Hyundai Sonata 2006-2007

tbear503

Yes!. Yes!, Yes!...They do look great. I'm thinking that the trunk bar especially will look good on my Steel Gray GL...Man, that's a great looking car you have! Thanks, also for the Azera pics. It's gonna blow it's competition away.

What wax/polish do you use? Am I correct in assuming those are the glue-on window covers?

Thanks!

dfocht

Love your car as I really love mine. Can you tell me where you acquired the side window vent visors? I have been looking all over the web for them.

haefr

So the new Sonatas are up to $2,500.00 in rebates, now? Very impressive. Is there still a rebate for college grads, too?

gregb6

Thank you for that advice as my plate was rattling but I am now quiet sure that it is coming from the front passenger seat (headrest). It only occurs occassionally and when going over a bad patch of road or a number of bumps (or on a quiet road, when the car goes over some uneven road surface). If I give a quick bang/hit to the back of the passenger headrest or seat, I hear the exact same rattle. If I then hold the headrest and then hit the seat, there is no rattle.

I will check this out with the dealer when I take the car in for my first oil change.

Has anyone else experienced this rattle?

freval

:P You can get the Sunvisors here. link title

backy

There's no info on the college grad and military discount programs beyond September 30 on hyundaiusa.com. Maybe if you check back there in a day or two it will be updated.

gregb6

Thanks for the picture. I like it a lot..... car is sportier but still retains a classy look (natural, not modified). I made enquries with Ziebart/Apple Auto Glass and they presented me with various options: (darker shades, smokey or metallised) although they said that if it is metallised and too dark, it will/may interefere with the antenna in the rear window. They also raised the issue of legality and not making the front side windows and the front windshield too dark. Do you have any advice on this issue and did you use the same shade throughout?

johnjj

I don't think it's a total of $2500. I believe it's the new $500 rebate OR the $1000 financing rebate, for a total of $1500. Perhaps there is also a recent college grad, or military rebate as well.
John

backy

You're right, it appears you can't get both the $500 rebate and the HMFC rebate. So the best you could do, if you are a Hyundai owner, is $2000 in rebates, or $1500 if a non-Hyundai owner. Plus whatever college/military discounts they come up with for October.

johnjj

freval,
I like the looks of the chrome on the front and back a lot. Does it look as good in person up close, as it does in the pictures? Not cheesy? How did you put them on?
TIA.
John

johnjj

fdcapt2,
I too was waiting for the Azera. I loved the looks, performance, and price of the Sonata, but wanted to wait thinking the Azera might be better. But I gave up waiting and bought the Sonata LX with package 3. What ended the wait for me was the gas mileage and anticipated price on the Azera. Hyundai had it on their web site as 18/28 (which has now been removed), and 2 dealers told me the price would be about $30,000+. The Sonata V6 with 235hp is plenty peppy for me. The gas mileage is a little better. And the cost was about $6000 less.
John

almeida75

I had a similar rattle from the front passenger seat side. It turned out to be the seat belt hook which was hanging between the seat and the side pillar. Everytime I went over a bump or try and shake the front seat I could hear the rattle.I raised the seat belt hook and the rattle is gone. You could be hearing the same sound.

freval

:shades: It was pretty easy since all those things are stick on with 3m tape. For the grill, I went to Autozone and bought a roll of 3/8 fender trim for 10.00. The trunk accent, I got it from Kspec.com.

tbear503

Great job with the fender trim on the grill; especially when the grill inserts fromkspeec are $99! I'm headed to autozone right now!

wetwilly

New here, just dropped in since I'm starting to shop.

I just visited the incentives matrix at the Hyundai National Special Offers on Hyundai's site. With the Competitive Bonus gone, the permutations look like this:

1) For non-current owners it's a $500 rebate OR a $1000 HMFC rebate
2) For current owners it's a $1000 Valued Owner Coupon plus a ($500 rebate OR a $1000 HMFC rebate)

For current owners there's not much of a change, and it's actually better now if you didn't use the HMFC financing. For non-current owners, it's a definite step back. I'm not sure it was a good idea to back off the incentives with the Ford Fusion arriving officially this month. Maybe they'll be back if the Sonata isn't near the top of the inevitable comparo tests.

