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In July, I traded my 2009 Mitsbushi Eclipse for a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. The decision to trade-in my eclipse was for the soul fact that the car was not getting the ideal gas milage (~24 mpg out of EPA range of 20-28 mpg) for my long (all highway) commute to work and back. After much research, I decided to purchase the Elantra due to its (claimed) great gas milage, features, and price versus that of the competitors. BIG MISTAKE!
After owning the vehicle for a little over a month and putting 2000 miles on it, I notice the vehicle was averaging about 26 mpg on each tank. After contacting the dealership about my concerns, I was told to wait till my first oil change to reflect the change in gas milage. The first oil change came and I did notice an improvement in my gas milage between 2-3 miles, put definitely nothing in the CLAIMED 29-39 range. I decided to contact Hyundai about my concerns regarding in which I was told to wait till the car was broken in at about 5000-6000 miles.
After 6000 miles I was still averaging about 27 mpg. I, again, contacted Hyundai customer service about my concern. Their response was to do have a fuel MPG test and to have the vehicle inspected by a local dealership. The fuel MPG test, released by Hyundai, requires you to have record the miles traveled and amount of fuel used five times while going to the same gas station and using the same pump. Again, I was still consistently getting between 25-27 mpg. I had the dealership, also, inspect the vehicle for any issues and run a diagnostic test for any issues--- none were found. All this information was then faxed over to Hyundai customer service.
So... I just got off the phone with Hyundai customer serivce and they are saying that the car is in working order and there is nothing they can do to assist me.
So why am I getting such poor gas milage that isnt even in the working range of the EPA estimates? I have tried every recommended way to enhance mpg and nothing seems to improve it. I was getting decent gas milage (in the EPA range) for my Eclipse so I really dont think it is in my driving style.
I see that forum that others are having the same problem. I dont see how so many people are driving this vehicle 'wrong' .
I am so disappointed in my purchase and wish I would have gone with a competitor that lives up to its ratings. Hyundai is doing nothing but false advertising this vehicle. I hope to see a class action lawsuit in the future.
If you are thinking about buying a 2012 Elantra and want great gas milage... DONT!
I am also not buying the "I only get 22 MPG's (or whatever ridiculous number they come up with). That is simply not going to happen with the new Elantra's. It's NOT the car...it's the way the driver is DRIVING the car. Or, if the person is in traffic constantly (car idles all the time) or is in stop and go traffic. Obviously, you won't get the 29 city. It's common sense. I certainly don't get the 29/40 all the time but who cares? It still has fantastic gas mileage and it's an awesome car. I love it and I am thrilled with my purchase and wouldn't hesitate to go with Hyundai again. Heck, I already did...my old 2010 Elantra's transmission failed on me after two months of purchase. After six months, I decided to upgrade to the 2011 and I am ecstatic about my decision.
I also found one photo via google of the 6MT's shifter--looks nice and stubby. The Canadian shifter is even nicer though... has chrome accents.
Then I did a local search and found 2 cars within 50 miles with the 6MT--but one was EXACTLY the color I favor, Desert Bronze with beige interior. So I know it's possible to get the car with 6MT and even in a color I want. Good news for when I'm ready to buy...
When I was shopping for a vehicle I looked at all options. I did look at the fine print below the 'big 29/40 hwy' and the my vehicle is not falling in those fine print estimates. I love everything about my elantra but the main reason I purchased this vehicle it is not doing, or even coming close.
As stated in my above post, if you would read carefully, I said that my hour long commute is all highway. The only stop lights I hit is to murge on the turnpike and when I get off the turnpike. As far as my driving style goes, I am no maniac... I drive the speed limit and at most 10 miles over it. I keep my car on cruise at between 65-75 mph and it is mostly flat terrain.
I purchased this vehicle in July and have used both 'summer' and 'winter' gas and really saw no difference between the two.
You mentioned that you have a 2011 and that you are getting 'what it says it will'... whatever that means. I have read over the forums and see that most mpg problems are in the 2012... do you think this could be the problem? I know that there is no 'claimed' to be difference in the models besides the steering, but maybe there was a smaller change or not mentioned by hyundai similar to the situation with the tibirions.
I am not expecting 40 mpg but at least 30 - 33 mpg would appropriate. I know there is many variables in computing mpg but when a car that is advertised to get great mileage is getting the same mpg as a 2009 Mitsabushi Eclipse, which is heavier, has a bigger, powerful motor, that made the same commute then there is an issue. I am not sure if it is just my car or maybe its the whole slew of 2012, but there is something wrong. Maybe no one has pursued yet because very few have reached the 7000 miles, according to Hyundai 'break in' mark.
