Hyundai Sonata 2005 and earlier

rexligett831

I purchased used 2000 Sonata, to date I have locked myself out of my car twice!
Am very careful not to touch the door lock button.
What makes the doors lock? Electical issue?
Thanks for your help.

riez

chevyguy657... You should check the actual policies at the dealerships. You might be surprised what they do.

My local Hyundai dealer is a joint Cadillac-Olds-Subaru-Hyundai dealer. Oddly enough, he doesn't provide loaners to Cadillac owners. They just drive you in their courtesy van. So you have to wait and then go when/where the route takes you. Just hope there aren't 4 people going in different directions.

But the Hyundai part does provide loaners. Go figure.

I've pointed this out to some Cadillac owners. They ain't happy to watch you ride off in a loaner while they rot.

The Kia dealer across the street does, too.]

These dealers are doing it as a way to get customers and keep them happy. The Kia dealer makes a big deal about it in his print and TV ads.

I had a Lincoln a few years ago. He did provide loaners, but these often were either beaters (Ford Contour) or done thru Enterprise. If Enterprise, you had to pick up and drop off the car there. Was a hassle sometimes. Almost not worth doing.

Have you considered a Kia Optima, the twin to the Sonata?

You might also consider an XG350. Lots of price discounting.

chevyguy657

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

I've been following up with this in the "Prices Paid & Buying Experience" forum, which is where I probably should have posted it to begin with...

Someone had posted an Extended Warranty price back in November, so I can guesstimate what one with shorter coverage would cost. My best friend recently purchased an Elantra, so I'll get the scoop from him the first time he needs a loaner. I'm not buying until summer.

Optima depreciates a lot more than the Sonata. Don't care for the lumbering way the XG drives. I can easily afford a loaded Sonata LX, just not if the warranty had been $2,000. The one I'm looking at is more like $500 (or less).

Aware that a new Sonata is due March (or so) '05, but don't care for the spy shots. New XG is reportedly due for '05 as well.

Thanks again.

lngtonge18

I just thought I would tell everyone how much Hyundai appears to be concerned with customer service. I've never seen a manufacturer go out of their way as much as Hyundai has to make a dealer follow through on a promise that has nothing to do with Hyundai corporate. Here's the story:

My local dealer promises a $100 birddog fee to a customer if they refer another person to the dealer and they buy a Hyundai from them. Well, I bought an 03 Elantra GT for a friend of mine back in May of 03 (I got $100 after a week of hassle). In November, my boss said he was interested in looking at a Sante Fe for his daughter and asked my opinion on Hyundai. I told him I've been happy with 2 Hyundais and had no problem recommending one to him. I referred him to the local Hyundai dealer where he bought a Sante Fe and my name was mentioned as the person who referred him. I talked to the saleslady during the buying process. I even went down to the dealer in person, provided the info she asked from me, and expressed interest in buying an 04 XG350 from them. I purchased an 03 Diamante instead since I got a better deal. My friend then came into town and the new car bug bit him after seeing my Diamante. He was interested in trying to trade up to a Sante Fe. He drove one (same saleslady) and was going to try to buy it. However, since I was disgusted over how the dealer had bs'ed me for over a month now, while we test drove the Sante Fe, I suggested we stop at Mitsubishi and take a look at what deals they were offering. My friend liked the Endeavor better and tried to give the Sante Fe back to the dealer but the saleslady wouldn't accept it back, telling him to drive it longer. Long story short: my friend traded in his Elantra for an 04 Endeavor. The saleslady was furious when the Mitsu dealer returned the Sante Fe to her. It had been at least 6 weeks since my boss bought a Hyundai from the dealer and the saleslady kept coming up with excuses as to why she couldn't get the money. After knowing I bought a Diamante and my friend bought the Endeavor, she definitely wasn't interested in trying to get me the birddog fee anymore and I was going to let it drop since I was tired of dealing with it. Step in Hyundai....

