Hyundai Tucson 2006 - steering wheel noise

My wife has a Hyundai Tucson 2006, bought last May, and she just
started experiencing a squeaky noise with the steering wheel. She
just took it to the local Hyundai dealer and they told her that other
customers have also complained, that they have reported the noise to
Hyundai, and that Hyundai has responded that the noise is normal.

I drove the car today and it does not seem a normal noise to me. Has
anyone experienced this noise or know how to solve the problem? She
believes that there is a little sluggishness also with the steering
wheel, which may be related.

We live at Panama (Republic of Panama, in Central America) and the
local dealer is Petroautos.

 

I've seen some cases where the shaft seal in the steering rack squeaks.
Applying a little lube into the seal usually resolves the issue.

I'm not sure what you mean by "sluggishness ... with the steering wheel."
Can you give a better description as to exactly what is occurring with the
steering?

 

By sluggishness, we mean that the steering wheel feels a bit harder to
turn; it takes more effort than before to turn it. It never gets
stuck, though. The local dealer (Petroautos) just informed us that
they will replace the "gear rack" (Sorry, I am not sure if this is the
right translation. The word in Spanish is "cremallera"), but they
told us that they do not guarantee the long-term effectiveness of this
replacement as a solution to the problem.

 

The English is close enough for me to understand. The proper name is "rack
and pinion," but "steering rack" is frequently used.

It sounds like the dealer may be addressing the issue. The repair is at
least consistent with the symptoms.