Hyundai Sonata 2006-2007

topoftheline1

Hey brother don't worry about headroom in the Sonata. I am 6'3" and I have a moonroof and I am not even close to the roof. It has that adjusting, crank seat that is great.

Plus I have talked to other people that have bought the same car and they have had no problems with their roofs.

manofsteel2k6

No need to disconnect anything. Order yourself a front seatbelt buckle. Not the strap, just the buckle. Keep it inserted in your driver seatbelt at all times when you are not currently using your seatbelt. Then no annoying chime.

Mine drives me crazy too. I rarely wear my seatbelt. Although I will say I do wear it more often because I want to shut the chime up. So I guess its doing its job. :]

backy

I guess Superman doesn't need a seat belt--and it might actually get in the way of dodging the cars that have kryptonite in them.

manofsteel2k6

You know I really dont get it? This is the second time on here I have been bashed for my seatbelt preference. I dont come here all that often, but when I do I try to add something positive.

Now Backy, you and I have the exact same car. Which is kinda cool. I have read a lot of your posts closely. I enjoy reading them.

I really dont want to argue with you. But did you ever stop to think that, gee maybe this guy has a reason he dosent wear his seatbelt.

I am 6'2 and go around 245lbs. I have very broad shoulders and a seatbelt in any car is about the most uncomfortable thing in the world to me. Not that that is really anyones business, but since it seems that soo many here are on their high horse. I guess I needed to elaborate.

Always amazing to me how people on the internet dont find the need to use the common courtesy you would use when dealing with people in person. I gurantee if you ever met me in person you wouldnt say anything to me about anything.

delta4

Hyundai will address the seat belt chime issue amongst others some other tweaks that will follow on the 2006/2007 Sonata. Also look for a slightly more upscale dash interior for the LX along with some nice to have options like pwr pass seat.

manofsteel2k6

Thats good to hear. I know I have talked to my salesperson a couple of times since buying mine, and he told me that even the sales people at the dealership are quite annoyed with the seatbelt chime. Really its my only complaint with the car. That and I had to have the dealership replace a tailight at about 5000 miles, which was not a big deal to me. Stuff happens.

For those who are annoyed with the chime, I meant what I said about the extra buckle. I would hate to see anyone risk voiding their warranty if they screw something up fooling around with the wiring in a brand new car.

backy

Hey, it was a joke--you know, Man of Steel, Superman, kryptonite? I thought the little wink would make it clear it was a joke, not a dig. Believe me, I couldn't care less whether you wear a seatbelt or not, that's your decision.

billmd

The way I deal with the chime is to just pull the passenger side seat belt over and plug it in. No need to buy any extra belt buckle then. Of course if you have a passenger in that seat then won't work.

brc3

Could someone tell me all of the functions of the trip computer and how it works (like resetting it etc.)? In other words, I want to know everything it does. Thanks.

tbear503

See owners manual

haefr

Owner's manual? Why would anyone bother with one of those in the age of the instant gratification internet?

backy

Maybe this person doesn't own a Sonata yet, and just wants to understand how the trip computer works?

docjosh

To everyone reading this board,

(I just posted this message on the other discussion board about buying experiences, but I wanted to make sure people saw it so here goes...)

I received an offer from Fitzmall.com and I wanted to know what you all thought of it. Listed on their website is a Steel Grey Hyundai Sonata LX w/ package 3 (power moonroof and subwoofer/stereo) for $20,570. This is the price AFTER the $1,000 instant rebate and $1,000 financing rebate. I would also get a recent college graduate rebate of $400 or military rebate of $500 . Then, I was guaranteed at least $1,000 on my 1995 Geo Tracker $20,576.50. I was offerred 6.69% for a financing APR Anyway, I'm looking for positive or negative feedback. Is this low enough, or should I try to compare with a price here locally? I would have to drive to Maryland when I was home in Bedford, PA next week to pick it up. Anyway, please help me decide. Thanks for your time!

