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Comments
On top of the IIHS rating, there is still the little voice asking me why Hyundai feels compelled to offer such a long warranty. A ten year warranty is little comfort if the car has to go in for repairs every other month - I'd rather have a car with no warranty that never breaks
I'm writing Hyundai to ask what measures if any are going to be taken to fix these problems.
I disagree with crayneri that these tests necessarily mean that Hyundai has been cutting corners. The Sante Fe received high marks in its tests. Also, keep in mind that Hyundai has been challenging these tests saying that their internal test came up with different results.
Still the IIHS results are disconcerting. The latch coming loose and the injury to the dummy's leg concern me just as much as the late deploying airbag. I imagine the airbag can be fixed with a recall, but what about the leg injury?
If Dateline NBC shows the results, Hyundai's rising star will take a hit.
The Santa Fe costs about the same as the CRV
The Sonata is a totally different car than the Elantra
The Elantra received horrible scores in the tests compared to the Civic.
We are talking about the new Elantra, not the 96-2000 Elantra.
Face the facts, Hyundai is going to have to make some changes. I am not making fun of your religion, we are discussing cars. I convinced my in-law to buy a 99 elantra, the car is fine, but he hasn't crashed in it.
My question to you is......Would you prefer to crash in a 2001 Elantra, or a 2001 Civic (which received all excellent)
I know the answer.
I think that silver_bullet is right: the safety issue aggravates the other major concern I had with the GT, which was the high rate of depreciation. Buyers, who have safety as their number one criterion will rule out the GT. The demand for this car decreases, therefore its resale value will drop.
I see your point re: the structural integrity of the GT. But until airbag sensors and seat latches are fixed, how can we consider a car that is unsafe?
Are you saying that you could overlook the safety issues to save a couple thousand bucks?
The institute retested both the Grand Caravan and the Elantra when the manufacturers objected to the first results. In both cases the vehicles performed worse in subsequent tests.
Gee, it's getting kind of hot in here! Now that we've all had a chance to share our views on the subject of the recent IIHS scores, let's please cool down a little on this subject... and try to respect each other's points of view.
Please note: it's okay to bash the vehicles in these discussions, but it's not okay to make personal, or heated, remarks towards other participants for their differences of opinion. Thanks for your participation. ;-)
Pocahontas
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Hatchbacks / Station Wagons / Women's Auto Center Boards
I'm sorry but the rest of the good ratings given to the Elantra leads me to believe its a safe car for the most part and its stylish looks, better performance, and less bland character are enough for me to rather buy the Elantra. I mean the Grand Am is rated poor too, but does it hurt its sales? NO! People don't buy on safety alone. I will admit I would be leery of buying it until Hyundai designs a fix for the airbags, but if I got a great deal I wouldn't worry about it. To be honest, whats the likelihood you will have an offset impact with a car of the same weight? Very little. You are more likely to hit a huge SUV, and in that crash I wouldn't want to be in either car. But will that keep me from buying a small car? NO! We have been driving around cars that are far less safe than this Elantra for a long time so I don't see the big deal. Overall, I won't argue with 4 and 5 stars in both the frontal and side-impact, plus a good structural performance. I refuse to condemn a car completely and call it unsafe just because of an airbag fault, which can happen on any car. In fact, there was a post in the Malibu forum of someone who hit a pole dead center at around 40 mph and hit the windshield twice because the airbags didn't go off, but the Malibu is rated acceptable. There are many instances of airbag failures on all sorts of cars, including the Civic. All I'm trying to do is get people to think about it more objectively and look at all the facts before having a fit. I do however agree Elantra owners need to get on the roll and get Hyundai to fix the airbag sensor.
http://www.progressive.com/resource_center/crash_videos.htm
You can clearly see the consequences of that late-deploying airbag! At the same time, the strucure seems to hold up pretty well, as some of the previous posters were stating.
