2011 Hyundai Sonata

awahoo

I found this forum right after the Super Bowl ads on the Sonata. I got on, because I wanted to find out all I could about this car. I don't need to be called a liar because I got a better deal than someone else. Yes, the MSRP is $26,150, not $26,155 so I guess that makes me a liar. It was a simple typo on my part. Researching the Sonata on this forum has now served it's purpose for me. At my age, I don't need the hassle of being called a liar. I have my car at a fantastic price. If you're jealous, that's your problem. By the way, I don't know how to post photos, but if I did, since I'm a liar, how would you know I didn't fake them?

dash5

Hmm I may have to consider a lease now. Although, I've never leased before but this might be an exception. I put very low miles on my cars so maybe it would work out.

dash5

By the way, is Edmunds going to be reviewing this in the near future or should I stop checking?

herbie10

I've been extremely happy with my 2011 limited. We took it to the dealership to replace the back left wheel well that didn't quite come to the edge of the rear bumper. We left the dealership in a loaner and came back about 4 hours later and they said that my car was completely dead. They were doing an upgrade that the factory had reqested on the car computer and it crashed. This happened on Saturday, so they can't contact the tech until Monday. They gave me a new 2010 to drive, but it's nowhere close to my 2011 Limited. Hopefully they'll bring mine back Monday. I'm assuming that the computer problem is just a fluke and not an indication of the future.

pegasus17

REF: 959
Sir, I am not on here to make enemies. This forum is meant to be both educational and cooperative. Congratulations on your purchase of a 2011 Sonata Limited at a truly excellent price (23k). Drive it safely and enjoy it for a long, long time.

shuale_ejs

Well I hope it's not your car. Did you buy it already or are you just waiting for that color combination to come in to your dealer?

I don't know where it's coming from.

shuale_ejs

I hope you get your car back soon too and hopefully it's working properly! I wouldn't want to be without my new car either.

stickguy

I need to stop in and check this out in person soon. I really liked the one I saw last month at the car show. Good thing the pet store I get dog food at is right next to the dealer!

Not that I am in the market right now, but if I was and wanted another sedan, this would be at the top of the list.

Doesn't hurt that I have a friend that works for Hyundai corporate so if I was buying, I would get whatever the best insider deal available was.

alexup

Herbie10...I got the same computer upgrade flash on Thursday but did not have any problems. I would say it's just a fluke.

syitalian25

Did they give any details on what the computer upgrade would effect? I am interested to hear more, this is the first I'm hearing of this.

cadefoster

Hi everyone, just signed up, Current 01 Elantra owner here. None of the dealers in the Boston area can tell me when Hyundai will start making the camel pearl color in the Limited, more specifically, I'm looking for a limited w/camel pearl exterior and camel interior. Is there anyone from "within" that may be able to find out. Also, I find it very strange that dealers can't preorder one for me, or are they just pulling my leg, since they kept trying to get me to buy form their existing stock? Thanx

shuale_ejs

I don't know what their deal is but my dealer gave me a hard time about ordering a car too. It stinks, I did not have this problem with my BMW.

shabadoo25

Dealers cannot special order these cars. They are shipped to them in allotments. Based on their volume of sales, they can make strong suggestions as to what they get, but the final decision is not in their hands. The more stroke the dealership has, the more likely you are to get what you want.

In a previous post, someone mentioned that there will be no LTDs with tan interiors made until at least April. Nothing but grey and black until then.

pcgeek86

Hey guys,

I posted this a couple of days ago (as it seems some of you have found out), but I just wanted to make sure you all saw the HD 720p (almost 10 minute) video of the interior!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaQCdVjAWKs

I'm still working on editing the exterior one just a tad before I post it. Had to go away for the weekend, so I lost some time working on it!

Cheers,
Trevor

bhmr59

If you drive very low miles per year, you might want to rethink leasing in favor of buying.

