NHTSA Complaint #10364295 — 2010 HYUNDAI SONATA

MY 2010 HYUNDAI SONATA HAS A LOW BEAM DEFECT THAT IS A DANGER TO DRIVE AT NIGHT , ESPECIALLY ON HILLY COUNTRY ROADS. THERE IS A BLACK BAND THAT ERASES THE FIELD OF VIEW FOR OBJECTS ON OR ALONGSIDE THE ROAD. BY THE TIME THE CAR HAD 5K MILES ON HER - SHE HAD BEEN IN TWICE TO HAVE THE HEADLIGHTS CHECKED AND I WAS TOLD THEY WERE ADJUSTED AS HIGH AS THEY COULD GO AND TO USE HIGH BEAMS IF I COULDN'T SEE. I CALLED HYUNDAI CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AFTER GETTING NOWHERE I FINALLY GOT A MANAGER ON THE LINE AND HE PROMISED THAT AN ENGINEER WOULD BE SENT TO MY DEALERSHIP AND LOOK OVER THE PROBLEM -THIS NEVER HAPPENED SO WHEN I CALLED I WAS TOLD TO GO BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP SO THEY COULD LOOK AT THE LIGHTS AGAIN I GET FLASHED BY ONCOMING CARS BECAUSE THEY THINK MY HIGHS ARE ON WHEN THEY ARE NOT. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THEY SEE WHEN MY HIGHS ARE ON. IF I DRIVE UNDER STREETLIGHTS OR HAVE ONCOMING CARS IN MY VIEW I DON'T SEE THE BLACK BAND BUT WHAT I DO SEE IS MY LIGHTS BOUNCING OFF ROAD SIGNS WITH ONLY SPLOTCHES OF LETTERS BEING ILLUMINATED AND THE REST OF THE SIGN DARK. IF SOMETHING , LIKE A DEER, WERE IN THE ROAD OR BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD I WOULD NEVER SEE IT. I DO NOT WANT TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, KILL SOMEONE, HIT DEBRIS IN THE ROAD OR HURT MYSELF IN A CRASH BECAUSE THE LIGHTS HAVE A FAULTY DESIGN. . I READ THAT OTHER 2010 SONATA OWNERS ARE HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM SO WHEN IS HYUNDAI GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND FIX THE PROBLEM OR REPLACE OUR CARS? I WROTE TO HYUNDAI AND THEY CLAIM THAT THE LIGHTS ARE WORKING AS DESIGNED AND I SHOULD TAKE MY CAR IN TO CHECK MY LIGHTS IF I AM HAVING PROBLEMS. I HAD ALREADY BEEN TOLD BY THE SERVICE CENTER DURING MY FIRST VISIT THAT IT IS A DESIGN FLAW SO I'M SENSING A CATCH 22 HERE. I CALLED THE SERVICE CENTER AND TOLD THEM I NEED TO HAVE A TECHNICIAN DRIVE THE CAR IN THE DARK BEFORE CLOSING HOURS. IN THE MEANTIME, AND UNTIL THIS GETS FIXED , THE BLACK BAND GREATLY IMPEDES NIGHT DRIVING AND IS A HAZARD. *TR