A GT driver has side air bags....many Civics do not since they are an option. A GT driver with the option package #2 has ABS and traction control. Only the Civic EX has ABS and traction control is not an option. All GTs have 4 wheel disc brakes. What's the point? There are a host of factors that go into safety, and the crash tests are but one. Perhaps other things like brakes that are more resistant to water affecting stopping distances, ABS, and traction control play a part in avoiding a collision. Honda may indeed build great crash test result cars, but I'd rather they also paid attention to avoiding crashes in the first place, by making state of the art safety features standard and not optional.
VW is doing the right thing making ABS, 4 wheel discs, and 8 airbags standard in every model, even the base GL. VW also has a 10 year engine/powertrain warranty by the way, and the last time I looked, they were not a Korean company.
I think this car is safe enough. Hyundai has already issued a recall for the models with the late-deploying airbags. (don't know if it affects my specific vehicle yet).
The GT rides very well and get lots of looks.
I'm glad I made the purchase!!
Still, in evaluating the safety of a car, there are many factors to consider, including the NHTSA results, braking distances, structural integrity, and side airbags. In all these areas, the Elantra has done exceptionally well. (See what Edmunds said about braking in the non-ABS Elantra). It seems to me that if the airbag and latch problems are fixed, then the GT would be at the top of the class for safety, as it is for almost everything else.
-------
Edmunds review of 2001 GLS - "the brakes work so well that even without the ABS/four-wheel disc brake option, our test car came to a halt from 60 mph in a short and drama-free 133 feet. The Elantra's stopping ability was so good, it prompted our road test coordinator to state: "Brake performance is outstanding ... pedal modulation was excellent and allowed us to get the braking distance down to the level of ABS-equipped vehicles."
Just for a refresher, what are the key driving behaviors that are recommended during the "break-in" period? So, far, I have been trying to vary the speed every few minutes while on the highway. Also, I have tried to keep the engine rpms at 3,000 or less. I have also been easy on the brakes, making sure I have plenty of stopping room before applying them.
Anything else critical? And when is a good mileage level to stop babying the car so I can give it heck?!
Thanks!
I just find it odd that the Santa Fe topped both the RAV4 and the Escape in crash tests, but the Elantra didn't do so well in comparison to the Civic or the Corolla. Different engineering teams?
The Mercedes E-Class didn't perform as well as a Camry structure, but know one is screaming horrible product. I believe many people are just making unjust comments based off of their already suspect thoughts of Hyundai's quality.
Everyone should look at the Honda Accords test, it didn't do as well as well as the civic. It is all relative.
Bonus: my city fuel mileage has increased slightly in the first 2000 miles. When I bought the car a month ago, my first few tankfuls resulted in an average of 24.3 mpg. Now, at 2100 miles, my last two tankfuls averaged 25.5 mpg doing exactly the same driving. Cool.
Best wishes for a great ownersip experience!
Good because Hyundai wants to assuage the fears of owners. Bad because it implies the company already knew the sensors or inflators could be faulty.
I seem to recall and early recall for SIDE airbag inflators affecting a number of the early GLS models. Is that what you were referring to?
Again, welcome to "Club GT".
As for blandness, well both toyota and honda take the prize for that. I personally couldn't live with any of Honda's current designs.
The airbag sensor sounds like it might have only been badly configured. If the design is actually defective, maybe Hyundai could replace them with sensors from the Santa Fe. And then build stronger seat latches and we would be back in business!
I'm not sure how this works, but if the two problems turn out to be quick fixes, does that mean that Hyundai can ask the IIHS to repeat its test? Would all of this be possible before the '02's come out this fall?
Pearlbluesoul: I would imagine Hyundai is currently recalibrating the sensors for the 02 models and will probably do a recall for the 01s to upgrade the sensors. Once they feel the problem is fixed, I'm sure they will request the IIHS to retest the Elantra and I'm sure they will be happy to do so. As a side note, do you recall that the 95-96 Nissan Maxima also had a problem with the driver's seat latch breaking, which allowed the right side of the seat to move forward 3 inches, thereby jamming the legs into the dashboard and causing a poor rating for the legs? Nissan was not aware of this design flaw and quickly redesigned the tracks and put them on the 97 models. This fixed the problem with the seat, though footwell intrusion continued to be a problem for leg injuries.
