dont even let me hear you say the word automatic. Manual transmission are the way to go. Wusses drive automatics. Why would you pay $1000 more for something thats worse on gas, slower, and not as fun and yet more expensive? I got my hyundai elantra for $10,800. it was either auto with no added options or manual w/ rims, cruise control, premium stereo for the same price. Obviously, i went with the manual...much better deal. Thats a no brainer.
Im telling you...dont get an automatic. Manuals are so much more fun. also, the manual in the hyundais are pretty good. smooth shifting motions. its a long throw shifter, in case anyone is wondering
I drove a 2001 accent /auto trans. It is a world apart from the 2000. pick up with the ac on was surprising, a nice little car, so much better than the 2000. I have an 2000 elantra and looking for a second car, now I have to decide between the two. The spoiler is just for show but it looks good on both the accent and elantra, it is a good hand hold to open the trunk. I have 23k on mine elantra (9 months) and no problems at all. enjoy the moment.
I bet you are one of those auto drivers that us manual drivers hate. You get right on our rear end and give us no room to go backwards when on an incline. Than you are the first to complain when our car hits yours. Well, guess what, you would be the one at fault because you were too close to our car. Leave us enough room to roll and you won't have to worry about us hitting your car. Continuously variable trannys still have a ways to go before they are widely accepted. The Civic has offered this tranny since 1996 and yet it is still the only car on the market to offer it, not to mention very few of them have been sold. In other words, people aren't buying into them yet. As far as cell phones go, anything that makes them more difficult to use while driving is a good thing as they should only be used for emergencies to begin with.
I bought my 99 Accent sedan with the auto in case I had to lend it to my Wife who does not drive a stick. I wish I would have gotten a 5 speed but I have to admit the 4 speed auto in the Accent is a pretty good desingn. The problem I have with manual trannies is that some people don't know how to drive them. Last week some MORON in a truck rolled into me from a stop light. He was talking on a cell phone and didn't notice he was rolling backwards. He also didn't notice me honking my horn. Luckily I only got a little mark on my front bumper. Anyway, put 31,000 miles on my 99 Accent in one year and it still looks and runs like new. Very happy with the car as I am happy with my Wife's 99 Elantra. The Elantra has been trouble free, my Accent had a bearing go bad in the power steering pump. The dealer replaced it and gave me a loaner car overnight under waranty for free. The car never stranded me, the bearing just started to make a little noise. Scott
automatic drives that you manual drives hate? I always give the car in front of me a decent following distance (i hate it when people are on my [non-permissible content removed]) and i always stop 3-4 feet behind the car in front of me at a stop light...
My preference is an auto tranny, my friend. To each his or her own. And no, I don't tailgate, change lanes without signalling, or give people the universal sign. I simply disagree with you that an auto tranny makes the accent an unattractive car. Far from it, imo. And I see that other respondents tend to agree with me.
The automatic transmission is nice infact an engine hooked to an auto tranny will have much less thrust side wear than one with a manual tranny. BUT the big question RELIABILITY.. Hyundyai was known in the past to have an unreliable auto tranny. The replacement cost a fortune. Has the newer models gotten better or do we need to wait and see ??? My self I saw too many fail at or before 50,000 miles. I shy from the automatic from Hyundai until they prove (over time) they have since become reliable !!!
OK... i looked at the tape player today and it is the way i thought it was and i don't see how to pull the cover off of the thing (those with 2000/2001 accents should know what it looks like). Does anybody know how to do this? I don't feel like dishing out $600 for a [non-permissible content removed]' hyundai stereo...
You didn't get my point. I wasn't saying you were an aggressive driver. I was simply responding to your statement about hating to be behind a manual driver on a hill because they roll backwards. Well, conversely, I get very agitated when an auto driver stops too close to my car when on an incline and I have no room to roll backwards. In other words, give at least a half of a car length when on a hill and you won't have to worry about the manual car rolling back and hitting your car. Believe me, I don't want a mark on my car and it just causes me more stress and more wear on my clutch to try and get my car off the line before rolling back too far. It's common courtesy to give plenty of room on a hill because you have no idea whether that car has an auto or manual. Think about how close you are to that car the next time you are on a hill before you go complaining about him rolling back and scaring you. As far as preferences, that's fine. Different people have different expectations on performance. To me, saddling a torque deficient small four banger with a power robbing auto is stupid. I expect at least some get up and go. Seeing as the biggest complaint about my 2000 Accent is the off-the-line acceleration even though I have the manual, the auto would just be even more agitating and painfully slow. So, to me, the further slowing down of things makes an auto equipped Accent very unattractive (even with the new engine). I guess it all boils down to those who actually enjoy driving and those who look at it as an appliance that should be as easy to operate as possible.
You need to increase that distance to more like 6 feet when on an incline so we have plenty of room to roll back without straining our cars more than we have to. I haven't figured out how the panel comes off either, but it must be held on with hidden screws. Open the cup holder and look up to see if the screws are there. I will look at it more later on and see if I can provide any more incite. If all else fails, try calling Hyundai and asking for directions or call the dealer.