docjosh :shades:

bhmr59

Sounds like a great price. Check Edmund's TMV (and subtract $1 K for financing and $500 for military): you're doing about $1200 better than TMV, before considering your trade-in.

johnjj

Sounds like a very good purchase price for the car. I don't know about the trade in value.
In August I purchased the LX with package 3 and got $4000 (includes $2000 in rebates) off the sticker price of $24,864.
John

lemonade2

you are getting it for almost $750 below invoice before rebates...that is a very good price. (I bought the exact same car)

brc3

The reason I asked about the trip computer functions is a salesman told me on a test drive that it just measured the number of miles driven after being reset. I am pretty sure it does more than that but I don't know what. Also I got a price quote on a GLS V6 with no options after two $1,000 rebates for $18,100. Does anyone know of any other better quotes. I saw on the prices paid thread, someone had a better quote.

averigejoe

You may have assumed too much.

averigejoe

Go to any dealer and offer what YOU want to pay. Any offer they make to you before you make your best (highest) offer is not the lowest price they will take.

backy

Yes, the trip computer does more than that. It not only measures miles driven but average speed and mpg. That's all I remember from my test drive. Maybe some kind Sonata owner who has a few minutes to spare can give us more information.

jaw10611

Docjosh,

I think you should go with it... with the trade-in, rebates, low APR, and other specials, you are making a wise investment. I've recently purchased the GLS (V6) and it's a head turner.

Oh yea, get the windows tinted... it makes the car look even better.

zen2

That's a great price. I wish I lived as close as you do
to Gburg. Unfortunately, I'm in Pa., the furthest you can
get from Gburg. Don't forget, though, you are going to
have to pay Pa. tax, if you register it in Pa., and
also pay for reg. and title fees again. I would not
worry about the trade-in. They may give you more if
it is in decent shape. Good luck!

acurattle

That's right, backy. It also has E/T which is Elapsed Time, a count-up timer from whenever you reset it. Each of those four functions is independently resettable at the user's discretion. The other function of the computer is to give you the Range, an estimate of how far the remaining fuel in the tank will take you before it is gone. You don't need to reset this, it's automatic; in fact, you can't. If I watch the display while gassing up, the numbers continuously increase until fuelling is stopped. When I fill the tank, it shows something like 390 miles for Range. This number decrements as the car is driven, of course, and I think it uses the average MPG function to do that. I've seen Range go as low as 30 miles to empty, after which the display went to flashing hyphens, in effect telling me "Hey, dummy, I'm out of gas!"

docjosh

I'm sorry to hear how far away you are. To tell you the truth, my home is in Bedford, PA. So I would have to drive to Md. to pick it up from Fitzgerald Auto Mall. That price I quoted was with PA taxes, fees, all included. I wanted the total price so that I could seek comparisons locally here in Erie . Anyway, after talking to my father, I think I'm going to wait until this spring to buy before my rotations begin in May. Backy, is this a smart call? Or should I buy now?? :confuse: I know it's impossible to speculate months into the future, but do you think Hyundai is going to take away rebates eventually? I mean usually as the model year progresses, the deals get better before the new model year comes out. Somebody give me some feedback about this . Thanks guys.

docjosh

backy

It's really hard to predict the future, especially on rebates. For example, Hyundai slashed the rebates on remaining '05 Elantras in October, even though it was the end of the model year and an all-new Elantra is due next year. Hyundai wants to take away rebates eventually because they cut profits. When will they be able to do that on the Sonata? Who knows! My own guess--a guess mind you--is that rebates will continue on the Sonata through next year at least. This conjecture is based on a few things: 1) Hyundai has stated they have the capacity to build about 150,000 Sonatas in Alabama (alongside about the same number of Santa Fes) and they aren't selling nearly that number of Alabama-made Sonatas yet; 2) a lot of attention over the next 12 months will be focused on the all-new Accent, Azera, Santa Fe, Entourage, Elantra, and maybe the full-sized SUV and the 6-passenger crossover vehicle that Hyundai announced. Rebates on these new models aren't likely right out of the chute--so the rebate money can go to the Sonata; 3) Sonata is in a VERY competitive segment, with new competition from Ford and next year with the all-new Camry and Altima; 4) There is still a perception that Hyundais should cost a lot less than Hondas and Toyotas, even though the cars are reaching pairity.

