Lower ball joints on Santa Fe

I have a 2002 SF with 85+k and haven't had that problem at all. I would say you have something else out of whack, or else you are driving in some very odd conditions.

Kevin

Two santa fes, 01 w/ 104k and 03.0 with 73k, and one ball joint has failed between the two (on the 01, at about 55k miles).

I suspect the other one is failing on the 01 now, but its not bad enough to call.

Hyundai wants a *LOT* for a ball joint, then they want like $7 more for the dust boot. Grr. Total nonsense. rockauto.com has (complete) replacements for about $18 USD last I checked. The replacement has almost 50k miles on it, and its still good.

JS

This has been a problem on the Santa Fes. I've seen it less on newer models, so perhaps you got parts from an old batch on the original replacement.

You mean Hyundai charges 2.5x as much for an inferior part?

:)

JS

Ooops, make that 4.66x as much.

Rockauto.com now wants $13.72 for the MOOG-brand replacement.

JS

Well, them's the breaks sometimes.

My warranty is good for 6 years or 72000 miles (as per the class action suit) so I have time to see if the current ball joints are any better than the previous ones.

What "class action suit"? Also, is your cited warranty for 2nd owner?

We are the original owners of the 2002 Santa Fe. The class action suit had to do with Hyundai misreporting the actual horsepower of their motors because of the US smog requirements. They offered a large group of owners a cash settlement ($125 I think), increasing the 10/100,000 to

I think you made a wise choice. It's a pretty good bet that something stupid will break within that year based on the age or mileage on the vehicle. Chances of getting back you $125 or more in warranty work are actually pretty good.

It's nice to know that at least once in 56 years I made a wise choice!