Hyundai Sonata 2005 and earlier

nato1

Actually, it wouldn't be that hard to make an indicator for the gas cap, since all the indicators are tied to the computer, why not have the low fuel indicator flash when the cel is on to indicate the fuel cap isn't on correctly?
It would be a few lines of code added to the computer, I'd bet it could even be a 'patch' an the computer eeprom could be burned again.

rkw2

Wouldn't it be easier for Hyundai to modify the gas cap so it seals properly and no one has to worry about pushing it or turning it the right way. My 2 cents.

rhard49

Yeah what a concept fixing a problem!

roadpilot3

Took my 2000 Sonata GLS to the dealer after the ck eng lite came on and went off by it self several times.The tech said the O2 sensors had to be replaced. Since then no lite. The window regulator in the drivers window also went bad and had to be replaced.

lydian

I am a new owner of a 2002 Hyundai Sonata LX. I am wondering if anyone else has noticed or had issues with the automatic climate control. It seems that when the vehicle is warmed up after sometime it starts blowing cool air, whether it is 25 degrees or 45 degrees. My wife and I recently took a trip to SU about an hour away from us. After about a half hour into the trip we noticed that the 73 degree setting in auto mode was not keeping it at 73 degrees in the cabin. I realize there probably should be a slight variance in temperature, however in order to get any warm to hot air coming out, the temp. had to be set at 90 degrees. Anything below that, still blew out cool air. I am wondering if the sensor in the climate system is being heated up from a different source or component, causing it to think it is hotter in the cabin than it really is. Our Intrepid seems to work with out flaw. Other than that, I would give the Sonata a very good rating! I appreciate any help. Lydian

misterjohnny

I have been looking for a Sonata LX with ABS for months. I tried Priceline, Cars Direct, emailing the 20 So Cal dealers, putting my name on lists, etc. Several times dealers told me they had one, only for me to drive 20 miles to find out it didn't have ABS. Lying dealers. I asked them specifically and they flat out lied. I should have charged them for my mileage. Anyway, I got tired of waiting, and got an Accord EX-V6. Paid 21,588 after destination but before tax. I figure at $5000 difference between an equally equipped Sonata and Accord, I would be ahead of the game even with the lower Sonata resale value. But with only a $2600 difference, the Accord was a better deal. Although I really like the styling of the Sonata, I was tired of waiting and got a better financial deal (plus more HP and a 6 disc CD changer).

csandste

about Hyundai ramping up production because of greatly increased demand. Whether this means they will increase the % of ABS or not I don't know.

hdcse

Hyundai has been scouting a location to build cars here in the U.S. They have narrowed it down to four possible locations: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, or Ohio. The source of this news is Automotive News - a reliable one.

waxy

As I (re)started this thread, I guess I'd better tell you that the eventual outcome related to the light being on was a trip to the dealer who attended to the car right away but informed me again the culprit was the gas cap. Sigh. Lost time out of a shrinking life expectancy - 2 hours.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice received.

Waxy

3bumblebees

I am interested in a 2002 Sonata. I had a couple of questions and was wondering if any of you Sonata owners could help me.

1. How hard is it to keep the black leather clean? I like the black but I will go with the beige if I have to clean my interior once a week.

2. Does anyone have experience working with good dealers in Southeastern Mass that they would recommend?

Thanks,
Evan

harry31

3bumblebees:

IMHO leather is the easiest of ALL auto interiors to keep clean - 'specially with kids. Or pets. =;-)

1bestdeal

Get if you can!!! The 2002 Sonata has been so well re designed that Honda and Toyota are looking over their shoulders. I've owned two Hondas and they're great cars. Their quality wasn't always the best in the early days, but look at them now. I've been following the reports on Hyundai and I finally bought one. The quality of these cars will drive the resale value up. No other car in it's class even comes close on warranty. I bought the 2002 Sonata LX fully equipped. misterjohnny paid $21588 for his Honda EX-V6, well that's $4,200 more than the Sonata LX with all options. The cars are beginning to sell for list price or better. The Sonata may become the hardest car to buy this year.

hjr2

2003 tibby is out..V6 from sonata. Lookout. I have a 99 sonata. only problem in nearly 3 years is cd player died. the cassette player and radio still fine . got 72,000 miles.

Our 2001 tiburon had light(engine light) come on. The engine coolant was low....only problem was the light stayed on after driving 15 miles after refill, sat 8 hrs, still came on.
guess it took awhile for the fluid to cycle through and tell the computer to keep quiet.
My cars have NO tether on gas caps and no problems.

