Have Hyundai's reliability really improved???

[06RANGER]

I was just checking out the current generation Sonota.

5 star frontal & side crash ratings landed it on C&D's top 10 safe car list <$25k.

 

[rriddle3]

My daughter has an '05 Accent GT w/ auto trans with ~35,000 miles on it without any mechanical issues so far.

 

[MrCritical]

I think their SUV tied or beat Lexus in J.D. Power. Their small car a pretty good alternative to a Civic, but not quite the mpg. A lot longer warranty.

 

[06RANGER]

Guess you still get killed at resale time.

 

[XS650]

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Guess you still get killed at resale time.

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People tend to compare resale price with MSRP. Don't forget you usually get a big discount when you buy one.

If the resale price really does tank on them, consider a one or two year old one so you can be the guy that takes advantage of low resale.

 

[ryansride2017]

The deal breaker for me is a required valve adjustment every 60K miles in their V-6 engines that costs better than a grand a pop. That's just nuts in this day and age. Too many other good possibilities in the segment (Accord, Camry, malibu, altima).

 

[mrsilv04]

I wouldn't be afraid of an '06+ Sonata that has been built in their new Alabama plant.

I was in a V6 model as a rental and was impressed. It was a very solid, well made car.

 

[RTexasF]

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The deal breaker for me is a required valve adjustment every 60K miles in their V-6 engines that costs better than a grand a pop. That's just nuts in this day and age. Too many other good possibilities in the segment (Accord, Camry, malibu, altima).

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Where did you find this information? Are you saying this is true of all V-6 engines from Hyundai? I would really like to read more on this.

 

[John_K]

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The deal breaker for me is a required valve adjustment every 60K miles in their V-6 engines that costs better than a grand a pop. That's just nuts in this day and age. Too many other good possibilities in the segment (Accord, Camry, malibu, altima).

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Where did you find this information? Are you saying this is true of all V-6 engines from Hyundai? I would really like to read more on this.

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Isn't that at 90k miles? Still expensive though. That would make me not want to buy a 6 cyl.

My wife's 4 cyl 05 Sonata just rolled over 30k miles and our only issue has been the light socket in the dome light had to be tightened (bulb came loose).

John

 

[ryansride2017]

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The deal breaker for me is a required valve adjustment every 60K miles in their V-6 engines that costs better than a grand a pop. That's just nuts in this day and age. Too many other good possibilities in the segment (Accord, Camry, malibu, altima).

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Where did you find this information? Are you saying this is true of all V-6 engines from Hyundai? I would really like to read more on this.

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Excuse me for posting misinformation. All Kia/Hyundai V-6's need their solid lifters adjusted every 90k miles, not covered under warranty. According the the following review, the procedure costs in excess of $1,000 per adjustment. It might not be a deal-breaker for everyone, depending on how many miles you put on a year, but paying and additional $3K-$4K over the life of the vehicle for such procedures isn't practical for me.

Kia/Hyundai V-6's

Skip to 7th paragraph for info.

 

[XS650]

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Excuse me for posting misinformation. All Kia/Hyundai V-6's need their solid lifters adjusted every 90k miles, not covered under warranty. According the the following review, the procedure costs in excess of $1,000 per adjustment. It might not be a deal-breaker for everyone, depending on how many miles you put on a year, but paying and additional $3K-$4K over the life of the vehicle for such procedures isn't practical for me.

Kia/Hyundai V-6's

Skip to 7th paragraph for info.

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Before anyone makes a buying decision based on that it would be a good idea to find out what the price actually is. I had the 100,000 mile service done on an Acura V6 which included valve adjustment, timing belt and a bunch of smaller stuff for well under $1,000. Different car, but about the same job.

Third rate webzines aren't always a reliable source of information.

 

[MrCritical]

9/10 drivers will never get the valves adjusted.

 

[1999nick]

Two things I require in any car I would consider buying are a timing CHAIN and hydraulic self adjusting valves. I do not understand why any modern car built in the last 50 years would not have hydraulic valve lifters.

 

[ryansride2017]

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Two things I require in any car I would consider buying are a timing CHAIN and hydraulic self adjusting valves. I do not understand why any modern car built in the last 50 years would not have hydraulic valve lifters.

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[Thermo1223]

Well I guess your market is small then because in the last 50 years there is a large amount that don't.

Sometimes for the given package it is not possible to do so based on the purpose of said engine, it may raise the height of it another 1.5 inches which it turn could cost millions to redesign around. It's a small price to pay.

 

[06RANGER]

Glad I'm considering the 4 cylinder Sonata.

 

[1999nick]

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Well I guess your market is small then because in the last 50 years there is a large amount that don't.

Sometimes for the given package it is not possible to do so based on the purpose of said engine, it may raise the height of it another 1.5 inches which it turn could cost millions to redesign around. It's a small price to pay.

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Actually, I've been buying cars since 1953, and have only owned three that had mechanical(solid) lifters. They were a 1954 Ford V-8 that I owned for 5 years and 140,000 miles; it never required a valve adjustment; a 1967 Volkswagen bug, and a 1981 Honda Civic. Most years since 1960, I owned 2 cars and a truck. The Civic and a Ford Ranger with the 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine are the only two engines I ever had that utilized timing belts. The Ranger belt was supposed to be changed at 60,000 miles and it broke at 61,000 miles. It was, fortunately, a non-interference engine. Most manufacturers seem to be moving away from timing belts. I believe that Nissan and Toyota have alm ost completely changed over to metal chains. My personal Nissans also all have hydraulic valve lifters.

 

[ex_MGB]

I thought most newer Japanese cars had bucket and shim for lifters which do not require normal adjustment. Isn't that what Hyundai has and if so why do their's need 90k adjustment?

 

[sciphi]

Hyundai has made progress with their V6's. The 172hp Delta V6 that is being phased out is a gutless piece of trash. People who tune them often put a lot of work into beefing the internals up for even moderate amounts of boost.

However, the 235hp Lambda V6 has been a much better engine, according to the Sonata owners on the Hyundai forums. Smooth, reliable, and reasonably good on gas.

Their 4-cylinder engines such as the 138hp 2.0l Beta and 105 hp 1.6l Alpha are wolves in sheep's clothing. The new 2.4l Theta developed with Chrysler and Mitsubishi is looking promising, more so than at either other company. The 2.0l Beta can be reliably boosted to over 300 hp on stock internals, to give an idea of how rugged an engine it is. My Beta-powered Elantra is 8 years old with 132k miles on it, and that little engine runs like a top. Still gets above EPA fuel economy. Only real problem with the design is the timing belt, which has to be replaced every 60k. They will let loose at 62k, which is bad news for an interference engine. Having had no major problems with an 8 year old Hyundai, I'd say go for it, you will wonder what you were missing before. I'm biased, being the owner of an older, very well-maintained Hyundai.

 

[donkengine]

My wife's 04 Elantra just had the engine replaced under warranty at 53k miles due to excessive spark knock that the dealers have said was normal for the past year.

Tomorrow I go to pick up a new hub/bearing assembly for the one that has failed- which I think is lame for a car with less than 60k on it. But other than those two issues, the car is fairly decent.

I would be more inclined to purchase a new Sonata (we had one as a loaner) than another Elantra.