The Elantra was serviced for the brake recall the same day my friend bought the Endeavor. Hyundai called me to do a survey...:) Well, I said I had no problems with the repair service but I did let her know I liked Hyundais, had bought 3 of them, and because my dealer renigged on their $100 promise, Hyundai lost a sale to Mitsubishi. The survey lady appeared very concerned and interested in my story. Not 2 days later, I received a call from the service manager telling me that he and the OWNER of the dealer had heard from Hyundai about my complaint and they wanted to make things right with me. The service manager even asked me to return his call to his personal cell phone because this matter was so "important" to them. They told me that when I receive the JDPower service survey in the mail, to bring that in to them and they would give me my $100 and fill up the tank on my 03 Tiburon. Yes, a little bribery was involved, but, I gave them what they wanted (a perfect service rating on the survey) and yesterday, I got my $100 and a full tank of gas! So apparently these surveys do matter a lot to the dealer.

Kudos to Hyundai for caring about something that was really a policy of the dealer not Hyundai corporate and putting the fire under their bad dealer to make me happy. If anything, Hyundai increased my faith in their company and their ability to get things accomplished fast.

chevyguy657

Helpful post, I think.

Glad to hear Hyundai is caring for its customers, since my "short list" is now down to Malibu/Maxx or Sonata with the latter holding the lead at the moment.

Don't care for the spy shots of the next Sonata at all, exterior or interior. Too generic. Features vs. price will be the selling point, I'm sure. Grandies/grannies will love the rear park assist.

Seems from your post like you buy a new H. every other day, and I lost count. Really hard to follow, when you're in a minor hurry (or over-caffeineated).

lngtonge18

LOL, yea it would seem that way. I've bought 5 new cars in the past 4 years (the cars are for me and the other half), not including 2 cars for my best friend. I started with a 00 Hyundai Accent (my first new car), which was a good car and only required 2 dealer repairs in 2.5 years and 26k. It's now owned by another friend and its up to over 40k with the only replacements being a new battery and new front brake pads since I got rid of it. Not bad for a car stickered under $10k. I replaced this car with an 03 Suzuki Aerio SX. Bad idea! This car had way too many annoying build quality issues and the fuel economy and performance wasn't what I expected (not to mention a dangerous bucking/loss of power that was intermittent and couldn't be replicated by the dealer). I quickly realized I shouldn't have left the Hyundai fold and traded it in after only 9600 miles for my current ride, an 03 Tiburon GT V6. I'm now up to the same exact 9600 miles, and this car has way surpassed the quality of that Japanese made car. No dealer repairs as of yet, though I did experience a strange 30 minute glitch in my power windows that caused the driver window to get stuck down. It magically worked fine when I pulled up to the dealer and hasn't resurfaced (knock on wood). My only real complaint with my Tiburon is the sometimes funky shifting automatic. The 2.7 V6 in this car is sweet (its the same engine as the Sonata). It sounds like a race engine when you rev it and it has plenty of power. Fuel economy has been good too, 21-23 in pure city traffic and 26-27 on the highway.

I have also bought an 02 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ, which I just traded in for an 03 Diamante LS. Both are great cars. I'm a Mitsubishi fan for sure, but Hyundai has won me over as well. I was close to getting the XG350, but Mitsu had huge rebates going on with the Diamante and 0% financing for 6 years, so I couldn't refuse their deal. I bought my friend an 03 Elantra GT and just traded his car in for an 04 Mitsu Endeavor (what a good bud I am! LOL).

chevyguy657

Your posts rock. Needed in these dull boards.

Bet you'll be the first for both the new Sonata AND the next XG (or whatever it's called). Diamante is a horror come trade-in time, be aware.

chevyguy657

Wish I had an '00 Sonata GLS rather than my '00 Malibu LS.

Worth about $1500-2000 more.

I'm getting impressed.

riez

chevyguy657... Depreciation can depend on where you live. If you don't live within 50 miles or so of a Hyundai dealer, you won't hardly get a non-Hyundai dealer to give you much in trade. You can't hardly give a Hyundai away in rural America.

