Sonata reliability?

My mother is considering a Sonata as her next car (probably an '05).
I've been very pleased with the Excel and Elantra I've owned, but I have
no experience with the Sonata. IIRC, there have been some posts here
regarding problems with the automatic tranny. Any major issues I should
know about before giving her the green light?

 

Don't buy the four-banger. Other than that, it should be ok.

 

I agree about the fact that V6 is better, but what's wrong with 4?

 

Reliability-wise, it just eats timing belts way too frequenty. I've done
several under warranty, which means they didn't make it to the recommended
maintenance interval before crapping out. Performance-wise, I'd hate that
infernal vibration at idle.

The V6 is smooth and powerful, and I've never seen one strip a timing belt
period, let alone within the warranty interval.

 

My wife and I have a 2004 Sonata LX. We've had it a year this past
OCT. So far so good with it.

 

Any experience with Accents (mine is a 2001) prematurely stripping
timing belts?
Mine has 70,000km on it now and i'd have no qualms about changing it
if there's any doubt about it going to it's scheduled 90,000km change
point.

For a very plain website try
http://ii.net/~farmerjim/

 

I have a 1996 Accent with 186,500 miles on it. I have replaced the water
pump twice and at the same time changed the timing belt as it was convenient
to do so each time with roughly 70,000 miles on it. In either case there
was no unusual wear and tear. Some might say I changed the early but this
way I have peace of mind.

Jozef

 

Not with the Accent. I have no problem recommending you follow the
maintenance interval in your book. The engines with the problems are:
2.4L in 1999-2005 Sonata and Santa Fe
2.0L in 1992-1998 Sonata
1.8L in 1992-1995 Elantra
1.6L in 1992-1995 Elantra

 

60k is recommended. While I wouldn't expect this belt necessarily to fail
prior to 70k or 90k, there's no reason to not follow the guidlines when
you consider the cost of repair if it breaks.

 

Good-o.
It's nice to know how things are from real world sources.

For a very plain website try
http://ii.net/~farmerjim/

 

Nothing wrong with those models.
"Hyundaitech" just doesn't know how to change the timing belts in the
Sirius and Sirius-II engines.

 

Thanks, that's the kind of info I was looking for.

 

I wish I had read something like this 4 years ago. My Sonata 4cyl is now as
usefull as a paperweight, thanks to the timing belt and their warranty. The
car had 60,225 miles on it when the belt broke. Hyundai says that they will
not pay for repairs since the belt should have been inspected and/or
replaced at 60K. The car was in the shop 3 months ago for a check engine
light problem, when I was advised to do the recommended mileage
maintenance on the trans, which I did. No one bothered to mention the
timing belt to me.
I am told by the dealership that I need a whole new motor at about $6,000.
I'm still waiting to hear back from Hyundai's operations manager to see if
they will cover any of this. So as to reliability, you can draw your own
conclusions.

 

I wish I had read something like this 4 years ago. My Sonata 4cyl is now as
usefull as a paperweight, thanks to the timing belt and their warranty. The
car had 60,225 miles on it when the belt broke. Hyundai says that they will
not pay for repairs since the belt should have been inspected and/or
replaced at 60K. The car was in the shop 3 months ago for a check engine
light problem, when I was advised to do the recommended mileage
maintenance on the trans, which I did. No one bothered to mention the
timing belt to me.
I am told by the dealership that I need a whole new motor at about $6,000.
I'm still waiting to hear back from Hyundai's operations manager to see if
they will cover any of this. So as to reliability, you can draw your own
conclusions.

 

If Hyundai does not treat you fairly, file suit in small claims court
(either before or after you pay for repairs out-of-pocket). Pay extra
for a jury (if allowed in your state). Be sure to propound questions
during "discovery" and ask questions about how many others they are
aware of that had the same problem at between 60K and 65K miles. Ask
them to describe and provide information on all known related defects.
Ask them to describe how they handled all similar requests for
repair/reimbursement (both in instances where a lawsuit was filed and
where no lawsuit was filed). If they do not give detailed responsive
answers, immediately move to compel more specific answers and seek
sanctions for failure to provide proper answers. Small claims court
personnel are really good about assisting consumers in such matters.

