LEBANON, Tenn. (WSMV) – Leslie Williamson knows how her car looks to people driving by.
“I don’t want to say trashy,” Williamson said, standing over the hood of her 2015 Sonata. “It breaks my heart.”
To see the Lebanon mother’s car is to assume that she doesn’t take very good care of it. After all, all over the car are large sections of paint that have fallen off in chunks.
“Shouldn’t care what people think, but people are like, ‘What’s wrong with that car?’” Williamson said.
It’s a problem WSMV4 Investigates found happening to older model Hyundai vehicles all over the world.
On Facebook, Hyundai drivers have posted videos of paint flapping in the wind before breaking loose in large sections.
Another video posted on Facebook shows a Hyundai driver peeling off the paint in entire sections.
WSMV4 Investigates tracked down so many complaints about the paint problem that we arranged for a group Zoom interview, with Hyundai drivers in several states, including Hawaii, Colorado and Georgia.
WSMV4 Investigates asked, “As a show of hands, how many of you are worried about driving it through a car wash?”
“Oh, I am,” said Annie Gino, a Hyundai driver in Honolulu, Hawaii. “When I drive, it looks like there’s snow in Honolulu.”
“At this point, it’s my entire vehicle that’s peeling,” said Ashley Hoffman in Denver, Colorado.
WSMV4 Investigates found class action lawsuits about the paint in Canada and in New York state.
In Australia, the paint problem has become such an issue with Hyundai drivers, it prompted several to gather and make signs demanding Hyundai fix the problem.
Jo Ucukalo, the CEO of Handle My Complaint, a consumer advocacy company, said they’re fielding multiple complaints from drivers.
“It’s a catastrophic failure,” Ucukalo said, “Hyundai looks to put their head in the sand with any issue we send them.”
It’s not only a cosmetic failure, but a financial burden as well.
While Hyundai did issue an extended warranty for certain vehicles, especially those with a white or pearl finish, to five years with no mileage limits.
WSMV4 Investigates found another posting on Hyundai’s website that allows you to put in your VIN number to see if you qualify for a six-year paint warranty with certain conditions.
However, for Williamson, her Sonata is a 2015 model which she bought in 2022, so the warranty doesn’t apply.
All of the people WSMV4 Investigates interviewed in the United States said the warranty didn’t apply to them.
Williamson got two estimates to paint her Sonata in full.
“My first estimate was $6,000, and I had a second estimate for $8,000,” Williamson said.
What has further confused drivers is why the paint is falling off years after the vehicles were purchased.
According to documents filed in the Canadian class action lawsuit, the vehicles in question were manufactured in Alabama.
Rosemary Herring, a Hyundai driver who lives in Philadelphia, said when her insurance company denied her claim, they stated the issue was considered a “manufacturer’s defect.”
“There’s something wrong with the primer,” Herring said the insurance company stated.
A spokesman for Hyundai denied our request for an interview, sending a statement reading in part, “A manufacturing issue with the paint on Hyundai vehicles is extremely rare and has only occurred in isolated incidents.”
But tell that to the scores of Hyundai drivers who have all joined Facebook pages to share their woes, and they will tell you the problem is hardly isolated.
“It’s unbelievable that they don’t want to fix a problem that they know they have,” Hoffman said.
If you have any information you’d like to share with us about this story, please email Jeremy Finley at Jeremy.finley@wsmv.com.
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