I was obout 15 feet behind the truck that rolled into me. This is because he was towing a tree chipper shredder. It didn't matter the stupid driver was too busy talking on his cell phone. He even told me he heard my horn honking but still didn't notice he was rolling backwards. It doesn't matter how far you stop in back of someone if the driver is stupid. I have an old Subaru 4WD station wagon. It has a 4 speed stick with a "hill holding" clutch. This is a valve in the braking system that keeps the brakes one as long as the clutch is depressed. All you have to do is push the clutch in and stop. You can take you foot off the brake and the brakes stay on until you release the clutch, no rolling even on hills. I wonder if Subaru still has this on their new cars?
well, folks, sorry if the auto vs. manual tranny debate is boring you, I will make this my final thought on the subject. As an economy car, the Accent is a daily driver type vehicle for most folks whose posts I've read. And with the congested, stop-and-go commute that i have here in the Northeast, I appreciate an auto tranny. I like taking long road trips (did 500 miles to Maine in May)and an auto equipped car doesn't detract from my enjoying the driving experience. But I do appreciate the appliance-like reliability and problem-free operation of my vehicles, auto trannies included. The only reason I can see for a stick is better gas mileage, though the CVT transmissions offer nearly equal mileage to a stick with the convenience of an automatic.
It is interesting that you pull the gas mileage card. Korean cars like Hyundais and Kias are geared so short that an automatic does BETTER than the stick. Witness a basic Sephia. stick..23 city 29 highway auto...22 city 31 highway. The Accent only gets 3 more mpg on the highway with its stick. The DOHC engine, I don't know, but as for the 8-valve SOHC engine, it is too close to call it "better"
The Sephia is just about the only exception to the rule and that's because it has a short final drive ratio to improve passing performance. For the most part though, manuals provide better fuel efficiency. 3 mpg on the highway is a pretty significant difference. One slight correction: the Accent has a 12 valve SOHC engine, not an 8 valve.
According to the Kelly blue book site, the 2001 hatchback is $200 CHEAPER then the 2000 model. This is a great deal since the 2001 has the new 105 HP DOHC 1.6 liter engine. The 2001 sedan is $500 more then the hatchback now which makes the 2001 sedan $200 MORE then the 2000 sedan.
In June of 2000, I purchased a Retro Red Accent GS. To date the vehicle now has 3,500 miles on it and I have had little problems. I do have one concern that Im wondering if anyone can help shed some light on for me. I drive my Hyundai about 65miles per day too and from work. I have to travel a major highway where the speed limit is 75mph. After driving on the highway for about 30minutes I have noticed that my Accent slambs into gears very very very hard when I press the gas to pass someone. I took it into the dealership at 2,500miles to check this problem out. The dealership told me that this is normal for this type of car and the thump is caused by a combination of the A/C compressor and Overdrive kicking in at the same time. I don't feel comfortable with that response. Could someone let me know if they have had similar problems.
I don't have an automatic Rich, so I can't comment on this. But perhaps I can make a suggestion. When you are traveling at speed, try turning off the air conditioner and then doing your hard acceleration. If you get the same thump, then you will know it has nothing to do with the air conditioner. Seems to me you should get a relatively smooth downshift, every automatic I've ever had downshifted to pass without a thump....
That explanation makes sense to me. If you happen to cause the tranny to downshift out of overdrive at the exact same time that the AC clicks on, you would get a pretty hard thump. The AC saps a lot of power from the engine and is very noticeable when it turns on. I have the stick, but I have had the AC turn on when accelerating hard and what resulted was a bad jerk. A downshift timed with that AC jerk would cause a terrible thump in the drivetrain. Do what aldag said above. Turn off the AC and try the same acceleration manuever and see what happens.
There are so many good design ideas with the 2000 Accent. But I think I have found a problem. The Hyundai engineers were concerned with keeping the air circulating within the car clean, and have placed an air filter between the blower and air conditioning plenum. The filter is replaceable, and slides forward from the housing after removing the glove compartment and glove compartment support bracket. The filter appears to be made from spun polyester and has multiple folds to provide ample surface area. The filter does in fact trap a considerable amount of dirt, and I believe this causes a problem. In that dirt is, no doubt, a considerable quantity of mold spores. When the car is turned off, there is a great deal of condensed water which remains in the air conditioner condensor area, thus causing the air in the vicinity of the filter to become very humid. With the car parked and turned off in the hot sun, the filter becomes very warm. This combination of heat and humidity in the vicinity of the air filter causes the mold spores to bloom. I believe this is what causes the stinky air conditioner smell. I shall be looking into this potential problem further and would welcome any ideas about this. Also, I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem.......
Aldag, what you are saying makes sense and could possibly be a problem. However, I haven't really had any problems with stinky AC smells and I live in one of the most humid areas possible: Florida. If the combination of heat and humidity would cause more problems with mold and smells, I would think I would be experiencing it in the worst way. Interior AC filters are becoming more common place so I would think that they would take into consideration the problem you are speaking of and design them so they aren't the cause of it. From what I have heard, the cause of those bad smells is mold accumulation on the condenser itself because it stays wet all the time. The condenser is far enough away from the filter that no direct wetness could get on the filter. So, it's possibly the cause of the smell, but I kind of doubt it. Anyway, thanks for bringing this topic up. I remember seeing something in the manual about having an interior filter, but it never says whether you are supposed to replace it or where it is located, at least not that I saw. I figured maybe the Canadians got it and we didn't, but I'm glad to know that our little economy car offers such a nice feature. I do notice much less dust floating around.
