Hyundai Sonata Maintenance and Repair

njerald

HA!

That's sounds like a typical dealers explanation.

silverfox1

My thoughts also about the air being on most of the time. I noticed the problem when I spotted water on the garage floor from the air conditioning drain. On further diagnosis I listen for the compressor clutch cycling and it would cycle even though I was out of the auto mode and the air condition button not activated. Not happy with my city mileage as 17 to 18 mpg are best I can do. Have hit 19 to 20 mpg but had some hwy miles mixed in. I live in Waukesha County in WI and we have reformulated gas that really affects mileage. Sonata gets better mileage when running the good gas that I used on a trip to MO. Gas quality does matter with the 3.3L V6.

broadwing22

Anyone have any issues with the 6 slot CD changer no working? Essentially the player stopped working about three weeks ago. I can neither load or eject my CD's.

The dealer said that they would have to replace the entire system. It is on back-order -- which makes me think that many other owners of the 2006 Sonata are having the same problem.

ray_h1

Yep, it's been discussed previously - and not just for the 2006 MY, either. At least for the first three years or 36,000 miles of ownership, it's Hyundai's problem.

whyme2

I have had the same problem on my 2004 Sonata. I have had 4 flats in the last three months, and 3 since this Easter 2006. All were cut valve stems on the front tires. I contacted my dealership, and the service manager asked me if I have bought new tires recently. The tires are not the originals, but I failed to see what that had to do with the problem. He said some brands tend to push out on the wheel cover when making turns and loosen the cover enough that the torque on the wheel causes the cover to turn. Even though the service manager was aware of the problem, they wouldn't do anything about it. He says the tires are not warranted. I said it is not the tires that is the problem, but a faulty wheel cover. I was not told when I bought this car that I had to be carefull what tires to buy.

jimstrenk

TB88, you've got it right! :shades:

Recently spent 10 to 15 minutes with a technician after my 6K check-up.

The steps you've outlined are exactly as stated by the technician.

Don't forget that the Automatic Climate Control does more than simply heat or cool cabin air. It also controls cabin humidity by occasionally cycling the A/C on and off. The technician went on to say that the compressor will cycle on and off while the heat is running during cold weather.

The key is making sure the A/C is OFF by using the A/C button. Also, set the temperature to LO.

The technician went on to talk about the compressor itself. It's quick a remarkable piece of intelligent machinery! Unlike most compressors, this particular unit doesn't simply cycle on and off. Rather, it cycles its output from near zero to full compression based on the pitch of the internal cylinder face. So, just because you hear it engage, it doesn't necessarily mean it going full tilt.

I hope this helps those of you that wish to have fresh air enter the cabin without having the A/C running.

hdsit

I was thinking - You wrote:
My husband also feels it might be a suspension problem. We have had the car back to our dealer and have been told that they can't take the car back due to this problem but they are aware (they insisted that not too many people have complained) of a problem and they will come up with a fix but not too soon.

What do you mean by suspension problem? Mine have a bumping/wobbly problem at around 60-75 km/h (35-45 mph) that is not tyrerelated (have been checked/replaced/dynamic balanced etc.) It feels like the tyre is not balanced. Is that what your husband means? (I also get the statement, that they have not had much complain about it, and recently a Hyundai Technicin here in Denmark said it is common, and that all 3.3 sonata have it, and i will have to live with it)

suzi4

I am not convinced it IS a suspension problem with the car since the noise is most evident when the gas tank is full and gets quieter as it empties. I don't believe we have a problem with our tires. We have been told there is a baffle missing in the gas tank.....that it will be fixed at some point but no one knows when. To tell you the truth I am hard pressed to find others who are noticing a similar problem. Perhaps with the radio on , many people are just not hearing it, or just passing it off as 'road noise'????? What did the Hyundai tech in Denmark tell you......that all of the 3.3 Sonata's have a bumping/wobbly problem at 35-45 mph (which I do not have by the way) or is it a banging coming from the back end after you fill up?
Thanks.

