Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

jlflemmons

If you have ever had a sway bar snap in the middle of a 10/10ths handling maneuver, you will know why you need to do everything to avoid snapping an endlink.

jlflemmons

So, the GT has a larger sway bar than the GLS, and the Tiburon GT is larger than the Elantra GT?

 

I do know that the Asian version of the Tiburon GT has a front strut tower brace that is not offered in the US, but will bolt up exact to the Elantra. It even has the allowances made for cruise control module. I talked to a fellow who installed one and he said the difference was significant. Made the body a lot stiffer in hard cornering.

 

Still miss the 5spd. After 42K that tranny/shifter was still as slick a cable shifter as I have driven, and I have driven quite a few. I won't say it was a good as the lever shifter in my '75 Olds Starfire which was extrememly precise even after 70K miles, but it was close.

 

And Chigger never saw the used car lot at the dealership. It was bought before it even saw the lot.

backy

Believe it or not, I was out on our driveway last night washing my two Elantras--it was 50 degrees on December 30 in the Twin Cities! At least they look good for the New Year. No snow on the ground, but a it's due in the next few days. I'll get to enjoy the salt-free cars for another day or two.

 

Happy New Year to all you Elantra owners!

jlflemmons

For those of you who didn't hear about our weird weather this Christmas, we had no snow in central Texas, just a few cold days. However, Victoria Texas, down south near the coast, measured as much as 12" of snow. There were snow flurries over the Gulf of Mexico!

 

Today, Cricket got a wash thanks to a few dozen birds who are no longer full of , er, nothing. It is in the high 70's, and I actually worked up a sweat on this last day of 2004.

 

Have a safe and happy new year all you Elantranistas!

 

Jim

themanx

I washed my Elantra and my Crossfire today and it rained tonight in New Orleans, just enought to call it a shower, and mess up my detail jobs.

 

ElantraStan

backy

I was down in Central Texas (Kyle) and Houston for the holidays and I know what you mean about the cold weather (cold for that part of the country, anyway--it was below zero back home). But it got up to low 70s the day we left. My wife was born in Victoria. One of the friends I visited in Houston works in Galveston and told me all about her adventures of driving on the causeway after 5" of snow, with no one out plowing or even sanding.

jlflemmons

Plowing? What's a snow plow? Down here the only plows we see are pulled by tractors and don't preceed traffic, but planting season!

john_w

“See if the dealer can do the reprogramming on the airbags before delivery. In fact, if I were you I'd insist on it.”—backy

 

I brought a print-out of the statement from Hyundai USA HQ re the airbag recall for reprogramming. The dealer said they had heard about it, but had not yet received info and instructions from Hyundai and weren’t set up to do the reprogramming. They said that if there is a recall for my car, I’ll be notified by them and by Hyundai.

 

This was not the response I wanted, but what could I do under the circumstances? I bought the car and drove off into the sunset—literally.

 

If there’s a recall, I’ll combine getting it done and a trip for scenery on the way to, and shopping in, Reno.

jimbeaumi

My belated New Year greetings to all, as my lovely little Betsy rang in January 1 by rolling 52,000 relatively uneventful miles.

 

Here in Michigan, we also had a beautiful sunny and clear day on Dec. 31, but only overcast on Jan. 1. Unfortunately, I am reduced to the local car wash, but a decent one. My paint survived three previous winter car washes very, very well.

 

Will schedule the 52,500 mile service very soon and finally use my $100 cash card. This time, dealer will do tire rotation for me, as I am no longer visiting Sam's. I am interested in learning the condition of my brakes since the last inspection.

jlflemmons

Having driven the '02 for 42K miles and recently buying an '05 GT, I was pleasantly surprised to note the following:

 

'02 did not have rubber bumpers on the rear license plate mount to keep the bottom of the plate from rattling against the trunk. The '05 has these bumpers.

 

'02 did not have a "one swipe" mist function on the wipers. The '05 does.

 

'02 would sometimes rattle in the overhead console when I carried my sunglasses there. The '05 has different padding in the eyeglass compartment and no rattle.