I'm thinking of getting a cheap car.. and I was suprised with how much extras GSi comes with. I was originally thinking of an Echo.. but after the packages I want.. it just jumps outa the range of being cheap. All my friends hammered on me because I said maybe I'll get an accent GSi. To my knowledge, chinese with Korean cars is almost non-excistent. But personally I think Hyundai has improved a lot.I am really starting to like this little sporty car. I dun have any friends that owned or drived an Accent before. so I'd like to hear from you guys.... I also heard there's a new engine for 2001?
there is a simple solution to the "stinky a/c" smell that you guys are talking about. remember: this aint no Bimmer or benz, so of course there are going to be faults with the car, things that could have been designed better. however there is a solution. if you have the a/c on, turn it off 5-10 minutes before you reach your destination. this will evaporate any water that is in the ventilatioin system. therefore it wont mold or mildew inside it. i ve been doing that since i got the car in april and havent had to deal with the smell.
rukawa, i d go for the accent. it does have a new engine. it has a 1.6 liter 105 hp now. last year it was only 92. ive heard a lot of good things about the accent. cheap to buy, lots of options standard, reliable. nice 10 yr warranty. id go for it. i have an elantra, but thats because i got a great deal on it. my plan was to try to talk the guy down to $10,000 on the base 5 spd elantra. if not, then i was going to get the base 5 spd accent cause that fitted my budget without haggling. turns out i got rims and cruise control for 10,800. not bad. the hyundai dealers are really flexible when haggling. so talk the dealer down as much as you can. good luck
The only problem is I'm in Canada.. i think the warranty here is still 3 yrs/5 yrs.. but the price is lower than US i believe.. 15045 Cdn for an auto GSi MSRP. I sure hope the dealer flexibility is still there for me. I've read some bad news about the 2000 accent.. such as getting the 4th trans replaced in only 6 month.. or hatch doors rattling.. or the whistling when driving... anybody got a 2001 GSi yet? :P
There is no GSi model in the US, only a GS. The GSi was discontinued after the 99 model year. As far as the problems you speak of, I have not heard of any of them. My hatch doesn't rattle, though I sometimes get a squeak from the center stoplight rubbing against the glass (easily solved but haven't bothered with it yet). The only whistle I have encountered was while driving at 80-90 mph, and that was because the window wasn't completely closed. I have not heard of any tranny problems on the 2000s. The Accent is a great buy, go for it.
There was a recall for early 2000 Accents with the 5 speed manual trannies that involved the linkage. The car would get stuck in gear. This problem has been fixed. I have heard some complaints about the 5 speed with rough shifting. I have a 99 Accent with the auto trans. My auto trans has worked perfectly for the last year and over 32,000 miles. I think the Accent is a great buy. The only other cars I would consider in this price range are the Kia Rio and the Daewoo Lanos.
Anybody seen the new 2001 Accent GSi in Canada? i think some has lined-up grills in between the headlights.. and I've seen grills that features a happy face.. I was wondering which grills come with the 2001 Accent GSi?
Wow, this topic has been quiet for quite some time. I guess that is a good thing because it means no one is having serious enough problems to come here and [non-permissible content removed] about them, LOL. Anyway, here's an update on my 00 Accent L: I have owned the car for 6 months now and have 7200 miles. The car has been flawless. It has not been back to the dealer. I changed my oil for the second time and the engine finally seems to be freeing up a bit (it has a bit more pep). My fuel economy still changes dramatically week to week though. One week I got an impressive 33 mpg all city driving (AC off most of the time) and than the very next week it dropped down to 27 (using the AC a bit more). It perturbs me, but I have learned to accept it now. The one annoying squeak is still present somewhere in the B pillar on the passenger side of the car, but otherwise the car still remains solid. I have little to complain about the Kumho tires. They grip pretty good in the dry (I have only made them squeal in protest once), are relatively quiet, and don't seem to have the shimmy problems that plague Hankook tires. They do seem to lose tire pressure at a higher than normal pace though. I have to add 2-4 psi's every 3 weeks or so. All in all, I am still completely satisfied with my purchase. I was considering trading up to the 2001 GS model to get the more powerful engine and the power package, but since this car has been so good, I decided to stick with it at least until I graduate from college in another year. Any other happy Accent owners out there?
Hi, I've read a lot of good posts about the Hundyai Accent — a lot of people seem to be very happy with it. I'm considering buying one... but I'm very tall, 6 foot 4 inches to be exact. The interior dimensions appear to be quite similar to a FULL-SIZE Ford Taurus, which surprised me a bit. I haven't been to a dealer yet (a nice distance away) and I've just started doing my research. Any comments?
If head room is what you are concerned about, the Accent has lots of that. It has a high roof that gives it plenty of head room, plus the seats are positioned high so you get a more commanding view of the road and you don't feel like you are sitting on the floor. The high position also keeps your legs from feeling as cramped. The GS and GL models also feature a height adjustable seat in case you do need to lower the seat to keep your hair from rubbin the headliner. For its size, the Accent is very roomy. It has a lot of cargo space if you get the hatchback, but the trunk on the sedan is only adequate. It's a good buy. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to try and answer them for you. Good luck in your research.