I live within 20 miles of a large metropolitan area that has 2 Hyundai dealers. The couple times I tried to trade in my '00 Sonata GLS V6 with Pkg 13 (leather, sunroof, pwr seats, etc.) I was usually offered only about 60-70% of book. The non-Hyundai dealers at the low end and the Hyundai dealers at the high end. So if the books said she should be worth about $9K, they'd offer me around $5,500-6,300. The Hyundai dealers might offer more, but it wasn't a huge amount.

The inability to get a decent trade was one reason I've kept her. She now has about 51K miles. No serious problems. Brake rotor issues. A burned out headlight. Just routine maintenance and new set of tires. Great dealership.

chevyguy657

Excellent points. I'm within a heartbeat of a Hyundai dealership, but should I move.....

Thanks.

chevyguy657

subscribe to Motor Trend, be sure to check out Page 38 of the March issue.

The "all-knowing" staff at MT has identified a spy shot of the next Sonata as the next Toyota Avalon. We know better. Bet Hyundai is rolling over that one (and Toyota might be crying)!

What's interesting though, is that this shot reveals dual chrome-tipped exhausts not seen in the prior shots. I just wonder what's under the hood...

lyndon5

My graduate student daughter purchased this car last fall for around 13,000 with our 01 Elantra loyalty rebate. Around 7,500 miles so far, car has been flawless and she loves it.
This morning a deer bounced off the passenger side of the Sonata as she was driving on the highway. She saw it coming and had room to swerve and deflect most of the impact. The hit slightly cracked the back edge of the front door center trim piece and ripped off and broke the back door center trim piece. But other than a couple of very small dings that a new trim piece will hide, no other damage.
I've seen some comments in the past knocking Hyundais for thin sheet metal, but I sure did not see any evidence in this case. There were two base units available for the same price when my daughter bought this one. Kind of wish I would have bought the other one...

ray_h71

I understand Hyundai is still building Sonatas. (You might twist their your dealer's arm into selling you another one ) Kidding aside, these -are- good cars for the money, and it appears there's a new round of incentives, which combined with another owner loyalty incentive, should be good for some serious savings. As to the charge of thin sheet metal, guilty. But, it ain't just Hyundai. EVERYONE (domestic and imported) has gone to thinner sheet metal as an obvious weight saving means to enhance fleetwide CAFE numbers. Yet, strangely, Sonata specs list a heavier curb weight than that for equivalent Accords. Go figure.

pat

Consumers' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2004 Survey is posted and ready for your input!

riez

After about 45 months and about 50,000 miles my '00 GLS V6's battery finally passed on.

aristotle

I saw at a Korean site some info about the 2005 Sonata. I posted the links without knowing that it was a violation of Edmunds Townhall policy. My previous post was removed for that reason.

But I think the site said that the 2005 Sonata will have 2 engines, a 2.4 liter base engine putting out 155-160 HP and a 3.3 liter V6 generating 210 HP.

The other link I had posted had 3 stunning photos of the 2005 Sonata. (I hope they were genuine.) There was a comment in that forum which said "The Sonata is a mix of the A6, Accord, and Camry".

Even if they have copied styles from other manufacturers they have made it really nice looking! And the V6 engine is tempting too. I can't wait for the 2005 Sonata to be released.

pat

Aristotle, as I tried to explain in my email, the link to the Korean site was not the problem. Feel free to repost that one.

If you have other questions, just drop me an email and we'll work it out! :-)

aristotle

on two fronts. The link I had posted previously was for a Russian site, not a Korean site. Here it is again:

http://www.autonavigator.ru/autonews/2004/01/27/2.html

I base that on the "ru" extension in the URL which probably stands for Russia, according to the following site:

http://flagspot.net/flags/iso3166.html

An email from Pat ( the host ) indicated that the reason for the removal of my earlier post was not the above link, but the second link which contained the 3 photographs of the 2005 Sonata. The second link was to a different Car discussion site which may be considered a competitor to Edmunds.