desertguy

The missing gas tank baffle has been discussed here before. I can hear the gas sloshing after a fill up as you do. But since my satellite radio is always on, I guess I just don't hear it or care!

hdsit

Ok - i was just thinking if i could come closer to my own problem. you can see the thread here:

hdsit, "Hyundai Sonata 2006+" #5273, 14 May 2006 1:14 am

Mine does the same - slushing when the tank is full and gets quieter when empties. For me it is a minor problem, compared to my other problems which now after around 10 months not has been solved yet.
There seems to be a solution on the way for the gastank.
Thanks anyway

gibi

This may not be the same but my 06 Sonata made a rubbing sound when turning to the right, They found it was the right rear wheel bearing,stated it was dry from the factory, only 4000 mile. They replaced it and its fine now. I dont know if this would affect any bumbping or wobble, as you state.

bsparks294

I have the dealer option, where I can push the button inside the car and the garage door will open.

I recently moved to a new home and cannot get the codes to work properly between the opener and my car.

Before I had a craftsman (Sears) model but now I have a Liftmaster. I thought the coding would be similar. I have tried many things and still cannot get the car to "find" the door opener.

Thanks, Brad

joe97

You mean HomeLink?

bsparks294

Yes, that is what I am talking about--sorry for the confusion.

It just will not take the code from the garage door opener. I know it works because it worked on our last door opener.

Thanks, Brad

theman6969

I have 3 cars, but the 2006 sonata has a major condensation problem on the inside of the windshield. The 2 other cars may get a little bit on the inside windshield, but the Sonata's inside windshield is completely wet to the point that I have to wipe it up with paper towels before driving it.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

ray_h1

There's a plastic casement mounted within the dash that holds the heater core, the A/C evaporator, and the blower motor. This case is vented to the outside through a small drain tube that exits near the firewall to drain A/C condensation. I'd be suspicious that something has clogged that tube, or that the tube was kinked during installation at the factory. Accumulated condensation in that casement, with no where to go, would result in exactly the symptom you described. It could be something as simple as overspray when the undercoating was applied - a small screwdriver probing the the drain tube might well clear the obstruction. But if you'd prefer to not bother with ramps and crawling under the car, get it to the dealer and let them fret over it. Time to call in some chips on "America's Best Warranty"!

qwalls

The liftmaster uses rolling codes. Once you program the homelink in the car, you need to press the learn button on the opener itself (helps to have two people), then press the homelink button twice.

jayinphx

I have the same thing...Had the 2006 Sonata about 3 months and already replaced the Windshield washer pump. Now the CD player...on back order...However

The service tech said that the CD player will be a refurbished cd player.. to me that means used... oin my new car that I pay about 400 bucks a mont for... Does this odd to any one????

ray_h1

Not at all. Keep two points in mind: 1> there's no law that requires an auto manufacturer to even offer a warranty - they do so as a sales incentive to attract buyers, and, 2> since warranty repairs are on Hyundai's nickel, the company is free to use either new or rebuilt parts as long as it's so stated under the terms of the warranty. The last sentence in the warranty supplement booklet for my '03 Sonata specifically states under, "WHAT IS COVERED":

"Repairs will be made using new Hyundai Genuine Parts or Hyundai authorized remanufactured parts."