Looking into buying the GSi myself. A lot comes with it and seems like a a pretty good deal when you look at the competition. As far as MRSP goes, you might want to check out the American website called carbuyingtips.com. It gives you a great deal of information on how to negociate your MRSP and get a better deal ultimately... Happy hunting!
I purchased my 2000 Accent in July. I have been noticing a jump in my transmission and I haven't been running my A/C. I do not have to speeding up it sometimes happens when I am slowing down and the car is down-shifting. It does seem to jump when I take off also. I am also having a problem where if I have my headlights on and I turn on the blinker my brights come on. The defrosting system is not a well though out plan either. Where I live there is not a need to turn on the A/C compressor when you defrost the windows but there is no way to turn it off. This causes me to use more gas and sometimes I just like for the air to blow on the window and curve around to my face instead of coming out of the vents and blowing directly in my face.
Hey you want to answer that last post? Id love to hear how you explain all those problems on a new car. Especially since its such a great car. Let me see.....i believe you said better than Honda, Toyota and all the others. Best 50 cents you ever spent for a car, right? I would say that post was just good timing, except that i hear these complaints allllll the time. Go ahead, tell him he got a great car at a great price.
I see one problem. Magooch didn't quite describe the problem well enough with the auto tranny, but it's possible he/she has a faulty tranny or a malfunctioning sensor. Unfortunate but certainly possible with ANY car. Let's see, how many faulty trannys were installed on the 99 Accord V-6? Quite a few complaints stemmed from a clunking tranny. I would like to see how you answer to Honda's blatant release of thousands of bad trannys. Oh, and how do you explain the fact my sister is currently going through arbitration on her 2000 Honda Odyssey for multiple problems experienced in only 9000 miles? It's simple, every company can put out a lemon and Honda is NOT exempt from that. I'd like to know when I ever said the Accent is better than Honda, Toyota etc. Those companies don't even offer a car in its price class. The Accent is the best buy in its class. It doesn't quite compete on an even scale with the Civic, but than again it wasn't meant to. That is the Elantra's job. As to the other things that were mentioned in the post, one is a very minor problem and the other is a design that is used in many cars and is not a problem. Many new cars automatically turn on the AC when you select the defroster. My 84 VW GTI even does it. The Accent's turn stalk, when pulled towards you, flashes the high beams, or when pushed away, turns them on. It's possible magooch is tugging or pushing the lever while turning on the blinker. Or maybe the switch is loose. Not a big deal by any stretch. You are pulling stuff out of thin air to make yourself feel better about paying the same price for a used car as I did for a new one. As far as I'm concerned, your post was stupid and simply showed how ignorant and quick to judge you really are.
"pulling stuff out of thin air"? I think you have the wrong person, i just pointed out someones post about problems with a Hyundai. Sure it may be a sensor in the tranny, but you dont know that. It could need an entirely new tranny. Either way its a new car..it should not have that major of a problem. And to straighten you out, i know that any car company can have a bad product. But Hyundai produces a line of cars with problems that never get fixed...they just keep throwing them out there for you to buy. I havent followed the new accord V-6. I suggest people read articles in reputable media sources. A Honda minivan? Why do you keep bringing up that one specific van? Didnt you admit any company is bound to have a couple bad cars out of thousands? You failed to mention that the demand for Odesseys is so great that people are on waiting lists to purchase them. Besides, it's a fairly new entry...they havent had many years to perfect it. The difference is that Hyundai hasn't fixed any of their many problems. They would rather make a car that breaks more often and trick people like yourself into buying them. They just attempt to keep a straight face when they tell you....."its a great car (snicker...snicker) sure..it competes with the Civic (snicker...snicker) yeah, it'll last you just as long as the competition (snicker...snicker) and boom! you're sold. Honda doesnt offer a car in that class because they have a reputation to uphold. They know you cant build a decent(let alone good) car for that price. As for you personal attacks....I dont mind at all. If you cant even tell a good car from a pile of crap, then i dont expect you to appreciate or acknowledge my wisdom.
Once again you show you dont know value, reliability, or retail values. Your new 99-00 Hyundai cost a lot more than my 1990 CRX. You must not have read that Honda stopped making the CRX in 1991. And the best thing is my car will still be running strong while yours is in the shop. That's not even mentioning that my CRX will leave you in my rear view mirror, pass you in the corner, get-as-good-as gas milage, while having the styling of a more expensive sports car. Oh it feels so good to drive a Honda!