 

'02 electric locks was one click, all doors open. '05 has one click for drivers door, two clicks to unlock all doors. And when unlocking the drivers door to get out, the other doors stay locked unless the separate unlock button is pushed.

 

'05 has "panic" button on the key fob, '02 did not. This can be really handy when trying to find the car in a large parking lot.

 

I find this interesting since each of the items above have been mentioned in the past as "things we would like to see", and apparently someone at Hyundai is listening. That, my friends, is how you triple your sales in less than five years.

 

Jim

backy

Jim, I noticed the same things (and reported on them here) when I bought my '04 GT last spring. Hyundai has made many little improvements since they made my '01 GLS in late 2000. There's a few other improvements I've noticed, like better illumination in the GT interior, the vent shut-off wheels (to prevent air leakage from the vents in the winter), the toll card holder, and the separate lock button on the door.

wdoran

I have a 2003 GLS and will soon need a transmission Fluid change Do these transmissions have a filter or are they drain & fill? I know they require special Hyundai Fluid.

jlflemmons

per the Hyundai Tech site, the filter is part number 46322-39000.

 

Jim

john_w

I washed and waxed my new ‘05 Elantra a few days after buying it. What should I do for the interior?

 

Should I treat any of the interior surfaces—cloth seats, dashboard, carpets—with anything? Scotch-Guard? Are there pros and cons about this?

 

Thanks

nodule

John W...

I also just purchased an 05 Elantra GLS in

Moonlight Blue and I love it so far...what color

do you have and what are you initial thoughts

about the car?

My plan is to keep this car exactly 10 years...

im hoping with faithful regular maint, that I

can get through 10 years without any major

engine/drivetrain failure...10 years would put

me at around 140,000 miles....im wondering if

its really realistic to expect that much out

of a $13,000.00 cheap economy car anyway?

backy

I use Scotchgard (self-applied) on cloth interiors. After it dries you can't tell it's there, except for the stain repellency. The cons are you have to spend a few bucks on a can of it and it takes a few minutes to apply (and you'll want to cover plastic parts when you apply it).

 

I used to use Armor-all or similar on dashboards, but I don't anymore because my cars don't sit in the sun that much. If they did, I'd use it regularly--the low-gloss kind.

csandste

with any modern car out there.

john_w

I love the car so far, too. Very smooth ride, handles well, feels roomy. Mine’s tidal wave blue, too. A great color, which I didn’t care for in the pictures I saw. From the pictures I preferred sterling.

 

Mine's a 5-speed manual.

 

My plans for the car are the same as yours. I was driving my old Honda about 5,000 miles a year. Might be more now with a car that’s fun to drive.

john_w

You mentioned Scotchguard in a previous post. That’s why it occurred to me to ask about it. I feel reassured by your saying that you can’t see any difference afterwards. My concern is that I’ll accidentally apply too much to an area.

 

As for the dashboard, I have some Turtle Wax Formula 2001 Super Proctectant with Sun Stop. The label on the bottle claims, “Superior shine and protection for rubber, vinyl, plastic, leather.” Since the dashboard is not glossy, perhaps I’d be better off with something that’s low gloss?

 

(The reason I have all this Turtle Wax stuff is that a year and a half ago I won a Turtle Wax Holiday Gift Pack in a raffle drawing. At the time I was driving an ’83 Honda with almost no paint.)

 

Today I washed the dirt and whatever they put on the roads when it snows off the car.

 

Yesterday I vacuumed the carpets. What about actually cleaning them?

backy

The car wash I use in the winter does my mats, and beyond that I take them out and wash them with carpet shampoo, a scrub brush, and lots of water in the spring.

baber1

Hit 18000 miles on my 04 Elantra sedan. Love the car. Biggest suprise was that it is a rocketship compared to my old 99 Accent but gets the same gas mileage. Worst I got was 28 mpg the best was 39. I average about 32 MPG on my 100 mile a day commute. The worst thing about this car is the shifters long rubbery throws but I can live with that. My Accent was running perfect at over 130,000 miles when it was totaled by a careless driver who blew through a stop sign. Hope this car runs as good.

jlflemmons

B&M Transmission makes a short throw shifter for the Elantra. I think the price was about $75 and the website has detailed installation instructions. Looked pretty easy to install.