My '05 Sonata GLS SV was $17,770 OTD including doc fees, taxes, etc...every thing. I financed about $10,500 for 60 months and paid off the loan in 54 months. The car will be 5 years old the middle of April and has about 30,500 miles on it...very low miles per year. I had the 30K service done with an oil change at about 28,500 miles. So, all I've paid for is regular oil changes and the 30K service, totaling less than $500.

The car is in great shape, mechanically, exterior and interior. There's no reason to expect it will suddenly develop problems. OK, in the next 30K I'll need tires and (ugh) timing belt--but the '06+ has a timing chain.

I haven't checked but I could still probably get about $6K or more on a trade-in considering the low mileage. So, discounting the taxes, it has cost about $2K per year and I don't have car payments.

Leasing may work for some people but I don't think it fits for someone driving very few miles per year. They're not getting enough miles out of the depreciation they are paying for.

swingman

Thanks for the videos. It's very informative for those of us that haven't seen one yet in person.

I have a question about heated seats. If you leave them on, then do they automatically turn off when you turn off the car? I would assume so (i never had a car with heated seats)

andyfromva

The Hyundai dealers near me (Northern Virginia) only seem to have the Radiant Silver or Pearl White exterior. I'm interested in something more colorful. Has anyone seen the bright blue (Pacific Blue Pearl?) How about the Venetian Red? What do you think of those colors?

Anyone seen the camel interior? It looks more interesting to me than the gray.

I'm thinking I'll have to wait awhile until those colors become available here.

napsfan

Two quick questions for those of you you have a new 2011 Limited:

a) Is the HD radio working? I see it always says "(late availability)" in all the brochures and even online marketing material, and I wonder what that means. (And if yes -- how do you like it?)

b) Does the 6-CD changer allow "random" selection a song at a time across the six CDs, or is it just either random within a CD and random order of CDs.

Thanks.

dash5

Thanks for the comments bhmr59, appreciated. I know very little about leasing so that advice was welcome.

I'm similar to you, I'm driving a 2001 Jetta with just under 60k miles on it. Very low miles per year. Nothing serious mechanically yet on it, but I am starting to get some electrical issues which I've read is not uncommon with this model during those years. In any case, nothing I cant deal with until I'm ready for a new car.

herbie10

They didn't say. My wife was so upset that that the car wouldn't work that I didn't even ask. I don't know if they knew what the upgrade was, just that it needed to be done.

herbie10

The HD Radio is working and sounds great. I can't pick it up where I live, but it works near the bigger cities. I'll have to check out the CD question. I've not really messed with it much. Just loving the USB connection mostly.

cmuniz

Dealer has said that the camel leather interior will not be made until late March for April availability. I wanted to order a Pearl White with Camel and the dealer got word from somebody at Hyundai that it won't be available till then. Also, got in a Limited w/o Nav at the dealer and the HD radio was working!! The Pacific Blue looks nice, but it looks black when I saw it. It is supposed to look different in different light conditions. I like the Venetian red, it looks like a true red. not burgundy like some.

andyfromva

Thanks for the information. The blue color I like is very bright. I thought it was the Pacific Blue but it could be the Indigo Blue.

bobad

@pcgeek86,

Great video. Not slick, but well done and very informative. Picture quality and sound were superb! I wouldn't doubt that your video will send a lot of people to their Hyundai dealer.

I too owned (still do) a 2006 with V6, and although I haven't spent a dime on it yet, I'm starting to car shop. Once again, the Sonata is at the top of the list. Out of approximately 15 cars I've owned, I've only bought 2 repeat brands. I buy each car on it's own merits, not out of brand loyalty. Good luck with your 2011, and I hope it's as reliable as my 2006 has been. Thanks again for the finest quality Youtube video I've ever watched.

lancep97

Thanks again for all the videos you've posted. They've provided a lot more information about the car than the salesman I spoke with at the dealer could.

I was wondering if you could perhaps make a video of the exterior of the car at night. A couple of the hyundai videos talk about the jewel tail lights and the projector headlamps, so of course I'm curious to see just how nice they look.

Another video I'm hoping to see someone post would be a video on the navigation unit.