As I had mentioned earlier, I will try to give an updated report on my Accent experiencs. I have now had the car for 9 months and I have almost 9000 miles on the car. I have experienced only one annoying problem so far, and that is the moldy or musty smell from the air conditioner. At first I thought this might be caused by the air filter situated close to the air conditioner plenum. However, I now feel the smell comes from the vicinity of the cooling fins. I suspect Hyundai might have used some type of organic insulative material which can be attacked by mildew. I am able to correct the problem by spraying a mild detergent onto the air conditioning coils and flushing out the area with lukewarm water. This seems to clear the problem for four or five weeks, then it comes back. I believe my problem is exascerbated by the fact that I use the AC only very occassionally and for short trips, thus the unit does not undergo a complete self flush unlike for those who make more extensive use of the AC, in warmer climates. Does Hyundai know they have a problem here? Yes. The recent service coupons I received included one for "cleaning out the bad AC smell, only $29.95." If I didn't know better, I would say someone accidentally left their old socks in there during assembly. But remarkably, this is the only problem I have had with this car so far. I note the comments from others concerning the clunk in the auto transmission, I can't comment on this, as I have a standard. The car broke in very nicely, and feels mechanically sound. The manual shifter, stiff at first, has become exceptionally easy to shift. The car, with the AC off, is peppy and responsive. With the AC on is another story, but for my type of driving, performance is still quite adequate. One thing that I note is that the ground clearance is somewhat less than what I am used to, the front towing eye has hit the pavement a couple of times upon entering a driveway, just something that has to be kept in mind. My AC does not come on automatically with the defroster. It has a completely separate AC switch, perhaps because it is dealer installed. So overall, I would say that for such an economical car, I am quite satisfied and will probably utilize the car for an extended period of time. Resale value, by the time I am through with the car, will not be a relevant factor.
Just a few other things I've noted about cars that might be considered competition. I did look at the Ford Focus, but this was priced much higher. I couldn't help but notice the recent Focus recall of about a quarter million cars because "the rear wheel and brake assembly may become detached from the car" and "the cruise control may become stuck in the full open throttle position". These are not encouraging thoughts. My brother had a Honda, the more expensive one. This car had some kind of electrical problem which caused the car to stop five or six times on the highway. Very hard to fix because it was an intermittent type problem, the repairman's nightmare. He finally bought a Lumina. The only encounter I have had with an Odyssey was the one that went out of control on slushy pavement, despite the ABS brakes, and totaled my beloved Shadow. The Shadow being replaced by the Accent. I will try to keep you all informed as to my experience with the Accent.
The AC smell must be caused by your short trips and occassional use. I still have not encountered the musty smell that seems to afflict many newer cars. I wonder if it might also have something to do with the dealer installed unit?? Mine came with the factory unit. Just a thought.
The Excel was a throwaway car, right...so were the 92-95 Elantra, the 89-96 Sonata, and all Scoupes. It seems when the Hyundais get older, they are either falling apart or cost too much money to keep running, either in hard to find parts or shop labor. I actually see more Excels here in Dallas than other Hyundais, mainly because the people who own them keep them by visiting the thousands of Excels in junkyards, or else they have to keep a half a dozen at home to keep one running. I think the newer models are fine, but you're not comparing apples to apples. A base Civic doesn't have power options and it doesn't have a DOHC engine, but it does have a Honda engine, an engine that when serviced properly will outlast the Elantra you have now and whatever you replace it with in a couple years. Being faster and accelerating better? Okay...I'm not even touching that one. A 10-year warranty sounds nice but who cares how long the warranty is if the car is in the shop all the time? The Civic has whatever 3 or 4 year short warranty but it doesn't get used. Try comparing your $12K Elantra to a $12K used 1996 Civic EX and you lose. All you have left is your 10 year warranty because the Civic EX has 127hp, power everything, sunroof, and will be running circles around your Elantra until you can't stand it any more. The Civic won't need any warranty it may have left because it won't break when cared for. Show me an Elantra with over 150K that isn't dead or close to it. I have never seen a running Elantra over 150K. The 1996 Civics hold their value. A $16K 1996 Civic is worth $10K today whereas the $12K 1996 Elantra is worth about $4K today and can be had for even less than that. I see 97-98 Elantras sell for $5K and less in the Dallas paper every week. Go online to dallasnews.com and check the ads yourself.
Personally, I have only owned two Hondas and they both were junk because they had been abused (1980 Civic 1300 and 1986 Civic sedan). It isn't like I spent a lot of money on them, I used the rest of their lives up and scrapped them like I do with all my cars. Those cars aren't good examples though because they had been abused. I abused the 1980 and broke the timing belt, but it ran long enough (a week) to be worth the whopping $40 I spent on it (by the way I sold it for $50 for parts). The 1986 had a blown head gasket when I got it so it didn't last long either, but it got me around for a month making it worth the $300 price.
what happened to my post? a lot of thought went into that and it deleted. i ll just email it to freakencrx so he can read it over and over and mayeb it'll get through to him. hehe
the 10 year warranty is used to buy back customer confidence in their cars. all i know is that ive got 8000 miles on my elantra and i havent used it once. the truth is that hyundai just might be as reliable as honda now. honda enthusisats just dont want to admit it because its "korean" vs japanese. and to be honest, i rather have a new hyunda any day vs. a 4 year old honda with probably 50k miles on it and wondering if it was cared for or not. like i said in my last post. no car is really crap. it all depends on how the owner cares for it. he could hammer the hell out of the civic and could run fine when you get it but like crap later on and then you are really screwed. doesnt matter if its honda or not. a car can take just so much abuse before it quits. the only reason hyundais resale is so low is becuase of the reputation the excel gave it. but resale is slowly going up.
obviously, by your profile, you dont know the meaning of a quality car. i mean, 38 cars. c'mon. you shouldnt even speak because that is just retarded buying such trash. if you scraped all the money you had on those cars, im sure you could have gotten a brand new elantra. you havent owned a hyundai so you really cant say anything.