The Accord vs. GT is not an apples-apples comparison. It's a mid-size family car vs. a compact hatchback with a sportier feel. The Accord is more boring (IMO) but offers rock-solid reliability and resale value, and more interior room, vs. a more fun-to-drive car with more features at a lower price (and questionable long-term reliability and resale value). For the sure thing, take the Accord. For more "drama", get the GT.
cjaccetta:
My recall reference was due to a previous message by another poster who said he knew someone who had contacted Hyundai and was told that there was a voluntary recall on the late-deploying front airbags. I actually don't know if this is truly a legitimate recall and whether it affects all or simply some Elantras.
If someone finds more recall info (if this is indeed true) please let us know.
I guess I'll have to "skip" the one break-in period recommendation of driving 55mph and under. Most of my driving is on the Interstate, with a posted speed limit of 70mph (gotta love the Tennessee highway speed limits!) and I tend to drive closer to 80mph. The rest of the recommendations I think I can comply!
That's all I know for now. My wife and I are taking our 2001 GT on a road trip to Canada next month (so if there was indeed a recall I was hoping I'd find out before we leave). Here's a tip: if you ever need to call HMA's toll-free number have your VIN handy.
compensate: I, too, had a lot of trouble keeping my GT under 55. If you do less than 70 on Jersey roads you are in trouble! My car seems to have come through just fine.
After one month I have still not seen another GT on the roads. I'm getting used to the exclusivity. This is one of the reasons why I didn't buy a Civrolla!
And, man, I love that new call smell!
BTW-- I was waiting for a five speed GT when my Chevy Nova bit the big one. I was forced to buy a GLS which I have driven for about 200 miles. The check engine light came on at 50 miles, but the service rep. said it was no big thing unless it flashed. Will have it looked at tomorrow when I have the car re-detailed.
If the first fifty miles are indication this is one hell of a wonderful deal. Much more appealing than the Corolla I test drove. Had I known about the crash test problem I would have used it in trying to negotiate a better deal (I paid $11.2 for a package 2 car), but I still would have made the purchase. If some of you are walking away from a purchase because of this, I think you're making a mistake. Using the old adage of "you get what you pay for" doesn't hold a bit of water IMHO.
This forum is mainly for Elantra GT, not the Elantra GLS. Yes, these cars are of the same platforms, but it hasn't been proven as of yet if the GT has the same safety "problems" as the GLS.
The GT technically is a 2001.5 model, and perhaps these issues have been addressed and taken care of already. Until we get final word on that, I would suggest to those that have stated "crossing" the GT off your list not to do so. And even if the GT has the same problems, would you like to go look at some more expensive, "better" cars that have worse crash ratings? Again, as everyone has stated, if you go back and look at the problems that occured: the dummy head hit it's head on the steering wheel and the seat latch failed to hold. Specifically because of these factors, the vehicle received a "Poor" rating. These problems can be fixed, and if they were, would you still "scratch" the car off your list, or do you just come to this forum to bash the car?
For what you pay for this car and the features you get far outway anything out there right now for the money. Granted there are some flaws, but I don't know of a car that doesn't have one.
Safety is important to me, yes, and I'm sure that Hyundai will accomodate everyone when they review the results and make a final decision on what needs to be done to save face and keep customers happy.
cjaccetta - Although you called them and asked about the recall, I'm sure at this time there isn't any plans officially to do a recall yet. The test just came out two days ago, and it takes some time to implement recalls. If this is for every Elantra, it will take a while. Look how long Firestone and Ford have taken to fix a tire problem; the replacement program for them is still going on.
Please don't come in here and bash the car and the rating without reading the whole description and deciphering what exactly it means. And number two, again, we are not 100% sure this even affects the GT.
Sorry for the long rant.
Erik
Again, as has been stated here a few times, we don't know if this actually affects the 2001.5 Elantra GT. Remember that the 2001 GLS came out MANY months before the GT, possibly after the tests were run
Also, the 2001 Elantra bumper bash test has improved to near best in class, after Hyundai made major bumper improvements in 1997 and again in 1999.
