NHTSA Complaint #10104358 — 1999 HYUNDAI ELANTRA

(1) ON DECEMBER 20,2004, THE FIRST COLD DAY OF THE YEAR, MY 1999 ELANTRA WOULD NOT START. (2) THE NEXT DAY, DECEMBER 21, 2004, THE CAR STARTED, BUT AS I WOULD COME TO A STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE ENGINE WOULD BEGIN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY AND THE CAR WOULD STALL OUT. THIS ALSO OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS UNDER 20 MPH. (3) I DROVE DIRECTLY TO MY HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP WHICH ASSESSED THE CAR AND TOLD ME THE MASS AIRFLOW SENSOR HAD GONE BAD AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, WHICH WAS NOT COVERED UNDER MY WARRANTY. THE PART WAS REPLACED THAT AFTERNOON AT 275.00 PLUS LABOR= 391.00. THIS EVENING, DECEMBER 23,2004 AFTER SEARCHING THE NHTSA WEBSITE, I REALIZED THAT THE 1999 HYUNDAI ELANTRA HAD BEEN RECALLED ON SEPT 7, 2000 (NHTSA CAMPAIGN # 00V259001/HYUNDAI RECALL # 040.) I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED HYUNDAI CONSUMER COMPLAINT DIVISION AND WAS TOLD MY A REPRESENTATIVE THAT MY VEHICLE VIN # WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL CAMPAIGN BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN MANUFACTURED ON MAY 24, 1999 AND THE CAMPAIGN ONLY INCLUDED 1999 ELANTRAS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN JUNE 1, 1999-JUNE 6, 2000. I FIND IT EXTREMELY HARD TO BELIEVE THAT A 7 DAY PERIOD BETWEEN THE DATE MY CAR WAS MANUFACTURED AND THE DATE THE RECALL BEGAN SHOULD BE THE REASON WHY THIS COSTLY REPAIR WOULD NOT BE COVERED. I AM LOOKING TO HAVE THIS COMPLAINT INVESTIGATED, AND BE REIMBURSED FOR THE COST OF PARTS/LABOR FOR THIS DEFECT, WHICH HYUNDAI WILL NOT ALLOW. *JB