thats not a problem. all cars do that (even hondas...hehe). what happpens is that when the A/C is on and you just turn it off. water vapor condenses inside the ventaliation system. it stays there for awhile and evaporates slowly. therefore can cause mildew. that is what you are smelling when you turn it back on the next day or a couple of days later. Easy solution: turn the A/C button off and leave the fan on about 5-10 minutes before you reach your destination. the fan will help evaporate some of that water.
and about my last post. To everyone, hyundai owner or not....it just angers me to see how ignorant people are out that think hyundai is crap just by the excel and passed experiences 9 years ago. they havent looked into hyundai, owned one. they just "assume" its bad. remember assume means making an "[non-permissible content removed]" out of "u" and "me". i wish people would look into hyundai or anything else before opening their mouth. formulate your own opinion, not assume.
Here is a perfect example of what I'm talking about:
Some people say american cars suck. Well, I have a 1996 jeep cherokee with almost 100,000 miles on it not once has it been in the shop for anything other then routine maintance. so what does that tell you there? Reliable? i would say so since it hasnt had ONE problem. Some people say European cars are the best. well, my mother has a leased 99 saab 9-3. in the passed year, the A/C broke, and the automatic climate control shorted out last week. Reliable? thats a debatable issue. No car is really unreliable. it all depends on the owner. A properly maintined civic will run great for many miles to come....but so will a properly maintanced hyundai. that is all i have to say
I totally am confused by your remarks here. Someone who supposedly loves the cheap and tinny Metro, longs to get one that has 100K on it, and currently owns a 95 Aspire that has a flood title shouldn't be bashing new Hyundais that easily surpass the quality of anything you have ever owned. Gee, I would love to own a car for a week and say I got my $40 out of it. Honestly, I see no point to your constant search for junked cars that rarely last you longer than a few months. You may not dish out the same kind of cash as I did all at once, but your constant need for repairs quickly adds up. I should know. Keeping my 84 VW GTI in good condition has cost me as much as a really nice used car, but I do it because I love the car. I'm not quite sure why you do things the way you do, because you don't keep the cars long enough to fall in love with them. As to your history of Hyundai, the 94-98 Sonata was a very capable car. The 94 model beat the Camry and placed 3rd out of 6 cars in Car & Driver's comparison test for the best family sedan for 20 grand. Seeing as how the Scoupe was simply an Excel with sportier looks, its below average reliability is not too surprising. I see 92-95 Elantras on the road all the time and most are still in good condition with no smoke pouring out of the exhaust pipe, unlike so many used Hondas on the road. The Elantra's only known fault was the tendency of early models to break the timing belt if it wasn't changed promptly around the 60K mark. Since the Elantra's engine at the time was simply a Mitsubishi design, it wasn't really Hyundai's fault. Many things have changed since than. Hyundai now uses its own engine designs and things have been looking up ever since they did that. I can only suggest what I did to freakncrx. You have no place to talk until you actually have owned a newer Hyundai. Until than, your conjecture about how much better Honda is is pure heresay and is based solely on reputation. Good luck the next time you stroll through the junk yard. Maybe you will find that elusive diamond in the ruff
for your comments regarding the AC. I don't believe turning the AC off 5 to 10 minutes before arriving at my destination will help my mildew situation, simply because most of my driving trips are 5 to 10 minutes in duration. To follow your advice, I would never get to use the AC at all! Also, all of my previous cars with AC were used in the same manner as the current Accent, and none of these cars ever developed this type of annoying stinking moldy problem. Therefore, I must conclude that Hyundai has done something inherently wrong with the design of the AC. Perhaps they should take apart a typical American car AC unit and find out why it doesn't get a mildew problem, then they could copy the design. At least then it might come out right.....
Saying I know nothing about cars is like telling a doctor he doesn't know how to cure diseases. I buy $50 and $100 and $500 cars because I like them. I don't like a lot of new cars. I also see no reason to spend $12,000 on a new car when a $1,000 used car will do me just fine. A car payment would just be money thrown out the window in depreciation and interest. I never manage to get stranded even in the cars in the worst condition. Its because I understand the theories of internal combustion, the cooling system, the oiling system, the drivetrain, etc. A lot of people will drop their car off at a Jiffy Lube and come back to find a $600 list of items to be fixed like CV axles, head gasket, whatever. I have driven this Aspire 5500 miles now and everyone tells me it shouldn't be running at all, let alone do my courier work 250-300 miles a day. Like elantra00 says it's all how you treat the car. If I beat the heck out of this Aspire it wouldn't have gone 1000 miles let alone 5500. And I'll be driving it for awhile to come. I also need variety in what I drive, even if it is only a change of color or year. Why do you say I am retarded? Most of the cars I had were in better cosmetic condition than mechanical and I kept them on the road. Some of them were hideous cars that ran perfect and I bought them to work on the cosmetics. I made money on about a third of them and lost money on the rest. But the ones I lost money on I got a lot of miles out of and that translates into tax deductions for courier work. Saying I am dumb, or stupid, or that I don't know what quality is, is a poor statement. You also need to watch your language. Besides, I got over 400,000 miles out of the 38 cars combined. One new Hyundai wouldn't have lasted nearly that long. And even four Hyundais would've cost plenty more than 38 "pieces of trash". I keep a record of what I have owned and what I have spent on it and will send it to you if you like and you will see that I am way ahead of the game.
