2011 Hyundai Sonata

norm8_lakes

How many miles for the first oil change and intervals there after.

norm8_lakes

I wanted to add to that. King Hyundai in Deerfield Beach, FL didn't offer me a free oil change unless I gave them good review on their survey.

keyman2

Hi
Were can I purchase the Wood grain here in NYC?the dealers are asking $850 to add this on?

jlflemmons

Varies dependent upon where and how you drive. Highway cruising the majority of the time puts me in the 5K to 7K mile range, depending on the weather/temps. Stop and go with the summers we have in Texas and I change at 3K. Like I always tell folks, oil is about the cheapest thing you will ever put into a car, other than gasoline.

Our local "platinum" Hyundai tech (I am told this title is reserved for the most highly trained techs with exemplary performance history) also told me that the only two brands of oil he would ever recommend for a Hyundai was Valvoline or Castrol GTX. In my local, the winter temps rarely hit freezing, but the summer temps will fry the hide off a goat. So he recommends 10W30 here year round.

schdy

Anything new on the power steering failure. I called Hyundai Consumer Affairs and they have not had one complaint reported as of 5/9/2010. Called 7 Dealers in the NY area and they also confirm no complaints. Hopefuly the one posted was a random failure and there are no safety issues with our 2011 Sonatas. The door latch problem was detected quickly and put to bed immediately by Hyundai so I have confidence they will notify us if there is a power steering problem.

moontrain

Go on the web and look up B&I dash kits,look up 2011 Sonata

jlflemmons

If you missed it, I went to the Hyundai service site and determined that the other hot selling new model, the Tucson, uses the same system. I have not noted any anomolies in the way ours behaves.

tuckerdog

I have noticed that. It seems when you sign in, they are in the 100's. If you just come to the forum as a visitor, they are in the 200's.

I'm perplexed :confuse:

mexjohn

How many miles for the first oil change and intervals there after

According to the literature on maintenance that came with my car, 3750 miles (6,000 km) or 6 months whichever comes first in severe conditions (heat, sandy/dusty etc) and 7500 miles (12,000 km) or every 12 months in non-severe conditions.

A lot of stop and go, above 90 degree temps, dirt roads, long idling are all considered severe conditions.

An e-mail response from Hyundai to me states that it is ultimately up to the owner to decide which schedule and if one follows the routine maintenance outlined in the manual, the warranty should stay intact.

mexjohn

In case any of you owners are not aware of it, there is an owners site where you can get information, reminders for maintenance etc. myhyundai.com

You can put your current mileage in, tell them how many miles a week / month you drive, and you'll get reminders about the service.

There are a few other items there for owners as well.

mexjohn

I would also go with Moontrain's recommendation for b&i.com. I'm not really happy with the speed of service or customer support I'm getting from Carid.com.

B&I is actually the maker anyway, and sell to many shops. They also have other things like exterior door pillar dressings in stainless steel, lower rocker panel trim and more.

denp3

My dealer likes to do a 1000 mile oil change. They do it for free.
They say they like to give it a checkup to make sure there are no leaks.
Got about 300 more to go.

backy

That may not be a good idea. It used to be commonplace (and my Hyundai dealer did it on my '01 Elantra), but with the latest engines and oils, it's more common to leave the initial motor oil in the car until the first oil change interval, unless the owner's manual says otherwise.

My Nissan dealer does a complementary 1000 mile inspection also, but it does not include an oil change.

You might want to check the owner's manual to see what it says about the first oil change.

marsha7

I am from the old school that says that the 1st oil change should be at 1000 miles, to get all the "crud" out from the engine manufacture...having said that, I am no longer old school in that I now use all synthetic oil (changed over from dino in 2004) and will go 5000 (2004 Ram truck city running) or 7500 (2004 Crown Vic highway mostly) miles between changes rather than the old 3000...

But, and I may be out-of-date on this, I still believe that "things" (shavings, dirt, other stuff) can be in the engine when it is assembled, and changing the oil at 1000 will drain out that junk and then fresh oil after that will be the thing...

Aside from the oil of the past, maybe I'm the dinosaur... :P

mexjohn

I mentioned earlier how the page numbers seem to change, and right now I'm on page 150 of 149 according to the header! hahahaha

schdy

Reason could be that a messages posted and removed by the Host for some reason. I had 1 of mine removed so if it was the posted initialy it could revert to a previous page when removed.

Kirstie_H

If this is happening for you consistently, please post in the Forums Software discussion - I haven't seen this... at least not consistently.

mexjohn

First time I've seen the 150 of 149 type error, but the page changes from 100s to 200s is frequent. I don't think it's a big deal, just weird!

Shouldn't the hosts names states above be changed to reflect Pat's death. And, sorry, I've never seen a post by Karens.

