Jeez, what a cluster...
It's a national recall for goodness sake, why wouldn't they stock at least a couple of the parts, knowing that if a customer comes in with a recognized problem they could fix it? This is just the opposite of any kind of decent customer care.

 

I agree, that would be common sense IMO. I dont know if it is like this everywhere but in 3 of the dealerships in north Los Angeles County that is how they are handling it.

 

Does anyone know the part number of the newly redesigned trunk latch replacement? Dealers are replacing these now, but if the price isn't too bad, I'd rather do it myself. I can't find any reference to the new latch via Google search. Without the new part number, I doubt I'd ever find it. (Most sellers on ebay are selling the old latch for $33 now.... I'm tempted to get one and just keep it in the trunk.)

 

The inconvenience is that when it goes you have no access to the trunk other than popping the seat release cable with a long thin screwdriver so you can fold the back seat down to crawl into the trunk and pry the latch open.
Once its popped it will not close again unless you replace the latch.

It look like a easy 10-15 minutes to change

 

My problem is the opposite. I took my Azera to the dealer for an oil change, and disabled the trunk opening with the switch inside the glove box. After I got home, I changed it back to allow opening. So I'm trying to load some stuff in my trunk at Home Depot and the latch wouldn't readily open; took a few tries. Wouldn't latch shut the first time. A few days later I'm driving down a freeway and I notice my trunk bobbing up & down. I park and try to close it latched in place -- no go. I bought some Bunji cords that held it in place until I got home. I'm convinced that some guy at the dealer tried to get into my trunk (and maybe did, he just didn't need an tire air compressor). I bought a replacement off ebay; an easy fix. A few years ago I took my Sonata in for major expense AC compressor replacement, etc. I'm driving home on the freeway and I hear thumping like when you have a flat tire, except it didn't feel flat. I pull over and take a look -- the splash guards were not "bolted" back in place, and the rear one lying over the front one, allowing the air as I drove 70 mph to force the leading edge down to the road surface and catch; thumping. The edge was pretty chewed up. I went back to the dealer to complain and have it done right. There was a note on my work order that left front strut was leaking and the svc. rep. tried to tell me that the car was dipping down and that's why the guard was hitting the road. Crazy (we're standing right there and the car front end was perfectly horizontal). So, the rep. got my car back in the shop, admitted the guards weren't reattached right. A few days later I'm going onto Post and the gate guard asks me to lower my rear window so he can see inside better. I lowered it and it went clunk. I knew in an instant I needed an expensive repair, and that (since that window is only rarely used) some guy at the dealer resented me complaining and then he "showed me" by breaking the regulator/window operation. (I had this money-making ploy done on me before.)

I wasn't going to buy another Hyundai to replace my old Sonata just because I don't trust my local Hyundai dealer, but I couldn't find a different available model I liked. I thought I'd take my chances with the local dealer, but I think I'm going to do most of any work myself. I wrote Hyundai HQ for the part number of the new latch; no reply yet. If I can't get it, I'm just going to buy another current latch for $33 off ebay and carry in the trunk. No big deal.

 

I went ahead and bought a current/old trunk latch assembly; $31 + tax on ebay. It was a significant inconvenience when the original latch broke, but I was near my home. It would really be a pain to have this happen while on vacation 800 miles from home. So I'm going to carry this new one as a spare in my trunk. If the base ever becomes available, I'll buy two and upgrade both; being only the base, it should be cheaper than an entire latch assembly.

I'm just going to do my own oil changes from now on. I also bought some OEM filters and a ValvoMax drain valve.

 

A few days ago, I tried to release my seat backs, relying on the descriptions here. It wasn't easy. I had a nice thin screwdriver, 5-1/2" long. After a few minutes I gave up; decided that my screwdriver wasn't long enough. Got a 8" x 3/8" from Home Depot and gave it another try. Tricky; I couldn't do it. Behind each seat (first release the seat back and lower it) is a plastic cover, screwed into place. So, one panel at a time, I removed all the screws securing them. I couldn't remove the panels, but they are flexible. Pulling them away two or three inches allowed me to see the release cable and see my screwdriver as I found the right spot to position it. (My original screwdriver was long enough; the shaft of the driver is inserted at an angle, about 4-1/2" into the top slots.) Anyway, I think it's a good idea to do a dry run like this, rather than possibly having to do it for real if/when your trunk latch is acting up. I'm glad I did this, and it was kind of fun.

