NHTSA Complaint #10643759 — 2011 HYUNDAI TUCSON

I NO LONGER OWN THIS UNSAFE CAR. I AM SHORT, AND THUS SIT LOWER AND ADJUST THE DRIVER SEAT FORWARD TO REACH PEDALS. (TALL FRIENDS SIT FARTHER BACK/HIGHER, AND DON'T SEEM TO HAVE PROBLEMS.). THIS CAR HAS SERIOUS SIDE BLIND SPOTS CAUSED BY THE DECREASING SIZE OF THE WINDOWS AND THE VERY THICK SIDE COLUMNS FOR THE AIR BAGS. THE DRIVER'S SIDE COLUMN ENDED UP RIGHT BESIDE MY FACE, AND COMBINED WITH THE SEAT BACK/HEAD RESTS, BLOCKED MY VIEW. NEITHER SIDE MIRRORS NOR THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR COVER THIS BLIND AREA - AND IT CAN'T BE SEEN WHEN CRANING ONE'S NECK TO AROUND... I WAS ON THE I-5 FREEWAY NEAR PORTLAND, OR AND WANTED TO CHANGE ONE LANE TO THE LEFT... I SIGNALED, CHECKED BOTH SIDE MIRRORS, THE CENTER REAR-VIEW MIRROR, AND CRANED MY HEAD AROUND TO LOOK, AND THEN STARTED MOVING OVER... I HEARD A BEEP!, AND SWERVED BACK TO MY ORIGINAL LANE, ONLY THEN SEEING A MOTORCYCLE WHICH HAD BEEN IN MY BLIND SPOT...MY BROTHER WAS KILLED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT 7 YEARS AGO, AND THIS INCIDENT TERRIFIED ME SO THAT I HAD TO PULL OVER BECAUSE I WAS CRYING AND SHAKING! IT HAD BEEN SO CLOSE, AND I DECIDED RIGHT THEN I HAD TO GET RID OF THE CAR...THERE ARE ALSO VISIBILITY PROBLEMS WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN ACROSS A LARGE INTERSECTION (MORE GRADUAL/SLIGHTER CURVE..). TURNING LEFT, THE AIRBAG COLUMN IN THE LEFT CORNER BETWEEN WINDSHIELD & LEFT WINDOW ENDED UP IN THE CENTER OF MY VISION. I COULDN'T SEE WHERE I WAS HEADING, AND JUST SORT OF "JUDGED" MY DESTINATION LANE BY MEMORY AND/OR CARS BESIDE ME IN THE NEXT LANE TURNING...SCARY! I HAVE A SHORT FRIEND WITH THE IDENTICAL CAR (1 YR NEWER), AND THE SAME TROUBLE WITH BLIND SPOTS AND BLOCKED VISIBILITY WHEN SLIGHTLY TURNING LEFT. THESE ARE SERIOUS ISSUES (AND LOOKING FOR A NEW CAR, THIS CAR WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS BODY STYLE.) I BOUGHT A 2014 SUBURU FORESTER, LARGER WINDOWS/MUCH NARROWER COLUMNS, VASTLY IMPROVED VISIBILITY AND NO BLOCKED VIEW. *TR