307web

It's already priced below a Fusion (much lower if you add the cost of getting an extended warranty that roughly matches the Hyundai warranty to the Fusion) with similar equipment and they can add bigger rebates later if they need to.
The Fusion has got good reviews except some complaints about transmission, lack of VSC and optional ABS and side curtain airbags. For the time being, you can't get an automatic transmission with the 4 cylinder Fusion, so that will limit its sales to a degree until that situation is resolved.
The Sonata should do at least as well in comparison reviews and some people will choose based on styling if they love or hate the Fusion's look.
The prices are close enough that I think people will choose based on the one they prefer the styling and driving feel the most rather than saying "I chose this car only because it had a bigger rebate than the other one."

wetwilly

I'm interested in a 4-cyl 5-speed manual car and I don't need a car tomorrow, which changes the dynamic a bit. The miserable deals (MSRP + dealer garbage - rebates) I was offered on a GL manual a few weeks ago were bad enough to make me think twice about the Sonata. I was going to shop a bit more aggressively and see about picking up a Sonata this month, but now that the price differential with the Fusion has been cut by $1000 due to reduced rebates, I have a reason to wait a little while and look at the Fusion.

The basic problem is expectations - once you put out high incentives then drop them, people that shop will wait to see if the incentives increase again - and if they don't, people may go elsewhere.

freval

:P I use nothing but McGuires products on all my vehicles. The ventvisors are stick on.

johnjj

freval,
"ventvisors"? Are you referring to the airbag stickers on the sun visors? Were you able to remove them without damaging the visor material, and if so, how?
TIA.
John

307web

If they go elsewhere, that means they really didn't want the car very much to begin with. It doesn't make sense to buy a car you don't want because it isn't as much more expensive as it was when a competitor had a bigger rebate.
If you drive both, you should have a strong opinion on which one you like the most that doesn't change unless there is very substantial price difference.

freval

No I was reffering to the Vent visors/Sun visors on the outside windows.
link title

johnjj

freval,
Oooooh. Good thing I asked for clarification. I was about to take a pair of needle nose pliers and pull hard on the end of one of those sun visor labels. They are on so tight, I think it would pull the cloth off too. :-)
Perhaps I can find some matching material to cement onto/over the labels to hide them. They are ugly.
John

tbear503

It's McGuires for me too. I did as you and put the chromed plastic on the grill crossbar, looks great, thanks for the tip!

freval

:P Good deal, You just saved 89.00. I just ordered this from Ebay.
link title

tbear503

Wow. Really nice!

krika

My Sonata LX gives the same rattle, and I too think that it comes from the front passenger seat. Since it is occasional I didn't pay attention. Yeah, when I hold the passenger seat it goes away.

wetwilly

If you drive both, you should have a strong opinion on which one you like the most that doesn't change unless there is very substantial price difference

Strong opinions are difficult to have in this segment simply because all cars in the segment are designed to target two benchmark competitors: Camry and Accord. Opinions, yes. Strong opinions, i.e. "I absolutely gotta have this car over all others in the class regardless of price," no. If I'd be equally happy (despite their differences) with a Sonata, Camry, Accord, Fusion, or Mazda6, then the tie-breaker is price and the difference wouldn't necessarily have to be very substantial, e.g. $5K.

I like the Sonata a lot, but if I want a 5-speed manual I have to compromise in terms of having not having options like a sunroof, upgraded stereo, leather, larger wheels, etc. For that limitation I expect there to be a significant price difference. In my case, $1,000 of that price difference just evaporated yesterday.

If they go elsewhere, that means they really didn't want the car very much to begin with. It doesn't make sense to buy a car you don't want because it isn't as much more expensive as it was when a competitor had a bigger rebate.

That statement is not accurate. I really - no, really want a Bentley Flying Spur which I could buy by pulling the equity out of my house. Does it mean I really don't want it if I decide instead to buy, say, an Azera and use the rest of that money for my kids' education? Absolutely not. I simply set different priorities about how much value at a particular point in time I want to get for my money. My values dictate that my kids' education is more important than a Bentley, but that doesn't diminish my desire for that Bentley AT ALL.

That said, there are other problems with that statement:

1) Hyundai in essence increased prices between $500 to $1000 for a lot of potential buyers as of October 1 by eliminating the competitive bonus. If you decide to buy something then find out just before you buy that the price has increased, it is far from unreasonable to look at alternatives sitting at the new price point. BTW, if people didn't "go elsewhere" besides Honda and Toyota because of price, Hyundai USA would have gone out of business a long time ago. I would fully expect that if you surveyed owners of older Sonatas, they didn't buy their cars because they disliked Accords and Camry as cars, they disliked the prices and found Hyundai a better value for the price.
2) I don't know that I don't want a Fusion. Last month I wouldn't have paid $2K more for a Fusion, and today I still wouldn't pay $2K more. However, between Hyundai's rebate cuts and new incentives from Ford, the Fusion is less than $1K more, so I'm going to take a look.

