TSB - Santa Fe 2007 Front Hub Clearances

Go to a different dealer.

Thanks for the reply, Ed. I considered that, but I am a long way from another dealer, and using a distant dealer would involve another person with transportation to follow me there and bring me home. Then there would be the return trip to pick up the car. Then if there should be a follow-up problem, more of the same.

We don't drive very much, maybe 5,000 miles per year, so that's another factor. I could do it myself, and I might resort to that if the annoyance doesn't get too great, but that might void some warranty. Further, I'm getting old, and I don't like the idea of wrestling those heavy components :-)

Rod

Why are you concerned? That's a rather trivial disassembly and re-assembly.

Can't blame you for not wanting to mess with it - I'm rolling my cars over far sooner than I ever did, just because I'm getting tired of wrenching on cars. That said, what reason do you have not questions the dealer's ability to do the job the right way?

Mike Marlow wrote: Snip

Hi Mike! Many thanks for the response.

I agree that the procedure is straight forward, and the TSB has excellent instructions with torque specs and numerous illustrations that anyone could follow.

I don't want to say too much about the dealership, except that when I bought the car the they had an outstanding certified Hyundai mechanic. That was reassuring. Not long after, he was gone, and so was the Sales Manager.

I took the car in for an oil change. To do that, the decorative plastic engine cover, held on by two bolts and four nuts, must be removed. When I got the car home, I found that one of the nuts was missing, and the other nuts and bolts were greatly over-torqued. One was so over tightened that the stud treads were ruined so that a new nut can not be installed. Would that same "mechanic" do the front end work?? Does he even know what a torque wrench is??

I have other concerns that I don't want to go into, but basically, I have lost confidence in this dealer. If the hub clearance problem would result in serious damage, I'll just have to go to the distant dealer. If it's not serious but just noisy, I'll probably live with it.

Changing subjects, but I recall another dealer experience I had. A Four Star Dodge dealer I once used changed xmiss fluid for me. The xmiss pan is sealed with a goop, not a gasket. I went home, and about an hour later I had about two quarts of xmiss fluid on the concrete carport floor. Took it back, and the service manager wrote up another service order and put it in the out-box without so much as a single word. No apology, nothing! Also, I did not get the usual quality survey from Chrysler on that job.

I have always done my own auto work including overhauling small car engines, and I have a hard time trusting auto work to people I don't know.

Many thanks Mike for your interest and comment.

Rod

Very valid concerns. Be it the dealer or independent shop, if you find a good one, stick with him. It is getting more difficult to find people that want to work in the trades and get their hands dirty, but you can make a decent living at it. Too many schools have eliminated shop programs as they think we will all be computer techs in the future.

FWIW - generally the guy that does the oil changes is a flunky that doesn't do any real work on cars. May be different at any given dealership, but most don't put their real talent on basic oil changes unless they are part of other work. Not that this shouldn't keep you from being wary, based on your experience.

Too bad it's a warranty job - otherwise you could just take it to a trusted independent mechanic. It might even be worth doing so anyway, considering all the other factors associated with taking it to a different dealer.

I know what you mean about that. I'm exactly the same way.