But unfortunately there is no magic crystal ball.

bhmr59

Just remember that the average MPG & MPH is an average. Is measures the averages for each second the engine is running. So, it you take a five mile trip and driver at a steady 40 MPH, but have to stop for 3 traffic lights, your average MPH will be less than 40. The same with MPG. If you're stopped in traffic with the engine running, you're getting zero MPG all the time you are stopped.

haefr

"The same with MPG. If you're stopped in traffic with the engine running, you're getting zero MPG all the time you are stopped."

Yeah, OK... But exactly the same issue is involved when you calculate your urban mileage by hand, too. (Hmmm, I wonder if the gub'mnt is considering undertaking a publically-funded study to demonstrate that crawling along and idling in traffic is in some mysterious way related to urban fuel economy being decidedly poorer than constant-speed highway fuel economy? Your tax dollars at work, folks...)

bhmr59

But exactly the same issue is involved when you calculate your urban mileage by hand, too.

I agree...was just trying to explain that trip computers can be trusted to give accurate results. People unfamiliar with them often think there is something wrong "because their average MPH" is too low or wonder why their average MPG varies so much from reset to reset. Some time back there was actually a guy who had owned a Ford and thought it's trip computer had stopped working because he had not reset it in many thousands of miles. He didn't understand averaging. (after 5 or 6K, a 100 mile trip won't have any measurable affect on the average MPG)

I wonder if the gub'mnt is considering undertaking a publically-funded study to demonstrate that crawling along and idling in traffic is in some mysterious way related to urban fuel economy being decidedly poorer than constant-speed highway fuel economy? Your tax dollars at work.

Couldn't agree more, friend. Big brother not only knows what we need better than we do, BB also knows how to spend our money beter than we do. And don't you just love it when they talk abut how much a tax rate reduction will cost. Heck, I though a tax reduction saved ME and others money.

zen2

Funny. I'm in Erie too. I already wrote what the only
dealer here said about Fitzmall. First they said
they were including rebates I didn't qualify for,
then they said they just couldn't come close to that
price. So, I would go with Fitz, if you have an
easy way to get down there. You aren't going to be
here forever anyway, so you don't have to worry
about service.

bhmr59

Bedford, PA to MD isn't that bad a distance for the saving you are talking about. I flew from CT to FL (stayed with & visited my parents for 2 days) in April to buy my '05 Sonata. The whole trip, air fare, one night in motel, gas & tolls cost me $300. If I didn't stay for free with my parents, add another motel night at $50?

Rebate in the future; who knows. I started looking seriously in February. Thought the rebates might get better in March with the '06 coming. They stayed the same in March and April. Rebates actually decreased (price went up) in May or June. This coming spring you will still be looking at an '06, not an '07. If you can swing it now, you're better off buying now than in the spring. If you trade-in the car 5 years from now, it will be a 5 year old car with X miles vs a 5 year old car with X miles minus how many miles you drive in the next 5 or 6 months. Unless you drive a real lot, the milage shouldn't make much diffenence in the trade-in value.