I have no connections whatsoever to any of the above sites. I got them by doing a simple Google search.

jrock65

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/content/display_report.jsp?FO- LDER%3C%3Efolder_id=402631&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=389451&- bmUID=1078916491036

Hyundai reliability improving a great deal. Wouldn't be surprised if their reliability rivals the Japanese Big 3 in a few more years.

jrock65

I just checked out those spy pics of the 2005 or 2006 Sonata. The car was half way done, and it was in some sort of factory.

The headlights are Saab/TL, the grill is previous generation Camry, the interior is current Camry mated with S-class, the rear is Accord mated with Mazda 6. It sounds weird, but it seems to work. Big improvement from current generation Sonata, IMO.

ray_h71

Actually, you did pretty good, riez. What kind did you replace it with?

riez

ray_h71... Interstate battery. That is what the Hyundai dealer specified.

Been most impressed with the car's reliability over the first 4 years and 50,000 miles. Can't complain. Just minor maintenance and a couple of small recalls. She has been outstandingly reliable and I have a fully loaded one (GLS V6 Pkg 13 with ABS/TC, sunroof, leather, CD, power seat, etc).

I haven't even had to have the clutch worked on. Fact she has the ultra, ultra rare V6-manual transmission combo makes her all the more special. Too bad you can't get a V6 manual any more!

cwoferg

I also have 50000 miles on my Sonata. It is a 1999 GLS V-6 Auto. Fantastic car. Still on the first set of tires (Michelin), but about ready to replace them. They are all pretty much identical as far as wear. I think the largest pain in the butt I went trough was the ABS Sensor. I don't have ABS (Can't stand them generally). As you probably know, almost all cars are pre-wired for all options. I did not get the $3000 package you did with the leather, ABS/TCS, etc. Anyways, mine kept triggering the check engine light. They found the problem, fixed it and that was the last problem I had. I have gone through the recalls too. There is one right now that I still have to get done. All have been really minor. I love this car and I am going to keep this car until the wheels fall off.

ray_h71

Good thing you didn't buy a 4WD Dodge Durango - their front wheels have literally been falling off (bad ball joints) at an alarming rate around 50,000 miles according to CBS News.

_chuck

Does anyone know about fuel injection service being necessary to keep a warranty in effect on a 2000 V6? My manual says only air filter replacement is necessary but the dealer says the injectors need service too, cost is about $100.

lngtonge18

The quick answer is NO. You must only do what the manual says to keep your warranty in effect. Fuel injector cleaning is not suggested in the manual at all.

riez

Follow your manual for all indicated scheduled services. Make sure to do what the manual says about changing fuel and engine air filters.

Outside of any scheduled service, only time you'd be looking at fuel injection issues is if you are having some problem that is/might be related to the fuel injection system. Things like cold start problems, hesitation, idle problems, engine-related driveability problems, emission problems, sharp decline in fuel economy, etc. And you'd first try to rule out the other simpler potential explanations for a problem.

Are you having any problems? If not, just follow the manual and disregard what may be an attempt by someone to do unnecessary work for their own monetary benefit.

ray_h71

What IS that smell? Oh, yeah - the pungent odor of dealer B.S. wafting through the ether... ALL motor fuel distributed in the U.S. for highway use is already blended with detergents for emissions control purposes by federal law. (Dirty, partially clogged fuel injectors don't help emissions at all!) Dunno about Canada, but I suspect that country's is, too. Mexico? That's anyone's guess.

riez

ray_h71... Unfortunately, compared to European fuel, American fuel tends to be inferior. While all US fuels reportedly have detergents, reportedly they don't all have them in the same amounts or types. Many sources recommend buying premium fuel in order to get better detergent action (not for any unnecessary higher than needed octane). I stay away from non-branded stores (local convenience store), prefering BP, Texaco, Shell, etc. stations.

Situation is even worse for diesel. US diesel is garbage compared to low sulphur European fuel.

cwoferg

Bring your Durango comments to the Durango sites. Those problems are with the older ones. The 04 Durango is largely taken from the trucks. Big step up. Only time will tell, but they overbuilt the vehicle this time around. There initial finds have been addressed and fixed. They are doing pretty darn good.
  