About the guy who didn't get Sonata due to deceptive dealerships.... that was bad how they treated you. We drove 120 miles one way for our car.
Why? Simple, the closer dealerships(40-65 miles away) lied also. We went to the 3rd largest(in sales) in USA dealership in Ohio, Hatfield(#1 in midwest in sales for 5 years).
I do not trust(100%) some of the on line dealerships, i use them for "fishing' expeditions, for prices,etc...
I also call themn and say ya lie to me, I will walk out and tell eveyone on way out the door to leave,too.
Believe me, we have done this before, and gotten calls back apologizing,but it was too late.This sounds odd, but I buy from Hatield, and then get the tune ups 65 miles away.
No problems..the sales staff doesn't like it, oh well.
I think we are lucky...past 3 years, 3 Hyundai dealerships have popped upin a 120 miles radius, notto mention another 6 or 7 older ones, or about 10-11 within 2 hr drive from where i live.(2 within an hour, another one within 75 minutes).If they make the plant in ohio to make Hyundai's, plus sales booming, may be a few more closer? I live in small "GM" farmer-type towns....ya get closer to cincinnati, columbus, dayton ohio(cities)the more Hyundai's/Kias ya see, not alot of daewoos,though.
PS, when I said we are lucky where we live, anywhere else in Ohio has scattered Hyundai stores, cleveland has maybe 2 in 2 hour drive, Toledo maybe one (northern and Eastern Ohio)
and Indiana has maybe (that I know of) 20 stores outside of Indianaplois. Only one in Lake county, Indiana..(called "south Chicago, bed and breakfast are.....10 miles from Chicago_) and one Kia!!
For Daewoo, ya gotta go 15-20 miles into Illinois, near Crete? Ill.

In richmond indiana( place off I-70, west-east route through most of midwest to ca?)they have almost everything from mitsu, big 3 japanese cars, mazda, big 3 usa cars, BMW, but NO Korean cars.....If they had them, they could sell them....but people run 50 miles to Dayton for Hyudnai/Kia.

SO, we are kind of lucky. We live near the biggest midwest cluster of Hyundai dealerships.

rkw2

1) A big Ford plant in NJ is being closed. Hyundai was approached by NJ officials to turn into into a Hyundau plant.

2) A couple of years ago I was shopping for a new car. I was interested in a Sonata with ABS/traction. I had problems with each of the 5 Hyundai dealers I visited in NJ. Seemed like none of them wanted my money. So as a wise consumer I went elsewhere.

I worked as a carsalesman for a short time period. We were told to do everything we can to get customers into the showroom. One family wanted a specific car that was in short supply. We had agreed to all the details over the phone but they wanted to see the car prior to putting down a deposit. Thye live 1.5 hours away from the dealership. I told the sales manager that I had an appointmnet with this family. He told me that I had to keep the appointment but that I couldn't sell them the car because they wanted to sell it to someone local and get repeat business. My phone was monitored so I could not call and cancel the appointment. (As it turned out, the car sat for 6 weeks without a sale and the dealer paid interest on it during that time -- it was a $45,000 vehicle--- sweet revenge) There are many stories like this. That as bad as the buying experience may be, the working culture is a lot worse.

riez

When I call on the telephone and get info about a specific car, one thing I do is to make the salesperson give me the stock number, run thru the entire list of options, and then have the person give me the MSRP for the overall car and each option, esp. the option(s) I can't live without. Then I check to quoted MSRP overall and for the individual options against the data on Edmunds or elsewhere. If they don't have a car with TC/ABS (or any other option you want), they might not be able to quote you the price. Or they might have trouble getting you that info. Or they may make up a price for an option that is bogus. If they delay or I think they are BS'g me with bogus price, I say so and might not come in.

Other thing is to check out a dealer's inventory over the internet. Most dealers have decent internet sites that will give you a picture of their inventory. Usually stock number, color, options, etc. If you don't see a car in this inventory listing with the option(s) you want, they they are likely jerking you around just to bring you in for a hard sell on another car.

misterjohnny

1BestDeal - You need to get the batteries on your calculator checked. The price I got for the Accord was only $1019 over the Sonata MSRP, $2274 over TMV, and $2997 over the Sonata Invoice. That is the Accord EX V6 Sedan vs Sonata LX w/ABS and sunroof. The major differences in content between the two is more wood grain interior in the Sonata, 30 more horses in the Accord, and a 6 disc CD changer in the Accord vs Single disc in the Sonata.
I would have bought a Sonata long before I bought the Accord if I could have found one with ABS. And its not like I live in the middle of nowhere. I live in Los Angeles. But considering the great price I got, I think it worked out well for me.