Responding to such questions will be costly for Hyundai and will
create further potential financial exposure, greatly increasing the
chances of a settlement. Good luck!

 

Have you been dealing with Hyundai Customer service directly or going
through the dealer? If you haven't already, contact Hyundai directly and
screw the dealer/regional rep nonsense. Press them hard on the issue and
refuse to take no for an answer. Be polite, but firm. Work your way up
the chain of command until you get to someone who agrees to fix your
vehicle under warranty. Although the warranty states 60K miles, 60,225
is well within the "spirit" of the warranty and they should be willing
to honor it, whether they are legally bound to do so or not. You may
need to shame them into it. I had a transmission problem on an Excel
with 64K miles on it and they ultimately covered the repair when I
refused to accept anything less. If your car has been otherwise well
maintained, they should be willing to help you out. If they think it's
been neglected, you'll be in for a harder time.

BTW, is this Hyundai USA or Canada? I've heard that the former tends to
be more flexible than the latter, for some reason.

If you end up having to get the car repaired, you can do a lot better
than $6000. You're not likely to need a new engine, but you probably
need new valves/guides/seals, new pistons and possibly a new head. Your
engine can be rebuilt or you can buy a rebuilt engine for a lot less
than $6000.

 

I can see your frustration, I fear that you'll be hanging in the wind on
this one. If you want things covered by the warranty, then stick to the
maintenance schedule. Otherwise the've got you.

That said, I just replaced my Sonata (2001) GLS V-6's timing belt and
tensioner just yesterday at 96,000 miles for the first time. I had run it
till the spark plugs wore out and spark plug wires burned through in spots.
Prior to that it had been running just fine.

I keep the oil changes on schedule (+/- a bit of miles over) and also I had
the auto transmission filter changed and system flushed out at 40,000. (if
that red fluid turns brown, then it's time to change it!). I just had the
fuel system/injectors cleaned -serviced this week too 'for the first time'.
Now she runs like a rocket!! It's got all the options 'cept for auto climate
control and anti-lock brakes. I like the car and it's proven to be
dependable. Mileage for a V-6 ain't too bad.

Read through your owners manual carefully as with any car (inclulding the
maintenance schedule booklet). You need not be a mechanic, but if you want
warranty work covered, you got to have all the facts straight for things to
be on your side. To my recollection, the car hasn't left us stranded at the
roadside for the 96,000 miles to date.

There are better cars out there, but for the money, I'm happy.

Ron in Florida

 

There is something wrong in this, as I have a V6 Sonata 2.7 and here in
Italy the scheduled change of timing belt is at 90.000 .. Km!! (about
56.000 miles)

Ane my previous Sonata 4 cyl had the belt change at 60.000 Km! (37500 miles)

 

I am dealing with Hyundai USA customer service. The 800-633-5151 number. I
am waiting on their operations manager to get back to me today. Any
suggestions if they want to cut a "Deal" which would only be a percentage
of the repair costs? I do plan to keep bumping up the line until I can
find a reasonable settlement.

 

Based on my experience with them, you should be able to get them to
cover at least 75% of the repair cost, but with the mileage on your
vehicle, there's no reason that they shouldn't cover it 100%. You have a
very reasonable argument that the belt was failing before the end of the
warranty period, since they don't just suddenly fail, they break down
over time. It's also unusual for timing belts to fail at 60K miles, so a
defective part was most likely the cause. No car manufacturer would
recommend a 60K service interval if the part was actually expected to
fail at 60K miles. They're always going to leave themselves a cushion in
order to try to avoid situations like yours.

When I replaced the timing belt in my Excel at 64K, the old one was
nearly indistinguishable from the new one. The replacement has been in
the car for 100K miles. I don't think I'll do that with my Elantra,
since the belt is longer and travels a more circuitous path - like the
one in your Sonata - which probably accellerates the wear on it.