I have a 2000 Sonota . Approximately 4 years ago the paint on my hood (near the front) started to bubble and rust. And it was not due to any exterior paint surface chipping. It turned out that the seams along the bottom side of the hood allowed water to enter and be captured. The rusting is more prominent Snow Belt / New England regions where salt is used to melt the ice/snow during the winter months. I had my local Hyundai service manager take a look at the rusting and asked him to communicate with the District Parts and Service Manager (D.P.S.M) requesting Hyundai to replace my hood regardless of my expired warranty. I also took some close up digital photos and sent to the Service manager who in turn sent them to the DPSM. As a result, I received a new hood free of charge. It’s now 4 years later and I have the same problem. Here I go again… Wish me luck trying to get a second replacement hood.

Has anyone else had this problem? What did you do about it?

Regards,
Carl

Carl,

Used to live in Waukegan, Illinois...I feel your pain. 4 years for fresh rust out may actually be a longevity record. Most Midwest-based GMC products have lower door rust out in 6-7 years. You are on year 8.

My answer is a grinding wheel, good primer and fresh paint job on the hood. Leading the area if you have complete rust through.

Byron

YES! Me too! I'm in Illinois too and my 2000 Sonata has the same thing. (Red paint if that means anything). I took it to the body shop, assuming it was from stone chips at the fron edge of the hood causing the little blisters. Nope! They said it's from a design defect, and the rust is coming from the inside out. They asked how long I want to keep the car (I just had the engine block replaced under warranty, so a long time if I can....) because the simplest a fix involves grinding, and will only give about a year or so until rust starts again -- for about $500(!). I want to stop the problem so I think I may try to find a cheaper body shop. And good luck trying to get Hyundai to cover anything like getting a new hood for you at this age. The second my 5 year warranty ran out, the "Leper" sign went up. Even for really serious things (my driver's seatbelt is fraying at the buckle edge, my driver's seat mechanism is a bit loose, etc.) they wont provide ANY out of warranty assistance. It makes me seriously reconsider ever buying from them again, frankly. When my parent's Olds transmission failed, even though out of warranty, GM paid over half the replacement cost. That's the right way to treat a customer.

Good luck with your hood thing -- please let us know what you did to fix it and how much it was.