Hyundai Sonata 1998

• Recall 7238 [USA]: Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source can result in a fire.
  Vehicle description: accent gt model vehicles equipped with dohc engines manufactured from december 19, 1996 through june 30, 1997; 1998 accent model vehicles manufactured from may 6, 1997 through june 25, 1998; 1997 sonata vehicles manufactured from august 1, 1996 through july 9, 1997 and 1998 sonata vehicles produced from july 9, 1997 through april 24, 1998. The evaporative emission control systems may apply excessive vacuum to the fuel tanks during the canister purge cycle. Minor fuel tank distortion could result. A small crack could develop on the upper fuel tank surface. The "check engine" light would then illuminate and, in some cases, the vehicle driver could notice a gasoline odor.
  dealers will pressure check the vehicle's fuel tank to determine if it has cracked. If it is cracked, a new fuel tank will be installed. A new fuel filler cap that decreases the amount of vacuum inside the fuel tank will also be installed. Note: the 1997-1998 sonata fuel tanks have also experienced cracking. However, at this time, the cause for the cracking has not been identified. This portion of the campaign will begin after hyundai has determined the cause and corrective procedure.
  owner notification is expected to begin during january 2001.Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact hyundai at 1-800-829-9956.Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).

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• Recall R/2003/064 [UK]: Wiring concern in srs loom
  On some vehicles with side air bags there is a faulty connection onto the srs wiring loom under both front seats. This will cause the srs warning light to illuminate and the air bag system will be disabled.
  re-route and secure the air bag wires and connectors.

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• Recall 2001081 [Canada]: Fuel supply
  On certain vehicles, the evaporative emission control systems may apply excessive vacuum to the fuel tank during the canister purge cycle if the two-way valve filter assembly becomes contaminated with dirt. Minor fuel tank distortion could result and a small crack could develop on the upper fuel tank surface. The driver may notice a gasoline odour. Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source may result in a fire. Correction: dealers will pressure check the vehicle's fuel tank to determine if it has cracked. If it is cracked, a new fuel tank will be installed. Dealers will also replace the canister two-way filter valve assembly with a new canister air intake system that will re repositioned to prevent it from becoming contaminated.

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To ensure accuracy and for your safety, it is recommended to do a free VIN recall check here or here [USA] - UK - Canada.

Bulletins are notices put out by manufacturers in conjunction with the NHTSA to notify the public of manufacturing issues or changes.

Crack in gas tank discovered after several removals of tank to replace hoses, then clamps. Replaced 1998 tank with used tank from 1996 model. Within 3 month replacement tank was leaking from crack in same area as before. Discovered recall on this model and took vehicle to local dealer. Dealer refused to honor recall due to service performed in 2006 where they (supposedly) added check valve to prevent gas tank cracks from developing. Appeals to regional and national hyundai offices were also rejected. Dealer sent me away with seriously leaking / dangerous tank. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 hyundai sonata. The contact smelled gas and noticed a gas leak coming from the fuel tank. Recall # 00v314001 (fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly) was found. The dealer stated that there was a hole in the gas tank, but refused to repair it because the vehicle was not included in the recall. The contact felt they should replace the gas tank as stated in the recall. The current and failure mileages were 117,000.

We purchased a used 1998 sonata gl for my daughter in may 2006. In about july 2006 she noticed that she seemed to be using more fuel than usual. Also that her and her friends noticed a strong smell of gasoline. Checking under the vehicle i notice that the fuel tank was wet on the drivers side near the rear tire and smelled of gasoline. We took the car to be repaired. The mechanic upon removing the tank noted that on the top left of the tank (if you were facing the rear of the car) had been patched previously with some kind of epoxy. We have no idea when this repair was done. He attempted again to repair it with epoxy, this was unsuccessful. He then replaced the tank with a used fuel tank from another hyundai. This was also unsuccessful. He then welded the spot on the tank. This was also unsuccessful as the tank started leaking again from the same area. We checked with a dealer and found that the vehicle had been in and had a fuel lined or hose replace on or about march 29, 2001. According to the nhtsa campaign 00v314001 a note: this was six years ago in 2000-2001. This cracking and leaking of fuel is still an unresolved issue as noted in the note: what has been done? What is the update? It has been six years. This is a know problem of this fuel tank and hyundai is aware of it. They have had plenty of time to research and come up with a safe resolution to this dangerous cracking of the fuel tank. This portion of the campaign should have already been resolved and must be soon. The following is the note from campaign 00314001: nhtsa campaign id number : 00v314001 make / models : model/build years: hyundai / sonata 1997-1998 **note: the 1997-1998 sonata fuel tanks have also experienced cracking. However, at this time, the cause for the cracking has not been identified. This portion of the campaign will begin after hyundai has determined the cause and corrective procedure. *nm

Dt: the contact stated the check engine light is not functional and that the the obd to the system is not communicating. Due to this the evaporative system is not ready. This vehicle is not conforming to the clean air act and cannot pass emissions.

When driving out of my parking lot, two pieces of equipment fell off of my vehicle. One looked like a belt and the other a small drum. My automatic transmission would no longer function and i was forced to coast into a parking spot in the lot. *jb

My 1998 hyundai sonata has been a challenge to maintain. Twice the driver's side door spring has rusted through and window regulators have failed. This particular incident was a fortunate stop in the car shop to check something else. They discovered that the rack and pinion unit was leaking power steering fluid. I had been complaining to the mechanic that the car "clunked" in the front end going over a bump. This despite replacing the ball joints, struts and one tie rod. It seems that the clunking noise must have been coming from the rack and pinion. They also discovered at the same time that two out of four engine mounts were cracked and the other two were sagging. I'll be replacing those as well and hoping that the car doesn't cause any further problems for a while. I believe in maintaining my cars, but this car seems to have had more problems than most i have owned. The car has also overheated twice, once due to a burst hose and the second time due to a leak in one of the engine coolant temperature sensors in the block. For the latter incident there was absolutely no warning (gradually increasing operating temp over time). It also has the hard down shift from 3-2 (automatic transmission) that others have noticed. I won't be purchasing a hyundai again as i feel that this is way too many problems for a car with only 90,000 miles on it.

Caller stated: brought car in for inspection. When the car was hooked up the monitor status with the onboard computer red not ready on everything. Mechanic told consumer that he had to drive the car on a highway for 20 minutes, then drop down to 15 mph for 5 minutes, and then repeat, followed by a rest period of 5 hours. All to get the computer to give out the correct reading.*ak

The passenger window would not roll up, it got stuck in the middle of a rain storm. The passenger door will not open from the inside and the windshield wipers stopped working as well and replacing the fuse did not solve the problem. *jb

Dt: the drivers side door latch broke. Caller had to roll down the window to get the door opened. For about 6 months the handle had a hairline crack in it, and now the handle had 4 cracks. It is not strong enough to open the latch. Dealer and manufacturerr have not been contacted yet. Also caller had to replace all 4 of the window rollwers. *ak