I'll bet your warranty supplement booklet has similar or identical wording, too.

pruoff

What makes you think everyone with this problem went to the dealership with a bad attitude? I have been extremely nice all through this. I went to TWO different dealers, who would not admit there was a problem. Hyundai also sent someone to check out my car. He also said there was nothing wrong with the car. I may be wrong, but I dont think the steering wheel, front seat, gas pedal, etc. should shake on a new car - it shakes so much I usually let go of the steering wheel when I am at a stop light. If SLM1 and I seem like we have an attitude, it is because we keep running into a brick wall in trying to get the problem fixed. We will have to go through legal means to get it fixed by going to arbitration, taking the time to get paperwork together, missing work in doing so, etc. And if that doesn't work, we will have to take the case to court. Yes, we may sound like we now have an attitude, but we are making car payments each month on a car that rides like a piece of junk!
Pat

bobad

Pat,

If the car vibrates as much as you say, I can't imagine the dealer or the Hyundai rep denying it. Engine vibration is usually very easy to diagnose and fix.

You should ask the service manager to feel your steering wheel and feel the steering wheel on a new car on the lot. Ask him which one is correct, and tell him that they both can not be correct.

Just curious: Do you have the 4cyl or 6cyl? I have the 6, and it's so smooth I honestly can't tell if the engine is running.

Did they check for an intake manifold leak, or are they totally denying the severe vibration in the steering wheel?

dobbs123

My wife usually drives this car to work. She has told me that the car sometimes "lurches" for a second and then is fine. It never happened when I drove it, that is until last Friday. I was on the freeway doing about 70 when it felt like the whole system shut down but then immediately was back to normal. I asked my son, who is a mechanic, and he said that it could be a number of thing but to look at electrical or possibly the transmission. Anyone have this happen? I'm taking it in to the dealer today.

tkonitz

I have an 03 Sonata and it does the same thing. It has done it since it was brand new. It happens about once a week. I took my car into the dealership and they think I an crazy. They said they can't fix the problem unless they can duplicate it. Since it only happens once a week, chances of the duplicating it are slim. Maybe you will have better results.

jeepster26187

I have a 2004 Hyundai Sonata (kind of a greenish-blue color) that is beginning to get the chipping paint on the door handles also. So it doesn't look like Hyundai has perfected the problem. A co-worker of mine has the silver Sonata just like yours and his door handles are almost completely down to the primer. I'm just hoping that mine won't look like that a few years down the road. I plan on taking it to the dealer to see if there's anything they can do under the warranty. To date, I've also had warranty work done on the driver's side inside door handle where the silver coating peeled off. In addition to this, my air bag light comes off and on all of the time, especially when moving my seat back and forth. I've had it fixed four times now and am getting irritated. Anyone else had these problems? The paint on the outside door handles is the big one I'm concerned about.

ray_h1

For you and tkonitz, how many miles on your Sonatas, which engine, and which transmission?

miamixt

I feel that vibration too. Similar to that new awesome 2007 Hyundai Sonata commercial with 234 HP, the vibration seems to be a pumping feeling from my chest

pruoff

After calling Hyundai customer service, they sent a service technician to look at my car. The guy reset the computers and left a message for me to see if it was better (I did not get to talk with the tech). Since the vibrations were just as bad, I asked the chief mechanic to sit in my car. He said the 4 cylinders normally drive a little rough, but not anything like my car. He said he would do anything that Hyundai asked him to fix the car. The next day I called and left a message with Hyundai customer service, telling them this information. Two days later, I received a letter from Hyundai customer service, saying that their technician found nothing wrong with my car, and that the vibrations were characteristic of a 4 cylinder Sonata. I definitely think some of these cars have a defect in them. Someone wrote on this web site that a mechanic found an O-ring was missing from their Sonata. I considered getting my mechanic to look at my car, but they would have to tear the engine apart to see if this was the case with my Sonata, which I'm sure would cause problems with my warranty. Unfortunately, arbitration is my next move, but it will have to wait until summer is over. And if I want to have any chance to win this case, I will need an attorney. I think Hyundai knows what is wrong, but they realize it will cost a lot of money to fix the problem, so until someone makes them, they are not going to do anything about it. Three of my family and friends who were considering buying a Hyundai rode in my car, and changed their minds immediately.

tkonitz

My car has 66,000 miles on it!!! But it has had this problem since it was brand new. It is a V6 and an automatic.

perma88

Are both the front driver & passenger power lock buttons not illuminated at night on 2006 model??

kable

Hello fellow hyundai owners

Sorry about being long winded with this........

