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Hyundai

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Hyundai • Brakes • Stalling • Transmission • "Just Everything" • Airbags • Engine Failure • Fires • Sludge Problems --- News • Lawsuit Says Hyundai Airbags Fail to Deploy • Feds Step Up Rusting Hyundai Investigation • Feds Study Hyundai Airbag Failures • Feds Investigate Suspension Failure in Hyundai Santa Fe • Rusting Hyundai Sonatas Prompt Federal Probe • NHTSA Probes Hyundai Air Bag Failure • Hyundai to Tap U.S. Sport Sedan Market • Hyundai Drops Back Into Minivan Market • Hyundai Drops Out of Minivan Market • Airbag Problems Plague New Hyundais • Hyundai Offers $85 Million to Settle Horsepower Suit • Hyundai Aces J.D. Powers Survey • Horsepower Overstated

Hyundai got a lot of good press when it extended its drivetrain warranty to 10 years or 100,000 miles. But those who owns these troublesome little rattletraps have many tales of woe about the warranty, not to mention the transmission, the engine and just about everything else. On top of that, the company now admits that it overstated the horsepower on more than a million Hyundai and Kia models.

More recently, Hyundai and Kia raised eyebrows when they finished unexpectedly high in the J.D. Powers Initial Quality Survey. The Powers Survey is highly regarded but perhaps "initial" quality isn't the problem? Check the complaints listed to the right and judge for yourself.

Here are a few recent arrivals:

Paul of Farmers Branch, TX August 15, 2009

July 5th, 2009: I was driving my 2000 Hyundai Elantra down the freeway, when the car suddenly shifted into 2nd gear. Being only a couple of miles from home I managed to park it in my driveway. The mileage was at 99,997 so I thought how lucky I was that the car was still under warranty.

July 8th, 2009: I had the car towed to Van Hyundai (Carrollton, Tx) so as not to put any more miles on it. I was told that the car needed a new transmission. The dealership told me to be sure and bring proof of ownership, which I did. I was then told that I needed maintenance receipts for any transmission service.

July 9th, 2009: I provided the receipt for the last transmission service done. Sadly, that was the only receipt I could locate. The Goodyear service center, where I had the car maintained for the last ten years changed ownership and lost all the records in their data base. The Hyundai dealership told me to bring a letter from Goodyear, stating that they had performed all scheduled maintenance.

July 10th, 2009: The letter from Goodyear was provided to the service manager. He stated that the letter should be enough documentation. I was also told how clean the fluid looked. July 13th, 2009: I was informed that I needed receipts stating what kind of transmission fluid was used.

It was now obvious to me that Hyundai had no intention of honoring the warranty. When I purchased the car, the salesman never told me that I had to have the car serviced in any special manner. I thought I would be considered a valued customer (I own 2 other Hyundai's), but apparently that is not the case. Now I am out over 1800 and wasted many of my lunch hours providing documentation that is worthless

Leslie of Williamstown, NJ August 14, 2009

I have a 2006 Hyundia tiburon I bought it brand new in 2006. The first time I had a problem it had 62,000 miles the car would acclerate at 5,00 rpms if you didn't have your foot hard on the brake you would hit the person in front of you. i took it in for service and they couldn't find anything I drove the car fighting the problem then took it in again at 76,000 miles the service center told me they wanted 500- just to look at it. I asked for my keys back.

Then at 124,000 highway miles that is it accelerates so bad I'm afraid of it. I took it in again and they said they could find anything. What do I do the car is dangerous. I have to have a car that is safe and still owe 2 more years of payments. No one can find the problem. Hyndai cusmer affairs said that even at 62,000 miles it wouldn't have been covered under warranty if they would have found the problem.

JoAnn of Muskogee, OK August 12, 2009

On May 21, 2009, my husband and I purchased a Hyundai Entourage from James Hodge Hyundai in Muskogee. The Entourage was a 2007, however it only had 263 miles, had never been owned and was sold to us as new vehicle.

On May 22, 2009 we had to take the van into the service department because the check engine light came on. They told me that it was a sensor in the muffler and that they would order a part and replace it. The following Tuesday we left the van at the service department to be repaired. We were called and told it was more than just the sensor and did not receive the van back until the 28th of May.