 

I finally had my latch replaced 2 days ago. Im going to look into making an additional release cable for the small side rear seat (40%) and see if I can loop it back around and into the seat crease so there is access from inside the cabin. I did not have much trouble popping my small side with a screwdriver and then reaching into the trunk with a sprinkler turn off lever to push the release for the other side. But it could have been tough if my trunk was full.

Ill post pictures if it works out.

 

I took my 2018 Sonata SE Hybrid in for an oil change yesterday and, the service tech offered to install the updated trunk latch while I was there. The oil change went well, the the work on the recall didn't. My trunk was opening and shutting without problems until they "Fixed it"; I got home and went to open the trunk and, it would not open, would not open! It took another 30 mile roundtrip and a hour for them to repair the "Recall Fix" so that my trunk would function properly.

 

xaran: please do post photos

Re: screwdriver seat release. Yes, the small seat side (driver's side) was pretty straightforward. For the other, larger seat, I discovered an access opening for a screwdriver on the side of the seat belt anchor "container" (pop the cover, find the opening on the left side as you face it). The distance from this access to the cable is shorter than trying to use the same access as for the smaller seat; the angle of the screwdriver is about the same for both in practice: down at about 7 - 8 'o clock with the tip of the screwdriver riding along the surface of the metal wall where the seat backs are, with about a 4-1/2" insertion. So, be sure to stash your screwdriver under your seat or somewhere other than your trunk, and have a working flashlight handy, also. The sprinkler turnoff lever sounds like a good idea. I have a lot of 1"x2" wood/pine furring strips; I'll leave a 3-ft. or so section of that at the very back of my trunk so that when I pop the seats, it will be right there for me to (hopefully) release the trunk latch.

 

I have a 2018 Sonata SE. Mine broke in 2021 and wouldn't close, dealer fixed it then later that year the Dealer replaced it during an oil change service under the recall issue.

 

I finally found the trunk latch base for my 2017 Azera. I thought that I might never be able to buy the replacement base. As I mentioned before, I installed a new "old style" latch assembly, and then bought another new "old style" latch assembly as a backup. Well, I did find that replacement base on ebay, for only $12.95. I bought two so that I could convert my current latch as well as my backup latch. I switched / upgraded both latches today. I took a few photos to acquaint anyone here wanting to do this on my own. (I did intend to let my dealer do this, but the dealer wanted to keep my car for 3-4 hours for this 20-30 minute job. I couldn't do it -- afraid of needed something else done. You can "find" just about anything wrong with a car in 4 hours....

Reacquaint yourself with the Hyundai #208 Recall Notice. There is a video link there; it should be active, but copy and paste the inactive link if not. This will indicate the exact replacement latch base ( OEM item number) you need for your particular car.

Attaching some photos:
Photo #1 - Unmodified latch assembly along side of the new replacement latch base

Photo #2 - Underside view of same, noting positions for the four screws that secure the base to the latch assembly. One screw is necessarily longer than the others. The screws
may be silver colored. I had two assemblies that had different screws.

Photo #3 - Old latch base removed from the latch assembly

Photo #4 - The old and the new/replacement latch bases look the same as far as I can see. The only difference was that the new base had a mark on its right side.

Photo #5 - The longer screw is required to engage the metal base in the area shown. Note how the screw protrudes slightly. The other three screws were not long enough.

That's about it. The most difficult part (time-consuming) was getting the trunk liner off and out. You need a good Phillips #2 screwdriver for the trunk liner and to remove those four screws attaching the latch base to the remainder of the latch assembly. You need a 10 mm socket (with a short extension) to remove the two screws that attach the latch assembly to the trunk lid.

