Ever since I first bought the Azera, I have noticed that the concrete barriers in parking lots often scrape the bottom of the splash shield.

Whenever I am approaching one of these barriers, I move very slowly so that if it starts to scrape the underside I can stop in time. It if doesn't scrape, I continue on until my front wheels touch the barrier.

Last night I encountered one of these barriers and thought it had cleared okay. Upon backing out of the space a bit later, it began dragging on the bottom of the splash shield and ended up breaking 3 of the four mounting points that are molded to the lower radiator support.

Early this morning I drove the Azera upon my ramps and began the repair job of epoxying the pieces back on the lower radiator support. After the epoxy cured, I was then able to bolt the front splash shield back in place.

All is good again. :)

Has anyone else experienced your Azera dragging on these concrete barriers?
For me, it doesn't scrape every barrier but often enough that I have to be very careful.

David <><

I did once...only it hit the curbing with more of a solid metal thud than a plastic scrape. Didn't do any visable damage but it certainly scared the cr*p out of me...consequently I park much farther away from those things now.

I noticed that right away having had my best beloved pull the whole front end off her '99 Cougar. In sub-zero weather she backed off very hard packed ice and snow that had been plowed up. The estimate was $1800 damage. I put it back together, believe it or not, with JB Weld. It lasted for two years until we traded cars. I listen very carefully when taking the Azzie up to a curb. I check for scratches under there often.

The metal thud that you heard was when you hit the concrete stop with the steel rings that are welded on each side of your frame in the front of the vehicle. They are just a bit lower than the splash shield. When you hit these there is no harm done, only a little paint taken off of them.

David <><

Thats what I had figured but it's a frightening sound nonetheless

Yes, Yes, I noticed The scraping right after I got the Azera and this was about the only complaint I ever had with my Azera. Recently on a very cold day I scraped a parking lot barrier and the whole splash shield broke off. It's a no brainer, I think the shield hangs too. Low. My dealer said Hyundai says not a problem. I don't agree. Dealer says $500 $US to replace shield, lots of labor "cause front bumper has to be removed. Anyone else with this problem. I need support for my claim with Hyundai.

As I said in my earlier post, I repaired the thing myself but it took me about 3 hours, not counting the time for the epoxy to cure.

To replace this unit would be very labor intensive. The bumper has to come off because the brackets that hold the splash shield on are molded into the lower radiator mount. The radiator mount is what has to be replaced.

If you damaged the splash shield, that would also have to be replaced but it is flexible and holds up better.

I'm not sure how we can help you with your claim with Hyundai. Unfortunately you, like me, hit the barrier and did the damage. If your insurance deductible is less than $500 you could put in a claim. My deductible is $500 so I decided to fix it myself.

Hopefully this won't happen to me again.

Your are absolutely right when you say there is a design flaw but there is nothing we can do about it except to be careful in the future.

Enclosed are some pics of my epoxied mounts. They are stronger now than when original. I also did some slight modifications so that the splash shield sits a bit higher.

Perhaps you or someone you know could do this kind of work for you.

David <><

Thanks for the detailed info and photos on the splash shield problem. I know you can't help literally, but I'm looking for enough replies to make a case for exactly what you mentioned, a "design flaw". So far it looks like Hyundai is stonewalling it but if the car doesn't have proper clearance for conditions you would encounter in ordinary driving then by my definition I'd say they do have a design problem they wont admit. My car was delivered with this barrier scraping problem and I encountered it over and over again, I just wish I had brought it up with Hyundai early on after delivery of my Azera (best car I ever had! ). This damage was not due to careless driving because I too was careful to "sneak up" on those parking barriers, but I finally caught one, one time too many.

I would really like to hear from anyone else with this problem, especially if Hyundai did acknowledge the problem and paid for the repairs.

I will start a new thread regarding this matter. Hopefully, everyone who has had this problem will respond.

David <><

I just repaired the same problem. $1900 at the body shop. Now my shield half way back on my passenger side broke off. I know they'll say it's my fault. Not enjoying the car I once loved these days.

Welcome texas-azera!




I had that one fall off too. It was replaced under warranty. The service dude said it was replaced with a newer version so that it wouldn't happen again. Hyundai knows there is a problem with these shields. Don't let them tell you it is you fault (unless it is obvious that something was run over and tore it off :P ).





Welcome to the club. :beer: There are a number of us here who feel the same way.

Are you in N. Texas? I'm in the DFW area. I hope your dealer service dept. isn't as crappy as my nearby dealers.

No big deal to convince them to make the change?

They changed it without hesitation although I think it was partially my fault that it fell off. I think it was weakened while driving through water that was building up on the street during a heavy rain. It was flimsy to begin with though.


This post has been edited by campoly: Sep 11 2008, 06:19 AM

They changed it out without any argument. Thanks for the guidance and support. Feeling better about my car again.

It got mine too $1900. Curb with metal spike/rebarb sticking out cracked the low vailence and then pushed the power steering cooler back against the A/C core. A/C core had a hole in it. Watch out for those curbs.