nato1

The deal on the accord,21588, is mint price, beating the invoice by $1617? Either someone is blowing smoke, or honda is getting worried. I would go with the latter.

stratus78

Hey Guys,

How is $18600 out the door for a 2002 GLS V6, with sunroof and ABS?

thanks

misterjohnny

No smoke on the Accord price. Harbor Honda in Los Angeles. "2 at this price" advertisement in the LA Times. Jumped all over it when I saw it.

rkw2

The present version of the Accord is about 4 or 5 years old now (the next generation is due out next year). Honda is competing against a brand new Camry and Altima as well as a tweeked Sonata. Therefore the dirt cheap prices. For the Accord it is a buyers market.

stratus78

The TMV price for a LX V6 Accord with many std features is only around 21000. This could be because Honda is trying to get rid of old models before launching the new one next year. As the price difference between the Sonata and the Accord grows smaller, Hyundai might have to offer more rebates (make sure the consumer gets them) or slash the prices some more on the Sonatas to make sure people considering Sonata still find them attractive.

shalinmadan

Are squeaky brakes common amongst owners of 2002 Sonatas? I was told (and read) somewhere that brakes tend to squeak if they are metallic disc. In the old days asbestos was used.

Is there a way to "fix" this problem with some type of noise dampner?

Do owners of new cars other than Sonata also have the same problem? If they do, I won't care too much about it.

Comments appreciated?

dougndo

This isn't exactly what you asked for, but my 2001 Sonata with 9000 miles has not exhibited any brake squealing. The action has always been smooth and noiseless.

I think the brake hardware was carried through from 2001 to 2002, but I can say with 100% assurance.

dtownfb

If the car is fairly new (1k-2k miles) I would give it a little longer. give the brakes a chance to wear more. As long as you stop in a reasonable distance, probably not too much of a problem. Could jsut need some adjusting.

Re: Accord pricing. Honda wants to maintain that #1 slot in overall car sales. (The Camry may threaten them but definitely not the Altima. Nice re-design but the Nissan network isn't as extensive as the Honda and too pricey for the V6) they won 2001. They will keep their prices competitive for 2002 since they are re-designing for 2003 and because the Altima And Camry are re-done for this year. The civic and Accord are their bread and butter vehicles esp. since they don't have a pickup yet to make the really big profits like the big 3. Of course, they are selling all the minivans they can make as well as the CRV.

The Sonata is getitng a bigger piece every year. It won't ever sell like the Accord but it may be able to outsell some of the other models which will be a big feather in Hyundai hat.

nato1

My '02 sonata gives a little bit of brake noise if the car sits for more than 48 hrs. The rotors get a slight surface rust, but the semi metalic pads take care of the rust after the first stop. If the sound resembles that of a metro bus, then there is something wrong, but if it sound like you ran over a mouse, don't worry about it.

pat

A major newspaper is looking to interview folks who learned how to drive stick in their adulthood, and either fell in love or hated it. Also welcome is any input on why people love to drive stick, and any unusual anecdotes about how you learned etc.

Hope to hear from you before Feb 22 via the Talk to the Press discussion or at jfallon@edmunds.com with your thoughts and contact information.

Thanks as always,

Jeannine Fallon
PR Director, Edmunds.com

hjr2

from half brother, he had a 1955 chevy truck with stick, in 1975. The main problem seemed to be that stick shift/clutch can give out fater than an automatic tranny. I tried to drive a stick, but didn't like it due to all the city trafic, stop and go. Like rowing a boat, but, that is only my opinion. Others may like it.

maggiekev

I actually went through every message here?? This is my first "new" vehicle. It is ruby red with the sunroof, wood trim, etc... Bought it 1/12 - now have 1350 mi. All in all I love this car, but as a new owner I somehow expect perfection and here are my questions/issues:
1. I commute 40 mi/ea. way - mainly highway. Gas mileage is averaging 22mpg. Speed is usually between 65-70mph. Is this another spark plug issue???...or what are these stories I'm being told about a car having to be 'broken in' to get a true mileage? Last night's fill up gave me 23.8 mpg??
2. When car has been driven for a while (warm) engine makes a repeated ticking/whooshing noise that might come from main belt on left side of engine?? (Help guys - talking to a female here!)
3. Washed the car today & noticed a heavy black build up under/along entire passenger side. Lots of paving going on around town but wouldn't the driver's side be coated too???
Think I might put my worries to rest w/a visit to the service guys @ Maita Hyundia. Any comments appreciated.

nato1

1.I too have noticed the gas milage being on the low side, but it has been creaping up ('02 v6 sonata gls). 3k miles and about 24-25 mpg. I'll take it. My last vehicle averaged 27mpg (2.2 vtec I4 accord 150hp).
2. the whoosing sound is maybe the electric fans? in conjunction with the a/c? Ticking? could be lots of things. Does it go away or tick faster when the engine is rev'ed a little (2k rpms?) The dealer could tell you exactly what it is.
3. If you open the hood is the same black build-up in there too? If it is, then call the dealer. My guess is that it isn't, you'd notice a smell and your driveway would be spotted/puddled. Most likely it's something from the road.

