2006 Sonata GLS v6 Initial Quality Feedback

I am thinking about buying the Sonata GLS V6, which is being assembled
in the new plant in AL. (the V4 is still being made in Korea)

I know the Sonata's in the past several years have been well made, but
I am concerned about the change in their manufacturing plant.

If you are a 06 Hyundai Sonata owner, what do you think of its initial
quality?
Thanks.

 

5 Months...Love it.

Rob

 

V4? I have an I4 that was made in Korea so I can't comment on the
Alabama plant's quality.

Matt

 

Bubba,

I'll chime in although I only have 800 miles on my GLS V6. Build quality on
mine was about 99%.

I had a small door gasket leak on the driver's side near the outside mirror.
It made a slight whistling sound at 50+ mph. I think it was noticeable
because the car is so quiet to begin with. I pinched the gasket a little and
it's totally quiet now. This is an uncommon problem.

A more common problem is a rear suspension thunking noise when driving
slowly over sharp bumps. Again, the car is so quiet that it makes noises
easier to notice. I suspect someone will find an exact cause and cure real
soon, but I can live with it regardless.

I certainly would not let those problems discourage me from buying the same
car. I do envy the leather seats. Wish I had got the standard LX now, but
I'm still very satisfied.

 

FYI, the GLS 4-cyl has been coming out of Alabama since some time in
November. I got one right after Thanksgiving and am well pleased with
the quality.

Barry

 

Not too bad.... A few problems - some of which you could call the dealers
fault, but Hyundai's been no help resolving the issues. Make sure that
there's more than one dealer near you before you consider buying one.

Headlights blind oncoming drivers resulting in them returning the favor.
It's been to the dealer's three times. They adjust hem so they light the
potholes 10 feet in front of your vehicle, or as tree lighters. I adjusted
them down after the last trip, so I only get flashed occasionally.

Vehicle shakes like it has an out of balance tire. This was present on the
initial test drive. Salesman said it was "flat spots on the tires from
sitting on the lot". Took it to the dealer, and they balanced the tires.
Didn't fix it. Next trip back they stole the tires from another car on the
lot. Now it shook, and pulled to the left. Next trip back, they rotated the
tires on the car to eliminate the pulling. It doesn't pull, but it still
shakes a little. The first tire rotation ought to be interesting. A call to
Hyundai "customer service" resulted in them telling me to go find a tire
dealer - really!

Accessory power receptacle - AKA: Cigarette lighter outlet - has no power.
Took it to the dealer over a month ago. They STILL don't have the part (the
socket). Apparently there's still issues getting parts for the '06, as
Hyundai's "customer service" didn't / couldn't help with that either.

The vehicle apparently has an automatic lock feature - start driving it, and
the locks lock - like almost every other vehicle with power locks. But, due
to a poor design, the owner can't turn it on and off like you could in my
2000 Caravan, my 2003 Malibu, and my 2004 Town and Country. You have the
privilege of paying Mr. Dealer $85 to enable it. I knew it had it because I
drove a rental with it. Too bad I didn't know I was going to have to pay to
have it enabled before I filled out the paperwork.

Also, as many others have noted, City / Highway mileage comes NOWHERE close
to the numbers on the window stickers.


There is no "District Manager" or anything similar. I got the "each dealer
is independently owned........" broken record. I was told that if I "don't
like" the service department where I bought it, I should try another dealer.
I bought it in Wilmington NC, and the closest other dealers are between 60
and 80 miles. This is to get problems fixed that were there from mile 0

 

funny you should ask....J D Power just today asked me to fill out their
initial quality questionaire. ...lots of questions about defects in various
catergories....I didn't check one box. I have 8000 miles on the LX, bought
for Christmas. No defects at all, from cigarette lighter to headlights-I
think Bob's car is the anormally :>)
ps excuse the top post if you will.

 

I am very very happy with mine. I put their quality in the same category as
Honda and Toyota.

 

I just got the Power survey as well, but I have only 3,500 or so on my
GL. I penned in 4 or 5 boxes, mainly related to the sensitive throttle
(I have stick shift) and the poor HVAC, poor mileage and noise from
under the rear (suspension and gas tank sloshing). Nothing major and
nothing that would have stopped me from buying the car in all
likelihood, all the throttle is coming really close to that. I gave the
can an overall quality rating of 8.