jpryba

The one I saw was for the Tucson. As for my rattle, when it starts to occur, venting/tilting the sunroof makes it go away (opening too). It then can come back after closing it. I don't think it has anything to do with some of the screws, but I'll check anyway to see if any of them need to be tightened up.

weitau

EPA guidelines are just that. My 1995 Saab 900s with 128,000 miles and my 2002 BMW 325i with 44k are supposed to get 29mpg highway. I GET MORE THAN THE EPA estimates - I get 31+! This is driving at 65+ mph. You have to make sure the car is properly maintained, use synthetic or Castrol GTX oil, and keep the tires at 35lbs or more.

haefr

"I get 31 +! This is driving at 65+ mph. You have to make sure the car is properly maintained, use synthetic or Castrol GTX oil, and keep the tires at 35lbs or more."

Thanks for sharing your personal experience and advice, but would you please provide us with the independently verified study or studies that have shown using Castrol GTX motor oil results in consistently superior fuel economy over other brands of conventional motor oil of the same API classification and specified viscosity range for a given engine? Or one verifying that synthetic motor oil per se results in superior fuel economy? Even the oil companies, including British Petroleum's Castrol Division, and which spend millions of dollars in their annual advertising budgets, make no such claims.

(By the way, exceeding the EPA's annual published fuel economy ratings isn't at all unusual - those ratings are only conservative estimates based on stationary dynomometer testing at two engine "speeds" loosely representative of urban and highway driving. )

umd1980

The rear plate area is already padded. I too, am not sure what these rubber things are for. I guess they'll sit in the glove box until I read the manual.

For light passengers, below 35lbs, an airbag can hurt them more then help. This is why the airbag turns off.

umd1980

6 cyl, automatic, 90% city, 15mpg

However, I've only had the car for 3 days (120 miles). Hopefully when the engine is broken in, my mpg will improve.

Also has anyone tried comparing MPG between regular, mid-grade, and premium gas? Any differences?

umd1980

Please Hyundai. Offer a 6-cyl sedan in a manual transmission !!!!

umd1980

How does the factory amplifier/subwoofer sound? Would I be better installing an aftermaket since this option is almost $600?

targettuning

It has been written(even in some petroleum and gasoline manufacturers web sites) in various places that if your cars owners manual does not specify anything other than regular unleaded...DO NOT use it. The grade of fuel has no bearing on gas mileage and more than ever at today's prices you will be wasting your money using mid grade or premium when your car doesn't need it. Many high performance cars do specify mid or high grade fuels because of maximizing engine performance. A Corvette that specifies premium will run on regular and it will be happy doing so but the engine management system will dial back the optimum settings and the car will loose a small amount of its advertised HP. This premium fuel "thing" is a carry-over idea from "back in the day" when no cars had any type of engine management computer...and I remember them well... and actual, although small, performance gains could be had by using premium fuel. Now the system is continually making small adjustments for almost every eventuality..ambient temperature...engine temp...engine load... engine parts wear..etc etc. and the car runs well. In fact I believe I had recently read an article indicating using a higher grade fuel may actually decrease fuel economy slightly. Stick with regular !!!

Kirstie_H

Backy is featured in our Owners' Spotlight this week - congratulations!

backy

My gosh, are you going to post this everyplace??

haefr

Excellent, your response pretty much sums it up: using premium grade gasoline in an engine set up for regular grade gasoline is a waste of 20 cents/gallon. Knock sensor transducers mounted to the engine block will allow the engine management system to maintain iginition advance to within a gnat's [non-permissible content removed] of optimum in real time under nearly any operating condition, though some cars designed to run on unleaded regular (87 octane) are alleged to display less tendency to audibly "ping" at higher altitudes (7,000' and above) with 89 or 91 octane gasoline. (Personally, I've never run into this effect with any of the computer managed cars I've owned.) One point to add is that ALL gasoline sold in the U.S. is mandated by the EPA to be blended with supplemental detergent chemistry to help maintain fuel injector spray pattern effciency, which, in turn, helps maintain combustion efficiency - good for the environment and good for achievable power. Whether regular, mid-grade, or premium, the blending concentration of the detergent supplement chemistry is the same. Generally, the only thing a car owner gives up using unleaded regular gasoline in an engine designed for it is the right to deplete his/her wallet's contents more quickly.

haefr

"My gosh, are you going to post this everyplace?? "

Oh, puh-leeze - you're eatin' this stuff up. (Next stop, "host" status. )

rgyip

Well some cars can take advantage of higher octane gasoline. The Honda Accord will have a jump of about 10HP and 10TQ with premium gas. The Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima will retard the timing to lose some HP/TQ but will still run on regular gasoline on their V6s.

