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huge hole in black plastic in wheel well?

22K views 45 replies 21 participants last post by  SpeedRacerXT 
#1 · (Edited)
I noticed today that their was a "chunk" missing from the back wheel well of my 2012 elantra. There is a 3 inch by 3 inch chunk that looks like it was melted or blown away. Its the black plastic piece hanging at the bottom closest to the front of the car and looks like its bolted on by 2 bolts.

hyundai rotated my tires 2 weeks ago is it possible this happened when they did that? Is this part unbolted when they roted the tires? There are no other signs of any damage at all. Or is there some other explanation ?

Also, what is this part called?? I need to know so when I call and ask them about it I sound somewhat intelligent as to what happened here?
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum, chances are that you hit something in the road. They shouldn't have touched that stuff while rotating tires but maybe something slipped out of their hand and they didn't notice the damage. I would probably call that part a splash guard.
 
#6 ·
All it takes is one small object and we all run over stuff at times. My old car had most of the splash guards cracked. Not sure what kind of inspection you mean, dealer inspection maybe they didn't look at this or it wasnt broke at the time. State annual inspection in Texas this item is not even checked and they check emissions in my county.
 
#4 ·
Yep. Same thing happened to mine, and others. I noticed damage to the 'spash guards' on both sides of the car after all the snow cleared.

Good news is that the parts are cheap - I paid $8 each from the dealer for them and I sprayed them with rubberized rockerguard before I put them on. I've looked at other elantras in parking lots since I had the problem with mine and noticed that it was affecting more than just my car.

Here's my thread on it with replacement part numbers
http://www.hyundai-forums.com/231-md-2011-elantra/138195-rear-front-wheel-well-damage.html

It's not a part that gets removed when they rotate the tires. That chunk missing is because there is a small plastic arm that attaches there and screws to the bottom of the sill underneath. Take a look and see if it's still attached - it should fit your hole. The plastic used is weak and any resistance such as slush or snow would be enough to seperate the molded plastic arm from the rear of the splash guard.
 
#9 ·
When I had my 2010 Santa Fe I was driving up out of Portland on Highway 26 when I heard something hit the splash shield. I pulled off on an exit ramp thinking that it was the tire blowing out but I found nothing wrong so I just drove on. A few weeks later, I had to walk up to the car (can't remember where I was exactly) and saw that a chunk just like that was missing out of the left front splash shield. Dealer said the whole thing had to be repalaced to the tune of $300 or so. Not worth it to me so I just left it that way.
 
#10 ·
I don't think that's the case with the ones on the Elantra. It's just a poorly designed piece made from a brittle type of plastic. Just a small amount of slush splashing on the back side of it or dare I say even water hitting it from down pours while driving on the highway is enough to cause it to break.
 
#14 ·
It's just a poorly designed piece made from a brittle type of plastic. Just a small amount of slush splashing on the back side of it or dare I say even water hitting it from down pours while driving on the highway is enough to cause it to break.
The part is definitely susceptible to damage. But let's not overstate it... water and slush do not break plastic. Rocks, ice, and owner's boots do.

My Elantra has been through two icy Ottawa winters with no damage so far.
 
#11 ·
Oh what a coincidence , i just found 3 days ago while washing my car the exact same damage on that plastic splash guard, and i know when that happened , it was on the highway , i hit something and i heard the noise down there, is it cheap and easy to replace ? .
 
#13 ·
In reading these posts, it appears that all but one owner (Oregon) live in cold climate regions: Canada & New York. One possible common denominator: ice? Maybe more owner's from other areas will chime in. I know my 2011's were intact when I traded her in.
 
#15 ·
Consider yourself lucky. I hear what your saying but I know for a fact that I have not run anything over, and besides for both to be damaged in the same area and on both sides of the vehicle as well as every one else having the similiar issue. And with that said I have not kicked or hit the area to remove snow or ice.
The only thing I can think is the forward momentum of the car coupled with the heavy weight of the slush being slung up under the car and hitting the backside of these deflectors causing them to break at the attachment point.
 
