Other suspension problem on the 2004 Hyundai Sonata
1 crash 1 of the 25 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other suspension problem gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Hyundai Sonata report other suspension problem at a median of 90,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 75,000 miles and a quarter after 145,000 miles, from 21 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 100,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 175,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 145,000 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
14% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,000 miles | 75,000 miles | 90,276 miles | 145,000 miles | 175,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 17 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2012, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2003 at 145,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 carries the most reports, with 72; the 2004 has 25. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Dt*: the contact stated when the road slanted to the right, the vehicle pulled to the right. The dealership where the vehicle was purchased, as well as another dealership, aligned the vehicle. This has not repaired the problem. Updated 03/15/06
Driving on clear paved street @ approximately 20 MPH when loud crackling noise of front right fell to pavement. No loss of control, merely steered vehicle off main lane of street. No structure or object found on paved street for approximately 50 yds to final point of exiting off of street. Witness in car with driver can attest to no pot holes or other noted objects anywhere in area of tire markings on paved street. Auto required full tow to closest dealership. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 hyundai sonata. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, she noticed a vibration from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated that the front suspension was corroded. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 09v124000 (suspension) but was advised by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. *tr
Also reported on the 2004 Hyundai Sonata
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Other body or interior problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other electrical problem
Rust or structural corrosion
Other wheel or tire problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 25 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other suspension problem happen on the 2004 Hyundai Sonata?
Across 21 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 90,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 75,000 miles and a quarter after 145,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other suspension problem on the 2004 Hyundai Sonata?
25 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.9 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed