NHTSA Complaint #10360561 — 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON

I BELIEVE THERE IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE WITH HYUNDAI TIBURON 2003 CLUTCHES. MY 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL BROKE ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS SINCE I BOUGHT IT. AT AROUND 10,000 MILES, AT AROUND 30,000 MILES AND AT AROUND 50,000 MILES. EACH TIME THE HYUNDAI DEALER TOLD ME IT BROKE BECAUSE I'M A POOR DRIVER, HOWEVER THIS IS JUST NOT TRUE AND IT APPEARS TO ALSO BE A PROBLEM WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHO BOUGHT THIS MODEL AS WELL. I HAVE JOINED THE CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST HYUNDAI FOR THEIR DEFECTIVE CLUTCHES WHICH WAS RECENTLY AWARDED MONEY FOR WHICH I AM FILING A CLAIM FORM. HOWEVER, I AM CONTACTING YOU NOW BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. I WAS ON DANGEROUS HIGHWAYS TWO OF THE THREE TIMES THIS HAPPENED AND WAS PUT IN VERY PRECARIOUS SITUATIONS. THE SECOND TIME THE CLUTCH WENT OUT IT JUST COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING. THE PEDDLE WENT INTO THE FLOOR AND I ONLY BARELY HAD THE MOMENTUM TO CARRY ME OVER A HILL AND GLIDE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE BEEN GOING BACKWARDS DOWN THE HILL OR STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF A FAST MOVING HIGHWAY. FURTHERMORE, THIS LEFT ME STRANDED IN A VERY BAD AREA OF TOWN FOR SEVERAL HOURS WAITING FOR THE TOW TRUCK. ANOTHER TIME THIS HAPPENED, I WAS ON AN UPHILL CURVED INTERSTATE RAMP WHICH WAS BRINGING ME TO MERGE FROM THE BELTWAY TO ANOTHER INTERSTATE AND INSTEAD OF LOSING THE CLUTCH COMPLETELY AT ONCE, I COULD JUST BARELY GO 30MPH (AND DETERIORATING) AND WAS TRYING TO MAKE IT UP THE HILL AND MERGE AS CARS WERE ZOOMING BY ME. WHILE THIS CLUTCH ISSUE MAY NOT BE AS DETRIMENTAL OF A SAFETY CONCERN AS FOR EXAMPLE BRAKE FAILURE, IT STILL PUT ME IN A VERY SCARY SITUATION. IT SERIOUSLY CONCERNS ME THAT HYUNDAI HAS NOT RECALLED THESE CLUTCHES, DESPITE THE FACT THAT BASED ON THE RECENT SETTLEMENT THEY ARE CLEARLY DEFECTIVE AND HYUNDAI KNOWS THEY ARE DEFECTIVE. *TR