 

Too late to edit... but if you install the new latch base, before you close the trunk, be sure to Unlock the trunk. I did this to be on the safe side (avoid damaging something) and it did unlock.

 

I recently noticed that my trunk light no longer works and there is no dash indicator when the trunk is open. I've been reading what I can find on this web site; seems that there might be a problem with the switch...? I guess I'll have to take off the new base and carefully compare everything with the old (working) base. Any curative suggestions welcome. Thanks.

 

I recently noticed that my trunk light no longer works and there is no dash indicator when the trunk is open. I've been reading what I can find on this website; seems that there might be a problem with the switch...? I guess I'll have to take off the new base and carefully compare everything with the old (working) base. Any curative suggestions welcome. Thanks.

If this problem is with your Sonata [and your interior lamps and trunk-release button on the dash still work], disconnect the trunk latch wiring harness and with a short jumper wire, ground out the 'Black with Orange Stripe' wire (Cavity #1 in harness). The trunk lamp should light and the dash 'Trunk Open' indicator should illuminate. This indicates the latch contact switch is bad, not being tripped, or not grounded.
Let us know if we need to go deeper.

 

Thanks for the reply. This problem is with my2017 Azera. (I traded up from the 2006 Sonata; 184K miles, lots of repairs always needed. But I just came back from vacation location 13-hr. drive away, and I miss that Sonata.... better handling, better visibility, more comfortable, less electronic crap to deal with/understand, etc.)

Anyway... Yes, the interior lights work, and the dash button opens the trunk. This problem started when I replaced the old base with the new "recall trunk latch base." The old base worked fine, and it was part of a replacement latch assembly that I bought when my original latch broke and I needed a new assembly fast. Both bases (old and new/recall) are OEM, as you can see from my photos on the first page of this thread. I imagine the wiring scheme is the same for both cars (Sonata and Azera), as they operated pretty much in the same ways. I did casually study the old base to see where this switch was, but I did not see anything that resembled a switch. Someone in another thread posted a couple of photos of his base & switch but did not (e.g., with an arrow) specifically identify the switch; still unknown to me.

I bought two of those new recall bases; I'll go out in the garage tomorrow to do the jumper wire diagnostic, and to study the new base in detail. Since I have two of those new bases, I think I'll install the spare one and see if that works. I get the feeling that there is a minor manufacturing flaw of the switch in the new recall/upgraded bases. I'll do all this by tomorrow night and check back in with my findings.

BTW, the ebay seller invited me to ask him if I had any question (via note on receipt). I wrote and he suggested last night to check to see if the trunk light bulb was burnt out, and to also make sure the wires going to the latch are still plugged in. I'll check everything.

 

Thanks for the reply. This problem is with my2017 Azera. (I traded up from the 2006 Sonata; 184K miles, lots of repairs always needed. But I just came back from vacation location 13-hr. drive away, and I miss that Sonata.... better handling, better visibility, more comfortable, less electronic crap to deal with/understand, etc.)

Anyway... Yes, the interior lights work, and the dash button opens the trunk. This problem started when I replaced the old base with the new "recall trunk latch base." The old base worked fine, and it was part of a replacement latch assembly that I bought when my original latch broke and I needed a new assembly fast. Both bases (old and new/recall) are OEM, as you can see from my photos on the first page of this thread. I imagine the wiring scheme is the same for both cars (Sonata and Azera), as they operated pretty much in the same ways. I did casually study the old base to see where this switch was, but I did not see anything that resembled a switch. Someone in another thread posted a couple of photos of his base & switch but did not (e.g., with an arrow) specifically identify the switch; still unknown to me.

I bought two of those new recall bases; I'll go out in the garage tomorrow to do the jumper wire diagnostic, and to study the new base in detail. Since I have two of those new bases, I think I'll install the spare one and see if that works. I get the feeling that there is a minor manufacturing flaw of the switch in the new recall/upgraded bases. I'll do all this by tomorrow night and check back in with my findings.

