Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

w9cw · September 2006

Doohickie . . . our local Hyundai dealer has 25 new 2006 Elantras in stock - all GLS sedans, no hatchbacks. It would seem that the 2006 Elantra hatchback is becoming a rare entity!

backy · September 2006

... since there is no 07 hatch.

There may be no '07 hatch right when the '07 is launched here, but there are multiple reports that there will be a hatch (one even specified a "GT hatchback") in 2007. So it could be a 2007.5 model as when Hyundai introduced the original GT hatch here in mid-2001.

doohickie · September 2006

Agreed... I should have said there would be a gap in hatchback availability. And it looks like in many areas it's already here!

doohickie · September 2006

What is the formulation of the engine coolant/anti-freeze installed at the factory in the 2006 Elantra?

According to the service manual, it says "ETHYLENE GLYCOL BASE FOR ALUMINUM". That's all it says. If the OAT is the newest, latest stuff, I would go with one of the other two.

I asked this on another forum and got an authoritative answer from a source I trust:

IAT type coolant is used in Hyundais. (Green Coolant) If finances permit HOAT type coolant can be used like the Zerex brand. DONOT use OAT type coolant.

This was backed up by another poster who had just done a coolant flush and verified the stock coolant was green.

jvenezia · September 2006

Isn't the Elantra being totally phased out by '08 or '09? I read somewhere that an all-new vehicle is replacing it.

I'm glad I have my own hatchback Elantra. It's remarkably versatile for such a small car (when compared to a wagon or SUV).

backy · September 2006

Where did you hear that? Why would Hyundai spend a LOT of money redesigning the Elantra for '07 only to kill it off in 1-2 years? Also, until the '06 Sonata debuted, the Elantra was Hyundai's top seller in the U.S. With the improved Elantra and its greater interior room and very nice interior (IMO nicer than the Sonata's), and with gas prices trending up, I think it could reclaim the #1 sales spot in Hyundai's U.S. lineup again. Assuming Hyundai gets its act together and can ship the cars here in volume. :mad:

There are rumors of a six-passenger hybrid cross-over vehicle coming in the near future. Is that what you heard about? If so, I doubt it would replace the Elantra.

gogophers1 · September 2006

You guys have me nervous. I was thinking about the GLS hatch (I do like that tweedy cloth) and am a rather particular buyer. It's gotta be a manual and have a sunroof. Also, I don't want leather (throw out the GT). That probably eliminates 99% of the local inventory right there, so I probably can't be too selective on color. Even though hatch flexibility would be convenient, I think I'd be satisfied with another sedan if I can swing a good deal.

Fortunately, I've got some other options (the Chevy HHR, the Focus ST, Fusion, Sonata, et al) inc. soldiering on with my current Elantra for another year - or two (the upcoming Lancer to be released next year looks very promising). I really do like my car, it's just that - like all good things - I realize it won't last forever. If I could get a new replacement now, I figure I've got the "car thing" taken care of for the next 5 years.

I don't think I'll be visiting a dealer again until next week, so I've got my fingers crossed.

w9cw · September 2006

Thanks Doohickie - I suspected it was IAT due to its neon green color, but I wanted to get some other input. The manual is not very specific, since it simply says: Ethylene Glycol Base for Aluminum Radiator - not really too helpful is it? But, my concern stemmed from the fact that colors of the new OAT coolant change from manufacturer to manufacturer, some even including blue.

dodgeman07 · September 2006

Question for this thread: I love what I've seen and heard about the 2007 Elantra and want to buy one early next year. My issue is that I'm an hour away (70 miles) from my nearest Hyundai Dealership.
I'm a little leary about service being so far from the dealership. Any advice or recommendations about my concerns?
Thanks!

backy · September 2006

I like to be much closer to the dealer myself, mainly because I tend to have routine service done by the dealer during the warranty period. If you don't mind doing service yourself or know a good mechanic near you, that might not be an issue for you. If there's a problem with the car in the first 5 years, Hyundai's roadside assistance will cover the tow if it's needed. You might check to make sure that this dealer offers free rentals when your car is in for service--some dealers do.

jvenezia · September 2006

Detroit News back in March.