Thanks in advance.

pcgeek86

Hi Swingman,

Thanks for your compliment

Yes, the heated seats do shut off with the car. I think it would a little silly if they stayed on while the car was not in use You don't have to worry about draining the battery.

Cheers,
Trevor

pcgeek86

lancep97,

Yeah, I can try to make a night video of the exterior. That should be no problem It might be a couple of days, but I will try to get to it soon.

Cheers,
Trevor

pcgeek86

@bobad: Thank you for your message. That was very kind of you to say so I'm glad I could help you, and others, out with their decisions!

-Trevor

bow45

Hi pcgeek86

Thank you for the videos. I gave you 5stars! Keep up the good work!

alexup

Syitalian25.....it was something about the computer receiving false error alerts. I tried to perform a search on the internet but only found the recall on the door handle.

midas69

Yes, the heated seats do shut off with the car. I think it would a little silly if they stayed on while the car was not in use You don't have to worry about draining the battery.

Yea, if they actually kept heating after you shut the car off, that would be bad. But some cars have automatic shut offs after say 15 minutes. Others keep it on all the time until you shut it off. My Camry, the heater stays on all the time. That means when I get in the car in the morning the switch is already in the on position. The advantage of this is that I can use the remote start and the seat heater will turn on without requiring intervention. For cars that have automatic shut offs, this would not be the case.

So the real question is, if you have the heat turned on when you turn the car off, will it be on the next time you start the car?

2011limited

Yes

cadefoster

Thanx for the availibility info on the leather camel color everyone. Some info I may have if it helps, 1 dealer had a black exterior with wine interior they wanted to show me. They said it was just 1 of 4 in the country that had the wine. It was parked in their service area, which was dark, so it was hard to tell where the colors stopped and started. It seemed most of the interior was black though. The only red I saw were the seats and the doors armrest. The door, dash and headliner was black or grey. Interior didn't look good at all, It was if it was an afterthought just to throw some red in. Again, it was dark but I'm almost positive where I noticed wine.

smarty666

I can't vouche for the Camry since I don't have one, but in the owners manual for my Nissan, Acura, and Infiniti, it specifically states to make sure the heated seat switch is in the off position because if it is not and you shut the car off, it still can drain the battery when the car is off!

I would double check with Toyota but I don't think it is really smart idea to leave the heated seat button on all the time!

Just my two cents and trying to help prevent you from getting a dead battery unexpectedly!

swingman

One issue with that would be those who have kids in the backseat of their sonata. You know kids and pushing buttons. If you have to make sure the rear heated seats are turned off every time you exit the car, then that could be a hassle. Maybe the childproof button in front also controls the heated seats button?? Anyone want to double check that????

Of course, I don't have kids, so that's not a worry for me but just saying.

andyfromva

I went to my local Hyundai dealer today. He said the red and blue colors aren't coming in for awhile. All they had available were white and silver. I took a test drive in a white 2011 Sonata and here are my impressions.

The good.
Very stylish exterior. You will attract attention wherever you go.
Wonderful interior - very high tech and attractive.
Responsive handling, good power, smooth ride, quiet.

The bad.
The back seat windows are somewhat small. Makes those in the back seat feel claustrophobic.
The driver's seat is not that roomy and, since I have two bad hips, I found it somewhat uncomfortable.

Verdict.
A great car, but unfortunately I fear not for me.
I might go back for another test drive, though, to see if I can get used to that front seat.

jayrider

Can't vouch for anything else about the car but I found the leather seats in the nissan altima to be outstanding. Test sit one yourself.

midas69

I can't vouche for the Camry since I don't have one, but in the owners manual for my Nissan, Acura, and Infiniti, it specifically states to make sure the heated seat switch is in the off position because if it is not and you shut the car off, it still can drain the battery when the car is off!

Odd indeed. This is the 3rd winter I've had the Camry and I can guarantee you, the switch for the heat on the driver seat comes on early in the winter and stays on until spring. I've never had a battery issue even when I haven't driven the car for a week with it on.