Here's an article from the IIHS:
"
NEWS RELEASE
March 10, 1999
TWO AUTOMAKERS IMPROVE CAR BUMPERS;
ANOTHER NEW MODEL HAS WORSE BUMPERS
ARLINGTON, VA -- Hyundai improved the bumpers on the 1999 Elantra, compared with previous models of this car, and Mitsubishi improved the new Galant's bumpers. In contrast, the bumpers on the redesigned 1999 Mazda Protege are substantially inferior to those on the 1997 model.
"Designing effective bumpers is no great engineering challenge," says Insurance Institute for Highway Safety president Brian O'Neill, "but it needs to be a priority or else we'll see the kind of inferior design that's on the new Protege."
To assess bumper performance, the Institute conducts a series of 4 crash tests at 5 mph -- front and rear flat-barrier impacts plus two localized impacts, front-into-angle-barrier and rear-into-pole. The 1997 Protege's performance in these tests was marginal, but the redesigned 1999 model performed even worse. "The damage sustained by the new model in our low-speed tests more than doubled compared with the 1997 model," O'Neill says.
To a consumer, the bumpers on the 1997 and '99 Protege appear virtually identical. "But underneath there have been major changes," O'Neill adds. "The rear bumper on the 1997 model included an aluminum bar and foam energy-absorbing material. But on the 1999 model these have been replaced by a piece of plastic that broke in the rear-into-pole test, allowing extensive damage to the car's sheet metal."
In contrast to Mazda, Hyundai worked to improve the performance of the rear bumper system on the Elantra. Bumpers on the 1997 model of this car were rated worst among the small cars the Institute tested, but the 1999 Elantra is much improved. Its rear bumper allowed virtually no damage in either the rear-into-flat-barrier test or the very demanding rear-into-pole test, compared with total damage of almost $2,000 (1999 dollars) in the same tests of the 1997 model. The difference is that Hyundai strengthened the reinforcement bar underneath the plastic bumper cover and added energy-absorbing foam to the rear bumper.
"This is exactly what bumpers are supposed to do. Their purpose is to prevent damage in low-speed collisions, and Hyundai earns praise for making the improvements," O'Neill says.
Damage to the 1999 Mitsubishi Galant was cut by more than half in the Institute's low-speed crash tests, compared with the 1995 Galant, which the Institute rated poor for bumper performance. Most of the improvement is because of much better performance in the rear-into-pole crash test. Damage to the 1995 model from this test alone was $1,651, compared with only $250 for the 1999 Galant.
Seven of the nine 1999 models tested had better bumper results than their predecessor models. "Such improvements are important because of all the minor bumps that frequently occur in commuter traffic. Such seemingly minor impacts can cost thousands of dollars to repair. Plus there's the major inconvenience of putting a car in the body shop for several days," O'Neill points out.
"
OK - LEAVE THE ELANTRA ALONE. We've heard everything already.
I, for one, am enjoying my Elantra GT immensely. Stop with the buzz-kill.
Most of the 20 or so cars I've owned didn't have airbags (some didn't even have seatbelts - horrors!), and I'm still here to talk about it. However, like many people, I'm concerned by the notion that a mandatory safety device might actually harm me instead of protect me. While this bit of news was something I took into account when deciding to NOT purchase a GT, it wasn't the major factor - I was put off much more by the vague steering, loose body control, and very cheap feeling interior plastics and trim. Enjoy your car, but allow others to offer their points of view - that's what makes these boards so useful.
This is why I got a bit peeved - I'd already heard every possible angle on the crash test results and got defensive about my car, which I love dearly so far.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how I could find a model with ABS? I plan on moving back up North in the next couple of years and think the ABS and traction control will be invaluable on the ice and snow.
Oh, and hello everybody. :-) *wave*
I found the GT to be a nice quiet riding car. Although I think the suspension needs to be beefed up a bit. Also, 205/55 series 16" would be a nice addition, to further distiguish it from the GLS.