jimbeaumi

I think your expectations for high mileage on this car are not unrealistic, esp. with good maintenance. After all -- and those of you who have seen me go on about this, cover your eyes -- I kept a 1987 Mercury Lynx for 10 years and sold it after 227K miles, with the original clutch and exhaust. Unless I get the new car bug in the meantime, I hope to wring 200K miles out of my '01 GLS.

nodule

Im about to do my first oil change on my 05

Elantra....any thoughts on which oil to use,

or is it all just hype??

bikerpa

People will swear up and down for or against whatever brand of oil... it's not all hype, but most of it is. Mobil 1 is solid if you want to go longer intervals without changing. Personally I use Castrol GTX 10W-30 every 4k, but that's just me. It comes down to reconciling what the owner's manual calls for (7.5k between changes, 3750k for heavy usage) with your own comfort level based on personal experience, rumor, and what guys on the internet tell you.

csandste

Hyundai's recommendation is for a heavier weight oil, but after using SuperTech 10w30 for the first 60K, I've switched to Pennzoil 5w30 most of the year and 10w30 during the summer. My dealer uses Castrol 5w30 all year long. If you're running past a 4K interval, I'd recommend a group III or group IV like Mobil 1. The new SM standard should be a big improvement. Conoco/Phillips now lists all 5w30 oils as semi. syn-- good oil for a buck and a half.

 

If you want to strain over oil gnats, I'd recommend the forums on bobistheoilguy.

flordvader

My local dealer is offering a couple of 05 Elantra GTs (w/optional ABS and Moonroof) at about 13.3K -- is this price too good to be true. I've done a lot of research, and it seems like this car has an absurd amount of features for this price. I'm planning on doing a test drive this weekend -- I'm particularly interested in how the GT handles vs. the GLS. Can anyone explain the difference (if any) the sport tuning makes for the GT (and the 5 door GLS)?

backy

You are right, that IS a great price! I paid $13.2k for my GT with ABS/moonroof and automatic (and three years of "free" maintenance) last March, but that was with $3000 in various rebates, plus the price has gone up a bit since then.

 

I own a GLS sedan and a GT 5-door, so here's the difference: the GLS is tuned for a smooth ride above all. That can be nice on straight roads, especially if they are a little rough, but on large bumps the GLS tends to be "floaty". Its handling, while fine for an economy car, involves more than a little body lean on tight turns.

 

The GT (and GLS 5-door), on the other hand, has a firmer suspension and revised steering that make it corner flatter and not rebound as much on bumps. It's not a harsh ride IMO, e.g. not as harsh as a Protege, but definitely sharper over bumps than the GLS. I prefer the GT's ride and handling to the GLSes, but I bought my GLS before the GT debuted. And now my wife gets the GT (most of the time). :-(

 

You really need to drive both before you decide. But if you like the ride of the GT, I'd definitely go that route because they are more rare and thus seem to hold their value better.

 

I wonder though--if the dealer will sell a GT for $13.3k, what would they sell the GLS 5-door or sedan for?? I've seen prices on the GLS sedan below $10k lately.

worstell

$13.3k for a 2005 GT with package 8 (ABS, leather, moonroof, etc.) sounds too good to be true. The best offer I have gotten in the Denver area is $14.1k (after $1750 rebate, before taxes). Maybe your dealer has junk fees they plan to tack on? Let us know if you actually get it for $13.3k or anything close to that. What market are you in?

jlflemmons

Okay, now that the server is back up ...

 

Having owned an '02 GLS for 42K miles, and now driving an '05 GT, I will say that the GT does better in the wind. As a caveat to that, the GLS was a sedan, while the GT is a fastback. But at highway speeds the effect of crosswind is noticably reduced in the GT. The ride is slightly firmer, but not offensively so.

 

Jim

john_w

I know what a sedan, coupe, and hatchback are. What's a fastback?

john_w

". . . my daily commute home is 5 miles

with 2 lights and no traffic. I am not exaggerating."

 

I just saw this post, and although it's not about the Elantra, can't resist telling you that when I lived in LA my commute was a 5-minute walk through the botanical garden on the UCLA campus.

