An article released by David A. Wood with carcomplaints.com reported a lawsuit being filed against Hyundai by two individuals by the name of Lorenzo Ford and Tina Forehand. They are both owners of a 2020 Hyundai Palisade and unfortunately, suffered from defective windshields that prematurely cracked on them. This case is now known as Ford, et al., v. Hyundai Motor America, et al.
Lorenzo and Tina claimed a pebble had struck their windshield and left a crack. For Lorenzo, his 2020 Palisade had about 4,225 miles and got quoted $880 to replace it. Tina's 2020 Palisade had approximately 2000 miles and had to wait three weeks to get her windshield. She was charged $250 for replacement.
Prices seem to be all over, and the mileage seems to vary as well, which is natural as pebbles may occur at any mileage. Bizarrely, some owners reported their windshields cracking without even coming into contact with anything. Issues with the windshield on Palisades and even the Kia Telluride existed only a few months after owners started taking delivery of their cars. Even small insects clashing with the windshields have caused cracks, which is a bit alarming. As an automotive journalist reviewing cars, I have encountered the same problem in a Hyundai test car.
A few weeks ago, I was sent the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid as a test car. I publish video reviews on my YouTube channel, and I have been using a Manfrotto camera mount to place my DSLR camera onto the windshields of the past 100 vehicles I have reviewed. After I finished filming my review, I began to pull on the little tab of my mount to release it from the windshield and boom, and the windshield cracked on me.
This issue has never happened to me before in any other car that I have reviewed. Again, I used this mount in the last 100 vehicles that I have tested. Somehow, under the pressure of me releasing my mount, the windshield just cracked and left a massive spiderweb crack. A day later, I was driving down the highway, and a truck flung a nefarious pebble next to the spiderweb I produced and left a little crack. No matter what, the windshield in my test vehicle would've needed replacing.
Interestingly, Hyundai refuses to admit their windshields are defective. Many owners say that the cracked windshields are becoming a distraction to driving, but as of now, Hyundai requires owners to pay for a replacement windshield. These allegedly defective windshields and replacement windshields have cost owners up to $1,600.
The Plaintiffs are seeking to have Hyundai buyback vehicles, cover replacement costs, or to reimburse owners for losses caused due to their windshields. Replacing windshields can also affect the value of the car, which adds to the cost owners are already paying to replace cracked windshields.
I do hope that Hyundai can quickly remedy this situation because their cars are truly great to drive and do come in at an attractive price for the masses to afford. Hyundai was touting their double junction glass technology on the new 2020 Sonata and how it even had soundproofing material inside their double pane glass. And these are all great things because the Sonata was a hushed automobile; however, I noticed that the wind noise at highway speeds became far louder and was very obviously coming from the front.
Hyundai has always done a great job listening to the consumer and giving the end-users a quality product. Hopefully, Hyundai can take this situation and turn it into a positive to help improve future cars not to have the same issues.
Kevin Meyn is an automotive journalist for Torque News concentrating on Hyundai content. Kevin is the founder of Exhaust Sports Auto Youtube channel, where he does professional car reviews on new and used vehicles. Through the use of various resources and extended Automotive expertise, Kevin documents the latest in automotive news revolving around Hyundai. Kevin graduated from NC State University studying Supply Chain Management but has had a passion for cars since he was a child. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Instagram @exhaustsports.
Comments
Any ideas on how we can file
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Any ideas on how we can file a class action suit or recall? Seems these Hyundai windshields are faulty. Less than a year old 2021 Santa Fe (Manufactured May 2021) and I had to replace a windshield already.
I lease a 2020 Hyundai tuscon
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I lease a 2020 Hyundai tuscon. My windshield cracked in 2021 and the replacement windshield in 2022. I have never had this happened to me in my 40years of owning cars. Maybe 2x before on different cars over the years after getting hit by a pebble
I'm curious if your
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In reply to I lease a 2020 Hyundai tuscon by ksthleen filippi (not verified)
I'm curious if your replacement windshield was a Hyundai windshield. When I replacement my back windshield it was an aftermarket ( not a Hyundai product) .im still paranoid to have my car washed since thats when it shattered the last time, and not a chip in it at the time.