"Hyundai is developing a replacement model for its compact Elantra sedan, using components and architecture from the recently redesigned Kia Spectra.
The new Hyundai goes into production this spring in Korea, where it is sold as the Avante. Its American cousin, the Elantra, won't get the new design, however, until model year 2007.
Early reports say the new model gets a curvier body and a longer wheelbase, which means more passenger space inside. Major mechanical components, including a twin-cam 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, will likely be shared with Kia."

After reading this again, I think they're talking more about the 2007 redesign of the Elantra rather than a wholesale replacement.

backy · September 2006

Bingo!

nj2pa2nc · September 2006

When we lived in Pa we dealt with a dealer that was more than an hours drive away. They had loaner cars so if it needed more than a oil change we would drop the car off, get a loaner car and return the next day. Some of the times we would drop the car off Friday, get the loaner car, go to the Jersey shore for the weekend and return the car Tuesday night. Not many dealers would let you do that but they were great. Evevn tho we now live in NC we still try to get our big service done in PA.

jvenezia · September 2006

OK, Backy. Try this one...

Next summer's European replacement for the Accent and Elantra, called the Arnejs (pronounced "Ar-nez") has been described in European automotive sites. I must admit, I've taken to the two photos I've seen of it about as well as I've taken to its name (not too well). The car will be unveiled officially at the Paris Motor Show this year. Its style has a...shall we say..."polarizing" effect upon those who've seen it. Some say it's really bad...others say it's really good. Anyway, with the European Elantra replacement already being rolled out, can it really be too long before the North American market replacement appears? I have a feeling that this coming redesign of the Elantra will be its last. It's just something to ponder over the next three or so years.

tsgeisel · September 2006

Another car suffering from small-window-itis. I don't like it in the Magnum, I don't really like it on the new Mustang, I don't like it on the Arnejs.

On the other hand, it's still on paper. Who's to say what reality will look like yet.

joe97 · September 2006

This is for European only [referring to replacement for both the Accent and the Elantra comment]. In North America, both the Accent and the Elantra are here to stay, at least for a while. When the prodcution verion of this hits store, which should not be too long, this very well could be the Elantra GT model trim, here in the US

Here is the link (images aren't working for me): http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/12/hyundai-arnejs-pics-surface

I dig...

As to the arrival of the Elantra, it will be here soon. Of course, the exact timing in your area will depend on your location and dealer allocation. And the long-awaited XM feature will be available sooner than what was stated in the press release - look for more info soon

sonatabean · September 2006

Hyundai! You have some 'splanin to do!

Serioiusly: that thing is just weird. I groovy four-door hatch I like.

But that is just oddball.

backy · September 2006

Yes, bringing the Arnejs here as the Elantra GT makes sense. Although I'd rather see a hatch version of the Elantra sedan, since I like the looks of that better. The Arnejs is just a little too "out there" for my taste--I don't like the short side window look either. Feels claustrophobic to me.

backy · November 2006

Could this discussion be renamed to differentiate it from the "2007 Hyundai Elantra" discussion? I am assuming this one is for previous generations, or maybe the 2001-2006 generation only. Is that right?

pat · November 2006

It actually started in August 2000 so let's call it 2001-2006. I assume the 2001 models were available at that time.

backy · February 2007

I finally got a JD Power survey in the mail today, after 30+ years of car buying. It was for my 2004 Elantra GT 5-door. Very detailed survey. I was surprised though that they focused on problems only in the past 12 months. I thought that when they report on "long term reliability" of cars, they'd want to know about problems during its lifetime. Not that I'd have many to report!