 

Now that I live in a town of 3,000+, the commute is an easy 2 miles with 1 1/2 traffic lights. (A half traffic light is a right turn from a right-turn-only lane.)

jlflemmons

Sorry, fastback is what it was called when I had my last "hatch-back". The '05 is what some call hatchback, others call "5-Door"

 

Jim

smith20

All I have to say is . . . you're a lucky man! Hopefully I can live like that some day.

jimbeaumi

We got clobbered with about 10 inches of snow here in Michigan, and I must say my little Betsy performed admirably in the mess. Traction is OK on this car, but the braking is very good and I do not have ABS (next time for sure). Our fourth winter together and doing well.

backy

Yep, we got our first big snow of the season in Minneapolis this past weekend too, 8 inches, and both Elantras ('01 GLS with new Kumhos, '04 GT with ABS/traction) performed well. The traction control came in handy a couple of times in some deep snow in unplowed streets, but it didn't activate very much--and the ABS activated only once. I think that says good things about the basic braking of the Elantra.

beccad2

I have an '02 Hyundai Elantra, I've had it for about 6 months now, and I love it, it was fairly cheap which was good, because I didn't get much for my trade in. I think so far that it rides pretty smooth and looks worth more than I paid for it. I just hope the engine treats me well. Didn't do alot of research into this car. I have pictures posted in a showroom on another car site and it's rated pretty high. 4 out of 5 stars.

pat

Check out a community member's comparison of the Elantra GLS and Mazda3i to the Chevrolet Cobalt: backy, "Low End Sedans" #2859, 30 Jan 2005 2:02 am

danf1

I think you should add backy to the town hall test drive team. Very comprehensive review.

pat

I agree and I've already passed that up the chain.

csandste

Just gave my Elantra to my daughter and purchased a new Malibu Maxx. I liked the Elantra better than any car I had and got almost 80 thousand miles of largely trouble free driving. Got more than six thou. off the 'bu and after the couple of hundred miles it's averaging mid-twenties in gas mileage (if the trip computer is right) roughly equal to my Elantra.

 

Never seen more electronic stuff in a base car than the Maxx. Looked carefully at a Suzuki Aero hatch which had even a higher level of stuff and a much improved interior but the big discounts were a pull getting me towards the 'bu. Will miss the five speed on the Elantra, though and gave careful thought to getting a new GLS hatch.

 

One of the negatives was the selling experience with the local Hyundai dealer. They have several hundred dollars of mandatory undercoating and other extraneous crap on every car-- something that wasn't the case three years ago when I made the purchase.

 

Looked at a Tucson and had to have the 20 year old birddog-junior salesman lounging in my back seat. Said specifically that I wasn't interesting in buying today and got the 'ol "What if we told you you could buy this for ten thousand if you did it right now?" routine. This has happened twice with this particular dealer and my response is to pull out my Discover card and say-- OK, put it on the plastic and I'll drive it today (they always back up at this point). No such hard sell from any of the Chevy dealers, pretty much a straight six thousand plus dollar discount, this and the fact that anyone can work on a Chevy were big plusses. I'd been burned a couple of times by the Hyundai dealer--- over a hundred dollars for replacing rear tail lights (only the fronts were under warranty and the Elantra was the only car I've had that I couldn't figure out bulb replacement)-- plus a hundred dollars to check my codes and replace an AutoZone gas filler cap-- it had been on my car for more than six months when the check engine light went on and I think they just searched around until they found a way to double bill for warranty work.

 

Still the Hyundai was a nice ride and I was largely positive about my experience.

backy

Glad you like your new Maxx. Chevy is making some competitive family cars now, with the Malibu Maxx and now the Cobalt. Good to see them getting serious about it. I looked at the Maxx a year ago before getting an Elantra GT 5-door for my DW, but it would have been at least $7000 more for comparable equipment, and I could live without the extra room in the rear. Did you look at the Mazda6 5-door? That was actually my favorite 5-door, but also pricey compared to the Elantra--good discounts now on '04s though.

csandste

didn't see any hatches in locally. The wagon would have run about 1500 more than the Maxx though, although I didn't get real serious about shooting a price. Interestingly enough one of the real turnoffs on the 6 was that no 5-speeds were available at the local dealer. Makes no sense since I bought a car that had no 5-speed available at all. I think it's that I sense that the Mazda is a sporty car and should have a manual transmission. No such pretensions on the Maxx. Do like the look of the Mazda hatch better than the wagon, but (I think) the larger discounts were on the wagon. Again-- makes no sense since I bought a Maxx--- must be a mental hangup.

