Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

snakeweasel · April 2006

Hey Snake - just curious how the shocks/struts have held up on your Elantra for the 130K that you have on it. I assume yours is a wagon?

They have held up surprisingly well considering what I have put it through. May times racing down dirt/gravel roads and carrying home a full load from the home improvement store (yes its a wagon).

Yes I have notice slight increase in noises, including some increase in road noises (but it was never know for muffling road noise), but considering the mileage and age I am not to overly concerned about it.

1racefan · April 2006

"Yes I have notice slight increase in noises, including some increase in road noises (but it was never know for muffling road noise), but considering the mileage and age I am not to overly concerned about it. "

I am of the same opinion. I figure as long as there are no tire wear issues, and as long as it handles well without bouncing down the road, I will leave well enough alone. Besides, the radio is loud enough to drown out the road noise.

jlflemmons · April 2006

I do know that the '05, just like the '02, started having more road noise from the OEM tires after about 20K miles. The tires are wearing evenly, and still have good tread left at 24K, but the tire noise has significantly increased.

1racefan · May 2006

Just to clarify - does Hyundai and Mitsubishi both use the same type of auto tranny fluid? I knew there was something special about the Hyundai fluid, but I thought I recalled hearing that Mitsubishi uses the same kind.

brigger · May 2006

I just bought a 2004 Elantra GT. It's a fun little car that runs great, but I noticed when looking at it from the front, the left side is about an inch lower. It's never been in an accident and the mechanics are good. Does anyone else have this? Is it a mechanical issue or a quality control issue?

Help!

doohickie · May 2006

I won't say ever Mitsu and every Hyundai use the same fluid, but most use SP-III, which isn't used much, if at all, outside of Hyundai and Mitsu.

1racefan · May 2006

The reason I am asking is because the Hyundai dealer we purchased from was bought out, and we didn't care for the service the new folks in the service dept provided.

We then started going to a different Hyundai dealer for our service. They were pretty good. However, the owner sold his land and building to a developer that is going to build a shopping center in its place.

Now, one of my other cars is a Mitsubishi Outlander and I have received excellent service over the past couple of years from my Mitsubishi delaer. I was thinking I would have them do the next tranny flush.

backy · May 2006

How do you know for sure it hasn't been in an accident or had some damage, e.g. to the suspension? Have you checked the tire pressures?

doohickie · May 2006

The brand of dealer isn't important; the AT fluid type is. At least at a Mitsu dealer you can be reasonably sure you'll get SP-III.

brigger · May 2006

I had a clean CarFax report on it. Of course, you're right. If it was taken hill-hopping, it wouldn't necessarily show up. I was hoping for a better answer. :-)

snakeweasel · May 2006

Just remember CarFax only can report whats been reported to it. It may have been in a serious accident and never been reported in such a way as to appear on a CarFax report.

brigger · May 2006

Thanks for your help. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I appreciate it.

jlflemmons · May 2006

I would take it to a good body/frame shop for an inspection. If they determine there is suspension/frame damage, check with your state offices to see if the car can be returned for sale with concealed damage. If the car was bought from an original owner or dealer, you have a strong case.

Then again, the inspection may just find a bad spring. Fix it and drive happy!

Jim

pat · May 2006

That's something I've never understood. Where does CarFax get their data?

brigger · May 2006

That's a good idea. Thanks!

snakeweasel · May 2006

My understanding is that they get data from mechanics voluntarily providing what they did. Plus from accidents reports from city and state governments.

From their website:

"Our unique database contains more than four billion records. We receive information from thousands of public and private sources including all Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) in the United States and Canada, as well as many vehicle inspection stations, auto auctions, fleet management and rental agencies, automobile manufacturers, and fire and police departments."

They also state:

"While we'll never know everything about a particular car..."

gary045 · May 2006

I would first make sure all the tires are the same size.
Then I'd park it on a level surface and get a tape measure and check the distance from the ground to the top fender lip.
If the passenger side is an inch lower I'd say the previous owner had a 400 lb wife and the spring is sagging/warn out.

Or it was in an accident.

brigger · May 2006

Thanks. I hope it was the first. I did measure it and it is about an inch. It doesn't look like any new parts have been put on. The wear seems pretty consistent. Same number of dings and wear on the tires, unless it got hit leaving the lot.

tsgeisel · May 2006

The manual says 7500 miles, people I've talked to have said anywhere between 3k and 5k.

Right now I'm up to 1000 miles, and I'm curious as to how much longer I'll have before I have to worry about this.

