Front left controller arm corroded and broke on my 2002 Hyundai Elantra

Question

I was driving home, heard a crunch, and then my entire steering wheel felt loose and turned a quarter turn to the left even though my car was still going straight.

I was about 10 feet from home so I finished the trip slowly.

Afterwards I looked under the front of the car and saw a broken part.

My car is a 2002 Hyundai Elantra and we've been considering the idea of getting rid of the car at the next major repair.

I don't know what this part is or how much it might be to repair it. We're about a quarter mile away from our regular repair shop.

My questions are:

• What is this part?
• What would the estimated repair for it be?
• Would it be worth the tow to get it to the repair shop to fix?
• Would you scrap the car over this considering it's age and the fact we're already thinking about it?

Thanks for any input!

UPDATE

If you run into this same issue, Hyundai had a recall on some 2001–2003 Vehicles Due to Corrosion on Front Lower Control Arms. Whether or not your car is covered under the recall depends on if the car's VIN falls into some unknown (at least to me) range.

My car wasn't covered, but if the same part breaks on your Elantra or Tiburon it's worth calling in to a dealer or going to Hyundai's repair site to check and see if yours is. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did!

Thank's for the answers and comments. They helped a lot!

Answer 1

You have severe case of corrosion. The part is called the lower control arm. Its function is to maintain the tire in the correct position.

Do not attempt to drive the vehicle. In the best case scenario you will cause more damage, the tire could hit the fender, the axle could separate or you can bend something else. In the worst case you kill someone when you lose control.

As far as repair is concerned, that depends on the condition of the rest of the vehicle. Have a trusted mechanic evaluate the rest of the vehicle prior to fixing it. At a minimum you want to look closely at the arm on the other side. There are some vehicles that are prone to rust in particular areas. Once those particular areas are repaired the rest may be fine. In other cases it is the sign of things to come, more rust.