My two cents on the fuel injection service, I agree. ONLY GET IT IF YOU HAVE AN INDICATOR THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM. And riez is dead on with his second to last sentence: "I stay away from non-branded stores (local convenience store), prefering BP, Texaco, Shell, etc. stations." Good advice, Jim and Bubba's Fuel Farm and Convenience Store doesn't have the same corporate oversight and inspection program as Chevron, Shell and all of those. That should matter to you if you don't want chew spit in your gas tank. But seriously, yes, they may be a little more, but worth it in the long run. Get two full tanks of each and you may or may not feel the difference when you are driving, but you will see the difference when you calculate mileage.

five

Hello,

We took delivery of our 2004 V6 Sonata yesterday. It is Celadon Green w/ beige interior. The 2.7 V6 seems to have plenty of pep & the ride is super smooth. We got a lot of car for the price. So far, we are VERY pleased.

I've been reading these Sonata posts for some time & I'm glad I can finally add my own post as a bona fide Sonata owner.

Thank you, Edmunds, for providing this valuable service. I've learned MUCH from the info posted here, and I'm convinced it all helped me get a GREAT deal on my new Sonata.

Regards,
fiVe

ray_h71

I have a 2003 base Sonata with Hyundai's "Delta" 2.7 liter V-6, too. This engine is a tight clearance engine as delivered. The factory recommendation is no faster than 55 mph for the first 1,200 miles. This is about double the initial run-in time advised for other manufacturers' engines, but believe it. If you run this engine in properly, it'll last a LONG time with virtually no oil usage. Initially expect a little oil usage while the rings and pistons are seating to the cylinder liners. Mine was down about 1/4 quart of motor oil for the first 3,000 miles. Subsequently, if the sump's filled to the top line on the dipstick at oil change time, it's still there 3,000 miles later.

jchagtdi

I used to own a 2002 Elantra with automatic tranny that would stutter and rev wildly between first and second gear. After 4 trips back to the dealer and hearing them say "there are no error codes, so your transmission is fine", I got rid of the car after 7 months of ownership.

For this reason I cannot purchase another Hyundai with an automatic. I understand that the standard transmission on the V6 Sonata is a 5 speed manual. Does anyone own a Sonata with this combination, or has anyone driven a V6 Sonata with the 5 speed?

Assuming that the 5 speed works well with the V6, I think it may be a real challenge trying to find a dealer with a 5 speed V6 Sonata.

lngtonge18

The manual tranny is no longer available with the V6. It was a very rare combo on the 99-00 models and virtually nonexistent from 01-03. Hyundai officially dropped the option for the 04 models.

riez

When I went looking for one in 2000, I found two in my dealer's region. One was in Illinois, the other in Arkansas. My dealer did an inter-dealer trade with the Illinois dealer (about 450 miles away). My MY2000 (built in CY1999) now has about 52,000 miles. No problems. A blast to drive. She also has Pkg 13 and all the goodies: traction control, ABS, leather, sunroof, ABS, pwr seat. I've yet to run across another one. Have never even heard from a MY2001 or later owner who has a V6 manual.

jk27

Did anybody see the Dateline NBC show this past week which showed, among others, the side impact test on a 2004 Hyundai Sonata. The crash was supposed to simulate an SUV T-boning a variety of midsize sedans at 31 mph. Most sedans did not fare well (2 good, 1 acceptable, 10 poor). The Sonata received a "Poor" rating. In the test, the armrest was driven into the crashtest dummy causing a broken pelvis and internal injuries. Here are two related links: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4759206/ and http://www.highwaysafety.org/news_releases/2004/pr041804.htm

This was surprising (and disappointing) to me, as I thought the side airbags in the Sonata would do more to protect the occupants. As I pick up my 7 year old from school today (driving the Sonata), this will be on my mind. Thoughts?

