New Hyundai Azera Owners Experiences

floridabob1

RE:329
Replacing the sunshade is a major undertaking.
Rear seats and rear side airbags must be removed to access the shelf. It took about 1 hour the first time and 40 minutes the second time. (learning curve)
The new part appears to be working fine.
Good thing for long warranties.

allmet33

It will also go back up if the car is placed in Park too.

royalty

Still too new to tell at 350 miles but......I like some things, dislike others.

I miss the tilting mirrors in my old XG when parking but I like that these fold in.

I miss the heavily padded XG seats (bad back) but am starting to get used to the new ones.

I like the roominess. Like the cargo net with MANY more places to "tie" it down. Lot of flexibility there.

I like the power tilt/telescope wheel but dislike how it hides parts of the guages when in the lowest position where I place it for comfort.

I like the Homelink in the rearview mirror. I like the compass.

I like the sunshade but have fears on it's longevity (that nylon wheel in the motor assembly can lose a tooth and cause problems).

I really like how quiet the car is and how smoothly it idles. The drive-by-wire throttle is a huge improvement over the XG's.

I like the auto up/down windows and sunroof.

I like the stereo but am getting some subwoofer buzzing and expected more out of a 605 watt Infinity system. Not a huge improvement over the XG's stereo.

I dislike the harshness over bumps (I know the suspension is MUCH stiffer than the XG (I got spoiled by the XG's soft ride). I realize the Azera has 17" tires that are high-speed rated and I am again getting used to avoiding bumps in the road.

I like the steering wheel controls but need to get used to not bumping the mode button by accident. I dislike that I need to "cycle" through the FM bands when changing from XM radio or CD. Maybe I am doing something wrong there.

I like the responsiveness of the engine but dislike the drive-by-wire lag in throttle response.

I dislike having to work hard at getting the glass clean. The frameless glass on the XG was a breeze to clean.

Like the mileage. Getting what they claim in the city (which is often NOT the case).

Brakes are very smooth and easily modulated. I like the chromed calipers - nice touch.

Wheels are pretty easy to clean. I was smart and waxed them right away so scrubbing the brake dust off over the weekend was a breeze.

I like the TPMS but not sure how it works. In GM cars you get a readout of tire pressure in each wheel. This only has a warning light so not sure when it lights up. Need to peruse the manual.

Really dislike the passenger wiper arm that will not lift without scraping the hood. Bad design by Hyundai. I always lifted my wipers up at gas stations so I could completely clean the glass. Not sure if I will readjust arm on the splined shaft or just live with it.

Love the LED tailights. Love the mirror turn signals. Wish the turn signal "click" was a bit louder but thats more of a non-issue.

Dislike how long the auto headlights take to turn on. I liked how quickly the headlight kicked on in my XG. Driving through a tunnel they turned on right away. The Azera takes forever to turn on, wish it was adjustable.

Do not like the rain sensing wipers but again maybe I just need to get used to them. Only drove in one rainstorm so far and I was constantly fiddling with the wipers to get them to either turn on when needed or turn off when not. I would rather have my old XG interval wipers but again maybe with time and experience I will grow to like them.

Like the average mileage display. I thought there were TWO trip odos but cannot figure out how to access them.

Like the oil filter on top. Wasn't sure at first but it seems like a great place for DIY's like me.

VERY tall car. I am tall with long arms and I just barely reach the middle of the top of the car when washing it. This is a BIG car. Somehow the XG while still a big car didn't feel this big.

Like that you can just pop the trunk open anytime without using the key as long as the doors are unlocked. Thought at first this was a defect as it surprised me when I lifted the middle of the trunk (above the license) and it opened. I did it several times and was making a mental note to take it when I thought to try locking all the doors with the fob and then it would NOT open like before. I think this is a nice touch and if I was a limo driver would love being able to get into the trunk without using a key or pressing the fob or trunk release button.

msazzyindc

I thought that was an issue with just my car, I'm going to have them fix that as well as alot of other issues. I already have 2 chips of paint missing from the arm scraping against the hood of the car.

allmet33

You know...one thing you might be able to adjust the seating position to make reading the gauges easier. I put my steering wheel in a low position as well and I have no problems reading the gauges at all and I'm 6'2".

