NHTSA Complaint #10916808 — 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON

THE HORN ON THE 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON IS SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-POWERED TO THE POINT OF BEING DANGEROUSLY INEFFECTIVE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. WHILE IT TECHNICALLY WORKS, THE SOUND PRODUCED BY THE HORN IS TOO WEAK RELATIVE TO TYPICAL NOISE LEVELS IN MODERN URBAN AREAS AND WHILE DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS. THE HORN, FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, IS INAUDIBLE WHILE DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS WHERE THE NOISE OF THE PASSING WIND AND THE DISTANCE BETWEEN CARS NECESSITATES THAT THE HORN'S VOLUME EXCEED A CERTAIN MINIMUM THRESHOLD TO BE HEARD BY OTHER DRIVERS. THE HORN IS SO WEAK THAT EVEN AT A STOP LIGHT THE DRIVER OF A CAR DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME COULDN'T HEAR THE HORN. WHEN THE STOP LIGHT TURNED GREEN THE DRIVER IN FRONT OF ME DIDN'T NOTICE IT. EVEN AFTER BLOWING MY HORN 2 - 3 TIMES, THE DRIVER WAS STILL UNAWARE OF THE LIGHT CHANGE. IT WASN'T UNTIL THE DRIVER BEHIND ME BLEW HIS HORN THAT THE DRIVER IN FRONT OF ME BECAME AWARE OF THE LIGHT CHANGE. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF A HORN IS TO WARN OTHER NEARBY DRIVERS IN THE EVENT OF AN IMPENDING EMERGENCY. ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, THE 2012 HYUNDAI TUCSON'S HORN FAILED TO FULFILL ITS PURPOSE. FORTUNATELY, NO SERIOUS ACCIDENT HAS RESULTED UP TO THIS POINT. HOPEFULLY, THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A CASE IN WHICH SOMEONE SUFFERS AN ACCIDENT BEFORE THE ISSUE IS FIXED. *TR