BTW, the ebay seller invited me to ask him if I had any question (via note on receipt). I wrote and he suggested last night to check to see if the trunk light bulb was burnt out, and to also make sure the wires going to the latch are still plugged in. I'll check everything.

This is why I’d let the dealer handle recall issues.

 

LOL. Thinking you'd already checked for that. (Hate it when I find myself thinking!).
Is the Azera's B/U camera part of the same assembly with the latch or is the camera located elsewhere? Not sure about its wire colors or cavity positions.

 

buddylpal -- not my dealer.... I did make an appointment, and they wanted to keep the car for about 4 hours (for this 20-min. job). Not trusting them not to "find" further problems, I called back in 5 minutes and canceled. (I've had problems with these guys in the past; no trust.)

Maciver - The camera is independent; worked just fine when the trunk & dash lights did not.... And...

The trunk light bulb was OK (filament intact), and the electrical harness plug was in securely.

Your diagnostic jumper wire suggestion was really, really great! Lights ON (confirming a problem with the switch). This simple test eliminated a lot of wasted time and effort trying to chase this thing down. Thanks!

I took off the non-working latch assembly yesterday, and since I had a spare (recall-upgraded) assembly, I just went ahead and installed that one ----> it worked! But I wanted to investigate and hopefully repair/resolve the problem with the non-working latch assembly. I took it into the house and compared it with a complete original (not upgraded) latch assembly and The Original broken latch base I still had (I don't throw away anything...). I took a slew of photos, and today trimmed that number down to 7 and edited them with arrows and text so people would understand what they're looking at; I did this just in case someone would like to know how I fixed the problem. Before I post my photos and assumptions regarding the switch defect (no trunk & dash lights), I'm going to swap out the working latch assembly that I just installed for the one I'm repairing, hoping for a successful outcome. I'll be back.

 

Glad it worked out with the troubleshooting. Were the Azera wire colors and cavity the same as with the Sonata?

 

Here's a photo. I'll post it now rather than wait. The wire colors seemed to be solid: black, green (middle wire) and brown. Well, take a look:

 

I just installed my other latch assembly and it works. I'm pretty sure that the old, original actuator (you can tell it by how dirty it is inside, esp. on the while nylon gear) did not make the crucial electrical contact of that contact "bump" described on the photo (below) with the smooth, apparently untouched pad on the base. I put in an unused actuator for the spare unmodified assembly I bought a few months ago; that actuator has a couple of different design features vs. the old, original actuator, including the contact bump (newer = larger & taller) which now contacts the contact pad of the base enabling the source current to flow into the base switch.

Here's some photos. Hopefully they will be useful to someone someday:

Photo above: These are the old/original and the newer actuators (left & right, respectively). On the old one, the black arrow points to what you'd think is a grounding tab, but assembled, you can see that it just "floats," touching nothing on the base that I can see. On the new model, the black arrow points to what I think is an alternative grounding point. It may be redundant, since one of the four screws that secures the base to the actuator engages a metal plate of the actuator. (The other three screws engage the black plastic body.) This "grounding screw" is the one I've pointed out as the longer one (although that varies...).

Photo above: Shows the two contact pads that the U-shaped spring finger-like contact terminals contact when the latch is unlocked. The large primary electrical source contact pad is on the top right. The green lines reveal continuity between components/parts.

Photo above: shows how the finger-like contact terminals relate to their respective contact pads. You can see that the latch is in a locked position and the finger-like terminals have moved far to the right and off their contact pads ---> no electrical circuit established, therefore, no trunk or dash light (Off).

Photo above: You can see that the latch is open (unlocked) and now the finger-like contact terminals have slid to the left and are contacting their respective pads. A circuit is established, and the trunk & dash lights are On.

That's about it for my repair adventure. Again, it seems as though the contact "bump" on the old actuator subassembly was too small/short to contact the primary (source) pad of the new/recall base. No contact ---> no current --> no lights. If this assembly still did not work, I would have wedged a small square of folded paper (or something) under the plastic arm of that primary contact pad (it does flex somewhat) to raise it up a little so that the contact bump on the actuator could make contact with it.