June 6, 2009 we had to take the van in for repairs again. All lights had come on and they said they needed to replace the battery. The car was returned the same day. June 12, 2009 all lights were coming on and radio would shut off on its own. Van was returned for service again at which point the said the junction block had bad connections and they installed a junction block. The car was returned on the 18th of June.

June 19th the we were on a trip to Denver and the car broke down en-route. We were stuck on the interstate for 4 hours. All lights were coming on, the radio was coming on and the car could not be jump started. The van was turned into the service department on June 22nd. They stated that the sensory assembly was bad and needed to be replaced. The van was then towed from Kansas City to Muskogee on July 8th.

On July 8th, the car was returned to the service department because the speedometer would not work. The car has been at the service department since July 8th. They have called several times and told us that the car was repaired. Each time we have done a test drive and to no avail. The car is still in the service department at this time.

As of August 12th we have had the car in our possession for a total of 12 days since purchasing it on May 21. I have been contacted by Hyundai and they have stated that they will not declare it a lemon. They said they would buy the van back from us but that we would have to pay them around 1300.00 for the miles that were put on the car. They are refusing to reimburse me for the 1019.50 that I had to pay to license the van.

They also said that they would not find me a new van that I would have to do that on my own. They had stated they would make the first 3 payments on the van which they have not done. We were told they would reimburse for the hotels that we incurred due to the break down but that has not been done. At this point I would just like to be treated in a fair manner.

kathy of monaca, PA August 12, 2009

my daughters 2003 hyundai control arms rusted out in the middle of an intersection, vehicle had to be towed to hyundai to fix the recalled part which we new nothing of, tow cost us 250, this was no fault of ours and we should not have to pay, they should be responsable, this could have been much worse, there is supposed to be no cost to owner to fix this problem why are we out 250.

donna of turnersville, NJ August 8, 2009

i have hyundai sonata 2009 limited that i purchased 5 months ago. the navigation/stereo combined unit stopped working on August 4, 2009. I took the car to the closest service center to fix it and they told me that they would have to replace entire unit. I said okay when will the part be in and they said they have no idea it is on backorder could take weeks. I said no problem then i would need to have a portable navigation unit in the interim or money to purchase one myself or a car with a navigation unit in it. Their response we cannot offer that.

I said give me corporate hyundai consumer affairs. I talked to them and they tried to unsuccessfully narrow an arrival time for the part and i said all i want is a portable unit until my car is fixed. I said Hyundai sold me a car with a faulty unit and i need to be compensated for my inconvenience. Their response was they completely understand and are sorry but it is not in their contract to do anything. they said it is up to the independently owned dealer to help you if they so choose. I said i purchased a more expensive car and expect to have all of the equipment to work and once again they apologized and refused to provide me a cheap portable navigation unit.

SO BUYER BEWARE IF I CANNOT GET A SIMPLE NAVIGATION UNIT THEN WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE ENTIRE CAR DID NOT RUN. WOULD THEY PUT THEIR PROBLEM ONCE AGAIN ON THE CONSUMER INSTEAD OF TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR FAULTY PARTS!

George of Leechburg, PA August 8, 2009

My wife was driving our 2002 Hyundai Elantra through an intersection when the lower control steering arm broke, and she lost control. Thank goodness she was moving slowly and no one was hurt. Our mechanic found the problem, and discovered there was a recall on this item which we never knew about. We had it towed to a Hyundai dealer, and they're fixing it, but this could have been really bad.

The dealer said we didn't get a letter because they're sending them out in phases so they don't swamp the dealers with repairs. Seems pretty dumb, since this could kill someone. There needs to be some kind of ad campaign to let people know the danger they're in. This is a known problem, we found out, and yet they never contacted us. They just let us keep driving with steering that was about to break.

Brenda of Columbia, PA July 31, 2009

October 2008, I purchase a 2008 Hyundai Veracruz off the show room floor. The first sign of problems was they had to jump start the car for me to test drive it. No big deal, so I thought this happens, next the ESC light was on when we test drove the car and the salemans said he would have service take a look at it. According to Hyundai the ESC function on the car is a Safety feature.