I do know that others have reported similar issues with this year. The delarship where I purchased the vehicle said that they have recieved complaints about the mpg and even the women I spoke at Hyundai Customer service said the same thing. So maybe its not just me.
All I want is reasoning for this issue and I have yet to hear one. I think you can agree that when you pay thousands of dollars for something and it doesnt work to the standards set by its own company ( im talking about real word mpg), its disappointing.
Before ridiculing me and my post look at the whole situation... I have researched all the options, variables, and solutions and none of worked. I have reached out to Hyundai and they said they could not help me. So what else do I left to do?
Trade a 4 month old car in? Are you even reasonable? So.. I trade the car and take 3-4,000 dollar loss. GET REAL. I dont hate the car, I love all my features, the look, and the interior design, its just not getting the gas mileage.
And coming up with numbers? The mpg is calculated manually by using the mileage travelled divided by the gallons of gas used. These calculations arent even taken off of the car's computer. So NO they are not made up.
As far as my driving style, I am no maniac... I drive the tunrpike ( ALL FLAT HIGHWAY) to and from work. Set the car on cruise on 60-75mph, reset my mpg and still getting 28 mpg.
Any other input?
If Sarah is getting good MPG (at least acceptable to her), that's great for her. I'd say more than 50% of reviewers have the "bad MPG" complaint, though.
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http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ratingsNewSticker.shtml
If the low MPG is mostly attributable to driving or maintenance habits, then Elantra and Equinox owners must just be overall worse at both. We're not seeing this level of complaints about ANY other models. Just those two.
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The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/22/autos/hy-wheels22
Here's what I do.
Wait until my gas light comes on.
I fill up by inserting the pump nozzle, selected a flow rate, lock it, and don't touch it until it shuts off on it's own. STOP. Do not add more to even out gallons or money. Just stop and go with what the pump gave.
Reset mileage to 0. Drive normally as you like.
When the gas light comes on again, right down how many miles you've traveled. Fill the tank like before, stopping once the pump has stopped.
Take the previous miles traveled and divide by how much as you just put in.
Example:
350 miles traveled.
14 gallon fill.
350 divided by 14 = 25mpg
Do this for at least 3-4 tankfuls to get a greater consistency.
Use your car mpg computer, if you have one, and see how it measures up.
On my BMW my car computer reads a bit different than my calculations.
The manual miles driven divided by gallons used is the BEST and only true method to get to actual MPG.
The computer may work depending on how it was programmed.
Didn't see this before I posted.
I too would expect at least 30mpg if my driving was at least 30% highway. My driving is about 50/50 city/highway. I would expect about 33-34mpg.
40mpg on highway would only be achieved under ideal conditions where you don't have to stop and go before getting to highway, only use cruise control, highway is plate flat, no head or cross wind, and you don't calculate getting off of highway.
Oh, and no passing of any car where you'd have to give any throttle beyond what cruise is using.
It's a marketing number IMO, that's achieved by using the EPA rules to the manufactures advantage.
Then somewhere along the line a rat got in my car. It was only in there maybe 48 hours before all the "strange" things I was noticing concluded to the rat. Needless to say, I can't get the fear of a rat in the car every day I walk up to it. Has anyone heard of this before? Now I don't know if I want to keep it. Others tell me if I get another rat in the car I need to play the lottery...Thoughts?
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Also given the low price of the 2011 Focus vs. 2012, the 2011 actually might have had decent sales numbers in the first few months of 2011. For example, there were 172,421 Foci sold in 2010. That's almost the same sales pace as for 2011 (compare to the number I posted for the first 11 months of 2011). So the older Focus wasn't too shabby in the sales department.
Interesting to note though that you are getting 6 mpg under the Prius' EPA average FE, and 4 mpg under its EPA city rating. And you are OK with that, although you were not OK with the Elantra getting 6 mpg under its EPA average FE and 2 mpg under its city rating.
as for falling under epa ratings, i"ll accept the usual decrease as it occurs in every car, but vast difference going from 50-44 than going from 40-27.
Bottom line is I'm happy when i drive.
So two options - you have a lemon and should have taken the car back - or you drive with a heavy foot - after 12,000 miles I have a lot more data than most - so I really do wonder about this - what Hyundai did so well here is use a simple basic 1.8 liter petrol engine - no weird and wonderful mods...enough said
Consider that if you dont see a number 55 MPH or above...its not likely you'll get 40 MPG as you're not really doing highway driving.
