR brakes, they have only 1 piston, which presses the inside pad against the rotor. The caliper is a "sliding-type", which transfers forse to the outer pad. If the pads are wearing significantly more on the inside pad (which seems to be the case for you folks), the caliper is obviously not sliding correctly. This is probably due to road-salt, brake pad dust or lack of lubrication (or a combination of these) causing the caliper to bind, or not slide freely. Working in California, I can honestly tell you I have had zero complaints of this, which seems to make road salt the most likely culprit.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: espo35 (Nov 14, 2009 10:27 am) Speaking of things breaking… I think I told you my Sonata had a sticky rear caliper that had to be replaced under warranty by Hyundai just over a year ago (around 36K miles), but when I took my car in for an oil change, I asked to have my breaks checked, and the guys are Mr. Tire said that the driver’s side rear wheel caliper was malfunctioning again and was starting to affect the rotor. I took it back to Hyundai Monday to see if repairs would be covered again (I’m at 55K miles now) since it was a recurring problem. They said the caliper was working fine, but that there were “pins” in the wheels that were badly corroded, and for that reason, the two pads on that wheel weren’t squeezing both sides of the rotor synchronously (or releasing) as they should, so one pad wore completely down, while the other remained okay. Checking both rear wheels, they found the same thing on the passenger’s side, but not as bad as the driver’s side. When they tried to charge me the $288 for the repairs, I spoke to the manager, and although he was willing to give me 50% off my repairs, I still wasn’t satisfied. In my mind, both pads on both wheels should hit and release from the rotors at the same time, right? I mean, I know I’m a girl and everything, but I at least understood that much. And because both sides were malfunctioning and wearing unevenly, I pointed out that I wasn’t getting all the breaking power I should—albeit the front breaks are the workhorses of breaking, but the rear breaks are there for a reason. Then I mentioned that if I had to come in every 15 to 20K miles (who knows when it might happen) to get my breaks changed because one pad was gone, that would end up costing me a lot of money, not to mention the fact that I would worry about when it would happen and it might damage my rotors even further. I also surmised that since both sides were corroded and wearing unevenly that the parts they were supplying were made of inferior metals. So… After doing online research on the problem I found out on Edmunds.com that this is a common problem on Sonatas, and in particular, the 2007 Sonata seems to be worse. A friend told me to forget about it since every car has problems, but I sent an email to Hyundai Consumer Affairs and copied several of the comments from Sonata owners I found on Edmunds.com. They had a rep call me, and the first person I spoke to (a woman who obviously knew nothing about cars) tried to spit back the same story that Hyundai’s service manager did, but with no real compensation or resolution to the real problem, which is that the parts they are putting on their cars are poorly made. So, I asked to speak to a supervisor, and of course none were available right then to talk to me, so I had to wait for a call back, but now I’m glad I did. The supervisor called and he said they are going to reimburse the charges for the repairs, and he explained that sometimes when they have problems that are common like this, parts are “updated” but they don’t always send out a recall. Their reasoning is that, because eventually everyone has these parts replaced when they get their breaks serviced, the “fix” just kind of works itself out naturally, but let's face it--their customers have to bite the bullet and now they're getting a lot of bad press because they didn't recall those parts. Furthermore, when their cars get a bad reputation, our car resale values go down, so it's just better for everyone to be in touch with Hyundai Corporate and get these things worked out. I asked the supervisor if the “shim kit” (which he told me was the problem) had been “updated” in the last year since I had my first break job, and I asked if there was any way of telling whether the parts recently installed were the "updated" ones, which were supposed to be more durable parts. He said he would find out and let me know. Then I requested that if he found out the parts on my car weren’t an updated version, I wanted them replaced on warranty whenever they are finally updated. He reiterated that he will check on the update and get back to me. In the meantime, the service manager at my local dealership has said that they would be willing to give me a free oil change 3000 miles from now and check for corrosion and uneven wear problems again at that time. So… I feel like they’re really trying to work with me, and I respect that, but with all the bad press they’re getting, I can hardly think it’s saving them money to hold off on the recall. They should just do it.
|
|
|
Replying to: saint_jude (Nov 14, 2009 2:28 pm) |
|
You are here:
Forums
Sedans Hyundai Sonata Hyundai Sonata Brakes
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2011 Hyundai Sonata
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
