"At the end of August 2005, Hyundai announced it would recall 36,000 2006 Sonatas because the front seat belts could interfere with the seat back controls and could cause unexpected release of the front seat back recliner, potentially resulting in passenger injuries. Okay, so you fasten your seat belt and your seat back can collapse? How's that for engineering excellence? Think that's bad? Just take a look at model year 2004.
For its 2004 model year vehicles, Hyundai has sent its dealers at least 50 repair bulletins (called “Technical Service Bulletins"), telling Hyundai dealers how to try to fix problems in all models and types of 2004 Hyundai’s, including the Sante Fe, Elantra, Tiburon, and others. You might have a lemon Hyundai on your hands.
On the average, that’s one repair bulletin every single week, 52 weeks a year. And these numbers don’t include Safety Recalls or any ongoing federal investigations for safety defects. It’s no wonder some people think they’ve got a lemon Hyundai."
"I own a 2000 Elantra. We have taken faithful care of the car, oil changes every 4,000 or less and I check all fluids at least once each month, however the transmission developed a noise at 43,000 miles. Classic Hyundai in Turnersville NJ said that Hyundai transmissions cannot be serviced, they MUST be replaced. We had the oil changed by Hyundai at 26,800 miles, but the Service Manager refused to honor the warranty because the Trans. fluid was not "inspected" at 30,000 miles"
"2000 Hyundai Sonata
My car has been in the shop more times in the last 18 months than i can count. I took it in for a 30K mile tune up at 28K miles because there were so many problems i just couldn't wait. I am on my third transmission (3rd times a charm, right?) and have had the airbag warning light on in the car so often that it seemed foreign to be driving without it tonight"
"1999 Hyundai Accent GL
This car has been in the shop three times since it was purchased in July of 2000. The problem has ALWAYS been the Pulse Generators to the transmission, which are defective. Hyundai replaced these twice already, but this time they will not honor their 10 year, 100,000 mile power train warranty because they say "Lack of maintenance records." The district manager for Hyundai Service in the Houston area is the one who made this decision, and Hyundai America will not overturn this decision. We have maintenance records for this car and the transmission fluid was changed with a 70,000 mile dependable Name-Brand transmission fluid. One of their bases for not fixing the car is because the transmission fluid was not changed every 30,000 mile as RECOMMENDED. This point is moot because 1) The parts are defective from the factory and 2) changing the transmission fluid has NOTHING to do with the parts that keep going out!
Dean Robinson
The warranty sucks, dealership will not fix problem that was found 2 weeks after purchase in 1999. Dealership waits till last to fix cars from Hyundai, well known amongst Hyundai owners."
"I am in the process of suing the Hyundai Corporation for selling me a lemon. I bought my car in July 2001,went in shop for squeaky belt sound in December 2001 and I've had it in the shop seven times since then, for the same problem. They have replaced serpentine belt twice, pulley, air condition belt, .... and still the problem exists and now the car is leaking oil!"
"2000 Hyundai Accent GL Sedan
I have a 2001 Hyundai Accent GL. Recently while driving it, and releasing the gas, the RPMs shoot down, as if I am driving a manual transmission, and downshifting. Wouldn't be a big deal if the car wasn't an automatic. When this occurred, the brakes would be very difficult to depress, as well as a burning smell from coming from the engine. This happens after the car has been running for 5 minutes. I brought it to the Hyundai dealership, they called
back 2 hrs later saying that they could not emulate the problem. I insisted there was a problem, so they apparently took it back out, and could still not find anything wrong. (They said they had taken it out three times, I don't believe them.) $75 and a waste of a day later, I drive the thing 15 mins to find out that nothing had been done to the car, if anything the problem was worse, because apparently they had reset some timing aspect of the transmission. The 10yr/100K mile warranty is useless, as Hyundais do not reach either. The car has 29K miles on it, and I would be surprised if it made it to 60K."
"2001 Hyundai Elantra
My car is a lemon it has been back to the dealer 10 times and is going back for the 11th..there is an electrical problem that wont go away and my tranny has problems I am on my second set of brakes and the car is not even 2 years old"
"1992 Hyundai-Scoupe
Well you can make it to where you need to be, but chances are you won't make it back. The clear coat is peeling, so now when you wash the car the blue paint is coming off too. Oh and there's no a/c, and no radio."
"2002 Hyundai Accent GS
I purchased my car three months ago with only 7 miles on it to this day it has just under 3500, from 1000 miles it started rattling so I took it in, never fixed it they 'could not hear any rattle' then at 1500 it started starting rough cold/idling rough. It's been in regularly. I'm taking it in again Monday morning, because after saying that the rough start was fixed, it now starts/idles rough with an engine knock. Oregon Lemon Law requires you to take it in 4 times and I have...but they decided to 'keep it open' on the last paperwork, so I only have the paperwork for three"
"Hyundai 2000 Accent GS
I bought in 2002, in March I brought it back for a cracked front exhaust which cost $192.00, I then brought is back a number of times to complain about noise in the breaks, and oil burning in the engine. These were never logged by Hyundai because the car was never looked at by service people at any of these times. I also brought it back to have the stereo replaced because the one which was in the car was not working. I then brought it back within a few months because the car was acting up in rainy weather, sputtering and stalling. I was told by a Hyundai salesman that it was a common issue with the stock spark plug wires on the car and there was nothing that could be done unless I wanted to buy new wires myself. None of these issues were logged by the dealer or even addressed.
