Hyundai Elantra Maintenance and Repair

yves1

I am replacing the front rotors on a 2000 Elantra. I couldn't get the screws out of the rotor, so I ground them off flush with the rotor. I also realized they were threaded inside the rotor, so I drilled them out. My problem is this: I had a large gear puller on the rotor, and still can't get the it off. I actually bent the center bolt on the puller, and still no luck.

Is there anything else holding these things on that I should be aware of?

Thanks

jlflemmons

Can I assume there is a lot of rust on the non-contact portion of the rotor? If that is the case and you have pulled the calipar carrier, the rotor is probably rusted to the hub. Tap the hub with a hammer all the way around and see if you can knock it loose.

mdaffron

Do what I did in 1988, when my Excel's transmission seized (causing the front wheels to LOCK when I was driving down a residential street, thank God not the highway), and Hyundai wanted to charge me $1200 for a new transmission only 3,000 miles out of warranty:

I strode right into the dealership's SALES area (it was conveniently a busy Saturday afternoon, and it was full of customers), saw the sales manager all the way across the showroom, and shouted, "Hey, Bill? Why did you sell me a car whose transmission just locked up at 39,000 miles????"

The dealership wound up eating half the bill, even though I (technically) didn't have a leg to stand on.

(BTW, three years later -- a year after I sold the car -- Hyundai issued a recall for the transmission due to lockup problems. I was mad, but too late then!)

Meade

mrparisi33

I have recently tried to change the oil in the friends 96 Elantra and I found that the bolt in the pan was on incredibly tight. After some persuasion I managed to get the bolt to turn. But as it turns out the bolt was not able to turn out. I think that I stripped either the pan or the bolt (hopefully the bolt), but I was not able to pull the bolt out of the pan. I am afraid to take it to get the oil changed for fear that it wont be able to come out without the pan being replaced and I would much rather take it to a mechanic to have the work done. Any insight would be greatly appreciated

jlflemmons

Whoever did the last oil change is the culprit. And you can figure that the pan is stripped, not the drain plug.

No sweat, just keep cranking until the plug backs out, and they usually will. If the threads in the pan are stripped, go to a good auto parts store and get a larger drain plug with the appropriate tap and just tap larger threads into the pan. Not too much larger, just the next larger size from what was in there. Then install the new plug and add oil. Good to go.

Never understood why gonzo wrench-wielders think they have to play superman with the oil drain plug. The oil in the pan is not under pressure and most drain plugs only need about 15lbs of torque to not leak.

cgstaff

I have a 2005 elantra.... My lighter (power) does not work when the car is not turned on. I was told that it "wasn't suppose to.." I've never owned a car that the lighter didn't work just because the car was turned off ... does anyone have comment on this? Is this true of all 05 elantras or am I being taken for a ride on this????

backy

It's true, and becoming more common on cars from what I've seen.

jlflemmons

You were told correctly. And considering the high current drain that the circuit can provide, it wouldn't take long for some devices to kill a battery if left plugged in when the car was left for a weekend or so.

Or think about what would happen if something on the console were to get up against the lighter and hold it in?

But it would be nice if the 12VDC Aux plug could be kept on. That way the battery on a cell phone could be charged while the car is off. Then again, there has been a nasty little problem with counterfeit batteries for cell phones overheating when charged, so I guess Hyundai is going with the better safe than sued route.

jlflemmons

Got a letter from Hyundai today asking me to bring the '05 GT in for reprogramming of the airbag computer. Goes back to the issue of delayed deployment of the airbag in the 40MPH offset crash performed by IIHS. Well written letter and I will drop it by the dealer for the update.

backy

I had mine done ('04 GT) a few weeks ago, but didn't wait for the letter--asked the dealer if my car was on the list and it was, so had the work done when I brought the car in for an oil change. I considered testing the update, but then thought the better of it.

jlflemmons

Years ago I was working on the wife's GMC Safari and found a module that had come off it's mount. So, I commence to beating the thing back into position with a rubber mallet. Finally got it to snap back into place. That's when I saw the little warning label. I had been pounding on one of the impact sensor modules!

If that durn airbag had gone off I would still be cleaning clothes!

cgstaff

Thanks everyone for the quick responses.. you've been a great help in restoring confidence in what I was told! I can see the safety issues BUT I sure wouldn't mind being able to plug in and charge up the cell :0)

mdaffron

... So run your own power lead from the battery to your console! I (and many of my fellow ham radio operator friends) have to do this all the time to install mobile radios. Just go to Radio Shack and buy an accessory auto lighter socket with (fused) leads, run the wire through a convenient grommet on the firewall, solder a couple of lugs on the leads and connect it straight to your battery. Then you'll have power in there whenever you need it.