I have a 1997 4cyl sonata, I have owned it since it was about a year old. It currently has 170,000Km. The tranny was replaced under warranty at about 90,000km. The replacement tranny worked excellent untill a little over a year ago.

What was happening is that when you first started the car and put it directly in reverse it was taking a second to engage and then it would jump (bang) into reverse then reverse was fine, if you shifted after this first jump(bang) it would go into reverse again smoothly. If you went into drive first and then into reverse or it was running for a while it would shift into reverse smoothly.

I also noticed about 3 or 4 times last summer when moving slowly on a parking lot that the car seemed to lock up, like the tranny was almost in park for a fraction of a second and then would bang and continue on its way fine. This only happened 3 or 4 times.

Since the fluid was getting old and it was seeming to 'drag' a little when driving. I decided to change the tranny filter and fluid two weeks ago, I used Hyundai fluid. The tranny is shifting smoother, the reverse jumping was better, BUT.......

Now I am noticing that the tranny is jumping into reverse again and sometimes it seems to be slipping, it loses drive and the rpms race up. It was doing it again today a few times. Also today after doing it a few times, I think it went into limp mode....it wouldnt change gears and was very slow to pick up speed. I turned off the car for a few minutes and it worked again, but slipped a few more times.

The old fluid was dark, but not black. It did not smell burned. I checked the fluid today and its red. I am going to drain the basepan and refill it two more times to get most of the old fluid out.

The question is what do you think could be wrong with it, will a sensor cause this or will i be looking at getting the tranny rebuilt?

what do you think? Thanks

bhmr59

I'm not a mechanic or technician, but did you follow the recommended service schedule for the type of driving you do?

When you changed the tranny fluid & filter were you near the service interval or far beyond it?

suzannafl

Purchased my LX the end of March (see other threads)

Yesterday, was loading my next audio book in the cd player and it stopped.
Says error.

Can't finish the last couple of minutes on the old cd and can't start the new one.

Now the cd player is my favorite part of the car.

Am totally bummed.

This is a difficult fix?
Are they going to screw up the dash working on it?

I need to take it in anyway to go over the list I have been accumulating since getting the car...tint bubbles, sunroof loud noise when opening, wheel alignment, etc., have been busy so thought would have this stuff looked at during my first oil change.

But now, this is an emergency.
Must be able to listen to my books!

Suzanna

ray_h1

The good news: Audio components are covered under warranty for the first 3 years or 36,000 miles - whichever comes first.

The bad news: Hyundai's "Clarion"-made 6-disc CD changer mechanism has less than a sterling reputation mechanically.

The worse news: Hyundai persists in continuing to use that basic mechanism despite its questionable reliability.

rayela

Yes, my 2006 Sonata has an exceptionally hot vent as well. I have asked the dealership to look at it- but they seem to think it is fine and normal. Oh well- I have just gotten used to using the air conditioning alot!

etk

Not sure if this should be in this discussion or the main Sonata one, but here goes. Just picked up my Black LX on Saturday (and the car looks great with the spoiler...not the one on the Hyundai site... and tinted windows!!) and have been trying to burn some mp3 CDs since the Sonata does not come with an iPod connection. According to the car manual, I should be able to see the album name and artist name along with the song name. I must be doing something wrong when setting up to burn the CD. All I get is the song name, and the CD does play in the car. I'm using iTunes to set it all up and the album names and artist names appear on the songs in there so can't understand why they don't show up on the mp3 CD. Does anyone know the trick to get all the info to show up on the radio display under their appropriate heading?

Thanks!

jimstrenk

Etk wrote: "Does anyone know the trick to get all the info to show up on the radio display under their appropriate heading?"