I'm convinced that many people think they do more highway driving then the actually do. My average is between 29 and 40 MPH. I'd like to get 40 MPG but dont see how I will achieve that if I am not driving in a manner that will allow that to happen.
To the prius buyer above. You got significantly less car for more money. Took a hit, yes you did and you likely gave away all of your fuel savings in the process. Also, lets not forget that the prius is a hybrid and supplements battery for fuel usage.
Historically only the prius and the civic hybrid have shown savings for the consumer over a five year period. And only if you dont pay a premium for the car.
Now I am not trying to belittle your choice to move to Prius, only put some perspective on the decision as I am not sure you will save anything in the long run.
Every week I meet a friend for Sunday lunch. 15.1 miles each way. 1.3 miles from home to expressway (with 2 stop signs & a traffic ight) and then moderately excellerate to 60 MPH & set cruise control. Then exit ramp to connect to another highway (have to disengage the cruise for a curve) which is about 45 to 50 MPH for a mile and a half to the next connecting ramp to another highway. Once on this third highway I hit the "resume" on the cruise. This section of highway is about 6 miles. Then on to a 35 MPH road(with traffic light at the end of the exit and one additional stop sign).
The trip is 3.3 miles local and 11.8 miles highway and take 22 to 25 minutes depending upon length of time at stop sign or traffic light. A lot of people would think they averaged 60 MPH and were using the cruise. They forget about the few miles of local roads with stops & starts, and the cut-off of cruise on the connecting ramps. But the best average speed for this trip is about 41 MPH according to the math.
2013 Elantra Coupe
Coupe Press release
Elantra GT Hatchback
But NOW... suddenly the Elantra vaults way up my list because of the GT. Can't wait to see/drive it. Glad to see it will be offered with an MT. I hope Hyundai has one at the Greater Twin Cities Auto Show next month. I think that's very possible because I know HMA has used the same cars in the past for Chicago and Twin Cities... in fact my 2004 GT was one of those cars!
* The center stack looked richer than on the current sedan.
* The back seat folds FLAT, with the seat bottoms folding up also--just like on the old Elantra GT hatch!
* The stick shift knob is snazzier than on the sedan.
Also I see that there's a panoramic sunroof. I am hoping that isn't standard. I noticed there's a lot of equipment on this car, including standard front seat heaters and 17" alloys. So I am hoping the base price isn't too stratospheric. If they could keep it under $20k with cloth, MT, no options, that would be pretty good. But it would bump up against some other fine hatches, including the Mazda3i Touring, Impreza Premium, Focus SE, and Golf.
FWIW, my 2004 GT listed at $17.4k with every option available at that time, including moonroof, ABS/traction, 15" alloys (standard), and leather (leather was standard back then). The new GT has much more equipment, however. My price was $13.2k + TTL. Don't think the new one will be anywhere close to that!
Contact your dealer!
The Elantra we drove had 40k miles on it. But, rather than disqualifying it from our evaluations, it actually gave us a valuable glimpse into how well the car might hold up [keeping in mind that rental companies generally maintain their cars better than most drivers do] and how it might perform several years down the road, and not just fresh off of the sales floor lot. The mileage would have no effect on the overall build quality, other than to, again, highlight how well that build quality might hold up.
"Best Car Ever"? Sure, if what you're used to are bottom-of-the-barrel econo-box specials. The immediate impression the Elantra made on us was that of a thin-walled soda-pop can on wheels. The general feel of the car was cheapness. The interior had acres of cheap plastic, along with the shiny, hard plastic dash that so many manufacturers are currently churning out. Things went downhill from there. There was an annoying and persistent rattle coming from under the car. Power? Forget it. Not much there for passing, of much of anything. And, with the air conditioner turned on, there was even less power. The engine groaned horribly any time you stepped on the gas. Mileage wasn't anything extraordinary, although it didn't seem too bad, either.
Steering at highway speeds was scary. The electronic power steering that many [particularly Asian] manufacturers have adopted has a long way to go. Steering and controlling the car on expressways was unnerving and imprecise, and the vehicle felt unstable. When going over bumps, the Elantra seemed to jump sideways, momentarily loosing stability. The car vibrated when idling. Parallel parking was difficult due to the limited visibility out of the rear windshield. On the plus side, the air conditioning energized very quickly, although at highway speeds in the 100 plus degree heat, it was barely able to cool very much.