Then in October I brought it back to the dealer to have it looked at for shifting issues, because the car would rev really high and not automatically shift. They test drove it and said they could see anything wrong. I checked Hyundai service bulletins and found 5 issues related to my issues with the car. The Shifting issue is a well known issue with my model of car. I then mentioned the oil issue again and was told again there was nothing wrong. Another problem I mentioned to them was that the gas tank release was rusted shut and required a significant amount of effort to pull open, this was validated by a staff member at the dealer but nothing was done. This issue like all others was apparent from the date of purchase. Brought it back again October 28th for the stalling and sputtering in the rain and was told it was the coil, spark plugs and wires. (I was required to replaced the plugs and wires myself, which I did at another garage. This garage also mentioned that the coil was fine and did not require replacement.) In December, I go back again because the breaks are making screeching noises when the breaks are pressed, and there is a pungent smell of oil coming through the vents. This being the 4th time I've mentioned break issues to them an the 3rd time I've mentioned the oil. They tell me the wheel cylinder was leaking and the oil issue was not addressed. None of the issues above are covered under the warranty and will cost me big money to have fixed. The break cylinder needed to be replaced (an issue which I had mentioned to the dealer from day one), with this I was also required to purchase a repair kit so they could remove a broken wheel nut to get to the cylinder. A kit which they did not have therefore I had to buy. By this time I have only had this car for 12 months. Including all the cost of repairs to my purchased car, I was also required to pay major labor fees every time I required service to the automobile. I finally convinced the dealer that my oil issue was real after 9 months of them putting oil into the car and letting it disappear and then refilling it and so on. This 9 months was what I consider an attempt to bring my car closer to its 100,000K warranty end. I bought the car at 60,000K and by the time they were finished "testing" the oil issue my car was at 94,000K I was then told to bring it back at 96,000 to have the engine rebuilt and the issue fixed. This was so I would not have to pay for labor because it was a warrentied service check, but I would have to pay for the parts required. I brought the car back at approximately 96,000K and had them complete the repairs, I also mentioned that I wanted the Hand break (which I surprisingly found out was not working) and the gas tank release fixed at this time because these should have been fixed long ago and should not have cost me anything to have done."
For its 2004 model year vehicles, Hyundai has sent its dealers at least 50 repair bulletins (called “Technical Service Bulletins"), telling Hyundai dealers how to try to fix problems in all models and types of 2004 Hyundai’s, including the Sante Fe, Elantra, Tiburon, and others. You might have a lemon Hyundai on your hands.
On the average, that’s one repair bulletin every single week, 52 weeks a year. And these numbers don’t include Safety Recalls or any ongoing federal investigations for safety defects. It’s no wonder some people think they’ve got a lemon Hyundai."
"I own a 2000 Elantra. We have taken faithful care of the car, oil changes every 4,000 or less and I check all fluids at least once each month, however the transmission developed a noise at 43,000 miles. Classic Hyundai in Turnersville NJ said that Hyundai transmissions cannot be serviced, they MUST be replaced. We had the oil changed by Hyundai at 26,800 miles, but the Service Manager refused to honor the warranty because the Trans. fluid was not "inspected" at 30,000 miles"
"2000 Hyundai Sonata
My car has been in the shop more times in the last 18 months than i can count. I took it in for a 30K mile tune up at 28K miles because there were so many problems i just couldn't wait. I am on my third transmission (3rd times a charm, right?) and have had the airbag warning light on in the car so often that it seemed foreign to be driving without it tonight"
"1999 Hyundai Accent GL
This car has been in the shop three times since it was purchased in July of 2000. The problem has ALWAYS been the Pulse Generators to the transmission, which are defective. Hyundai replaced these twice already, but this time they will not honor their 10 year, 100,000 mile power train warranty because they say "Lack of maintenance records." The district manager for Hyundai Service in the Houston area is the one who made this decision, and Hyundai America will not overturn this decision. We have maintenance records for this car and the transmission fluid was changed with a 70,000 mile dependable Name-Brand transmission fluid. One of their bases for not fixing the car is because the transmission fluid was not changed every 30,000 mile as RECOMMENDED. This point is moot because 1) The parts are defective from the factory and 2) changing the transmission fluid has NOTHING to do with the parts that keep going out!
Dean Robinson
The warranty sucks, dealership will not fix problem that was found 2 weeks after purchase in 1999. Dealership waits till last to fix cars from Hyundai, well known amongst Hyundai owners."