I did mention poor reception on the AM radio (the Kenwood MP3 unit particular to the GT). That was it as far as problems. I gave the selling dealer low marks (3 out of 10; I gave up on them for service some time ago) but overall gave the car high marks because I am very satisfied with it after nearly 3 years of ownership. The AM radio and a leaky headlamp cover (replaced under warranty) are the only problems I've had with the car. It still runs and looks great--when I can keep the road salt off it in the winter.

1racefan · February 2007

"I gave up on them for service some time ago"

I am in the same boat as you my friend. Out of curiosity, do you go to a different dealer, or an independant? Reason I ask, is my Mitsubishi service department (I also own a Mitsu product), is excellent, and they carry the SP-III tranny fluid since some of the Mitsus also use this. I started using these guys for all of my service needs on my Elantra about 30K miles ago. As a matter of fact, I am dropping it off there today for them to do a few things.

backy · February 2007

I went to a different dealer. The funny thing is, the dealer I go to now for service (for awhile for two Hyundais before I sold one) is the closest one to me, just 6 miles away. I have always given them first chance for my new car business when considering a Hyundai, but I got a better deal both times from a dealer 30 miles away. Their service was OK for awhile, but then they started taking 3-4 tries to solve some basic problems like a squeak in the clutch pedal. The last straw was when I took my '01 Elantra in when the squeak in the clutch reappeared. It was exactly like the first time. I brought in the TSB printout and also the repair records from the last time, and showed them what they did wrong and then what they did that finally fixed the problem (per the TSB). And I asked them, "Could you please start there this time?" I picked up the car and all they had done was put some lube on the clutch pedal. :mad: Also, they stopped offering two-way shuttle service to downtown, where I have office space, so I decided to go to the dealer nearest me. They are a Mitsubishi/Hyundai dealer and I can't say they have been perfect, but they at least give me the impression that they are really trying to satisfy me and have gone above and beyond expectations a few times, so I'll stick with them. They give me a lift home if I drop the car off in the morning. They also have a nice waiting area with free Internet.

1racefan · February 2007

I went through 2 dealers, before ending up at the Mitsubishi dealer.

The purchasing dealer was given several attempts to correct the TSB regarding the throttle position sensor (TPS) issue. Even after mentioning the TSB to them, they kept telling me a fuel injection cleaning service would cure it - which it didn't.

I then went to dealer #2, referenced the TSB, and they tried to push everything from spark plugs to fuel injector cleaner on me, before finally replacing the throttle position sensor on trip #4 or so. It was hilarious...I got a call the day they finally replaced the TPS, and the service advisor said, "Mr 1racefan, we detected that the cause of your problem was the TPS, so we have replaced it." I wanted so badly to scream, "No s#^t" back to him when he said that, but I refrained.

My Mitsubishi dealer however, is the opposite. When I take my Mitsubishi there, they will often tell me, "while looking over your vehicle, we discovered XYZ is not correct, and there is a TSB to correct it that we would like to perform." They have done this on 2 occasions, and put me in a loaner while they were correcting the problem. Not once have they ever tried to push some extra product/service on me at my expense (knock on wood).

nj2pa2nc · February 2007

your mitsubishi dealer sounds alot like the hyundai dealer I bring my car to for service. When I had the oil changed and tires rotated the last time the told me that one of the shocks had a tiny leak. They ordered a new one and it was under warranty. When the service is going to take awhile they give me a loaner. In fact when they knew we were moving I dropped my car off on a Friday and they let us have a santa fe for the weekend.

rguedel · February 2007

Hi all,

I have an '04 Elantra with 32K on it, the brakes seem to be getting a little soft. What has been the average lifespan for brake pads?

backy · February 2007

32k seems real short for worn-out pads/shoes. Before I sold my '01 GLS (with rear drums) last year, I had the brakes checked and they were 85% left on the front and 90% left on the rear, with 45k miles and mostly city driving. But I am easy on brakes--anticipate stops etc. A lot depends on your driving habits. A brake check should be part of the 30k service--have you had that done yet? If not it would be a good idea to do it and see what is causing the softness. Could be something other than worn pads/shoes, and possibly covered under warranty.

