2004 Sonata; 60,000 mile maintenance

Hi All,

A quick question;

I decided to change the dealer I go to for work on my 2004 Sonata.
It's a V-6 cylinder, 2.7 liter, with an automatic transmission.

It's approaching the 60,000 mile maintenance and I called a different
dealer to get the prices on the following;

Spark Plugs and wires............................$380
Timing belt, Drive Belt and tensioners...$595
Trans Fluid.............................................$190
Coolant..................................................$130

They also have a special going on right now. Oil and filter for $10.00

The plugs and wires seem kind of high but the timing belt is about the
same as the old dealer I used to go to. Do these prices seem in line
with what others have paid for these services? I can't do any of the
work myself, I'm handicapped. And I don't want to mess with the 100k
warranty by having my local mechanic do this work.

Thanks for any/all input.

Brian

 

Timing belt seems not so bad with what has been posted here in the past, but
the other prices seem high. Especially $130 for coolant. If all they are
doing is drain and flush, it should be FAR less as the coolant is about $6 a
gallon. Are they putting on new hoses?.

Never having changed the plugs on that car I can't say how difficult it may
be, but a plug is $4, a wire is $8, or $72 to $85 in parts. Is it required
at 60k? Many are now changed at 100k for normal maintenance. Check the
manual.

If your local guy does the work, it has no affect on warranty coverage.
Check his prices and you may save a bundle. How important is saving $300 or
so?

 

My mechanic told me he could do the plugs and wires for $275. But,
while I'm having the dealer do all this other work, I figure just let
them do it all at once. It saves me a day of the car in another shop.

And yes, the plugs need changing after 60,000 miles. They don't call
for the wires to be done, but while they have it all apart, I figure
just change them now to save hassles down the road.

I know the prices are high compared to what I can do them for myself,
if I was able. And I also know that dealers are more expensive than my
local mechanic. But I really don't want to mess with the 100k
warranty. If the dealer does the work, it's documented and they have
fewer questions about repairs. If my local mechanic did repairs, they
would want the receipts and would probably question if he used the
right fluids and did the repairs correctly.

Either way, I figure this is basically it for this car. At 90K, it
will need tranny and coolant flush but after that I will probably have
a new car. So not a lot of future maintenance coming up.

I almost bought a new car now. This Sonata is paid off and I was
really debating either buying a new car or putting money into this
one. But this car has been SO reliable compared to ALL the other new
cars I've bought, I figure I'll get another 30k out of it with little
expense.

The only other thing I'll need now is a new battery. But my son can
put that in for me, it's pretty simple. Believe it or not, it still
has the original factory battery. I got 5 years and 3 months out of it
and I figure that's pushing it. The cost of a new battery is cheap
compared to being stuck with a dead battery. Something to consider is
this is basically my wife's car. She drives it 80% of the time, so I
want to keep it running as good as possible so she has no problems,
thus causing ME problems. : )

 

Read your owners manual Brian - you in no way jeopardize your warranty by
having your local mechanic do the work. You could do the work yourself and
not place your warranty in any peril. Hyundai does not require the dealer
do the work, only that it be done and that it be done with genuine Hyundai
parts.

 

You are correct that they would want receipts and they do want genuine
Hyundai parts, but that's no big deal. Do not count on a dealer's records
to document that you had the work done. You'd still want to keep that
receipt. Do not count on dealers all using the proper fluids either. Of
course if they don't you can go back on them, but you're still dealing with
the problem. Using your local mechanic is quite simple - tell him what
parts/fluids he has to use and that's it.

Isn't is almost crazy how reliable these cars are?

 

For the price, yes it is. The problem for me is I live in the metro
Detroit area and have many friends/neighbors who have lost their jobs
in the auto industry. Back in 2004 when I bought my Hyundai, things
weren't quite as bad. But I guess I have to do what's right for my
family and for the quality and price, this Sonata can't be beat by the
American car companies, even though they are getting better, quality
wise.

Brian

 

I don't believe they can require you to use genuine Hyundai parts. Any
part that meets the Hyundai specifications is allowed. I'm trying to
remember the Act that addressed this, but the name escapes me at the moment.

Matt

 

With help from Google:

http://autos.aol.com/article/warranty-and-aftermarket-parts

 

Check to see that the battery is simple. Some cars need a lot of
re-programming of stuff once poer is lost, radio anti-theft codes, etc. On
my Buick (battery is under the back seat) they put a 12V plug in the lighter
to keep power to everything while the battery was swapped out.

Advance Auto does the battery thing for free so check them and some other
shops out for that service.

That I understand. Very well.

 

Hello all;

Just keeping up with the group, been offline awhile and this thread
got my attention. The plugs/wires are easy enough to do yourself, the
timing belt is cheap in comparison to other vehicles. Just did it on
my 1996 Infiniti- $900, but that included the belt, tstat, w/p, bypass
hoses and t/b hydraulic tensioner. I'll do the idlers and camshaft
seals next 60k service. It wasn't due til 105k, (has 62k) but it's an
interference engine that was used in the 300ZX. A little insurance
although the car's been in AZ for only 3 years.

The manual says 60k miles on the tranny fluid and the coolant. The
coolant price seems high to me (Infiniti charged me $27), but the
tranny flush is inline with what my dealer charges, which is due on my
08 Sonata (35k) only due to the heat of AZ and much like others in the
group, I wanna keep my cars running forever, except for cash for
clunkers may hamper that because no parts will be available.I'll do
the coolant myself at 60k.

We're done with car payments, 4 more years to go on the Hyundai and
the Infiniti will be done in December. Just my dos centavos....

Hope all is well with you all....

Steve in AZ

 

I recall that as well Matt, but I don't know if there is some loop hole that
allows a manufacturer to specify their parts.

 

I've been told it you do not use a Hyundai (oem) timing belt and it breaks,
then Hyundai will not fix the damage caused by the pistons and the valves
smashing each other

 

I believe they would be on very shaky legal ground as long as the belt
was from a reputable manufacturer such as Gates, etc.

Matt

 

I don't see where Hyundai would have any liability. If a third party belt
causes damage it should be the responsibility of the belt maker to cover
subsequent damage.

If you use a Gates (or other third party) timing belt and an oxygen sensor
goes bad, they are not related so the warranty will still apply. If you buy
a tool from Sears and it breaks, do you expect JC Penny to make good on it?

 

This is the real issue, Ed. Hyundai warrants *their* timing belt 10
years/100,000 miles, as long as it's replaced as specified in the
owner's manual. If it's someone else's belt, they're no longer
responsible for the quality (or lack thereof) of the belt. Same thing
if you change your oil with someone else's product. If their oil
filter o-ring takes a dump-- I've seen this, too-- Hyundai is not
responsible. What's worse, I know of no aftermarket company willing
to even consider covering consequential damage warranties.

 

I agree if it was truly the belt that was at fault. However, if a
pulley went bad and caused the belt to fail, then Hyundai should cover
the full cost of repairs, including that of the belt.

However, the fact that the belt broke doesn't mean that the belt was the
root cause of the problem.

Matt

 

All you have to do is prove it. For the difference in price, I'd pay for
the Hyundai belt while in warranty. I'm not a fan of OEM prices, but in
this case, it makes sense.