Call the dealer anyways, If they are anything like the dealership that I bought mine from, they will take care of you.
Let us know.

riswami

with new cars is gas mileage will get better as the car ages/breaks in.

As far as comparing a Honda 4 to a Hyundai V 6, no contest as far as gas mileage is concerned. The Honda 4 will do better all day long. Hondas are noted for fuel efficent engines.

riswami

said it isn't fair to compare a 4 to a 6.

nato1

Maybe I was a little vague, but you guys got the drift. I figure that since my previous vehicle got 27 mpg with a 150hp I4, then 24-25 from a 180hp V6 is acceptible. But before that, my vehicle was a '80 Dodge St. Regis with a built 440 V8 (~450hp) transplant that got 10 mpg, so pretty much anything above 20mpg is ok with me.

maggiekev

I'll hang loose & be a little more patient with the mileage.
As for the engine noise - it gets more noticable once the engine has warmed. (I'm a 2nd time Hyundia buyer - know the service guys pretty well & feel comfortable stopping by! - I'll do that this week)
As for the black stuff - odd, popped the hood - engine appears to be clean as a whistle, crawled underneath & didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and NO, there are no spots on the ground. But....right now it is BEAUTIFUL outside and I think I need to take her for a ride with the sunroof open! We DO like this car!!

hdcse

My "01 V-6 5-spd (with 11k miles) delivers outstanding MPG. How good? Over 27 MPG is the norm around town, though stop-and-go is somewhat limited. And it gets over 28 MPG at speeds of 80+ MPH on the highway. I'm sure this vehicle would easily exceed 30 MPG at speeds of 65-70. But I have noticed a very optimistic speedometer and have not accurately checked the odometer. But I couldn't be happier with the economy of this car, and I have had zero problems to date. And considering what it cost, what else could you ask for?

hdcse

Hyundai's net profits were up 75% for 2001 to $885 million. Not too shabby. Source- Automotive News.

ooooooo48

Ummmm, the LZ450(Equus, at Chicago auto show last week) or HCD7..same vehicle, 275HP(torque still 280?)... It was an Equus redeigned(on outside and interior) for USA(?) taste by California design studios.
(I know it is in Korea, but this is a rework).

Go to hyundaiusa.com, and they may still have a clip from the autoshow. They opened the car with a thing the size of a credit card, and should start it,too.

Hyundai claims they had no intention of making them for here, but, thecarconnection.com and autoweek claim otherwise.
Hyundai said "quiet period" for the next 18 months, meaning no new vehicles for USA(except the Tiburon and overseas, a "world class car",small like old Accent).
After that, Hyudnaiis supposed to have new "niche" vehicles out, whatever that means.
I had read they want to bring the "TB" mini-car here next summer,and maybe another suv or a truck soon(after plant is up and running in USA).
Also heard that nextg redo of Sonata may have a 2 door(ala-Solara) version and tighter suspension.
That'd be nice.
Whew! Equus shouyld be here before the end of next year.
Originally, it was supposed to have been released here in USA last December as the centennial!!! No joke.
What happened? Who knows?
Guess they just want to wait until they make cars here, and do the "redo" for USA only?

zmoney

For new cars, is it better to change the oil with synthetic motor oil every 10,000 or just get regular a oil change every 3,000/4,000 miles?

Thanks in advance!

dtownfb

Some people swear by synthetic. For a car like the Sonata (meaning ordinary, non perfomance car) regular oil is just fine. Use the intervals defined in your manual based on your driving habits. You should be fine changing it every 5000 miles at least.

ooooooo48

catches up to Nissan, look out, prices will rise. If they sell no more than 500,000 units per year, that'd be fine. They'd have to keep loading up the options as std, for the same price as other vehicles(Nissan is now , sentra t least, same price as Elantra, not much difference, but elantra is loaded) .
look for 400,000 units sales this year, at least, in usa for Hyundai.
Like I said, hope they do not pass 500,000...this way, they'll be "forced" to keep up quality and prices not so high.

dougndo

Well, the Sonata forum fell off the first page, and I didn't want it to get lost, so this post puts it back on track.

What's going on, everyone? Is the car that boring/dependable/uninteresting?