Compared to the Azera, the XG is not a big car at all. The exterior was slightly bigger than the '02-'05 Sonatas, but interior space was almost dead even with it. Thus, my main reason for buying the Azera as my family is growing and we needed more room.

I didn't like the passenger side wiper arm either, but I've learned to lift up (along the angle of the windshield) and then lift it up. I do the same when putting it back in place and I never have a problem with it hitting the hood. I do agree...poor design though.

The Azera, harsh over bumps??? One of the knocks this car gets from some folks is the suspension being too soft! Make sure you check the air pressure in your tires...too much air can make for a stiffer ride.

Chromed calipers??? Since when did Hyundai offer chromed calipers on their cars???

With a good glass cleaner, I've never had any issues with cleaning the glass. No different than when cleaning the '02 Sonata I had.

allmet33

There is nothing they can do to fix this problem. What you will get is instructions to turn your car on and activate your wipers. When they swing up, turn the car off so they stop like that and then lift them up.

Or...do like I do, lift up to clear the hood and then out. Repeat this as you replace the wiper arm to its resting position. It can be a nuisance, but after a while it becomes 2nd nature. I don't even think about it any more.

royalty

The calipers on my 2002 XG350L had a zinc-dichromate coating on them so they lasted a long time before rusting.

The Azera calipers have such a heavy coating on them that they look chromed. I do not know if they were actually chrome plated but the castings are VERY shiny and sure look like they are. I have had parts and castings chromed, anodized and zinc-dochromated before and these sure look like chrome plate. Both front and rear calipers are this way. It is a nice touch.

msazzyindc

Ok, so some of you know the problems that I've been dealing with lately regarding the car. So, I'm walking to my Azzy this evening after work, approaching it from the passenger side, and I notice something weird. Hmmm I'm thinking...
Why does the chrome around the window look cut off? (i'm paying attention to the windows since we've been talking about window deflectors all day). I promptly make a call to the dealership, of course everyone has gone home for the evening (good thing because I was about to LIGHT somebody up!).

So I park my car and take a look at the driver side (check -chrome all around) I check the passenger side (no chrome on the bottom) Do you know these dummies forgot to take the rubber covering off the chrome.

I'm going to use this as a prime example of a teaching/learning moment when I take the car back to the dealership, if your eyes are not focused on one area you will over look it (their excuse as to why they wont fix my scratch because I overlooked it) I'm going to point it RIGHT out to my salesman since he primarily entered, and exited numerous times on the passenger side and HE didnt even notice it.

LOL dummies :shades:

jaymagic

I did not find the blue plastic protective strip in the moon roof until after about 3,000 miles, lol. Hope I am not the only one whose dealer missed it in prep.

msazzyindc

Blue plastic, where, where? Please let me iknow so I can go make sure.

P.S. I still have the plastic covering the radio controls but that's on purpose...LOL

zredsox

So I park my car and take a look at the driver side (check -chrome all around) I check the passenger side (no chrome on the bottom) Do you know these dummies forgot to take the rubber covering off the chrome.

Alright, now I'm embarrased. I've owned my Azera for a year now and thought I knew it pretty well. I knew mine didn't have any chrome around the side windows, it was all black.

So after reading the above post, I go out in my garage and see the black protective covering. I stick my fingernail under a corner and sure enough it pulls right off. I'll be darn, there's chrome all around the windows. What a different look. Now I've got to go take all new pictures.

I feel like a jerk, but thanks for the bringing up the subject anyway.

msazzyindc

OH MY GOODNESS! Falling on the ground rolling around laughing I needed that laugh because my day has been crappy, whew too funny.