ray_h71

Gosh, a 3 1/2 ton vehicle slamming into a 1 1/2 ton vehicle at >31< mph and creaming it? And an inflating "balloon" may be insufficient to save our bacon? Gasp - I'm in shock! These tests are rigged by their sponsor (the insurance industry) to justify rate hikes. Of course Brian Williams, or any of his competitive minions, will jump on "breaking news" like this with full breathless fervor. Take this in context: We CAN (and do) get seriously injured or KILLED in traffic accidents, so drive defensively. There's no such thing as the totally risk-free automobile. Heck, there's no such thing as the totally risk-free amusment park ride either.

lngtonge18

You need to look at the whole picture. The Sonata did protect the head much better then all the other non airbag equipped models and was on equal grounds with the ones with airbags (it even did better then the Saturn's head curtain). Yes, the midsection wasn't protected enough but it still was on par with all but the Accord and Camry with airbags. Even the back seat dummy faired better then the other non airbag models. For a design dating back to 1999, I'd say the Sonata did pretty well overall. I wouldn't expect it to be tops in safety when its THE oldest design in the test. Ask yourself this, would you rather be in your Sonata that offers at least some chest protection or one that doesn't even offer it?

jk27

rayh71 said "Gosh, a 3 1/2 ton vehicle slamming into a 1 1/2 ton vehicle at >31< mph and creaming it? And an inflating "balloon" may be insufficient to save our bacon? Gasp - I'm in shock!"

First, the test was a 3,300 lb. (1.65 tons -- not 3.5 tons) barrier hitting a 3,272 lb. (1.64 tons) Sonata. That's pretty darn close in weight. The test elevated the barrier to simulate the high hood/front end of an SUV.

Second, I'm well aware that accidents and fatalities occur every single day on our roads. I've had several friends killed in auto accidents. However, given the fact that the Sonata received 4 stars for side impact (for both front and rear passengers) from NHTSA (link here: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/SList2.cfm), I will say that I am surprised and disappointed by how poorly (in my view) the Sonata did in this particular test. I was, no doubt, expecting more consistency between the NHTSA and the IIHS tests.

As for the the value of those "inflating balloons"?? Hey, they've saved literally thousands of lives in front-end collisions. And I'd much rather have them in my car than not. However, perhaps car manufacturers should be investing more R & D $ into protecting passengers in side impact collisions. Gosh! Gasp! What a concept!!

jchagtdi

that there are no more manny tranny Sonatas. That seems like it would have been a great car.

As far as the side-impact crash test results, I wouldn't want to be in ANY car that was broad sided by an SUV cruising at 30MPH. The reason the Sonata/Optima received a poor rating:

"the protection offered by the car's combined torso/head airbags was undermined by the failure of the car's body to resist crushing under the force of the impact."

As ray_h71 noted, the Sonata is the oldest model tested. I would imagine that the structural integrity of the next-Gen Sonata ('05/'06?) will be greatly improved, and therefore will have better crash results

pat

Regarding a couple of recent posts -- we'll have a lot more productive, useful and insightful conversation if we lose the sarcasm ...

lngtonge18

You can get a manual tranny in the four cylinder Sonata, just not the V6.

bikerpa

I've discovered that, all rebates in effect, I can get an '04 base Sonata for only about $500 more than an '04 stickshift Elantra GT. I currently have a '95 Sonata (auto; this'll be my first stickshift) that's done pretty well for me the past three years. I know they're two totally different sorts of cars... I'll be using it for commuting 35mi/day mixed highway/city, and once a month or so taking a 1100mi road trip up the east coast. I'm 24, have no family to worry about, and like to carry lots of stuff. The GT makes the most sense to me, but having the room in the Sonata looks good. What would you do in my shoes?