Here's an oldie but a goodie. The 1999-2001 Sonata has an Altezzi (sp.) style taillight available (I think from HDK) but there's no picture of it on the Web. Has anyone purchased it or seen it? How does it look? One of the few envies I have of the 2002 is that it has a much nicer taillight. Anyone got a picture?

pssonhnda1

Haven't seen it mentioned yet but they finally released new programming for the auto trannies. Well at least in Canada they have. My car is going in on Saturday. Will let you know if it is a change worth making.

Ian..

killerk

I nd to change the filter in the evaporator unit but strangely there's no instruction for this in the owner's manual. The link to sonatafan's site detailing this has been down for a while. (Man, I should've save them while it was available...) Can anyone help? Thx.

mtbf

Killerk, the great sonatafan's site is up and running (as usual). Here is the link for your filter problem: http://www.geocities.com/sonatafan/filtpage1.htm

stratus78

Hi,

I've test driven the 2002 auto GLS V6. I didn't notice the 2-3 transmission slippage (I drove it when it was snowing and even the engine was cold in my opinion). Is it a fairly noticeable problem?

pssonhnda1

First to Stratus, I am a firm believer that there is no substitute for a manual tranny. However I wanted this car bad enough to get the auto. With that said, I notice every tiny little quirk in the shifting, however the 'flair' mentioned was not so bad that it bothered me. I did notice it to be sure, but for the most part it happened once or twice when the engine was very cold and then never again. So as far as I was concerned it was a non-issue. What my BIGGEST complaint was is that the tranny tended to drop out of first gear almost as soon as the car started rolling. That shift to second gear seemed to take an eternity at that, with the clutches (or possibly the torque converter) slipping and sliding along until it finally locked into second gear. It drove me nuts...read on...

Now on to the reprogram, I am happy to note that all of the shifts are far more solid then they were when I got the car new. I was told that it may take some time for the computer to adjust to my driving style, although I kinda got the feeling that this was an excuse for something. The car still seems to drop into second gear from first a bit to early for my taste, but the shift is solid and that increases my confidence in the car. I have to state that I am a very agressive driver and the car is not really suited to my driving (YET). I have made some improvements to performance, but the suspension needs some stiffening yet. However that is not on topic. Anyhow, I think the reprogram is a good idea for anyone who has not done it. It should increase the life of the tranny by preventing the extra slippage the car came with originally.

My 2 cents (4 cents canadian!)
Ian...

sonatabean

Noticed you went unanswered - so I thought I'd answer your question outright.

A new car will have incredibly tight wear points and seals (piston rings, etc).

As these parts wear ever so slightly (because they are lubricated and are not supposed to wear a lot!) the engine starts running much more smoothly (less friction and resistance) which, in turn, leads to better gas mileage.

We have two 2000 Sonatas we bought new. I was, when my car was delivered, averaging 18 mpg. Best I did was perhaps 24 highway. That's it.

On a recent trip (to bloody Kansas), two years after I bought the car, I averaged 32 mpg.

QED.

Sonatabean

claywaterfill

Have any of you seen page 45 of the April issue of R&T? The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is pictured there in profile. To me, it looks a lot like the Sonata. Anyone here seen it? Any thoughts?

sonatabean

Gotta question I think may prove interesting (at least for the practically-minded and mechanically impaired . . .).

How on Earth does one (1) locate and (2) open the motor housing for the fan supplying interior air on the 2000 series Sonata? I have no doubt detritus is in my ducts because I can hear the fan blades striking whatever the hell's in there. Given an earlier post, I'm assuming I have twigs / leaves like everyone else.

I'll be the first to admit I've not worked on a car since carburation. In fact, the last car I worked on was a 1976 Buick my Mother handed down to me in 1984, when I learned how to drive.

So - safely assume (1) I'm utterly clueless but very motivated and (2) I have tools. What am I looking for and where do I find it?

Sontabean

zmoney

I just purchased a new 2002 Hyundai Sonata LX. Of course I received the regular warranty. However, the finance person sold me an extension for all the warranties to 10 years, The Hyundai Advantage Plus 10 (road-side & bumper-to-bumper). The cost was $1,300. It's transferable. I drive approximately 12-13,000 miles a year. Was I ripped off? Do you actually get many things fixed throughout the years? Your advice is much appreciated. Thank you.

The reason I bought it on the spot was because the person claimed that the extension could only be added on during the time off payment.

csandste

at least 99% of the time. Why do you think they try so hard to sell them? Probably even more so given the Sonata's base warranty.

I've only bought one of these in my life, an 86 Tempo. That car was such a dog it actually paid off.