Meade

jimbeaumi

If you haven't discovered already, a bigger annoyance than no power with ignition off is this: no glove box light with outside lights off. Sometimes we need to get into the glovebox at night without switching on headlights!

5port

Good advise. However please use high temperature wire when running thru the engine compartment (teflon covered,etc) and if possible fuse the negative AND the positive leads (another ham radio tip).

andreaxd

I have a 2001 elantra and I have noticed the same ANNOYING rattle. I've taken it to a dealer and they have said that they checked every bolt and it was fine. They also said they canot duplicate the sound. The rattling noise starts when i reach 65mph and every now and then on a rough road.Its coming from the glove box.Ive tried taking everything out. Driving with the glove box open helped in the beginning, but now it still rattles even when i do that! If the pasenger pushes the dash from underneath the glove box, the noise will go away until they let go of it again. A friend thinks a latch could be broken. Its driving me crazy, any suggestions? I'm getting ready to rip it apart. :confuse:

miamixt

I am in possession of a 2005 or 2006 Sonata with 11 Miles on it. In all my Years of Car Ownership, I never had a Dealer provide a Loaner Car. My servicing Dealership has 10 Cars provided by the Factory. Where is this Benefit Disclosed? What is the normal criteria to Obtain one? Why did I spend 10 Hours in the Waiting room over the course of my last two Service Visits. I would like to take this Sonata on a Cross Country trip, while they attempt to fix my Elantra, only if Gas wasn't so darn expensive! Did it help that I complained to the Service Manager about my previous Visits?

fldavem

I just bought an 05 GT Hatchback (LOVE IT) but it needs mud flaps. The dealer wants $90 plus $70-80 for installation. So I have a 2-part question:
(1) Does anyone have any suggestions on aftermarket mud flaps or mud guards or splash guards or whatever you call them?

(2) If I get some (either aftermarket or OEM) will I void any of the warranty by installing them myself?

Thanks.

backy

I found new OEM front mud flaps on eBay (search for "Elantra mud guard") for $18.50 "buy it now". Or you could just order the guards from your Hyundai dealer's parts department and put them on yourself. There's screws already in the wheel wells, so if you reuse those holes I don't see how it could affect your warranty.

bikerpa

A google search for Elantra Mud Guards also turns up a vendor selling at $18.50/pair front & rear. Installation involves a 10mm box wrench and about six minutes. Your dealer is attempting to make an obscene amount of profit.

If you are worried about warranty coverage, google "MAGNUSON MOSS WARRANTY ACT," which dictates that it is the responsibility of the manufacturer to prove in the event of otherwise-covered vehicle failure that it was an aftermarket part causing the failure. If you ran a $2 oil filter and your engine siezed up, they've got a case. If you bolted on aftermarket mudguards and your engine siezed up, the two are wholly unrelated. Caveat: there have been reports of muck building up behind the mudguards due to poor drainage, which could theoretically lead to corrosion. If you pull 'em off and inspect every 10-12 months, though, you should be fine.

fldavem

Bikerpa: Thanks very much for the info. I didn't think the installation would change the powertrain warranty, I was more concerned about voiding the corrosion warranty. I didn't know if they could try and use that against me if there was corrosion found somewhere else.

Thanks again,
Dave

bettyw

My 2001 Elantra now has 102,000 miles and I love it! I had to have my clock replaced but it was still under warranty so no problem. However, I have had to replace so many headlights and bulbs that I've lost count. My dealership is so sympathetic that they no longer charge me for labor and charge me retail on the bulbs. She told me that this is a design flaw that they are working on. Has anyone else had similar problems with their headlights on newer models? I don't want to have this problem when I buy my next car, which I hope will be another Elantra.

danf1

The loaner car program with Hyundai is an optional thing for dealers. My dealership just stopped participating in this program for various reasons. First we only had ten loaner cars available. We sell about 150 new Hyundais in an average moth. We specified that in order to receive a loaner car you needed to have an appointment in advance with an approved request for a loaner car. The waiting period was usually two to three weeks because of the volume of service that we do. This left customers unhappy because they would show up in the morning unannounced and expect to have a car to drive. Every six months we were required to take the cars out of service and replace them with new ones at our expense. It was supposed to increase our CSI scores, but we found that our ratings actually declined because people didn't listen to the full parameters of the prrogram. We incurred a cost of about $8,000 per month in insurance, fuel, and purchasing of the cars and it hurt our CSI. Needless to say we no longer saw any value in this program and discontinued it.

hazer1

On my 2002 Elantra GLS the clock has started flickering on and off and between dim lit and fully lit. It only happens when the headlights are turned on. I took the dash apart and looked behind the clock but all the connections were secure. Nothing else is flickering or losing power, but my clock. It continues to fall behind because of the on and off flickering.