(For the record - I'm in California, mostly over flat roads, and not huge amounts of stop and go traffic. Moderate city and freeway driving.)

jlflemmons · May 2006

My opinion: If you are doing varied highway and city driving, go with a good quality motor oil (my preference is Castrol GTX 10W30) and 5K oil changes. I have done this for over 30 years in V8's, V6's, and four cylinder engines and have never had an oil related failure in an engine.

In my case, I drive 50+ miles a day in stop and go traffic. I change the oil every 3K miles. I wouldn't consider a 7.5K oil change for anything other than pure highway driving, and even then I don't think the cost of an extra oil change a year is worth the risk.

Jim

doohickie · May 2006

I did my first oil change at 2k, my second at 5k, and I'm trying to settle into the "severe usage" schedule of 3750. When I change I use dino oil, but I've gotten a couple changes at dealers and they always put in synthetic even thougth I've never asked for it (including the first oil change the dealer gave me for free). I have to admit that when changing synth oil at the same interval as dino, it appears much cleaner, still honey-colored.

phild01 · May 2006

I have the same problem with a 2004 Pacifica. People are telling me it's weather related. If it was there would be loads of cars with similar problems. Had dealer look at it and he said it was normal. Will take pictures next time to show same year with clear headlights.

brigger · May 2006

I'm starting to think it may be quality control issue. I've looked underneath, and it definitely looks like no new parts were put in from a wreck. It' also handles really well, so if it's mechanical, you would think you would notice. A couple of people have said the "springs" may be bad. It seems the most logical answer. I took it in the shop today just to find out. I just have to know. I'll let you know what they say. What was the logic behind it being weather related?

backy · May 2006

The other possibility is that there was some suspension damage that is difficult to spot, and it has not been repaired yet. My wife did a number on our '04 Elantra GT this winter, running into a curb in a snowstorm. About $1000 damage. I could tell a wheel was shredded, but who knows if I would have noticed all the other damaged parts that were replaced--some of those they didn't even know about until they starting working on it.

brigger · May 2006

I just heard back from my shop. They found a damaged strut as the reason. Have you had that checked?

1racefan · May 2006

If you wouldn't mind sharing, I would like to know what a strut replacement costs these days.

brigger · May 2006

Absolutely. It's about $390. the struts were about $170. Labor about $150 + the cost of alignment. I hope that's not too much of a sticker shock. I've had my car all of 3 weeks and got this bill. The mechanic told me it's really a common problem with pot holes. If it weren't for the slight lean, I wouldn't have guessed. It really wasn't a handling problem up until now.

doohickie · May 2006

That seems a little high for struts, but not outrageously so. My most recent experience was with my Escort a couple years ago, and we had front struts and 4 new tires put on for about $600... I think it was about half for the struts and half for the tires memory serves.

My son just hit a rock in the road last week, blew out one of those tires and slid into a guardrail. The damages this time were about $400.... $200 for a new half-shaft (boot got torn up and they don't replace just the boot), $110 for bent tie rod, plus an alignment. I had to buy a new rim at a junk yard, cuz the old one was pretty bent up between the rock and the guard rail. The tire was remounted and balanced under my road hazard warranty for free (it was still good).

1racefan · May 2006

I know someone that had new front struts put on a Buick a year or so ago. I want to say he paid in the neighborhood of $750 for these at the time.

I thought that sounded high at the time, so that's why I was curious what the replacement of the Elantra strut ran.

brigger · May 2006

Did they get shocks at the same time? or maybe with it just being a bigger vehicle, more was involved. An Elantra is a pretty simple car.

1racefan · May 2006

They got BOTH front struts for the $750 figure - which is in line with your one for $390. You did just have to replace 1 correct?

brigger · May 2006

No, I got both front ones for the $390. I have to say, I feel better about this upcoming bill. I'd be glad to ask if the 750 is normal when I pick up the car today. Are you on the coast or other high rent district?

1racefan · May 2006

I am on the coast, but it is the "right coast" and not the "left coast". No high rent district for me LOL.

My buddy did have his Buick struts replaced at the Buick dealer...that may be part of the reason for the price. Glad to hear that you got BOTH for $390. I am thinking of replacing the ones on my '02 in a year or so. By then it should have @ 90K miles on it. As long as the car still runs perfect, and everything still works on it then, I will probably go ahead and replace the struts.

brigger · May 2006

I bet it's the dealer then. I'll ask today what they would charge for a Buick and if certain models are more difficult/expensive. I just go to Tire Discounters. I think they are pretty much all over the country.