Yes. Use the tuning knob to read the entire display. Use the text button to filter through textual information about each mp3.

Using the tuning knob allows you to view approximately 20 characters worth of data.

Hope this helps!

etk

Thanks Jim for responding. I know that turning the tuning knob scrolls through the text - it works for the song title. But when I hit the text button (#5?? on the front)and get to the album name and artist, both of those fields are empty. All I can view is the song name and the main directory name. Am trying how to figure out why the album name and artist names are not 'burning' onto the CD since they are in iTunes. :confuse:

dragonspank

I've noticed that the top three lines on my rear defroster don't defrost. Is this a common thing with the Sonata? All the other lines seem fine. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

bobad

dragonspank,

Take a very close look at the vertical heating element connectors on either side of the horizontal connectors. There may be a break in the conductor material between the top 3 and the 4th one. My wife has the car right now, but IIRC you can see the vertical connectors. You are looking for tiny cracks in the material.

ray_h1

It's theoretically possible that the three affected horizontal elements were all inadvertently scratched by mishandling at the factory, too. Once dragonspank finds the break(s) in the conductive coating, he has two choices for affecting a repair:

1> take the car back to the dealership for warranty repair

2> purchase a $5.00 (more or less) repair kit at most any autoparts store. These kits have a small vial of electrically conductive copper paint that can be brushed over the break to restore continuity. Once dry, a tissue lightly dampened with paint thinner will clean up any over-application on the glass. This is essentially what the dealer will use for warranty repair.

I used one of these kits on the back glass of an '86 Peugeot. Never had any further back glass defroster trouble through 1994 when I traded the car.

pekelopd

If I remember correctly, the dealer pointed out to me when I took delivery of my '06 GLS I4 that the top lines on the rear windshield were infact the radio antenna . The owner's manual should verify that.

dragonspank

Thanks for all your advice everyone. I was worried that they would take out the glass to repair it if it was damaged. I had a VW Passat and it leaked like hell when they removed thye glass.

I will also check in the manual for the radio antenna location.

Thanks

-Spank

randydaw

Just drove it home from Dallas today. at about 115 miles, as I was cruising into town after mostly highway driving, the check engine light began to flash. Simultaneously, the car began idling roughly at low rpm (below 5-10 mph). After stopping in my driveway and restarting, symptoms subsided, but check engine light began burning steady instead without fading away as usual after a few seconds.

Ideas? This is my brand new baby car!

dragonspank

This happened in my 04 Passat. The dealer said it was a bad or defective o2 censor I belive or something of that sort. It happened on the third day I had the car.

desertguy

Make sure the gas cap is on tightly.

randydaw

Well, now the light is off again. Local Hyundai place didn't have anyone here on Saturday to read the codes.

Thanks, desertguy, I checked the gas cap and that didn't change anything.

I've got an appt Mon morning... will post results.

kable

i purchased a obd2 reader (inova) but it will not connect to my 1997 sonata always gives 'eror'

has anyone had success connecting to a car like this and if so what brand of reader.

thanks

suzannafl

I get the first of my three free oil changes on Tuesday.

Took a look at the service brochure I picked-up from the service department a few weeks ago.
Every scheduled service has three levels.

Don't we get the road side assistance and engine protection with the basic warranty?

What's an oil conditioner?
Brake fluid flush and alignment inspection is $100 extra.

Is this with all dealerships or just mine?
Should I checkout the other dealer?

Suzanna

stargazer927

:confuse: Hi there-the lens broke and the bulb is out on the passenger side fog lamp on my 2004 Sonata. I was told by the dealer the whole assembly had to be replaced. Is that right?

ray_h1

I doubt the lens is a seperately serviceable item from the sealed foglight reflector assembly. The halogen bulb would be a seperate item that's held in place from the rear by a retainer, though. I suspect the front bumper will have to be removed for access to the reflector/lens assembly's locking collar that fixes it to the front bumper.