"I am in the process of suing the Hyundai Corporation for selling me a lemon. I bought my car in July 2001,went in shop for squeaky belt sound in December 2001 and I've had it in the shop seven times since then, for the same problem. They have replaced serpentine belt twice, pulley, air condition belt, .... and still the problem exists and now the car is leaking oil!"
"2000 Hyundai Accent GL Sedan
I have a 2001 Hyundai Accent GL. Recently while driving it, and releasing the gas, the RPMs shoot down, as if I am driving a manual transmission, and downshifting. Wouldn't be a big deal if the car wasn't an automatic. When this occurred, the brakes would be very difficult to depress, as well as a burning smell from coming from the engine. This happens after the car has been running for 5 minutes. I brought it to the Hyundai dealership, they called
back 2 hrs later saying that they could not emulate the problem. I insisted there was a problem, so they apparently took it back out, and could still not find anything wrong. (They said they had taken it out three times, I don't believe them.) $75 and a waste of a day later, I drive the thing 15 mins to find out that nothing had been done to the car, if anything the problem was worse, because apparently they had reset some timing aspect of the transmission. The 10yr/100K mile warranty is useless, as Hyundais do not reach either. The car has 29K miles on it, and I would be surprised if it made it to 60K."
"2001 Hyundai Elantra
My car is a lemon it has been back to the dealer 10 times and is going back for the 11th..there is an electrical problem that wont go away and my tranny has problems I am on my second set of brakes and the car is not even 2 years old"
"1992 Hyundai-Scoupe
Well you can make it to where you need to be, but chances are you won't make it back. The clear coat is peeling, so now when you wash the car the blue paint is coming off too. Oh and there's no a/c, and no radio."
"2002 Hyundai Accent GS
I purchased my car three months ago with only 7 miles on it to this day it has just under 3500, from 1000 miles it started rattling so I took it in, never fixed it they 'could not hear any rattle' then at 1500 it started starting rough cold/idling rough. It's been in regularly. I'm taking it in again Monday morning, because after saying that the rough start was fixed, it now starts/idles rough with an engine knock. Oregon Lemon Law requires you to take it in 4 times and I have...but they decided to 'keep it open' on the last paperwork, so I only have the paperwork for three"
"Hyundai 2000 Accent GS
I bought in 2002, in March I brought it back for a cracked front exhaust which cost $192.00, I then brought is back a number of times to complain about noise in the breaks, and oil burning in the engine. These were never logged by Hyundai because the car was never looked at by service people at any of these times. I also brought it back to have the stereo replaced because the one which was in the car was not working. I then brought it back within a few months because the car was acting up in rainy weather, sputtering and stalling. I was told by a Hyundai salesman that it was a common issue with the stock spark plug wires on the car and there was nothing that could be done unless I wanted to buy new wires myself. None of these issues were logged by the dealer or even addressed.
Then in October I brought it back to the dealer to have it looked at for shifting issues, because the car would rev really high and not automatically shift. They test drove it and said they could see anything wrong. I checked Hyundai service bulletins and found 5 issues related to my issues with the car. The Shifting issue is a well known issue with my model of car. I then mentioned the oil issue again and was told again there was nothing wrong. Another problem I mentioned to them was that the gas tank release was rusted shut and required a significant amount of effort to pull open, this was validated by a staff member at the dealer but nothing was done. This issue like all others was apparent from the date of purchase. Brought it back again October 28th for the stalling and sputtering in the rain and was told it was the coil, spark plugs and wires. (I was required to replaced the plugs and wires myself, which I did at another garage. This garage also mentioned that the coil was fine and did not require replacement.) In December, I go back again because the breaks are making screeching noises when the breaks are pressed, and there is a pungent smell of oil coming through the vents. This being the 4th time I've mentioned break issues to them an the 3rd time I've mentioned the oil. They tell me the wheel cylinder was leaking and the oil issue was not addressed. None of the issues above are covered under the warranty and will cost me big money to have fixed. The break cylinder needed to be replaced (an issue which I had mentioned to the dealer from day one), with this I was also required to purchase a repair kit so they could remove a broken wheel nut to get to the cylinder. A kit which they did not have therefore I had to buy. By this time I have only had this car for 12 months. Including all the cost of repairs to my purchased car, I was also required to pay major labor fees every time I required service to the automobile. I finally convinced the dealer that my oil issue was real after 9 months of them putting oil into the car and letting it disappear and then refilling it and so on. This 9 months was what I consider an attempt to bring my car closer to its 100,000K warranty end. I bought the car at 60,000K and by the time they were finished "testing" the oil issue my car was at 94,000K I was then told to bring it back at 96,000 to have the engine rebuilt and the issue fixed. This was so I would not have to pay for labor because it was a warrentied service check, but I would have to pay for the parts required. I brought the car back at approximately 96,000K and had them complete the repairs, I also mentioned that I wanted the Hand break (which I surprisingly found out was not working) and the gas tank release fixed at this time because these should have been fixed long ago and should not have cost me anything to have done."