I am assuming it is something greater then a connection problem because it only happens when the headlight are on.

Also, I have a small leek in my radiator hose. Are either of these issues covered by the Industry Best Warranty?

backy

The clock is covered, at least for 5 years/60k miles. The hose I suspect is considered a "wear item" and may not be covered, but the warranty book in your car will say for certain (don't have mine handy right now).

hazer1

Thanks Backy.

jimbeaumi

Congratulations on such high mileage! My '01 GLS has 55K miles on it, and so far only one headlight bulb has needed replacement; the other was replaced due to a minor collision. All other bulbs are original. I truly hope to squeeze the same mileage and more out of my car as you have out of yours.

miamixt

Thanks for your great Reply. My Dealership, who did not sell me this Car, also has 10 Cars. And it must be about trying to improve on their CSI, because they also offer $150 of Free Service with a Blank Hyundai Service Survey. I have a feeling they have had problems before, because they are way too friendly, yet seem to be unable to Fix Certain Problems. In my case, the Engine has been pinging from Day 1, the Brakes make a Woo/Humming Noise, when slowing down at Slow speeds, a Fast application of the Brakes yields no Noise (any Ideas?). And my Driver Front or Rear Door makes a Noise similar to my Back Cracking, from a Launch. I have owned many other Cars, and usually a Rental Car (not a Loaner Car) is arranged if the Service is to take over 8 Hours. And a delay in Parts does not normally automatically Qualify you for a Rental. Why does that Yellow Sticker say Loaner Car, not for Sale. I imagine they must try to sell them after 6 Months? Thanks again! Scott

danf1

They are sold after the six month period is up, but not until then. We accidentally sold one before it was put into loaner service, and had a very difficult time dealing with the situation with Hyundai. The loaner cars are ordered separately from your regular allocation and must be used as a loaner or you lose any assistance that Hyundai provides on the program. They usually gave us $1,000 to $2,000 per car to offset some of the operating costs. After we accidentally sold one, they would only provide the assitance for nine cars. And you would think that they'd be happy that someone wanted to buy the car.

jlflemmons

Brake noise at low speed: If this is coming from the rear, the drums need to be pulled, everything cleaned thoroughly with brake cleaner, reassembled, and adjusted. This is a known issue on Elantras in the first 3-5K miles. Once cleaned, the problem usually does not recur. It is caused by large amounts of dust coming off the shoes during break-in, to the point that the auto-adjusters don't work. About a 30 minute repair, and there is a TSB on it.

If the noise is coming from the front, there has also been noted a problem with the anti squeak pads coming off the pads and lodging in the calipers. Sounds a lot worse than it is. The material is quite soft relative to the rotor and will not hurt it. Sure will make a weird noise, though. It isn't just OEM pads that do this either. I replaced mine with top of the line Bendix, and they did the same thing in less than 5K miles. So I just pulled the dumb things off, put a little high-temp grease on the caliper where it contacted the pads, and never had another peep out of the brakes.

muse84

i was driving my 2003 elantra gls with 26000 miles on it today in city streets with no problems whatsoever. as i approached a traffic signal i don't know what i was thinking but i mistook the green arrow signal for the main green signal, but luckily at the last minute i was able to break pretty hard and stop about 2 feet ahead of the line. well i waited for the signal to turn green, and then when i pressed my foot on the accelerator pedal, the car didn't move, but instead just revved up until 3k, when suddenly i heard this really loud thump sound, and my car jerked forward with the tires skidding. so i took my foot off, and then everything was back to normal.

i have no idea why this happened, how stopping hard affected my transmission like that. could anyone explain to me why this occured?

jlflemmons

that doesn't sound like transmission, but more like the brakes didn't release when you took your foot off the pedal. Did the car act like it was trying to move?

The only thing that comes to mind on the tranny would be the fluid not being in the pan after a panic stop. Once it drained back down, the pump pick it up and re-engaged. That would be a real stretch though. Might check the tranny fluid to make sure it is at the correct level.