From what I have heard, the moldy smell has to do with the use of R134a refrigerant and the problem is widespread among all newer cars. My Mom's 92 Accord and my 84 VW, which both use R12, have never had this problem. However, my sister's 94 Accord, the first year they switched to 134a, had a big problem with the smell and required a trip to the dealer to rectify. The smell stayed away as long as she turned the AC on to the fresh cycle at least 10 minutes before getting home. The mechanics told her it had something to do with the use of smaller evaporators, due to 134a, which stay wet longer. I believe this is your first car with 134a, so you don't have any past cars to properly compare it to. At any rate, complaints of moldy smells are widespread and only became an issue after the switch to 134a. I have heard numerous complaints in the Dodge Stratus forum, so American cars are not exempt. Don't fool yourself into thinking that Hyundai is the only car manufacturer that has this problem.
All I have to say is that if you come in here bashing a car you have never owned and making assumptions that are not based on facts, than expect to get bashed right back. Don't think we are going to sit here and listen to you tell us that we bought junk when that is far from the truth. I'm here to open people's minds about Hyundai, so I will be quick to defend them against blatant bending of the truth. I know very well that you wanted to get a 2000 Metro badly, but due to difficulties, could not afford to do so. Knowing that fact makes your bashing of buying new even more disconcerting.
Comments
Im telling you...dont get an automatic. Manuals are so much more fun. also, the manual in the hyundais are pretty good. smooth shifting motions. its a long throw shifter, in case anyone is wondering
enjoy the moment.
Scott
BUT the big question RELIABILITY..
Hyundyai was known in the past to have an unreliable auto tranny.
The replacement cost a fortune. Has the newer models gotten better or do we need to wait and see ??? My self I saw too many fail at or before 50,000 miles.
I shy from the automatic from Hyundai until they prove (over time) they have since become reliable !!!
As far as preferences, that's fine. Different people have different expectations on performance. To me, saddling a torque deficient small four banger with a power robbing auto is stupid. I expect at least some get up and go. Seeing as the biggest complaint about my 2000 Accent is the off-the-line acceleration even though I have the manual, the auto would just be even more agitating and painfully slow. So, to me, the further slowing down of things makes an auto equipped Accent very unattractive (even with the new engine). I guess it all boils down to those who actually enjoy driving and those who look at it as an appliance that should be as easy to operate as possible.
I haven't figured out how the panel comes off either, but it must be held on with hidden screws. Open the cup holder and look up to see if the screws are there. I will look at it more later on and see if I can provide any more incite. If all else fails, try calling Hyundai and asking for directions or call the dealer.
Scott
Thanks
Rich
Anyway, thanks for bringing this topic up. I remember seeing something in the manual about having an interior filter, but it never says whether you are supposed to replace it or where it is located, at least not that I saw. I figured maybe the Canadians got it and we didn't, but I'm glad to know that our little economy car offers such a nice feature. I do notice much less dust floating around.
rukawa, i d go for the accent. it does have a new engine. it has a 1.6 liter 105 hp now. last year it was only 92. ive heard a lot of good things about the accent. cheap to buy, lots of options standard, reliable. nice 10 yr warranty. id go for it. i have an elantra, but thats because i got a great deal on it. my plan was to try to talk the guy down to $10,000 on the base 5 spd elantra. if not, then i was going to get the base 5 spd accent cause that fitted my budget without haggling. turns out i got rims and cruise control for 10,800. not bad. the hyundai dealers are really flexible when haggling. so talk the dealer down as much as you can.
i think some has lined-up grills in between the headlights.. and I've seen grills that features a happy face.. I was wondering which grills come with the 2001 Accent GSi?
www.hyundaicanada.com
and it does look good with the happy smile grills
I have owned the car for 6 months now and have 7200 miles. The car has been flawless. It has not been back to the dealer. I changed my oil for the second time and the engine finally seems to be freeing up a bit (it has a bit more pep). My fuel economy still changes dramatically week to week though. One week I got an impressive 33 mpg all city driving (AC off most of the time) and than the very next week it dropped down to 27 (using the AC a bit more). It perturbs me, but I have learned to accept it now. The one annoying squeak is still present somewhere in the B pillar on the passenger side of the car, but otherwise the car still remains solid.
I have little to complain about the Kumho tires. They grip pretty good in the dry (I have only made them squeal in protest once), are relatively quiet, and don't seem to have the shimmy problems that plague Hankook tires. They do seem to lose tire pressure at a higher than normal pace though. I have to add 2-4 psi's every 3 weeks or so.
All in all, I am still completely satisfied with my purchase. I was considering trading up to the 2001 GS model to get the more powerful engine and the power package, but since this car has been so good, I decided to stick with it at least until I graduate from college in another year. Any other happy Accent owners out there?
Happy hunting!
As to the other things that were mentioned in the post, one is a very minor problem and the other is a design that is used in many cars and is not a problem. Many new cars automatically turn on the AC when you select the defroster. My 84 VW GTI even does it. The Accent's turn stalk, when pulled towards you, flashes the high beams, or when pushed away, turns them on. It's possible magooch is tugging or pushing the lever while turning on the blinker. Or maybe the switch is loose. Not a big deal by any stretch.