ray_h71

Corrections - I never said that air bags are useless. I was merely pointing out that ALL safety equipment has its limits, and the tests were rigged to exceed those limits. Also, the point that the Sonata was the oldest design was not made by me, (though it was still a good point), but, by "intonge18". Finally, keep in mind that a SOLID barrier weighing 3,300 lbs impacting the test vehicle at a relative velocity difference of 31 mph has roughly the equivalent kinetic energy as a COMPRESSIBLE structure (such as an impacting vehicle) weighing 6,600 lbs on impact at the same velocity. The tested cars were clearly outgunned by the choice of a simulated T-boning by a -HEAVY- SUV.

lngtonge18

Since I prefer to get as many luxury features as I can afford, the Elantra GT seems like the better deal. For a single person, it has plenty of room, especially cargo room in the hatchback. It also gets much better fuel economy and yet performance will be pretty much equal. The base Sonata is a rather plain family style sedan, so you might get tired of the image it projects for your age. But ultimately, it depends on what you really want: a sportier ride with more features and better mileage or a larger more plush riding car.

icwine

I am thinking about buying a 2004 hyundai sonata. As I understand 2005 may have refreshed editions available? I would like to know if there are any drastic changes coming in 2005? Otherwise I will wait till the 2005 models arrive! I know in 2007 there is a major overhall coming. Thanks.

alpha01

I've really tried to keep my mouth shut on this forum about the IIHS side impact, but, I've caved.

"I was merely pointing out that ALL safety equipment has its limits, and the tests were rigged to exceed those limits." EXCEPT- thats the entire point of any crash testing- to define the limits and illustrate how to improve upon them. If the test was really "rigged" so that all dummies would suffer "fatal" injuries in all circumstances, then there would be no point. BUT- as shown and discussed, the Sonatas combination head/chest seat mounted airbag did its job, as did the units (optional) in the Camry, Accord, and Malibu. The Sonata's issue was its structure, which will no doubt be addressed with the redesign. This is a severe test that is virtually impossible to pass without 1) a strong structure and 2) head and chest airbags. But thats the point. Get this standard on every car, and more people will be better off in most circumstances.

I am well aware that the IIHS's goal is to a make money. However, I dont care. If a biproduct of that is greater occupant protection for my loved ones, Im all for it. And, the quicker good airbag systems are designed mass produced, the more quickly ecomomies of scale will be realized, prices will come down, and technology will improve even further. Its working- Honda and Subaru will offer seat mounted thoraic bags and side curtain airbags standard on all 2005 Accords and Legacies. Toyota is said to be evaluating this as well.

I say, thank you Hyundai for offering the side airbags with head protection standard in all models.

~alpha

lngtonge18

The Sonata should stay the same for 05. An all new model is coming out for 2006. I would try to get a good deal on the 04 model rather then wait for the 05. Any change that may come will be very minor, like changing option packages around.

a_l_hubcaps

lngtonge-

That's not what I've heard, but I could be wrong. Info elsewhere indicates that the '05 Sonata will be all new. The initial ones will be imported, then they will start coming off the line at Hyundai's new NA plant, once that is operational. At least, so I've been told.

-Andrew L

dani24

I just bought a Slate Gray 2004 Sonata GLS (with option package 5) for $900 below invoice (before the $2000 rebate) yeaterday. And so far, I'm totally in love.

Since this is my first new car, I want to do it right. It only had 6 miles on it when I got it, and I did go up to 70 mph without realizing it for about a quarter of a mile. But, I quickly dropped my speed. That car can really move without it even feeling like it.

Can you offer tips/advice/specifics about how to best break in my car? I want it to get much better than the 19 mpg.

I live in the Bay Area in California, and most of my driving is flat (though some of the roads are gnarled up and need to be repaired). I probably only drive about 5 miles a day, on an average day (some days I drive more). The furthest I typically drive it is about 15-20 miles away. Sometimes further. I can avoid the freeways if necessary (so I don't get shot going 55 mph) because there are back roads to get almost anywhere I would need to go.

The salesman told me I could push the 55 to 65. Should I try to stick to 55, but go 65 when I have to go on the freeway? What should I do after the 1200 mile break-in period?

What other things should I be doing to ensure I'm treating my new car right?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!