HYUNDAI ELANTRA BATTERIES: Hard To Find Outside of Dealers -- Where They Are EXPENSIVE And "Special

AND THEY'RE almost impossible to replace and service!

Hyundai DOESN'T want you even try to:

1) Check the fluid level in the cells.

2) Check the body and terminals for corrosion.

3) Remove the old battery and install a new one.

These tasks are almost impossible for the average motorist BECAUSE THE
BATTERY SITS IN AN ENCLOSED, SEALED CASE! You can't see much less
inspect the cell fluid levels. And half of the bolts under the hood
on the driver's side have to be removed to free-up the battery.

See, Hyundai wants you to go to a HYUNDAI DEALER, where a battery
costs $90, plus up to $50 more to install it. And at most Hyundai
dealers I know, you have to leave your car for an entire day -- then
hope it's ready when you return in the late afternoon or early
evening.

"Aw, we're sorry, but you see we got real busy and couldn't get to
yours. But tomorrow!"

AdvanceAuto Parts, AutoZone, Olympic Auto Parts, and Batteries Plus
sell the same battery for $52 to $69, some including free
installation.

Only problem? They can't get a sufficient supply of them to keep 'em
in stock!

And that's what your conniving, inscrutable Hyundai folks want -- to
force you to spend more on a new battery than a normal car owner would
expect. Parts companies list the Elantra batteries as "special." And
that they are!

Additionally, the OWNER'S MANUAL has neither a diagram or instructions
for accessing and servicing your Hyundai Elantra battery. Just a one-
paragraph entry that says, in effect, Be careful when servicing the
battery."

I've had my 2004 Elantra GLS for 3 years and the battery is already
shot. Needless to say, with problems also with the air bags, brakes,
power locks, and engine noise and vibration, I've bought my last
Hyundai product!

My advice to Hyundai? Hold up on building those factories in the
U.S. Too many one-time customers could make for sluggish, then
anemic, sales.

 

I agree with most of what you say.

I still have the original factory oem battery in my
2001 Elantra. It has run down a couple of times, mostly when
left for two weeks without starting in airport parking lots.

I invested in an emergency back up starter/battery combo for about
$40, mainly because we get power outages with winter storms, and
coupled with a cheap inverter we can at least have a radio and small
lamp lit.
I keep it in the car and have had to use it once so far, one day I
will have to replace the car battery, either at the dealer, or take
measurements and see what Kragens have.

 

I changed battery on my Hyundau Elantra. I bought it from CostCo for
$50 or less and replaced it myself in 30 minutes. The challenge is
gettinf rid of the old battery.

 

I missed the part about being hard to find in the previous post. A 24F
battery fits perfectly. When we run out of factory replacement
(Interstate with a Hyundai sticker) batteries, our local AC-Delco supplier
doesn't let us down.

 

Not arguing with you, Mr. HyundaiTech (I'm not that stupid). But maybe you
can help clarify something.

I own both a Kia and a Hyundai. For my Sedona ('04), the battery
replacement books DO list a 24F size as a listed and acceptable replacement
for that battery.

But NOT for the Hyundai Elantra (mine is an '02). In two stores (one of
which is an AutoZone), the only listing for the Elantra is for a special
battery which is listed as either 24F-H or 24F-7H. In the few stores where
I have actually been able to find this particular battery (and only one
battery in one of each of the two stores), this battery looks as different
from the 24F as different can be.

Whassup with that? Does this sound right (read, "Am I making sense here?")?

 

Just replaced my wife 02 Elantra battery, about a month ago.
My local AutoZone carry all 3 types, 24F, 24F-7H and 24F-7H-DL, the 24F
was exactly like the original one, the others were larger (1/4", 3/4")
than the original, but still fit OK.

I went for the biggest one (24F-7H-DL) since for only $10 more it was
more powerful and longer reserve. Any one will do, it's your choice.

 

I have an 01 elantra and had the same issue finding a battery that fit
perfectly. I'm currently using a Duralast 47-DL from autozone (was about
$60). It's 590 CCA and fits nicely into the existing battery tie-down
flanges.