1racefan · February 2007

For me, I have yet to find any rhyme or reason to this...

I currently have an AWD '03 Mitsubishi Outlander with rear drums, and I still have the original front pads on, and have 46K on it, and my dealer says I have 30% left....which would put their life expectancy at 60K-65K.

Now...with my '02 Elantra (also has rear drums), I get 35K consistently out of the front pads. I now have 90K on the car, and am on the 3rd set of brake pads (including the set that came on the car). My Elantra has had all scheduled maintenance performed, and nothing has ever been found to be wrong with the brakes.

We also own a 4wd '06 Honda Element EX, and it has 4 wheel discs. We have had the car for a year now, and it only has 7500 miles on it, so I am curious what kind of brake life I get with the 4 wheel disc set up.

All 3 cars are shared, and driven similarly by me and my wife.

doohickie · February 2007

Apparently the proportioning valve for Elantras with rear discs tends to put more wear on the rears than on the fronts. If you have rear discs (which is all Elantra models besides the GLS Sedan I believe), the rears have been known to wear out in less time than usual. With most cars, the fronts wear out long before the rears, but I think Hyundai tried to over-optimize this and went a little too far in terms of rear brake caliper forces.

jlflemmons · February 2007

not to mention the fact that the rears are half the size, and the fronts are semi-metallic where the rears are available as full organic only. Ran into this when I changed the rear pads at 20K. Neither the dealer nor any aftermarket I could find offered a semi-metallic for the rear.

doohickie · February 2007

The rears are usually smaller than the fronts since most of the braking force is applied at the front. But I think Hyundai just missed on the design a bit.... The rears on just about any other car never wear out before the fronts.

rguedel · February 2007

Does anyone know if headlight bulbs are covered under warranty?

backy · February 2007

I know that they have been on the two Elantras I've owned, within the 5-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. I'm not sure if that is the official stance of Hyundai, but two different dealers have replaced headlight bulbs free (one per car) without any urging from me. Once I had a license plate bulb burn out, and there was a small charge to replace it, and I asked why it wasn't covered under warranty. The service writer said, "The headlights are the only bulbs covered under warranty after the first 12 months/12,000 miles."

jlflemmons · February 2007

... and if you install those Sylvania ultra bright bulbs, figure on them burning out every year. Just go to the Sylvania Lamps website and read the specs on the various bulbs offered. Especially the differences between the long life and the silver star.

doohickie · March 2007

backy has had headlights replaced under the bumper-to-bumper warranty, but that is not the norm with any car I've had. My Elantra (knock wood) hasn't burned out a bulb yet at 26,000 miles.

If you end up replacing the bulb yourself, the best way is to remove the whole headlight assembly. There are three fasteners that hold it in; two are very apparent, but one is down low at the rear center of the headlight assembly. (And also if you have to replace the left side, you have to remove the plastic shield that's in the way.)

backy · March 2007

And be sure not to touch the bulb with your (uncovered) fingers! That can cause the bulb to burn out prematurely.

1racefan · March 2007

My '02 had a burned out head light, side marker, and license plate bulb all at the same time a couple years ago. The dealer replaced the headlight for free, and charged about $2 for the other 2 bulbs. A couple weeks later, the same headlight, and same side marker was out again. I went back to the dealership, they replaced the headlight again for free, and this time replaced the side marker for free. The told me they thought they had received a bad batch of bulbs :confuse: . Anyways, I haven't blown a bulb in the 2 years since (knock on wood).

pat · March 2007

Really? How does that work? I assume you're saying that skin oil is the problem here. But if I grab the bulb by its face to insert it, I don't see how that would affect how the insides would burn out sooner.