1racefan · May 2006

I am hearing a weird noise through the rear, passenger side wheel well when I drive over rough surfaces at low speeds. When I hit bumps at higher speeds, no noise. It is hard to explain, but it is like the road noise is amplified greatly just through that one wheel well.

I have taken the wheel off and put it back on to make sure the wheel isn't loose. I have also checked the housing for that drum brake assembly, inspected everything I can see under the car, and nothing is visibly loose. I am wondering if maybe that strut is a little weak, and is amplifying the road noise, or if that wheel bearing is possibly making the noise.

brigger · May 2006

Im not even close to a mechanic, but do you feel a wobble or vibration? I've had ball joints go out and it sounds similar. That's bad since you could lose a wheel while driving.

1racefan · May 2006

Everything feels great with the car. It's just pronounced road noise at low speeds over rough (gravel road) surfaces - through just that one corner of the car.

brigger · May 2006

That might be worth checking out just in case...

doohickie · May 2006

Check all the bolts in the rear suspension, especially the rear sway bar. Also check the sway bar bushings.

1racefan · May 2006

Good point - I will look this weekend.

I was thinking of even swapping out the sway bar/bushings/links for the 18mm in the near future (I will probably go with the 18mm since the sedan is a little lighter than the hatchback). However, I want to make sure everything else is ok back there before I do so.

shaz_mtl · June 2006

Hi I recently bought a left front fender for my 1986 Hyudai Elantra. I noticed an electricl part within the fender itself was smashed in my old fender and not in the fender part I bought. It looks to be ceramic..does anyone know what this part is called and what is does. I was driving for ahile with the smashed part and fender and didn't notice anything n ot working. Thanks much.
Shaz

backy · June 2006

An insulator for electrical wires perhaps?

jlflemmons · June 2006

Air bag sensor???

doohickie · June 2006

Do you mean 1996 Elantra? I didn't think they made them in 86.

tsgeisel · June 2006

So, I got my financing through the dealership, because with my lousy credit, they were able to get me a much better deal than I was able to get online (credit unions wouldn't touch me).

The problem is that I was offering such a large down payment that I didn't meet the minimal loan amount. So they sold me an extended warranty.

Now, this really appears to be an extension to the warranty - it's through Hyundai (who I bought the car from), there's no deductible, and none of the exclusions seem to be odd or restrictive. Basically it extends the bumper-to-bumper warranty from 5yr/60k to the full 10yr/100k.

But is it worth it? I mean, I still have some time to cancel it, and get some of my money back - money I could use for other things, and even though I'll lose a bunch on the interest inflation, over time, I'm not really hurting in terms of monthly payments.

So...keep the extended warranty, or dump it? Anyone have experiences with this sort of thing?

doohickie · June 2006

On the whole, warranties benefit the people selling them, not the people buying them. They are moneymakers.

If you plan on doing regular maintenance, get your money back.

backy · June 2006

Automatic or stick? One benefit of the extended warranty is that it covers the auto tranny for 10 years or 100k miles. That is the most complex component of the car, also one prone to failure (the tranny on a friend's Honda just failed, it's not a Hyundai thing), and one that is very expensive to repair. How much did you pay for the warranty? The other thing is that the warranty is transferrable, once. So if you do wind up selling the car within 10 years/100k miles it can add to the resale value.

tsgeisel · June 2006

It's an automatic. I paid about $1500 for it, which definitely seemed a bit inflated to me, but could be useful, and it did, ironically, get me the better loan.

I would guess that it's transferrable the same way that the standard Hyundai warranty is - that is to say 1/2 credit at best. But I still plan on keeping it the full 100k...

And isn't the transmission part of the powertrain, that is covered under the longer, standard warranty?

backy · June 2006

About $500 too much based on quotes I've received on that warranty on Elantras. If I were you I'd try to get the money back, then shop around for a better price (closer to $1000) if you really want the warranty.

You are right the auto tranny is covered under the standard warranty--but that is not transferrable. I think the extended warranty is transferrable in its entirety--check the documentation you should have received on it.

1racefan · June 2006

"tsgeisel" said - "But is it worth it? I mean, I still have some time to cancel it, and get some of my money back - money I could use for other things, and even though I'll lose a bunch on the interest inflation, over time, I'm not really hurting in terms of monthly payments."

"backy" said - "About $500 too much based on quotes I've received on that warranty on Elantras. If I were you I'd try to get the money back, then shop around for a better price (closer to $1000) if you really want the warranty"

Question is - will it cost "tsgeisel" $500 or more in increased interest over the course of the loan if he/she were to cancel the extended warranty and then go purchase another for $1000. If the answer is yes, he/she should just sit tight.

Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

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