NHTSA Complaint #11620740 — 2016 HYUNDAI TUCSON

Purchased a used 2016 Hyundai Tucson, approx. 79,000 miles. A few weeks later I noticed a rattling in the steering column when driving over railroad tracks, rough roads, etc. When sitting stationary, I could rock the steering wheel back and forth and got a clunking sound. Took to the dealership, they wanted $250 just to diagnose. Did my own investigating. With the car turned on I would hold the steering wheel with one hand and hold the steering shaft with the other and work them in opposite directions. This replicated the clunking and knocking noise I would hear while driving. I determined it was a faulty upper pinch bolt. Replaced the bold and all noise went away. Fast forward a few months later and the sound returned. Slightly at first, then the sound became very pronounced again. Tightened pinch bolt again, went away. Seems to either be a problem with the shaft itself or the upper pinch bolt. Either way, my fear is the steering shaft is going to loosen and fall off of the steering column resulting in a loss of steering and potential accident. Hyundai dealership seems to act clueless about issue.