‘Classic Hyundai’: Woman logs 250,000 miles in her Hyundai Elantra. Then it rains

Sarah Tonkinson's (@mamatonkinson) Hyundai car has been through a lot and overall, she seems happy with her purchase. That is, however, until she started having issues with its white paint job.

She posted the bizarre consequences of a recent rainfall in a viral TikTok. Her clip accrued over 511,000 views and several viewers said they weren't surprised.

Peeling paint

"Okay. Good way to start the morning," a text overlay in the TikToker's video reads. Throughout the 10-second clip, the woman presses against the body of her white Hyundai sedan. A collection of bubbles is visible underneath the car's white paint.

Next, as she continues to move her hands against the car's paint, it begins to crack and fall apart. At the end of the clip, sheets of the white coating begin to flake off in chunks.

According to the video's caption, the paint job isn't indicative of the ride's reliability.

"My 2016 Hyundai elantra has survived: high school me. College me. 1 break in/theft attempt. 250,000+ miles. 2 kids; 1 run in with a house; 1 guy backing into it with a trailer hitch. 2 college hit and runs (whoever hit me could have left a note). And day 1 of me side swiping a lady," she wrote.

However, in spite of surviving all of these potential car totaling experiences, precipitation did her paint job in. Tonkinson explains exactly how this occurred.

"But heaven forbid it rains. Somehow rain got under the paint and froze. Which caused the top paint to crack (where it broke in the video)," she wrote. "And the water unfroze and bubbled and started to peel my paint. All I can say is I love my Hyundai but they need a paint recall."

The TikToker completed her caption by tagging the Korean auto manufacturer, asking the company to make her a spokesperson.

Other Hyundai paint problems

There have been additional owners of the Seoul-based auto brand's vehicles who've criticized its paint longevity. One Sante Fe driver on the Hyundai Forums website said they had paint woes a little over three years into ownership.

They wrote that their problem "started 38 months after I purchased the vehicle. So I am no longer covered under warranty. On two occasions I had to take the car to a body shop and had the two areas repainted at a cost of $1,250.00." Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of their exterior paint problems.

The forum poster uploaded a picture of flaking silver paint around the Santa Fe logo.

Furthermore, it would appear that Hyundai has acknowledged this issue in select vehicles, specifically those with white paint. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a report indicating the manufacturer extended warranties on paint jobs. These warranties were for select 2017-2018 Elantra, Sonata, and Santa Fe Sport models. Specifically, those with Quartz White Pearl or Frost White Pearl colorways.

However, extended warranties are only available for cars with specific VINs. The NHTSA document indicates that concerned Hyundai drivers should visit Hyundaidealer.com -> WEBDCS -> Vehicle Information Screen. Next, folks should input their VIN on this screen and check the "Extended Factory Warranty" portion. Here, drivers will see if they can have their flaking paint fix costs covered by Hyundai.

Class action

It does appear that Hyundai's paint recall initiatives weren't comprehensive enough for some owners. There have been mentions of various class action lawsuits in response to peeling paint. Like these Genesis drivers (cars not mentioned in the NHTSA document). They have claimed that "paint and clear coat on [Hyundai's] Genesis vehicles prematurely oxidizes, weakens, and peels off."

Another class action suit specifically alleges the company's "self-healing paint...is defective." It names Elantra, Santa Fe, and Sonata models between 2006-2016 as models sold with "prematurely peeling paint." Furthermore, The Daily Dot has previously covered other Hyundai drivers who have complained about paint peeling on their vehicles.

Viewers are shocked at the paint job

One person said they didn't think the peeling paint was paint at all: "I thought this was a wrap lol."

While another was astonished at the number of mileage she accrued on her vehicle. "How did you drive 250,000 miles in 9 years?" they wrote.

But others said they were all too familiar with this phenomenon as white Hyundai owners themselves. "Classic Hyundai white paint lmao," one said.

@mamatonkinson My 2016 Hyundai elantra has survived: highschool me; college me; 1 break in/ theft attempt; 250,000 miles+; 2 kids; 1 run in with a house; 1 guy backing into it with a trailer hitch; 2 college hit and runs ( who ever hit me could have left a note ????) ; and day 1 of me side swiping a lady…. But heaven forbid it rains. Some how rain got under the paint and froze which caused the top paint to crack (where it broke in the video) and the water unfroze and bubbled and started to peel my paint. All i can say is I love my Hyundai but they need a paint recall. @Hyundai USA @Hyundai Worldwide please make me a spokes person???? #fyp #carproblems #hyundai #help ♬ original sound - Kardashian clips ????

Another commented, "I had white Hyundai Elantra that did this. I got the entire car repainted, and it happened again!"

One user stated they had difficulties in getting their car's white paint job covered by the manufacturer. "They had a paint recall for white paint but I literally missed it by 3 months. Went to the dealership and they fought on my behalf," they wrote. "Got my hood fully redone. $6k saved!"

Tonkinson said in the comments her paint issues are swaying her from purchasing another car from the manufacturer. "This! We have to get a bigger car soon and I wanted to stay with Hyundai for this reason but the paint issues are turning me away!"

The Daily Dot has reached out to Hyundai via email and Tonkinson via TikTok comment.

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