Jim

backy

Maybe one of the calipers (or shoes) stuck?

jlflemmons

could be. I have yet to see a 4-banger that could overpower a good set of brakes!

muse84

well it felt like the gear was put on park, and i was just revving the engine. the brakes felt weird too, like as if something was stuck.

nevertheless, my car's running good as usual now. i gotta watch out for those sudden stops from now on

njdevil

we have never had any problems getting a loaner car when we left our hyundais for service more than just a oil change. they usually ask if we want one when they think we have to wait to long. since we have to drive 50 miles each way to the dealer we usually get the car saturday morning and return it on monday or tuesday with between 500 and l,000 miles on it. in the 3 years we owned the cars (3) we have had at least 20 times. one time we had the loaner car for more than a week . while we had the car my father passed away so they told me not to worry about returning it right away. this dealership is excellant (lehigh Valley Hyundai)

dad1

My son's 2002 GT has bad exhaust manifold, will dealership replace as recall item ?

dad1

Same experience with son's 2002 GT here in Ohio.

Now exhaust manifold needs replaced, dealer est $1,500.

Auto Trans replacement "> cost $2,300. We should have known the initial cost was too good to be true. !!! <img src=" :lemon:

backy

You might check with your dealer on both the exhaust manifold and the auto tranny. Unless you have more than 100k miles on your '02 GT already--then the warranty is gone. There was a TSB on the exhaust manifold, and the letter I got said that even if there was no problem with it when they inspected it (which there wasn't), it would be warranted for 10 years/100k miles. The auto tranny has the 10/100 warranty also.

csmith56

Hello to all. I really need some help with this one. My wife's 2002 Elantra broke down yesterday. I just received a call from the dealer telling me that the car "might" not be covered under warranty and that a warranty rep "might" have to decide. Here's the problem: The car overheated and antifreeze started bursting out through the coolant reservoir. Upon inspection, the service techs are saying that an additive, well, was added to the coolant system because there is a residue build-up throughout the coolant system. Now I know for a fact that NOTHING was added to the coolant system because I never added anything to it. The car only has 29,000 miles on it. Let me know if I'm wrong but I recall one of my older cars overheating and when I pulled the radiator cap off, there was a residue on the cap, which I thought was a result off the coolant getting WAY too hot). I'm really in need of help with this one. Anybody with any thoughts concerning this issue?

backy

They are going to have to prove that an additive was added to the coolant. If you always took the car to the dealer for servicing, that will help a lot since there will be a record that indicates there was never an additive put in, and if there was, the dealer did it.

csmith56

The car has only been serviced for oil changes and inspections. Actually, I'm not sure if this is going to go against me, but I've done several oil changes myself. I'm going to have to look at receipts from the local mechanic to verify that they didn't add anything to the system. If they did, you bet they are going to charge you for it. Like I said though, the car has only been to the local guy for inspections and emissions tests. My head is spinnign right now! Do you think they are BS'ing me? I haven't seen the car yet.

csmith56

I went to see the car yesterday afternoon and asked the service guy to show me the "residue". I'll be damned. He pulled off the radiator cap and there was a gritty,gray matter inside the radiator. I insisted that nothing was ever added to the system. I also volunteered to give him all the mechanics records to see if the mechanics ever added anything to the system (which they didn't). I suggested that maybe the residue was caused by a failure or breakdown of a part in the cooling system. Any chance that an additive was put in on the assembly line to stop a tiny leak? It's entirely possible. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer added it to avoid doing warranty work. I really feel like I'm going to get railroaded on this on. This is unbelievable!

backy

Stick to your guns. You have the service records that show no additive was put in. They have no records to the contrary. Also, given the age of the car and low miles, there is no logical reason that you would have put in an additive.

One question... I don't have my service schedule handy but I recall that I had the coolant in my '01 Elantra flushed at 30k miles (4 years), and maybe even at 15k miles (I only put on 7000-7500 miles/year). What is the service interval for coolant flush, and did you follow that interval? If so, that would help your case.

csmith56

The service interval is at 30,000 miles. We are at 29,000 and change. Not certain if at 30,000 it is a flush and re-fill or just a coolant inspection. We bought the car in June of 2002. It is driven less than 10,000 miles a year (which is below the average of 12-15K a year). This is really a shame because in all honestly we were looking to trade this car in for a Sante Fe before summer.

backy

You'll want to toss that point in (about the Santa Fe) in your discussions with the dealership--they should want to keep a loyal customer happy.

crsher2002

I have a similar problem developing with the manifold. Haven't been to the dealer yet. The shimmy has always been there and they were never able to resolve it. I'm due for new tires now, so hopefully that will help.

crsher2002

Whene was the TSB on the manifold. I haven't been able to find it

backy

You know, I wasn't able to find it either! That's what was strange about the "TSB". It's the first and only TSB for which I've received a letter from my dealer re bringing the car in to have it checked--and nothing about it on Hyundai WebTech. Very strange.

jlflemmons

They might have a hard time proving an additive was used. I would almost bet money that if the "residue" is analyzed they will find out it has a lot of aluminum in it. As in somewhere in the cooling system something was coming apart, as in water pump.