Any Hyundai dealer will be happy to provide service for your car. They get paid whether you pay them for oil changes, etc or whether it's warranty work.

prg909

i just purchased a 2006 sonata lx with climate control
the problem is how do you just turn on the fan without the a.c. on
it seems like the a.c. or heater is always on even without the climate control on anyone else see this?

kc206

I agree with you! I posted messages about this problem when I got my LX in late May.
I didn't seem to bother anyone else. In the in-between weather I shut the fans off and crack the windows. Seems like the 'auto' is not functioning properly; doesn't turn it off. I'll have the dealer check it out at the next service.

targettuning

That would have been me. It wasn't that I had thought that the trip computer had stopped working but instead, if I remember the context of the discussion correctly, I was trying to point out the need or necessity to remember to reset the thing after every fill-up or at least after every other fill-up because, as you suggested, it would slowly stop providing up to date information. Again, as you suggested, I don't think the data if left to accumulate for too long would be all that useful. It would take perhaps a 1500 mile trip to noticeably change the reading. I don't know about everyone else but I would rather gather many accurate readings( every tankful) over time and average them than never reset the trip computer over a 6,000 mile period in hopes of a long term average. Oh, in my Taurus the "reset button"..it being a Ford... ceased to reset so I was forced to be unable to reset it as I would have wanted.

bhmr59

I've got an '06 sales brouchure. It looks like the round temperature knob is designed to be pushed in to activate/deactivate the auto function. The fan knob also appears the have the push to manually operate feature. If you deactivate the auto function and push in the A/C button that will probably turn your A/C on or off (except A/C is always on in defrost mode). You can minimize the A/C compressor "work" by setting a higher temperature. Most all cars activate the A/C when in defrost mode.

nivek911

I believe pushing in on the Auto button turns on the Auto mode only. If you change the fan speed (up or down) Auto mode appears to be deactivated.

bhmr59

You're probably correct. That's the way it works (change fan speed) in my '05 although the controls are completely different.

Once the auto mode is deactivated, I would think the A/C button should still change that function (based on the '05 experience).

Any way, for owners of the '06 Sonata, this whole thing should be explained in the owner's manual.

kwonc71

I read www.caranddriver.com's comparison test three times.I still can't understand. Can anyone explain y Fusion won over Sonata? Fusion was not cheaper, interior was not any better, exterior was described "different"(not better than others) than others, slower start, weaken brake, not more safety features.....Just can't see any. C/D also had to consider that actual selling price of Sonata is close to $7000 less than Accord. What you guys think about this matters?

chuck1

There have been some who haven driven a long way to buy a car only to have a dealer say-"I can't sell it to you at that price" once you get there. Or another famous line is, "The car has been sold". I would speak directly to the ownership of the dealer before I invested a drive there. After all, dealers don't pull any tricks, do they?

backy

The scoring makes it clear why the Fusion edged the Sonata by 3 points for 2nd place. Fusion was rated a point higher than the Sonata in driver comfort, interior styling, exterior styling, engine flexibility, transmission, steering feel, and ride. Fusion was two points better than Sonata in handling, gotta-have-it factor, and fun to drive. Sonata bested Fusion in rear-seat comfort, rear-seat space, features/amenities, fit and finish, rebates/discounts, as-tested price, 1/4 mile acceleration, and performance. So you can see that by simply flipping one or two things, e.g. if you prefer the Sonata's interior and exterior styling to that of the Fusion, it becomes a dead heat or even flips in favor of the Sonata. That's why its so important for each buyer to figure out what is important to them, and do their own scoring.

nivek911

The funniest part of the article to me was on the Honda review. The "Honda transmits plenty of information up from the road too. Call it road noise and tire noise, or call it part of the Accord's driver-involvement program". However, the Fusion had "high level of road noise.." and the Sonata had it's "tires report loudly of road imperfections". Even when a Honda is noisy, it's turned into a plus somehow. Amazing.

Oh well, I chose the LX w/Pkg 3 in Deepwater Blue and am very happy with it.

tbear503

Amen!

delta4

backy in agreement regarding the scoring criteria C&D rationalizes for rating the Fusion higher than the Sonata. However their analysis did not illustrate that the Fusion was the better car or best value. Apparently, that must not have been the primary objective of this comparison test.