Just another option.

Ben

 

Somehow, I seemed to remember that a couple of stores listed a 47 number.

Sears has a strange number listing in their "International" section for the
Elantra. It is a good fit, but horribly expensive.

But if the 24F works, that would be the way to go.

My question is, since books sometimes list three or four different number
possibilities for a battery replacement for some cars, why is the basic 24F
not even listed? There has to be a reason - virtually no store out there
lists it.

 

Agreed - whoever had my car ('01 Elantra) before me replaced the
battery at Costco; perhaps they have them in better supply than most
places?

 

Most Hyundai batteries (for whatever reason) are the 24F size from the
factory. They have one replacement for the Accent/Elantra (don't know the
group number) and the 24F for most of the other vehicles. The fact that
the Elantra original battery is the same size as the larger vehicle
original batteries is how I know that the 24F will work. In fact, for
customer pay repairs, I use the larger battery since we charge the same
price for it.

 

Have 2002 Elantra and just purchased and installed Duralast 47-DL battery
at Autozone in Chicago suburbs for $74.99. No problem in finding it in
stock
nor in installing it. The positive terminal connector is unique but sure
does the
job, had no corrosion with the old battery. The old battery was the
original and
car was purchased in April 2002, thus it was over 5 years old and still
working
fine but I figured better to replace considering the age.

 

Thanx for the info. But my question still stands. Most of these battery
"replacement guide" books are pretty generic, and for some, list three and
four sizes for different cars, only one (if that) which was the original.

I am yet to see a replacement guide book list the basic 24F for the Elantra.
My question is, "Why not?"

 

The problem is, I can't say. I'm supposing some parts guru studies the
car, its battery, and the space available; then he decides what's the
appropriate thing to fit in there. On the other hand, they could simply
be working off dimensions supplied by Hyundai.

Actually, I just replaced one of these about an hour ago. Battery was
almost 5 years old. The Sonata factory replacement (24F) fit like a
glove.

 

I bought mine at costco, and they topok the old one,,,Walmart also has them
and they take the old one!

 

Costco will take it back. Scott

 

All the comments about Hyundai batteries are appreciated here.
I read the messages on Aug 15th and now on Aug 17th it turns out that
I need a battery for Sonata 2005.

I went to Auto Zone nearby and purchased one of their 24F batteries.
It fit right in with no difficulty at all.
The salesperson helped me to put in.
All we needed was a 10mm inch 'box wrench' and a 12mm socket wrench
with a long extension.

Something puzzles me about battery failures.
Mine failed completely.
Gave no warning at all.
Put a charger on it for 1 hr and 40 minutes but the battery was still
dead.

In years past I recall that when batteries failed they would take a
partial charge so that you could start the car and then get a
replacement battery somewhere.

Today I used a 'jump start' unit with its own built-in battery.
It allowed me to start the car and go purchase the replacement
battery.

-Ogato88

 

Not specifically Hyundai, but I thought you might enjoy this...

Earlier this year, my Ford F-150 suffered an alternator failure, which
went unnoticed until I couldn't start it. I charged the battery
overnight, and tried driving the car to the dealership (about 30 miles
on the highway and then through town). I only got about 10 miles
before the whole thing died again.

I called a friend, and he came to give me a boost. We ended up driving
back to his place, where we picked up a battery charger and his small
1200 watt Honda generator. We put the charger under the hood, ran an
extension cord back to the truck box, and plugged it into the Honda
generator.

When I pulled into the dealership service bay and shut the Ford off,
the fellow walking up to greet me stopped, looking a little puzzled.
He asked what was running, and I showed him. He got a big laugh out of
it.

That little problem taught me not to jump-start my diesel tractor with
the Ford running, a method I used all winter.

 

It all depends on the problem with the battery. If there gets to be an
actual open circuit, you won't even be able to charge the battery. I had
a similar experience with the battery in my last car.