Hi Wendy, I'm not sure. At
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In reply to I'm curious if your by WENDY McCloud (not verified)
Hi Wendy, I'm not sure. At the time I didn't realize there was an issue going on. I went to Safelite. I have to make an appointment for my 2nd windshield cracking, so when I do, I will ask them and let you know.
Mine is a 2021 Sante Fe
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In reply to I'm curious if your by WENDY McCloud (not verified)
Mine is a 2021 Sante Fe Calligraphy, Mine was a stress crack originating at the passenger side edge of the windshield and spontaneously cracked to about 2 inches in from the moulding. I am from Canada and was told there were no aftermarket windshields produced. Approximately 6 weeks later my replacement windshield was delivered to the dealer. By this time I had left for Florida for the winter and within two weeks from arriving in Florida I had 2 additional cracks. My windshield will be replaced when I return to Canada in the middle of April. To me there is no question this is a manufacturing quality problem.
It was a Hyundai OEM
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It was a Hyundai OEM windshield. I've called the NHTSA and filed a complaint and an investigation is underway. They said more people need to do this then it may get a recall started.
Thanks Roger, I will file one
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Thanks Roger, I will file one online tmro.
I filed a complaint with the
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I filed a complaint with the NHTSA about our 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL windshield cracks and they said everyone needs to file their complaint if want to ever get a recall started on these windshields. My complaint is under investigation by NHTSA now.
I filed a complaint with the
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I filed a complaint with the NHTSA about our 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL windshield cracks and they said everyone needs to file their complaint if want to ever get a recall started on these windshields. My complaint is under investigation by NHTSA now.
Brand new 2022 Venue. Had
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Brand new 2022 Venue. Had chip in windshield just from driving home from lot after purchase. Today it has a big crack in a different area on the windshield. We drove home on the interstate, did not notice anything hit the windshield or the crack. Now there is a huge one. I will have to replace the windshield. I have owned the car for 5 months.
Hi, file a complaint with the
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Hi, file a complaint with the NHTSA online. Maybe if there are enough complaints, Hyundai will be forced to issue a recall. I hope you have full glass coverage.
My Hyundai Elantra windshield
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My Hyundai Elantra windshield cracked without anything hitting it. No chips at all. I took it to a dealership to fix it under warranty. The service attendant ran a pen along the crack and stopped at a corner. He said it must be a chip if his pen stops anywhere along the crack. What a great excuse for never covering a windshield in the warranty. Even under close examination with our eyes there is no sign of a microscopic chip, apparently a 50 cent pen is the divining rod of all windshield warranty damage.
My 2021 Santa Fe windshield
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My 2021 Santa Fe windshield cracked and it seems to have come out of nowhere. I haven’t called my insurance company yet but plan to. I bought an extended warranty on the vehicle and if not covered by insurance, hopefully it will be covered by the warranty. But reading everyone’s comments, I’m guessing it’s not covered. My car only has 15,000 miles on it.
Hi If you have full glass
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In reply to My 2021 Santa Fe windshield by Sharon B (not verified)
Hi If you have full glass coverage you should be covered. Its possible a pebble could have hit your windshield and you didnt realize it.
It's not about the warranty
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It's not about the warranty or insurance coverage we are upset about lady. It's the poor quality and unsafe windshields that are put in these vehicles that Hyundai needs to own up to. Mine has cracked twice and spread all over the windshield. I'm on my second windshield in only 7 months of owning this 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe.
It's not about the warranty
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It's not about the warranty or insurance coverage we are upset about lady. It's the poor quality and unsafe windshields that are put in these vehicles that Hyundai needs to own up to. Mine has cracked twice and spread all over the windshield. I'm on my second windshield in only 7 months of owning this 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe.
I totally agree, having glass
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In reply to It's not about the warranty by Dale Brandon (not verified)
I totally agree, having glass coverage or not is not the point
Save your nasty comments and
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Save your nasty comments and anger for Hyundai, not me, you idiot, I am on this thread because I also had to replace two windshields and put a complaint in to NHTSA. Why else would I be on this site? I have other posts on here. In that particular post I was trying to help the person hopefully get her windshield fixed through her insurance, if she had full windshield coverage. The insurance company might not cover it if they said it was due to a defective windshield but it would cover replacement if a pebble hit her car. My comment had nothing to do Hyundai not taking responsiblity for defective windshields, but at $850 a pop, it hurts a little less if its not coming out of your own pocket.