#17 ·
Since reading this thread I decided to go check my car. Sure enough these Plastic parts on both rear wheels are cracked and the driver side has one spot about to break out completely. I can vote NO on the issue of Ice or Slush causing the problem. I'm in New Mexico and my car has never seen either or ever been off the pavement. With 11k miles, I am sure I have run over small rocks on the road so that is about all that would have been thrown off the tire. As others have said this plastic is very brittle and IMHO not at all suitable for use in this location. A disappointment for sure. Thanks to this thread I will check them regularly and replace them before long. Also agree with one poster that I will reinforce the replacements somehow if the New part is not of better quality.
 
#19 ·
I can vote NO on the issue of Ice or Slush causing the problem. I'm in New Mexico and my car has never seen either or ever been off the pavement. With 11k miles, I am sure I have run over small rocks on the road so that is about all that would have been thrown off the tire.
Let's just agree that rocks AND ice can damage the part under the right circumstances.

That said, any part can fail under the right circumstances. And when it does, it always seems like the manufacturer should have invested an extra $2 worth of materials in that part. Problem is, there are over 10,000 parts in the average car, and you never know which one will fail on which car. All you can do is go with the cheapest part that works 99% of the time, and deal with the failures as they occur.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Buffalo well all of WNY had the most mild winter in recent history. It only snowed a hand full of times last winter. I can only remember driving after it snowed maybe 10 times at most last winter and I drive at least 6 days per week. The snow also never stuck to the ground here for more than a day or two. I can't imagine the damage that would occur in a "real" Buffalo winter.


Also, I checked out my Fathers 2008 Elantra and my brothers 2010 elantra to check the "splash guards" in the same location to see if there was damage to them. All were fully intact. They do have these installed but on the opposite side of the wheel well. It appears to be a design flaw to cram these on the inside of the wheel well on the 2011+ elantra. They could easily just finish the inside of the well with the black plastic like in the front and install the "splash guards" on the metal part behind the well.

I think Ill just use some black electric tape to cover that huge hole up I think it would hold up better too lol...
 
#20 ·
I think Ill just use some black electric tape to cover that huge hole up I think it would hold up better too lol...
I admire the DIY spirit, I really do. But for 8 bucks I'd install a proper replacement part. The odds of a second failure are probably much lower than you think, based on the 100,000 other Elantra owners who are not commenting in this thread.
 
#23 ·
Guys & Gals, this is the plastic panel(s) at the rear of the wheel wells, right? Did any of you experiencing broken units have the optional mud/splash guards installed? I can't be certain, but it appears these optional add-on's give that area additional support. Plus, I like how they look and the extra chip protection they offer.
 
#29 ·
Hi, I'm new here (just waiting for delivery of my new 2013 Elantra GLS). I'm wondering if the rubber undercoating might help, at least a bit, to prevent this from happening? I do believe the wheel wells are included in the undercoating treatment. I haven't agreed to any of these add-ons yet, but I am considering the undercoating for noise reduction and rust-protection, but I'm wondering if it might also provide a little more protection from these holes in the wheel well? Any thoughts?
~ Garry
 
#33 ·
rogr, Of all things to worry about on a car this is at the bottom of my list. If we want 40mpg we cant drive cars built like army tanks. The undercoating spray or whatever they do to cars up there in the frozen north will probably help. Welcome to the forum.
 
#34 ·
rogr, Of all things to worry about on a car this is at the bottom of my list. If we want 40mpg we cant drive cars built like army tanks. The undercoating spray or whatever they do to cars up there in the frozen north will probably help. Welcome to the forum.
THE NORTH ISN'T ALWAYS FROZEN ! what about just a normal anti rust treatment like Krown? that's what I did last fall.
 
#36 ·
My last post is more of a question. I have a 2012 Elantra Limited edition and the entire back wheel well on the drivers side is cracked and busted. Does the same part that everyone is discussing solve this problem or is it a different part? If it is a different part can someone lead me in the right direction to find the correct part to get this fixed? My entire back bumper on the drivers side is coming off now that the inner fender well is busted and I could really use some advice and assistance.


Thank you in advance for your assistance.
 
#37 ·
Different part. This thread is about the small spash guard at the front of the wheel well. There is a pic on the first page. You need the entire inner wheel well. I had to replace the front one.I found one online but can't remember the site. I have it bookmarked on my pc. I'll post it tomorrow morning, if no one else chimes in. My front wheel well was about $90 shipped.
 
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