NHTSA Complaint #10637790 — 2012 HYUNDAI ACCENT

ABOUT 4 MONTHS AFTER I BOUGHT A 2012 HYUNDAI ACCENT NEW, THE REAR PLASTIC BUMPER COVER, IN THE AREA BY THE EXHAUST PIPE, DEVELOPED A 2-INCH OR SO CRACK WITH NO SEEMING CAUSE. I DIDN'T HIT ANYTHING, AND NOTHING HIT ME. I'M ASSUMING IT WAS RELATED TO HOT EXHAUST GASES HITTING THE COVER. HYUNDAI DID PAY FOR THE REPAIR. HOWEVER, 3 YEARS LATER, ANOTHER SIMILARLY SIZED CRACK HAS DEVELOPED IN THE SAME AREA. AS YOU KNOW, IN MANY CARS THE EXHAUST PIPE EXTENDS BEYOND THE REAR BUMPER. SO, IN THOSE CARS, THE REAR BUMPERS DON'T GET HIT BY HOT EXHAUST GASES. THAT'S NOT THE CASE WITH THE 2012 ACCENTS. PERHAPS HYUNDAI NEEDS TO EXTEND THE EXHAUST PIPE BEYOND THE BUMPER. FOR THOSE WHO THINK MAYBE A ROCK DID THE DAMAGE IN BOTH CASES---MY FRONT PLASTIC BUMPER (LIKE YOUR FRONT BUMPER) ROUTINELY/OCCASIONALLY GETS HIT WITH LITTLE PEBBLES AND ROCKS THROWN AT IT BY OTHER CARS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT THAT BUMPER HAS NO CRACKS, JUST LITTLE NICKS IN THE PLASTIC. SO I DON'T THINK ROCKS CAUSED BOTH CRACKS, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S MERELY A COINCIDENCE THAT BOTH CRACKS ARE LOCATED BY THE EXHAUST PIPE. ANYBODY ELSE EXPERIENCE ANYTHING SIMILAR? *TR