I have tears in my eyes

I wonder who else will fess up. I'm going to start investigating photos.

msazzyindc

Does it make your window guards look funny, now that you have chrome? Did you get yours from weathertech.com?

zredsox you shouldn't feel bad because at least all of yours was covered. These dummies took off part on one side and all on the other side so they have no excuse. Your guys just didn't know better. :shades:

I'm leaving it JUST the way it is until I go back to the dealership

floridabob1

RE: 342
If you, as the purchaser and new owner, didn't notice it for a long time, why would you expect the guy who washes and cleans the new cars to do better?
Don't sweat the the easy stuff. Save your complaints for the major issues.

msazzyindc

No my complaint is this, if you are a prepper, and this is your job, then DO YOUR JOB! If i'm prepping a car and I remove the covering from one side, common sense is to do the exact same thing ont he other side.

My whole point is this, they are giving me grief because I didn't notice a scratch when they gave me back a dirty car. They didnt notice that the darn carn still had the rubber covering the chrome.

Secondly, a long time...? No how about two weeks which is better than going a whole year and not noticing it. :shades:

jaymagic

Its a protective strip about 2 feet long and a couple of inches wide that is on the top of the bar that moves in the FRONT of the sliding roof. Maybe you can see it from above, but not from below. I just finally happened to have my hand up there and felt it.

scbob

My dealer seems to have gotten everything, except all the plastic tape coverings over the drain holes in the bottoms of the doors. Missed two of them.

scbob

Long time ago, I had a Datsun where they left the protective coating on the chrome around the windows. It was clear and turned yellow, so I was going to take it to the dealer until I began to peel it off and found out what it was.
Probably unique to cars shipped from overseas.

allmet33

Bob, I would almost agree with you except that it would seem that there are Hyundai dealerships that can't even get the easy stuff right. That's the stuff that should be 2nd nature for them and should almost never come up.

Someone who is prepping a car for delivery should have a check list they go by and they should check off everything as they go along. Then when they bring the car to the customer, they hand that check list over and allow the owner to go through it and check it off as well. That's what my salesman did when he brought mine to me. I even had to sign off saying that everything was done to my satisfaction.

allmet33

Okay, what you're talking about is not a chrome plating, you would know if it was chrome plated, they would shine like the dickens. I mean...shine like these 20"+ rims out here do. They do look okay, but there's nothing nice about them. The calipers on my '02 Sonata were like that and I painted them to match the body color of the car (Ruby Red). I took the time to spray paint the calipers on my Azera with a bright silver rim paint. They came out looking even better than they did stock. However, later on I'll be painting them either bright red or a dark blue to go with the dark blue metalic flake that will be in the black paint when I get the car repainted.

zredsox

Does it make your window guards look funny, now that you have chrome? Did you get yours from weathertech.com?

msazzyindc -

No, it doesn't make my window guards look funny, in fact, everything looks pretty sharp.

Yes, mine are WeatherTech and I ordered them from their website.

Glad you got a good laugh out of my situation.

allmet33

This is why I wanted to make sure I got the ones that fit in the window channel so that you don't hide the chrome trim around the windows. I knew if you got those ones you stick to the outside, it would look awful!!! You don't lose any of the look, in fact...you enhance it!!

floridabob1

RE;349
Mike
I'm happy if they know where to put the air in the tires.
The Service Advisors and Parts Manager know little or nothing about the Azera. The service techs are nice guys, but it is a learning experience for them with every new issue.
Hyundai needs to put more emphasis on customer support.

allmet33

I feel you on that. It seems that I knew nothing about the programming of the door locks until I came on this forum myself. When I went to my dealer about it, he was going to charge me $45 to do it. If it wasn't for the visiting Hyundai Rep that was there that day that told me that it should be done free of charge...I would have paid the $45 to get it done. I mentioned that to the service manager and he was like, just bring it in when you do your first oil change and we'll take care of it.