 

Anyway I've never seen more stuff hanging off a car than the Maxx has, although I realize that the GT has a trip computer and some of the same goodies. Two weeks ago, the Maxx wasn't even on my top three list, but I gotta say that so far I like the car more and more.

 

Good luck to Backy and the rest with the Elantra. I'll keep Hyundai on the shortlist for future purchases, especially if the local dealer gets a little less smarmy.

bsmith4

I agree about Mobil 1. I've talked to some people in the oil production business over the years, & the big thing about it is that it doesn't break down like conventional oils (I think it has only 4 lubricants in it, as opposed to a couple hundred in conventional oils). Some mechanic friends of mine have told me that it also does not create build-up on the various engine parts (like the rings), and protects the engine during start-up like "slick 50" is supposed to. I've had excellent experiences with it, myself.

lovetosavegas

If you change your own oil or if you bring your Elantra to the shop for the oil change, did you notice that after putting the specified amount of oil after changing the old one and oil filter you will get a 'high' reading on the dipstick? I think I have a partial answer to this. It looks like getting old(dirty) oil out takes longer then with other cars. I changed oil on my '02 Elantra last week-end and let oil 'drip' for ~20 minutes before putting the new one in. To my surprise after 15-20 min the dripping was still substantial(steady narrow sipping instead of rare drops). After adding specified amount of oil - no overfilled oil showed on the oil dipstick! The weather was rather warm 70 degrees and winter oil I use is 5W-30. After 3K miles oil wasn't really dirty - light brown. I wonder if you have observe similar behavior and maybe somebody can offer an explanation as why would it take longer in Elantra to get dirty oil out.

jlflemmons

My '02 could empty of worm oil in about five minutes. 4.5qts of oil with a new filter put it dead smack in the middle of the grid on the dipstick.

jimbeaumi

The CR auto issue has arrived, and the Elantra now gets the "recommended" seal, due to improved crash results. In addition, Sonata has the highest reliability of all 2004 model cars in the survey (two problems per 100 vehicles). Elantra GT will be tested in the May issue, due to arrive in one month. It will be up against Civic, Ion, Cobalt and Focus. Overall, Hyundai is tied with Lexus and Infiniti brands, each with a rate of 11 problems per 100 vehicles. Outstanding!!

backy

backy, "Hyundai Elantra 5-door" #4547, 3 Mar 2005 7:32 pm

george_s

Just wondering what everyone's take is on getting the Elantra with or without ABS. I am thinking of buying one (have a deal for $13700, out the door, ABS, AM/FM CD, cruise, and automatic transmission), and the availability of ABS may influence my color choice. Thoughts? I live in Central Illinois, where winter driving can be interesting (not as interesting as, say, backy's or jimbeaumi, but we have our moments). Thanks!

backy

I would go with the ABS if you can find it and afford it, for a number of reasons:

1) You may only really need it once or twice, assuming you know how to drive in the winter. Those few occasions may save your car from a lot of damage, or save someone else's car, or maybe even save your life or someone else's life.

2) You may not be the only driver of the car. Personally I don't "need" ABS in my Elantra as it has very progressive brake action and I know how to drive in winter. And I couldn't find ABS in October 2000 when I bought my first Elantra. But I was sure I got ABS on my 2nd Elantra, because it is the primary car for my wife (who lived most of her life in Texas) and is also driven by my oldest son (and later my younger son).

3) ABS will probably increase the resale value of the car, as it is widely seen as an important safety feature. More and more cars are coming standard with ABS--e.g. the '06 Civics will have ABS standard, and I fully expect the next-gen Elantra to have ABS standard (as Hyundai did with the Tuscon and the new Sonata).