Thank you Kirstie

mexjohn

Reason could be that a messages posted and removed by the Host for some reason.

That could be I suppose. The weirdest part of it is that when I entered, I was on page 150 of 150 and there was just the one new posting. I read that, and then backed up to 149 to see what I might have missed, and then it changed to 149 of 149, I clicked next and it stated 150 of 149 and the new post was still there. Just a little strange, but doesn't seem to effect anything important.

larry134

Go into Google and type in B&I Interior dash kits. You can choose from their menues.

Kirstie_H

The transition is still being worked out. Pat & I always covered for each other during absences, so that's why I'm here. Karen takes care of discussions related to domestic sedans, so that's why you wouldn't likely encounter her posts in here!

schdy

What is your definition of a domestic sedan. The Sonata is assembled in Alabama. Is it a domestic sedan?

ewg54

Wondering if any one else is having this problem I have a Limited w/o navigation. But the last couple of days my dash lights flash and go brighter, and now my illumination dimmer does not work. The dash is still lit though not a problem during daytime but not so good a night.

Kirstie_H

I'm not interested in that debate, because 1. it's been held over & over, with no conclusion, 2. there's a topic dedicated to it on the Auto News board, and 3. it makes absolutely no difference as all discussions are hosted by one of us, and we tend to have some overlap.

mexjohn

The transition is still being worked out. Pat & I always covered for each other during absences

Thanks, I understand now.

jlflemmons

Sounds like the rheostat failed on the dimmer. There are thousands of parts in a car, sometimes you get a bad one. Dealer should be able to pinpoint something like this very quickly and get you fixed up.

busterbrit

If I'm listening to my ipod through the AUX (Hyundai cable) and if I push the power button to off, then turn the car off, when I start the car again there is a loud static sound. The volume control does not work and radio is actually still off. If at this point I push the power button the stereo turns back on and the ipod starts playing. it doens't do this with the other options (XM, radio, CD).

Is anyone else having this problem?

schdy

All I asked is a simple question. You didn't have to jump on me. I know you didn't like my objections to mommyt's publications but please try and be an objective Host.
I meant no sarcasim nor was I trying to provoke you. I thought this was suppose to be an open Forum where people interested in or own a 2011 Sonata can share their views. If not tell me and I'll post elswhere!

busterbrit

Sometimes when I start the car the RPM get really high (2,000). Then once I put the car into drive they drop to 700. Is this normal?

schdy

If your foot is not on the gas pedal I would say that is not normal. I would mention it to your Dealer's service dept. Nothing to panic over.

wolverinejoe80

i'm 90% sure this is a new sonata coupe.

Hyundai really might sell 300k sonatas a year.

sonata
sonata coupe
sonata turbo
sonata hybrid

Will hyundai train ever stop?

backy

With the rakish profile of the sedan, my thought is... why a coupe? Just two big doors to bang into something, and harder access to the rear seat. But I guess there's some folks who just have to have a coupe. Like all those people who bought the Camry coupe when it... oh. Never mind!

mexjohn

Sometimes when I start the car the RPM get really high (2,000). Then once I put the car into drive they drop to 700. Is this normal?

When the car is cold and you start up, the RPM is high for about 1 minute (bringing up oil pressure) then will drop down around 7-800.

Of course, if you put it into gear before the engine drops down, it will drop down in response to being engaged. This is a normal function of injection engines, like the old automatic choke on cars of the past.

Start the car, and wait until the RPM drops down, you'll be doing your car a favor not making cold starts so quickly.

mexjohn

Well, it's official. I would not ever order anything from Carid.com again. They posted on the page where I ordered my dash kit that it was manufactured, ready to ship. Then they sent an e-mail with an estimate of May 13 for shipping, 8 days after ordering (website said usually 3-5), and today I called and they're saying not until the 18th because my product "is in production."

If they hadn't lied on the website with the bogus information, I wouldn't be so upset, but really, this is a long wait for shipping when they charged my credit card the very next day.

They got my money once, but never again. I had planned on ordering some cool stuff for my Toyota Solara from them, but no way now.

B&I appears to be the better option based on Moontrain's stated experience.

ral2167

Some folks like coupes cause they're better looking cars than 4 doors. Less practical-- no doubt-- but better looking in general. Although the 4 door camry was better looking than the most recent solara. So it's not hard and fast-- just in general. The accord coupe is better looking than the accord sedan. Same with the altima 2 door. But there's exceptions, like the camry/solara.

backy

A big coupe just seems so... excessive. I like coupes, but if I am going with a coupe it's because I won't use the back seat much. Hence a smaller car is fine, e.g. 3 Series coupe or G37 coupe. I'd go with the larger car because I need the rear-seat room--thus 4 doors makes sense.

mexjohn

Although the 4 door camry was better looking than the most recent Solara.
The first few years of Solara were so much better looking than the last generation of them. My '99 still doesn't look very dated, and I always liked it over most of the 4 door Camrys.