If the Elantra seemed cheap, the Sentra S was like Al Yankovic: even worse. Driving it, we had the feeling of going down several notches in quality. It felt even less solid than the Elantra. Even poorer acceleration, poorer stability over roads, poorer braking. Looking under the hood, we found a tiny, tiny, seeming inch-thick radiator resembling a child's toy. The entire assembly seemed to have been randomly thrown together in the manner of American engineering of past decades, rather than the logical and orderly Japanese method we've seen. Even worse, there was a ledge at the bottom of the engine
over which the air conditioning compressor constantly dripped condensation. Now, there's a built-in rust-through situation. We exited the Sentra S quickly after testing it.
The Chevy Cruze 1LT brought a welcome change from the other 2 Asian cheapos. Climbing into the car, you at last experience a feeling of solidness, strength, and quality. Not a whole lot of it, but certainly way more than we found in the other two cars. The Cruze still has the same hard, shiny plastic dash that the other cars have, with lots of plastic parts. Additionally, we looked for the "near luxury car" feel that others have attributed to it - and we didn't find it. At all. My aged 1990's era vehicle [not a luxury car] has incomparably more of those attributes than the Cruse. But, the impression of solid quality was unmistakable.
With the turbo engine, the Cruze had more power than the other two cars, but not that much, and the engine groaned and struggled under hard acceleration of the kind you might employ to merge onto expressways. With air conditioning running, it had even less power and more strain. The air conditioning itself was poorer than either the Sentra or Elantra. Road stability was much, much better than the other two cars we had driven, as was the steering. Looking under the hood, things were laid out better than in the other cars, and somewhat more accessible.
If we had to choose between these three cars, the hands down winner would be the Cruze. But only by default, actually. Looked at on its own, the Cruze offered inadequate acceleration and unimpressive interior appointments and quality. Those thinking that a car such as this was "near luxury class" needs an immediately reality check.
Did you actually touch the Elantra's dash? The top of it is padded. There's a lot of hard plastic parts in the Elantra's interior though... just like in any new inexpensive car these days. Your rental must have been a base GLS; the GLS with Preferred Package has padded inserts in the doors that help schazz things up a bit.
Mileage wasn't anything extraordinary, although it didn't seem too bad, either.
You had the Elantra for a weekend, and you didn't measure fuel economy? If so, what was it?
Driving it (Sentra), we had the feeling of going down several notches in quality.
I don't know what you drive today, but I've leased a 2010 Sentra S for 27 months now and I've found it's a solid, comfortable car--if not too exciting. Also, it's the only car I've owned/leased this long that has had absolutely zero problems--zilch, nada.
The Cruze still has the same hard, shiny plastic dash that the other cars have,...
So you didn't touch the dash of the Cruze either, it appears.
Road stability was much, much better than the other two cars we had driven, as was the steering.
That's interesting... one of the things I don't like about the Cruze after driving it many times as a rental is that the steering seems vague on the highway. That, and the tight rear seat. Otherwise I think it's a pretty nice little car, tons better than the old Cobalt. Makes a nice rental, if I'm not carrying any passengers in back.
Let me get this straight, y'all climbed in and sat down and felt strength, quality and solidness. Solidness of what...the seats? The thunk of the doors closing? You didn't drive the car yet so how was this solidness measured? For the quality, was it the quality of the seat fabric or the switchgear? Since the car wasn't driven yet, the ride quality could not be judged...quality has different meanings to people. And for strength, how does one quantify this? Not trying to be mean or nothing, but I just don't understand your logic here. I agree with much of what you've written, just not which cars had more or less of these attributes. Personally, I felt the Elantra was a notch above the Cruze and Sentra but felt the seating was most comfortable in the Sentra even though it's the oldest model.
Think the Verano is the sleeper in this group though the mileage and price are its two negatives. From all I've read, it seems to be the lux econo ride here though. We're in the market for either a subcompact or compact since our current ride is getting too costly to keep on the road. The a/c is about to quit and with over 108k on the clock, just want it gone.
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Actually, weight sometimes does lend to that solidity feel. However, it also add to...well, weight. Which takes power to drag around.
I consider the Verano to be in a different class than econoboxes like the Cruze, Elantra, and Sentra. If you max out one of those, you get to the bottom of the price range for the Verano. I see the Verano competing more with cars like the ILX.
Reading his likely fabricated review wasn't worth my time either.
There is always at least one in every crowd and/or forum.
A 2012 rental Elantra with 40K miles. Really!