Having driven both the Accord and Sonata back-to-back I do prefer the ride of the Sonata much better but enjoyed the interior aesthetics of the Accord's dash and center stack.

This is the one area of improvement that the Sonata could benefit from with a few tweaks here and there. Especially in the center stack.

Finally, the comment from the C&D article that "...the Accord transmits plenty of information up from the road too. Call it road noise and tire noise, or call it part of the Accord's driver-involvement program"(noise?) is subjective and specific only to those drivers who prefer to feel and sense each nuance of the road. This is precisely the reason why I preferred the driving dynamics of the Sonata over the Accord.

prg909

it appears to be deactivated but if the temp setting on your display is below the outside temp you can feel cool air from the a.c. coming in
anyone else notice this or have a solution

bhmr59

Does the cool air feel like A/C air, or is it just a bit cool? If you're in the sun a car's interior is usualy warmer than the outside air. If you're drawing in outside air, without it being heated or A/C'd, it usuallywould feel a bit cool.

I've also had my temp set at 75 with the outside temp being 72. In auto mode, on a sunny day, the interior temp will still call for A/C.

prg909

thats just it i have auto mode off and it is still cooled air
for example if auto mode is off why when you set the interior temp to say 70 degrees does the a.c. come on?

brj

Can other Sonata owners completely disable their climate control system?

I used to drive an old Caddy and the climate control system would not ever go completely off, even if it was to completely "off". It drove me crazy, always getting too hot or too cold, and I could hear a quiet fan which drove me crazy knowing that I could not turn it off, even though it was "off". The fully-manual climate system in my current car sucks (not a Hyundai), but when it's off, it's off, and that's normally how I drive unless it's cold out.

I'm getting closer to someday buying a Hyundai, but if I couldn't completely disable a climate control system, that would be a dealbreaker. Sometimes you just want it completely off.

I've been trying to figure out from this thread if prg909 has a defect in his car, or if one of those "it's a feature, not a defect" things, à la Microsoft.

Hyundai, in my experience, has had excellent climate control systems, even in their lowest-priced cars; it would be a shame & room for improvement if newer Sonatas were designed as prg909 is experiencing (no ability to fully turn it off).

Monitoring this thread with interest.

bhmr59

What I was trying to question is if it cooled air or cooler air.

If the outdoors temperature is 68 and your interior temp is 73 due to the sun's rays passing through your windows or some other heat build up like (enough) body heat, fresh air coming in through the vents (not heated or cooled by the system) will feel cool to you because it is cooler than the air in your environment. Also, any breeze of the same temp as your environment will have a cooling feel. Think of a room fan. If it's 80* in your house and you have a fan blowing at you, you will feel cooled. Move out of the path of the fan's breeze and you will feel as if the fan weren't blowing.

You could probably check this by putting a thermometer in your car and comparing the cabin temp to the outside temp.

backy

However their analysis did not illustrate that the Fusion was the better car or best value.

The C/D review pointed out why the Fusion was a slightly better car--based on C/D's scoring system. It doesn't mean the Fusion is better than the Sonata for everyone. As far as value, the C/D review was very clear about that: "The Sonata tops the value rating."

averigejoe

Yep. Sounds like it just came down to personal opinion on those things which could not really be measured in definite terms.
But for those readers who don't place so much importance on the subjective, focus on the price, warranty, dimensions, performance numbers and equipment lists to rate the cars. In that case, I'm guessing Hyundai would win every time. And that is probably for every model they make so long as you keep Kia out of the game.

lawrence45

Picked up my steel grey 4-cyl Sonata this morning. So far everything is fine. The car is gorgeous. Did any of you treat the cloth seats with "Scotchguard" or a similar product? Is it necessary? Do the seats stain easily? What product(s) did you find the most useful in removing stains. Have none yet but I want to be prepared. As we have the car longer I'll post my opinions, suggestions, etc.