You are pulling stuff out of thin air to make yourself feel better about paying the same price for a used car as I did for a new one. As far as I'm concerned, your post was stupid and simply showed how ignorant and quick to judge you really are.
Sure it may be a sensor in the tranny, but you dont know that. It could need an entirely new tranny. Either way its a new car..it should not have that major of a problem. And to straighten you out, i know that any car company can have a bad product. But Hyundai produces a line of cars with problems that never get fixed...they just keep throwing them out there for you to buy.
I havent followed the new accord V-6. I suggest people read articles in reputable media sources.
A Honda minivan? Why do you keep bringing up that one specific van? Didnt you admit any company is bound to have a couple bad cars out of thousands? You failed to mention that the demand for Odesseys is so great that people are on waiting lists to purchase them. Besides, it's a fairly new entry...they havent had many years to perfect it. The difference is that Hyundai hasn't fixed any of their many problems. They would rather make a car that breaks more often and trick people like yourself into buying them. They just attempt to keep a straight face when they tell you....."its a great car (snicker...snicker) sure..it competes with the Civic (snicker...snicker) yeah, it'll last you just as long as the competition (snicker...snicker) and boom! you're sold.
Honda doesnt offer a car in that class because they have a reputation to uphold. They know you cant build a decent(let alone good) car for that price.
As for you personal attacks....I dont mind at all. If you cant even tell a good car from a pile of crap, then i dont expect you to appreciate or acknowledge my wisdom.
Just a few other things I've noted about cars that might be considered competition. I did look at the Ford Focus, but this was priced much higher. I couldn't help but notice the recent Focus recall of about a quarter million cars because "the rear wheel and brake assembly may become detached from the car" and "the cruise control may become stuck in the full open throttle position". These are not encouraging thoughts. My brother had a Honda, the more expensive one. This car had some kind of electrical problem which caused the car to stop five or six times on the highway. Very hard to fix because it was an intermittent type problem, the repairman's nightmare. He finally bought a Lumina.
The only encounter I have had with an Odyssey was the one that went out of control on slushy pavement, despite the ABS brakes, and totaled my beloved Shadow. The Shadow being replaced by the Accent. I will try to keep you all informed as to my experience with the Accent.
Personally, I have only owned two Hondas and they both were junk because they had been abused (1980 Civic 1300 and 1986 Civic sedan). It isn't like I spent a lot of money on them, I used the rest of their lives up and scrapped them like I do with all my cars. Those cars aren't good examples though because they had been abused. I abused the 1980 and broke the timing belt, but it ran long enough (a week) to be worth the whopping $40 I spent on it (by the way I sold it for $50 for parts). The 1986 had a blown head gasket when I got it so it didn't last long either, but it got me around for a month making it worth the $300 price.
obviously, by your profile, you dont know the meaning of a quality car. i mean, 38 cars. c'mon. you shouldnt even speak because that is just retarded buying such trash. if you scraped all the money you had on those cars, im sure you could have gotten a brand new elantra. you havent owned a hyundai so you really cant say anything.
and about my last post. To everyone, hyundai owner or not....it just angers me to see how ignorant people are out that think hyundai is crap just by the excel and passed experiences 9 years ago. they havent looked into hyundai, owned one. they just "assume" its bad. remember assume means making an "[non-permissible content removed]" out of "u" and "me". i wish people would look into hyundai or anything else before opening their mouth. formulate your own opinion, not assume.
Here is a perfect example of what I'm talking about:
Some people say american cars suck. Well, I have a 1996 jeep cherokee with almost 100,000 miles on it not once has it been in the shop for anything other then routine maintance. so what does that tell you there? Reliable? i would say so since it hasnt had ONE problem. Some people say European cars are the best. well, my mother has a leased 99 saab 9-3. in the passed year, the A/C broke, and the automatic climate control shorted out last week. Reliable? thats a debatable issue. No car is really unreliable. it all depends on the owner. A properly maintined civic will run great for many miles to come....but so will a properly maintanced hyundai. that is all i have to say
As to your history of Hyundai, the 94-98 Sonata was a very capable car. The 94 model beat the Camry and placed 3rd out of 6 cars in Car & Driver's comparison test for the best family sedan for 20 grand. Seeing as how the Scoupe was simply an Excel with sportier looks, its below average reliability is not too surprising. I see 92-95 Elantras on the road all the time and most are still in good condition with no smoke pouring out of the exhaust pipe, unlike so many used Hondas on the road. The Elantra's only known fault was the tendency of early models to break the timing belt if it wasn't changed promptly around the 60K mark. Since the Elantra's engine at the time was simply a Mitsubishi design, it wasn't really Hyundai's fault. Many things have changed since than. Hyundai now uses its own engine designs and things have been looking up ever since they did that. I can only suggest what I did to freakncrx. You have no place to talk until you actually have owned a newer Hyundai. Until than, your conjecture about how much better Honda is is pure heresay and is based solely on reputation. Good luck the next time you stroll through the junk yard. Maybe you will find that elusive diamond in the ruff
carlady/host