"Electronic Stability Control (ESC) determines the driver´s intended path while turning, using sophisticated electronic sensors. If the vehicle is not responding to the driver's intentions, it can selectively brake individual wheels and/or reduce engine power to help return the vehicle to its intended path. "

The salesman stated it probably had something to do with the battery being jumped. So he made an appointment with the service department for me to bring it back the next day, but the light was off at that time. So they ran the computer check for codes and did not find any thing. We played this game for 6 months with them trying all kinds of things to get the error code to come on nothing happened. So the 6 month I began to have problems with my battery draining down to the point where I needed a jump start to get going, this happened 3 times then the Service Manager decided the battery was causing my ESC light to come on becasuse every time the voltage got low it would trip the ESC and ABS light. That made sense and made me feel even more comfortable now that I knew I was driving a vehicle with and electrical short.

They installed a new battery and on the way home the light came on again. At this point I am seeking a Lemon Law attorney and the Dealership Manager begs me to give them one more try and I do that, only for the ESC to continue to come on. So I called the salesman and explained every thing to him because I did not want him to get a bad rep because nothing was his fault. He suggested I contact Hyundai customer service, I am so glad that call was free because it was useless. They told me if they could not find the error code that goes with the ESC light there was nothing they could do. So now I am putting it in the hands of a Lemon Law attorney. I love the car but I will not pay almostd 40,000 dollars for a car that is slowly dieing with only 8 months of usage.

Bryan of Coram, NY July 24, 2009

My 1999 Sonata rusted out from underneath. At 55 MPH the front passenger wheel gave with an explosion. I had to stop the car as I navigated between cars stopping for a light in front of me and the guard rail on my driver's side. I had just put 1200 of work into it, thinking at 100k miles, it would still last a while.

Elise of Brooklyn, NY July 21, 2009

We bought a new 2008 Hyundai Sonata (2/08). Exactly one year later the oil pump failed. Hyundai replaced the short block, reassembled the engine (3/09). In May '09 there was a ticking sound. Took the car back to dealer and the technician diagnosed power steering pressure line hose leaking power steering fluid onto engine serpintine belt causing premature wear on drive belt. The power steering hose was replaced and the belt.

Now it is July '09 the car was towed into the shop because the drive belt was shredded. I am told the crank seal is leaking fluid onto the drive belt. I am waiting for this repair to be completed! This is the worst new car experience! Hyundai states they will honor the warranty but not provide a replacement vehicle under the lemon law. They will fix the problems as they arise. A totally unreliable car !!

Nancy of Massillon, OH July 20, 2009

The passenger air bag light in our 2006 Sonata comtinues to intermittently stay lit, indicating it is not activated. I weigh 113 lbs, but the problem does not occur when my husband sits in the passenger seat. We never received a recall notice, and brought the car in ourselves. It was sent to CA for reprogramming, but the problem still occurs 50% of the time. We returned to the dealer, who insisted we "prove it" at that time of the appointment. In the service bay, they turned the car off and then on, asking me to sit and exit the car between starts, which we have been told resets the air bag sensor. Since they would not take the car out on the road to witness the problem, they stated there is no problem.

We drove to the dealer one day, with the light illuminated, and were told we had to "prove it" again with a Hyundai rep, who comes in once a month. We arrived to the dealer with the light lit, making sure I was in the "correctly seantedf position" as described by the dealer. We filmed this, and showed the Hyundai rep the illuminated light, however, he said the car is operating correctly since he turned the car off, had me get in, restarted the car, and did this 5 times. He asked why is it a problem while driving to pull over and restart the car if the light shows the bag is not operating? This is a safety hazard, and we cannot pull overt 2-3 lanes of traffic and find a safe spot to have me exit the car, turn it off, and restart it on a highway. The area rep called and said he will do nothing, and I can call the BBB.

We have audiotape and videotape of the problem, which occurs if I shift my weight, hit a bumpy spot in the road,use the recline feature of the seat, and for no other apparent reason. This is a serious matter and consumers should file complaints with the NHTSA to initiate another recall or investigation.

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