According to USAToday, the Hyundai Sonata will boost performance when used with premium gasoline. It doesn't specify how much though.

"Hyundai recommends regular gas, says premium will boost power slightly."

link title

fezzy

It is ok but you probably would do better installing an after market system if you like listening the your music in depth. The factory upgrade is bland and lack the live reproduction and in debt bass.

targettuning

I guess that may be entirely possible but any slight gain in performance, and this may not be perceptible to the driver, is very greatly offset by the over $3.00/gal. price tag for premium. In fact now that you mention it my 3.5 liter Santa Fe owners manual stated that also. I actually tried a mid-grade fill-up once before prices spiked at current levels and the end net result was zero. No perception of increased performance or any better fuel economy. I maintain, use regular if specified by the manufacturer.

rgyip

True. With gasoline prices so high, I don't think anyone has tried premium gasoline on their Sonata. However, I was just making a point that a few cars out there can sense the different octane gasoline and adjust their engine timings appropriately. I don't even know if 10HP/10TQ is even perceptible to the driver in the case of the Honda Accord.

dannns

Mid-range is in fact a total waste, it only increases by from 87 to 89 octanes and mixed with what's left of 87, it is even lower. I've tried 93 octanes and the car does feel more responsive, however it is hard to tell the difference. It is also hard to make a scientific study, but it did make almost 1 MPG more (I didn't look at the average speed at the time). The only thing that made me try 93 was when I saw a gas station selling 87:$2.88, 89:$2.92, 93:$2.94 at a time when $2.99 was the average for the Low-grade.

I think 89 is the most money making for oil companies, since the price difference doesn't match the octane difference.

erikklein

Someone please help me. I test drove a Sonata GL with a 5 speed manual transmission yesterday and I stalled the car ... twice. I have driven manual transmission cars since 1987 (a Renault, two Toyotas, and a Volkswagen). The friction point on this clutch was practically at the floor and if you lifted more than 1/4" inch, you were fully engaged. It was as if the transmission was either completely disengaged or fully engaged, with nothing in between. I felt like I was going to wear out the suspension of the car within 500 miles just from bucking the heck out of it from each shift.

I have been unable to find another 5 speed manual to test drive and want to know from those who have a 5 Speed 2006 Sonata if I found a lemon or if this is what I should expect.

BTW, I test drove a 2006 Honda Accord Value Package tonight and the 5 speed was as smooth as silk ... reminding me that it was not my poor driving skill that stalled the Hyundai twice in one test drive!!

Share your responses!! Thanks.

backy

At least you found a Sonata with a stick. I've seen none in my area yet.

I had the same problem with a New Jetta I drove--clutch friction point was about 1/4" off the floor. One of the sales reps even made note of it when the sales rep who was helping me started the car up: "Let's see if she kills it." She didn't. But I did, once--and I've been driving sticks since '82. I got used to it after awhile, but it was still a little sensitive for my tastes. If this is how the Sonata stick drives in general, I'll have to go for the automatic for sure if I get a Sonata--my DW has trouble with even smooth stick shifts.

307web

I can't believe new-designed cars like the Sonata are still coming out without an AUX input jack.
It's nice that the CD player can play MP3s discs, but that doesn't help if you purchase music with DRM. Plus it it's a waste to time and CDs to burn CDs when you have a portable player you could just plug into an AUX jack.

Honda, GM and Nissan are adding AUX inputs to more and more cars now, hopefully Hyundai will also. It adds lots of functionality for very little added cost.

fdcapt2

Thanks for those great pictures. I tried to figure out the site they came from, but it's all in Korean, so I'm lost. I've heard that the Azera won't have the option of rear parking assist, or turn signals on the mirrors. I'm assuming these pictures are from an Azera in Korea??, seeing that both options are on these cars in the pictures. Thanks again, and if possible, give me a clue on how to find Hyundai on the autojoins site.
John

tanky1981

does anyone know whether the new hyundai sonata supports the petrol/ethanol mix. On a current affairs program here in australia they tested premium, normal unleaded, unleaded with 5% ethanol and 10% ethanol, the test cars that they were using were hyundai sonatas, they test to see which car ran out of fuel first (with all things being equal, except for the type of fuel) the order of which ones ran out of petrol first were: premium, ulp, 5%, 10%. On calculations, it turned out that the 10% would get about 300kms more from a full tank of petrol. Unfortunately i didnt see what version of the sonata they were using.

Anyway back to my question, does anyone know if the E10% is supported by hyundai?

Tanky

dannns

I believe I read something in the manual saying that it was supported. However I can't recall exactly, so can somebody else confirm it?