Complaint 2181377

Complaint Summary

SUSPENSION

Owner Narrative

The plastic covers such as the wheel wells, inner fender linings, under body shield, are very prone to coming off by either minor objects intruding them or hitting them such as branches, rocks, or even water and sand. While driving on a highway at the Upper Peninsula in Michigan on October, a large branch on the road got inside the front wheel well and it took it away. It flew into the highway as debris and cars began evading them. I had to replace it at my expense and it come off again while driving on sand on a beach in St. Augustine Florida on December (the car is 4x4 off-road capable and sold as such). The underbody shield began coming off in a highway in near Austin Texas around a construction zone where loose gravel was present. Almost all plastic clips were missing after I was informed by a driver that plastic parts were coming off my car striking his vehicle. The wheel well of the driver side also began to come off. I had to zip-tie it; no holes were damaged but it was fully scratch and cracked in multiple locations from touching the pavement. I was hit on the side of the rear of the passenger side door and the plastic cover came off. I replaced it but it seems those plastic parts are superimposed and not well secured into the body of the car and can come off fairly easily during driving becoming road hazards that can result in a crash to vehicles driving from behind or even people or animals. I had a Sonata and the same under shield came off while driving to Miami on December 2024, their service department only had it cut leaving the underbody exposed.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.