It took a while for the techs to get caught up. I had a tech working on it concerning my air bag light a couple months ago (mind you it's an '06 I've had since Feb of '06) and he still was thinking it was a re-make of the XG350 and said he didn't like it until he had to work on mine and realized it was a totally different car. It is kinda scary that the techs themselves don't know what they should know.

I think right now at this point, there are dealerships where customers can still go in and be more educated on the Azera than anyone working at the dealer from the owner on down to the prep guys!

Hyundai definitely needs to turn the screws on those dealerships that are found to be deficient in the area of customer service. Granted, they may be independantly owned and operated stores, but I'm sure Hyundai can find a way to reward the good stores and punish the bad ones. They have no idea the black eye that poor customer service is putting on their quality products. A pretty woman becomes less attractive when she shows that she has a nasty attitude or an ill disposition.

dborth

re 354 "They have no idea the black eye that poor customer service is putting on their quality products"

They surely MUST know by now, and surely MUST have someone monitoring this Forum. I think the answer is that Huyndai is a huge corporation with a rapidly growing worldwide market share, except in the US. The Klowns in Korea obviously don't care. When they start hounding me about "Genesis" as my Azera lease term nears expiration...

allmet33

You would think, however...based on the number of complaints that are still going on.

When they drop the Gensis and don't see it going anywhere...THAT, is when they'll start scratching their heads and wondering what's going on.

oskidunker1

They can do what Audi does. Telephone customer after service or sales at a dealership and survey. If a dealership gets bad marks, they get less cars, especially the ones that are hot. Dealers respond to this very well.

lightfootfl

Re: #354
Changed title, but thought it might be more direct.
I think that until the customers actually "rate" the services they receive from the dealers, then Hyundai, or whoever will never even try to change what they are doing. With all of the different "survey ratings" for about anything done showing the absolute top ratings, the manufacturers will never know what is really happening to the customers. So, big deal,they slip someone a "freebie" whatever it might be, just to give them the highest ratings. If we do it, they benefit, not us. We may actually be part of the problem, rather than the solution.
Think about it..

van

pahefner01

Alright, now I'm embarrased. I've owned my Azera for a year now and thought I knew it pretty well. I knew mine didn't have any chrome around the side windows, it was all black.

It took me about a week to find that the trim around the windows shouldn't be black. I kept looking at the brochure and thinking why is my window trim black. I went outside and pulled the rubber off.

Don't feel too bad.

msazzyindc

My dealership told me I was going to get a survey call but when they called I told her I had some issues and that my car was in service and I was picking it up that day and to call me the next day. DO you think they've called me back after 2 1/2 weeks? The answer is NO. I've called headquarters and of course, they have no clue as to what I speak of, and never heard of a survey.

As a matter of fact, this prompts me to call them back to see if they've found an answer yet.

oskidunker1

Just curious what colors dealers tend to buy.

msazzyindc

Actually I've seen more white Azera's on the lots than I've seen my black.

allmet33

There's a reason they are on the lots, I've been seeing the black, blue and silver ones all over. There's a sprinkling of white and sage greens and I've only seen a couple of the gold ones. I think the rarest sighting is the Aubergine colored ones.

royalty

I saw it yesterday whiling driving with the sunroof open. I have had the car less than two weeks with about 300 miles. I knew right away what it was and peeled it off.

royalty

Actually I do think it is chrome plating. When you plate a casting (such as these caliper housings) they do not get that hard, mirror-like shine you will find on polished items like rims. They get a shine much like you would find on a gold nugget so I do think they are chrome plated. I have plated castings before and they look just like this.

