“I thought it was a package.
Sarah Tonkinson’s (@mamatonkinson) car is a Hyundai that’s been through the wars but is still going strong. That is, until she started having problems with the white paint. (Via)
She showed off the weird appearance of her car after a recent torrential downpour in a TikTok video that’s gone viral. The video’s gone viral, racking up over 511,000 views, and people said they weren’t surprised.
Peeling paint
‘Well done! Great way to start the morning,’ is written over the video. In the 10-second clip, the woman is pressing the car of her white Hyundai sedan. You can see bubbles under the paint.
Then, as she keeps going, the paint starts to crack and chip. By the end of the video, the white paint has started to peel off.
The description says the paint has nothing to do with the car’s reliability.
“My 2016 Hyundai Elantra survived high school. College. And attempted theft. Over 250,000 miles. 2 kids; 1 house accident; 1 guy backing over a trailer hitch. Two rear-end collisions at university (the guy who ran me over might have left a note). And the first day I ran over a lady on the side,” he recounted.
The reckless act damaged the car’s paint. Tonkinson explains how it happened.
“But, God forbid, it was raining. Somehow the rain got under the paint and it froze. The top paint cracked right where you can see it in the video. “The water thawed, bubbled and started peeling the paint off. Anyway, all I can say is I love my Hyundai, but it needs a repaint.”
He ended his story by sending a message to the Korean car maker and asking to be their spokesperson.
There are other problems with Hyundai paint
Other Hyundai owners have said that the paint doesn’t last at all. One driver of a Santa Fe told the Hyundai Forums website that he had paint problems just over three years after buying the car. (Via)
He said the problem “started 38 months after I bought the car. So now my warranty has run out. I had to take it to a body shop twice and repaint both areas, which cost $1,250. Unfortunately, the problems with the exterior paint didn’t stop there.
He even uploaded a photo of the silver paint peeling off around the Santa Fe logo.
Apparently Hyundai has recognised this problem on some cars, especially white ones. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that the manufacturer has extended the warranty on the paint. But just to be clear, this only applies to specific 2017 and 2018 models, like the Elantra, Sonata, and Santa Fe Sport. The colours affected are pearl quartz white and pearl frosted white. (Via)
But the extended warranties only apply to cars with certain VINs. According to the NHTSA document, affected Hyundai drivers should visit Hyundaidealer.com -> WEBDCS -> Vehicle Information Screen. Then they should enter their chassis number on the screen and look for the “Extended Factory Warranty” option. This will show them if Hyundai can cover the peeling paint.
I’ve got a proposed class action.
It seems that some Hyundai owners are not happy with the paint on their cars. There have been a few class actions filed because of peeling paint. There’s a particular class action for Genesis drivers (which wasn’t mentioned in the NHTSA document) who are saying that “the paint and clearcoat on [Hyundai’s] Genesis cars rust, fade, and peel prematurely.” (Via)
Another complaint is that the self-healing paint is defective. Models like the Elantra, Santa Fe, and Sonata from 2006 to 2016 are also affected by the peeling paint. (Via)
The painting is amazing! Everyone was amazed.
One guy said he couldn’t believe the peeling paint was real, saying he thought it was a wrapper.
Another was amazed at the number of kilometres his car had covered. They were amazed that he’d managed to drive 250,000 kilometres in 9 years.
Others, owners of white Hyundais, were familiar with this phenomenon. “Classic white Hyundai paint,” said one.
Another person said, “I had a white Hyundai Elantra that did the same. I painted the whole car and it happened again!
Another user said they had a hard time getting the car manufacturer to cover the white paint. “There was a recall for the white paint, but I was literally three months past the deadline. I went to the dealership and they fought for me,” he wrote. “They completely redid my hood. I saved £6,000.”
Meanwhile, Tonkinson said in comments that the paint problems are stopping her from buying another car of the same make. “We need to get a bigger car soon and I wanted to stick with Hyundai because of that, but the paint problems are putting me off!