Acura, well I don't know what year, but I owned a 2005 TL and never had an issue there either. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I seem to remember that they actually turned off on their own. And I know for a fact that my 2002 Maxima they turned off on their own.

Like I said, if you have remote start, it's really nice if the switch stays on.

pcgeek86

Remote start is another feature I'd like to see standard on the Sonata, or at the very least, have it on the Limited model.

-Trevor

rich27514

I had a power passenger seat in the Camry XLE I traded in. It was only 4 way, and I don't find the loss of it a lack in my 2011 Sonata Limited. I would like height adjustment for the passenger seat, though, even if manual.

smarty666

wait, do u mean to tell me that the Sonata has rear heated seats? I never knew it had that? :surprise:

smarty666

well I'm glad its worked out for you and you haven't had any battery issues! I don't know what to tell you but I have a 08 TL and the manual states what I said and my 10 Maxima SV says the same thing!

who knows, maybe, Nissan, Acura, and Infiniti are being over cautious? who knows!

listen, since your hear, have you had any problems with the Camry's heated seats causing the bottom butt cushion to discolor to a brown burnt like discoloration? reason why I'm asking is I test drove a SE and XLE last year and I could not believe how quick and hot the seat warmers were and came on considering they only have 1 setting with no high or low like the rest of my cars,but when I looked at several of the loaner Camry's in the dealerships parking lot, I would say I saw about 3-4 different Camry's have brown burnt like discoloration on the butt cushion up front??

swingman

Wow, I'd hate to have seats that discolored. Would a warranty cover that?

BTW, the limited has heated seats front and rear. Front has high/low settings and rear is only on or off.

midas69

No I don't have any issues with discoloration on the Camry. I do have the very light interior, but I've only got about 24K miles on it. My average drive is 14 miles. It's possible longer drives would cause a bigger problem.

smarty666

I never knew that about the Sonata! that is pretty cool, the last car I was in that had that was a Nissan Maxima and Infiniti I35; usually now you have to get a really expensive luxury sedan well over 40k to get that feature!

that is pretty freaking awesome!

smarty666

well thats good to hear, you know when I test drove them last year, I just assumed and put two and two together when I saw how quickly the seat warmers heated up and then the discoloration in that areas of the loaner cars! maybe it was just normal wear and tear on the seat, plus the dealership isn't going to keep a interior that clean to begin with so its possible its just brown wear and tear!

thanks for the info man!

zornundo

"For the life of me, I cannot understand the fixation on this forum with 0-60 times! This is a family sedan, not a sports car. If you want to impress someone with 0-60 time, get a Corvette, but you'll pay over twice as much"

Amen! I couldn't agree more. I couldn't care less about 0-60. I have never, ever done a full throttle 0-60 in my 09 sonata nor would I ever see a reason to. What may be more important for this class of car would be something like a 30-60 or 40-70, like when getting onto an interstate or something similar. Then when's the last time you had to full throttle it to get onto the highway? This puppy is definitely built for highway mpg.

How's the experience with the 2011's cruise control?

zornundo

"I hope I never share the road with you! Besides putting others at risk (unless the tollway was truly deserted), you didn't do any favors to your new car. There is a reason that they recommend varying speeds but not in excess of 55 mph for the first 600 miles. I suspect your "un-broken-in" 4 cyl was really "screaming" though it is hard to say what, if any, damage you caused. Going 110 in ANY new car is, frankly, DUMB! "

You'd love to know what they do to the vehicles after they come off the line in Alabama, then. My younger brother is an engineer at the plant and occasionally gets to ride along. Full-throttle runs to make sure everything is as it should be. So I don't think that person doing 110 for a bit would hurt anything.

swingman

Does anyone that owns a 2011 sonata know if the manual says anything about breaking in the car? (ie break-in period, max revs, max speed)

m6user

Remote start isn't even standard on most luxury cars including Acura, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, etc. and you think that Hyundai is going to make it standard on the Sonata. I guess we can all wish for a lot of stuff but in the end you have face reality and remember that this is a value priced midsize family sedan.....not a luxury brand. The Genesis doesn't even have that standard.