Needing to get the sticker, we drove across the street to the Bridgestone independent dealer, did not give them any hints, and the car passed without issue. Hmmm.
We've been dealing with the dealer since 2004, and our other vehicle is a
2008 Veracruz. They've always been extremely courteous and accomodating, and we've been very pleased. I was all set to schedule the car to have the work done, but we decided to get a second opinion. We contacted an independent garage which was recommended to us by several people. They are known for doing a lot of work on foreign brands and we got several strong recommendations. I called the guy to set up an appointment, explained what I was told, and he sounded incredulous that the steering could have gone bad at only 65K miles. We took it there yesterday, they put it on the rack, and said there was nothing wrong with the rack and pinion steering, but that the upper control arm was extremely loose and the car should not have passed the inspection on that account. All it took was a little torque application to tighten down the control arm, and we were safely (?) on our way, no charge.
So I called the service manager at the Hyundai dealership today and explained to him what happened. I told him I did not know what to think, but I was inclined not to do business there again and have a discussion with the general manager to explain why. But I wanted to see what he thought first, since I did have a good history with them. The service manager said the technician who worked on his car was a trusted, long-time employee, and if he said it was bad, it was bad. But since I felt as I did, he suggested I bring the car in next week for us to look at together.
Now I'm a skilled computer guy, but with cars, not so much. What I would like to know is, when I'm standing there under the car with this guy, what should I look for? And how would I know if what he is telling me is true? I recall seeing some old reports on 20/20 where a mechanic could giggle this and flex that and convince you that you had a major problem with something. Any hints on how I would know if the steering is really worn out to the point of being dangerous to drive?
FWIW, we had been complaining since well before the end of the 60K mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that the car would periodically make terrible creaking sounds, but for whatever reason those finally dissapated. More recently my wife, who is the promary driver of the car, has been complaining of banging noises which I maybe heard once, but those too had become less frequent. Heck, they might have been the control arm.
Anyway, thanks for reading this far, and if you have some hints for me, I would appreciate it.