Matt

 

I'd say the initial quality is less than my 84 Accord was, but that is
my only Japanese car so I don't have much data for comparison. However,
the Honda began to systematically self destruct starting at about 60,000
miles and 4 years of age. The last straw was when the cam and rocker
arms self-destructed at 70,000 or so miles. I'm hoping the Sonata is a
MUCH better quality car than the Honda was over the long haul. To me
"initial" quality doesn't mean much, I want quality that lasts 200,000
miles as with my last minivan (a Plymouth Grand Voyager).


Matt

 

I had no problem with Mr Dealer adjusting the automatic locking
mechanism for free. No fee ever mentioned. Love the car, certianly
not perfect, but love the car.............Doc

 

I don't really agree that my car is an anomaly. I'm not having problems that
are all that serious. Tire (or whatever is is) problems and a bad power
outlet. From what I understand, my headlight problems are just a poor
design. The real issue is a dealer service department that is incapable of
fixing the problems that the car does have, and being left out to dry by
Hyundai. Better to find out how problems will be addressed before purchasing
the car than after. Just as important is the support you receive from the
manufacturer if there is problems, as the initial quality of the vehicle.

 

I have an LX, but only have 600 miles on it. The initial quality has
been very good with the my only complaint being noise coming from the
rear suspension. The car has been amazingly quiet. I've heard
various complaints about the gas mileage and I think that after the
car is broken in I should be able to get pretty close to the 30 mpg
highway on the sticker. Had the car out for the first time yesterday
on the road (some interstate, some heavy traffic (Chicago), and some
US highway with stops and slowdowns for towns, and got just under
28MPG doing 60-70 on the open portions.

 

I have a GLS V6 that has close to 7K on it now. I really do like the car
and I have gotten past the fact I too have the suspension Clunk, however,
I cannot get over the very annoying engine whine that my car developed
btweeen 60-69MPH. I have been working with Hyundai on this but they have
not been extremely helpful so far. They have actually been suggesting I
go into artbitration to have them buy the car back. I really like the car
and have told them I simply want them to replace the Intake Manifold since
they have diagnosed the engine whine as being a characteristic of the
manifold but not all cars have this problem so if they replace it maybe I
wilkl get a new one that does not have it as a characteristic.

 

Bob, I searched the Web for weeks and months before buying my Sonata, and
yours is the first complaint about the lights, lighter, flat spots, and
locks that I have seen. And the 2nd, and the 3rd, and the 4th...

These are not common problems, in spite of your trying to flood the Internet
and make them appear so.

We know that 10% of people are never satisfied with anything. It seems we
have met a "10 percenter".

Another 20% of people do not know how to ask for a problem to be fixed
without being hostile and confrontational. Try being reasonable with your
dealer. Try asking instead of demanding. Believe it or not, it's in your
dealer's best interest to fix your problems.

BTW, my gas mileage (actual, not trip computer) was 25.x and 26.1 with only
800 miles on it.

 

That is a lot different than the overall average for a full tank, however.


Matt

 

The car looks fantastic, makes my 98 Sonata look like a Yugo
BUT, my personal opinion on ANY new car model, is to wait for their second
(or third) year of production, this way they've ironed out "most" of the
bugs..
I've learned from the past...just my 2 cents.

 

Well, it's not as simple as I'm not satisfied with it. Overall, the car is
not that bad. The car vibrates badly enough that the passenger seat - if
empty - rocks front to back. The dealer agrees there's a problem, but
putting tires on the car doesn't fix it. As for the headlights, this
http://tinyurl.com/re4ed is how the dealer adjusted them on the first
attempt. I'm supposed to be "satisfied" that I've waited a month and a half
for them to find a replacement power outlet? If they would / could fix the
problems I mentioned (keep mentioning, as you've noticed), I honestly will
be happy with it.

Mine does about 25 on a nice flat highway for 40 miles each direction at 60
MPH with the cruise control on, and the air conditioner off. Sticker says it
should get about 30. Those driving conditions leave little in the way of
variables that the driver could affect.

 

I have 2.4k miles on my 2006 LX. Everything works as designed but the
design is showing some weakness. The steering wheel audio controls cant
change the radio station (only volume and cd/am/fm); the leather seats
are uncomfortable. Gas mileage - i can get 33/34 mpg on the highway
going straight 55 mph with no traffic..but my commute (11 miles in 25
minutes through a few towns) is hitting about 18 mpg. The trip
computer is simplistic - no a/b trip stuff, no "instantaneous"
readings.

But all the trim fits, no wind noise, little engine noise, the
automatic lights come off and on as expected.

But the seats..those are gonna kill me lol

 

Thanks...you all have just about convinced me that I should NOT by
buying a Sonata...at least this year. Maybe next year if some of
these 'problems' get worked out.

Thanks again. Now back to shopping....