allmet33

I have yet to see any car that comes from the factory with chrome plating on the calipers. If they are, you got a one time deal because they just don't come from the dealer like that. It's not a plating you're looking at as most likely, the calipers are forg cast pieces. Plating is a coating you add to something to give it a sheen, shine or color. What you're looking at...is not a chome plating. Chrome plating serves one purpose...to add a shiny finish. So unless it looks like a chrome bumber, a set of chrome wheels or something like that...it's not a chome plating. Trust me my friend...your calipers are not chrome plated.

floridabob1

RE:366
Mike
Do you mean that your Azzy did not come with the solid gold calipers?
You should have dealt with my dealership. They promised everything and more.

allmet33

First chrome plated, now solid gold! :sick: Okay, I'm going back to my dealer and I'm pushing for platinum coated calipers doggone it! LOL

zredsox

First chrome plated, now solid gold! Okay, I'm going back to my dealer and I'm pushing for platinum coated calipers doggone it! LOL

Mike -

I just don't understand what model you bought. It must have been one of the very first ones because my chrome plated calipers with the solid gold edging also came with the Roadrunner Emergency Anchor with dashboard release in case the brakes should ever fail.

Don

allmet33

Okay...now I'm getting really :mad:!!! LMAO I guess this is what I have to suffer for having a full size spare tire, huh? Aye-yi-yi!!! :sick: Hey Don, do you think I could get the emergency drag chute instead of the anchor?

scbob

In all my conversations with salesman, service managers, national customer assistance and so forth for several makes, NONE of them says they ever look at Edmunds, much less the forums. Maybe denial, but I am beginning to believe it.
I told one Cust. Rep. that Hyundai should have one person dedicated to monitoring all the sites to see everything that is being said about their cars.

scbob

Go to Hyundai-forum.com and they have a section for rating sales and service.

allmet33

That doesn't necessarily mean it's monitored by folks from Hyundai Corp.

colloquor

I don't think the average car owner, much less many employees at dealers (sales or service), know that Edmunds.com exists, especially the forums.

lightfootfl

There are many places where a manufacturer/dealer/whatever could find some ratings of services. My comment deals with primarily the Hyundai, and their direct contacts with their customers. When I purchased, serviced, etc my Sonata they contacted me directly. I in turn gave them my comments regarding the dealer with whom I dealt. Those are the comments to which I was speaking, not different forums that may or may not have correct information. PS I also use the Hyundai Forum site mentioned.
Van

msazzyindc

I disagree, I think ALOT of people are aware of Edmunds, Car & Driver etc... Especially if they are trying to get the best car for their money. Now if you're talking about the Sally's and Joe's in the upper level suburbia they stick with what they know and can afford such as, mercedes, bmw's, and volvo's :shades:

msazzyindc

that url doesn't work.

dborth

Re 360: "I've called headquarters and of course, they have no clue as to what I speak of, and never heard of a survey"

This surprises you? You, me, all of us and the US market in total are just a small chunk in the massive Hyundai worldwide market pie. Their CEO is under house arrest, they are plagued by strikes in Korea, and yetthe MBA suits in the old country still enjoy more business then they can fathom.

HQ didn't know about "your survey" because it was probably approved months or years ago by the previous US President. Those connected with the auto industry supposedly "don't monitor the auto forums". Why?...they don't have to.

Add it up...when the average Hyundai salesperson at the dealer level refers to the Azera as "the big Sonata" and the Veracruz as the "DEE-LUX Tucson" instead of "flagships" or other positive spin, it is a miracle Hyundai is still in business here.

Can they hope to continue to gain share in this country with the likes of the maybe Genesis? Only if they flush the US dealer network and start over again. They sure as hell won't do that.

allmet33

MsAzzyindc, he didn't post it as a link, he just gave you a web address...here you go...

Hyundai Forums

allmet33

Boy, by stating the Veracruz is a "DEE-LUX" Tucson would really be ignorant on their part as they would be jumping over the Santa Fe!!! Which I could accept a salesman saying the Veracruz is a bigger Santa Fe. The Tucson seems to almost fit in the Veracruz's back pocket! LOL