At the 6000 mile mark, I sat
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At the 6000 mile mark, I sat down in my 2022 Ioniq Hybrid and put it in drive to go on a work assignment out of state. I heard what can be described as a small caliber gunshot sound and there was a 6" crack right in the middle of the passenger side windshield. I put the car in park, got out to inspect it and the crack just kept expanding, in a arch pattern, completely across the windshield, and started back across. I got with Hyundai here, one dealership said it's not their problem very rudely, so I escalated it to Hyundai customer care. They finally set up an appointment with a different dealership nearly 2 months after the fact. That tech agreed that it is a faulty windshield with no impact marks, and sent the request to Hyundai. After nearly a week (after I was told 1 day) they finally told the tech not to replace it, that it wasn't their problem. Needless to say, I am fuming at this point. I have never been treated so rudely by a company (with the exception of my customer care rep the current tech). I'm now stuck with a car I obviously can't trust, with an extended warranty that is meaningless. At this point, I gave Hyundai one last chance to do the correct thing. Unless the window get fixed immediately, I will be getting rid of this vehicle for something else that I can trust will protect my family.
We bought q 2023 Elantra SEL
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We bought q 2023 Elantra SEL in June of 2022. A pebble hit the windshield and left a long crack in September of 2022. I had to get a OEM windshield because of the cars age. The windshield was on back order so the new one was not in until the beginning on November. It is not the end of November and another pebble has hit the windshield leaving it broken. I have NEVER had a windshield crack from a pebble let alone a 2 BRAND NEW OEM windshields crack back to back
Thats what I went through too
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Thats what I went through too. Report it to NHTSA website. Maybe if there are enough complaints Hyundai will have a recall n reimburse people who have had to pay out of pocket if they didnt have glass coverage. Hold onto your receipt.
I have had my 2022 Tucson for
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I have had my 2022 Tucson for a year and a half and i was driving down the road there was no other cars on the road and out of nowhere I heard a loud pop and there was a crack in my windshield down low almost in the middle. i am going to watch it and see if it grows.
We had the same thing happen
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We had the same thing happen to our 2022 Genesis GV80 yesterday (Genesis is the luxury brand of Hyundai). We were driving down the highway when a crack appeared out of nowhere. No rock chip, we didn't hit anything, no cars around us, nothing! It appears to be stemming from where the collision avoidance sensors meet up with the windshield.
Looking online, replacement is going to be well over $2000.
We already paid a premium for the car, now we have to pay a premium for sub-standard glass?!
My wife loves her GV80, but something like this can't be tolerated.
Genesis/Hyundai better get all over this ASAP. In my opinion, they're the best cars sold in America, there's no need to ruin that reputation over defective glass.
I bought a new 2022 Hyundai
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I bought a new 2022 Hyundai Elantra last year. Yesterday a long horizontal crack appeared at the top of the driver side window. We did not hear a pebble or anything else hit the windshield. There is no sign of impact. It seems to be a stress crack.
I have a 2015 Hyundai Accent,
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I have a 2015 Hyundai Accent, and the same thing just happen to me 4 days ago. I heard something that sounded like a stone hit my vehicle while driving on the highway. I thought the truck ahead of me in the adjacent name must have kick up a stone. But I didn't see a stone chip anywhere when I checked later. The next day a crack appeared on the passenger side of my windshield. I will have to pay $500 deductible to my insurance. I've been driving for 49 years and I've never had a windshield crack! Notify me when someone gets a class action going!
Just for comparison I’m…
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Just for comparison I’m driving a 2006 Toyota Matrix 235k I have had two absolute thunder cracking stones hit my windshield and yes chips but no cracks yet over 2 years and I know this problem on Hyundai because my brother purchased a new 2021 Elantra little stone on windshield phoof cracked under wiper hard to notice got it replaced month later cracked again😳
So far they haven’t fixed…
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So far they haven’t fixed the issue. I’ve had my car for 1.5 years a 22 IONIQ 5 and I’ve had to replace my windshield 3 times now. No evidence of rocks hitting just cracking from the far edges that extend horizontally. I paid my car off and intended to keep it for a long time, now I’m thinking I made a mistake and should not have done that because now I’m stuck with a car that keeps my insurance high because I have to keep entering glass claims. If I get another car I’m going back to Toyota, I only left because the didn’t make an all electric car.
Pagination