I'm not saying you're wrong at all, I'm just asking for more details for my own information. :confuse:

1racefan · March 2007

It does have something to do with the oils in your skin. I remember back in the early 90's, when I first had to replace one of these bulbs, the packaging was very specific to not touch the glass part of the bulb with your hands. I typically just wear a pair of latex gloves when I swap these bulbs out, just to be safe.

backy · March 2007

Thanks for the reply, racefan. I would have replied, but Pat or someone else might have accused me of trying to get the last word.

1racefan · March 2007

LOL -
I have been following that Civic vs Elantra forum...getting pretty crazy. Hang in there backy, you are still among the handfull of posters around here I value the most (in terms of posting things of relevance).

pat · March 2007

Um, that comment was not called for.

No one answered my question. How does touching the face of the bulb affect what goes on inside the bulb?

backy · March 2007

It doesn't, directly. But once the casing of the bulb is compromised, it can lead to premature failure. Here is additional info:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=286499#answer

nj2pa2nc · March 2007

keep on posting I enjoy them and think you give good advice.it is only the last word if no one asks you another question concerning that topic. last word or not so what

doohickie · March 2007

As an engineer, I think it works like this: The bulb itself heats up to very high temeratures. The bulb surface heats up. When you put oils on the surface from your fingers, it alters the heat transfer properties of the surface and there are localized hot and cool spots which cause stresses in the bulb which make it shatter.

Having said all that, I don't believe it. I think that in *some* cases, you can do this, but I've changed out bulbs with my fingers and they lasted a good long time. Using gloves or what have you is just insurance.

jlflemmons · March 2007

The oils from your fingers create optical obstructions in the glass as the light does not pass cleanly through. Heats up the glass and either cracks the glass or the reflected heat overtemps the filament, which is already super hot. Either way -poof- dead bulb.

In television studio lighting, I have seen the halogen lights used during broadcast explode. A bubble would form on the glass where the fingerprint was and would blow out about ten minutes after power up. Lots of noise, and lots of glass shards. The bulbs had a scatter shield deflector for safety.

pat · March 2007

Interesting - I was talking to Karen, my co-host, who has had a lot of theater experience. She has seen the same thing you describe with stage lights.

I would never have known this. Thanks all!

iowaelantra · March 2007

Hi Everyone,

Long time since I've posted or read in here but now have a somewhat mundain question. Before I ask the question, just want to state that I'm still loving my 2005 Elantra hatchback. It has been a really good car for me and have had no problems with it.

Now my question.

I live in a small city that has crazy quilt street system. There, supposedly, is only one street in town that runs virtually north south and none that run virtually east west. Street System is pretty much diagonal. My natural compass, my brain, gets completely confused. I'd like to get a car compass (not a full GPS system just a compass) that will work inside the car. I bought a real cheapie floating compass but apparently the car magnetics,electrical system, or metals in the car completely confuse it. No matter what direction I drive it says I'm going south to southeast. The second reason I want a compass is that I am a storm spotter for the National Weather Service, and it's not always convenient to get out of the car to use a handheld compass to figure out directions (like in a downpour with 50 mph winds when you can't see any landmarks and have no idea what direction you're facing). My handheld gets confused inside the car, also, even when sitting with the motor off. Does anyone have any recommendations for an auto compass that won't break the bank...I'm talking under $50...or is that a dream?

backy · March 2007

I did a google search and found a variety of digital compasses, starting at under $15. The one for under $15 said it compensated for the car's magnetic field. Then there's the auto-dimming rear view mirrors with integrated compasses, but those are over $50 (more like $200). Since having accurate direction is so important to you, maybe it's worth the bucks--and you'd get an auto-dimming mirror to boot! Then there was a digital compass with outside temperature for about $130. So it looks like there's several options. You could also try eBay and maybe find a bargain there.

igarrett · March 2007

I am experiencing a similar problem with my wifes 99 Elantra wagon. The error code is 301, 303 and 304...indicating intermittant misfires. My question is where to start to fix it. I can't afford the dealer, but have a good working knowledge as to minor repairs and tune-ups. Can you offer any help?
Thanks

Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

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