I agree with those that say a large coupe seems like overkill. If one wants sporty, smaller is better.

mexjohn

If I'm listening to my ipod and then turn off the car. When I get back it the radio makes a really loud static sound but the volume will not go up or down.

Sorry I'm responding late to this, and maybe someone has answered, but I believe I read that the cord should be unplugged before turning off the car, and reinstall it after starting. I seem to recall it was in the owner manual, but I don't have it available this minute to check.

[Deleted User]

But a larger coupe also says, "I can afford to be less practical," even if it isn't true (or only 1.3 people care). There will always be a market for coupes, no matter what size, but sedans now sure have a lot more panache than they ever used to have.

The new "four door coupes" are just another attempt to jazz up a four door (like the old pillarless hardtop four doors were a previous attempt), because in general--no matter how practicality may be compromised--two door versions are prettier. Even when you go REALLY big, e.g., the Bentley Brooklands always gets more stares than the Arnage or Flying Spur.

mexjohn

A review from March 30, 2010 on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36003883/ns/business-autos/ states as part of the article:

An example of Hyundai’s lightning reflexes is the horn on the Sonata. It appeared at the media drive program for the car that there was not a horn left on a scooter in Seoul, because Hyundai must have swiped them all for use on the Sonata. Hearing criticism that the bleating horn was an embarrassment to a car as impressive as the Sonata, Krafcik and his team made the decision within weeks to replace the moped-grade hardware with a more appropriate dual-shell unit that will give the car a fuller presence when the owner needs to use the horn.

I'd like to know where mine is? I still have the crappy scooter horn on mine.

[Deleted User]

It is funny how these little things can have so much importance. I bought a 2003 Golf and loved that from, 1999 onward, it had the Audi dual horn, the four damped assist handles, the damped glove box, the lighted armrest controls and so on. Those things really make a difference in one's feeling about the car, even though they are superficial. Now, Hyundai and Ford and others are learning that lesson. It is an important one.

For example, I bought my Suzuki SX4 Crossover to have a well-equipped (stability control, keyless go, subwoofer, etc) all wheel drive fuel efficient vehicle to do long commutes. But on what is otherwise a bargain and a delightful ride, the cheap interior, cheap horn, nonlighted armrest and steering wheel buttons slap me in the face practically every time I drive it...

denp3

My Limited was built on March 23rd, still has the old horn. Wonder when they started replacing them?

mexjohn

My Limited was built on March 23rd, still has the old horn. Wonder when they started replacing them?

I'm not sure, the article states "within weeks" after that presentation, so I assume it was sometime around March, but we don't seem to have gotten the new horn. I think we should all begin to lobby our dealers for an upgrade for free. This is clearly a danger if one needs to warn another vehicle.

While I was out driving tonight, with the radio on at a moderate level, I honked the horn just to see what I heard, and believe me, it wasn't much. Sounded more like someone off in the distance than coming from my own car.

I personally am going to write to corporate with my complaint and request for an upgrade as well as bring it up at the dealership.

syitalian25

The horn isn't great, but I think it's also that the windows do a good job isolating the noise. With the windows rolled down it seems a lot louder - almost close to a normal horn, haha.

I called my dealer last month trying to find out about a replacement and they called Hyundai, then called me back and basically said "what horn replacement?".. so I'm not sure if this article has their facts straight.

sftl97

I took mine to the dealer and the service mgr quickly brushed off the horn issue by saying 'it was the Sonata horn'.
I then sent an email to Hyundai customer service who responded with 'go see your dealer'.
So i sent them a followup email mentioning it was their President who said they were replacing the horn. I included a link to the msnbc article.
Haven't heard back since.
Maybe if they continue to receive emails from concerned Sonata owners the message will eventually get to management.

Fred

bobad

Maybe if they continue to receive emails from concerned Sonata owners the message will eventually get to management

I guess I've honked my horn 10 times in the past 40 years, so I'm wondering what the fuss is about. I guess horn honking is an accepted social activity in some quarters, and rude in others.

syitalian25

You obviously do not live suburban New York or LA.

schdy

This morning I again did a check for you with a cold car. Without my foot on the gas pedal the rpm went to 1200 untill I put it in gear. 2000 sound unreasonable so unless you live in very cold climate I would have it checked by your Dealer

wolverinejoe80

I'm sure there is a market for a turbo 274hp coupe. It should be more performance oriented like accord coupe. it's a great way to show the world that Sonata isn't just for families. solara failed because it's the ugliest car toyota ever produced.

poodog13

I liked the Solara convertible. Would have bought one at one time but it wasn' available at the time with both 4 cyl and ABS.