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Hyundai Elantra Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    I took the car to the dealership again today, and they had one of their higher-up techs drive the car with me riding along. He said he could tell the wheels were not properly balanced. The service advisor said that early next week they would be able to rebalance the tires using whatever machine it is they have for these very special rebalancings (Hunter GPS something, I think). So, we'll see if that fixes the problem.
  • jimbeaumijimbeaumi Member Posts: 620
    The cabin filter installation was quick and pretty easy. I made it trickier for myself by not bothering to fully remove the glove box, but it wasn't impossible. And now for a few seasons of cleaner cabin air!
  • drmpdrmp Member Posts: 187
    Just bought a used 2000 elantra with 43k without owner's manual. I figure that it needs tranny fluid change but don't know what kind of fluid is required since manual is lacking. Is it dexron 3? Can anybody tell me where I can get the owner's manual? Thanks.
  • 5port5port Member Posts: 395
    There is an on-line Owners/Shop manual for Hyundais at:

    <http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/>

       I found this info for your car under Lubricants:

     
      Applies to: Elantra 1998-2000
    GROUP
    Transaxle/Transmission Automatic Transaxle System

    &#65279;
    LUBRICANTS
    Items Specified lubricant Quantity
    Transaxle fluid lit. (U.S. qts., Imp.qts.)
     GENUINE HYUNDAI ATF SP-II, DIAMOND ATF SP-II OR AUTRAN MMSP-II
     6.6 (6.9, 5.8)
     
    Drive shaft oil seal lip
     Automatic transaxle fluid
     As required
     
    Sliding part of bushing
     Chassis grease SAE J310, NLGI No.0
     As required
     
    Selector lever sliding portion
     Multipurpose grease SAE J310, NLGI No.2
     As required
  • goofy10goofy10 Member Posts: 17
    My Elantra just rolled 15,000 worry/trouble free miles!!! I called the dealer to find out about the service and they want $130 for it, if I have platnium plugs. The price seems alittle ridiculous and what the heck are platnium plugs? One dealership I called didn't even mention them in the price. Can I just take the car to the same place that I get the oil changed at cause they usually check everything the same stuff thats on the inspection list?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    First, the dealer should be able to tell you if your Elantra has platinum plugs or not, assuming it still has the factory plugs. I'm not sure why they'd have this condition unless they plan on trying to sell you new plugs, which even if they aren't platinum would not be necessary at 15,000 miles. Second, you can have maintenance done anyplace you want (you can even do it yourself), but to avoid issues with warranty support be sure to use fluids and parts that are either Hyundai or Hyundai-spec. And keep records of all service.
  • ramblin_moramblin_mo Member Posts: 29
    No real mention of a time to replace the timing belt in the owners manual. They do have a note at 60K and 120k saying (R* replace)
    "*For California, this maintenance is recommended, but not required"

    Does that mean if you're not in California, don't worry about it or that it should be replaced at 60? and 120K?

    How much labor is involved to inspect the timing belt? Is this a ploy to squeeze dollars out of consumers by having the belt inspected every 30K miles?

    I would lean towards timing belt replacement at 90K. Any thoughts on this?

    Auto transaxle fluid change seems a bit long at 105K. I would lean towards a full flush at 60K.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Depends on how much risk you like to take, given that on the Elantra a broken timing belt will probably ruin your engine (and you can bet if you didn't replace it at 60k, you'll have trouble getting the engine repaired under the powertrain warranty). Personally, I'm risk-averse when it comes to such things, so I'm going to change mine at 60k.
  • 5port5port Member Posts: 395
    I agree with backy. If the book says 60K and the engine blows because you have not changed the belt you can kiss your engine warranty goodbye (actually its four years or 60K, whatever comes first).
  • 5port5port Member Posts: 395
    I've taken my car to the dealer twice with complaint of a rough
    feeling accelerator pedal. The first time they lubed it and they second
    time they repositioned it. Both times I left with a good feeling pedal but
    the roughness (given a few months) would always return.

      After looking at the cable its no wonder it needs lube every 6 months.
    The cable leaves the firewall near the brake booster the makes a sweeping
    90 right turn into the valley of the engine (between the cam towers) then
    leaves the engine on the passenger side and makes a 180 degree half turn
    to the right and back to the accelerator pulley. The heat of the engine
    over time is enough to dry out the cable until its travel feels rough.
    Some people are having this cable replaced but I feel in time the
    roughness will come back. The fix is easy:

    1) At the pulley end of the cable there is a small black rubber boot. Pull
    this boot off of the notch in the end of the cable and towards the pulley.

    2) You will see a small gap (or play) in the end of the outer cable where
    the inner cable exits and heads towards the pulley.

    3) Take a can of you favorite light oil lube (WD-40,Superlube,etc) and lay
    the tip of the spray tube against this gap (where the inner cable exits
    the outer shield.

    4) To contain the spray take a single paper towel (rip it into a very
    small towel) and wrap this around the end of the spray tube where it meets
    the cable.

    5) Now spray the lube for about 30 to 40 seconds in one continuos spray.
    The paper towel will saturate and when it does it creates a seal that
    forces the oil into the cable quite a ways.

    6) When done clean up the area and slide the black boot over the cable end
    (back into the notch).

        I now have an accelerator pedal that feels smoother than new. Well
    worth the effort which was nill. If you cant get the tip of the spray
    tube located right I use a small teflon flexable tube that snaps into the
    WD-40 tip opening and is about 2 an 1/2 feet long. This way I can keep the
    can upright at all times. The higher the pressure in the can the better
    this works.

      Just though I would share this as I cant be the only one with a rough
    pedal. It feels soooooooooo good now ;)
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    Just when I thought I only had a vibration issue to deal with, the snap snap snap has returned to my front brakes. The last time this happened, the dealership said it was some clip (or fastener) that had warped, and they replaced the front pads and sets. The first time it happened, taking everything apart and putting it back together worked (for maybe a week). I'm beginning to wonder if the vibration I'm getting on the highway has something to do with my brakes, although usually the only brake-related vibrations you should get on the highway are while actually braking.

    The brakes started to vibrate again on the highway while braking just about a week ago. The last time they vibrated like this was about 2 months ago, and that's when I took the car in to get the rotors looked at to begin with. I'm beginning to wonder if the dealership accidentally messed things up that very first time they turned my rotors, or maybe this was some defect that was in the car all along but wasn't uncovered until the rotors were turned (and this wasn't the dealership's fault at all).

    This is the last chance the dealership has to fix it. If the snap snap snap comes back after this repair attempt, I think I may have a Lemon-tra on my hands. Say it ain't so!
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    If the rotors are turned with the cutting tool moving too quickly across the face of the rotor you will get a "spiral" cut on the friction face. This can cause the pads to pull the caliper against the alignment stops to one side and then "snap" back. Seen this before.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    Thank you so much for your input. I'll call up the dealership tomorrow and tell them what you said. Of course, I'm sure they'll replace just about everything they can this time anyway (pads, rotors, etc), and that means there won't be messed up rotors like the last 2 times. Do you think any of this may also relate to my vibration issues, though?

    Oh well, it's all wait-and-see right now. I'll let everyone know what happens. Thanks again.
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    Oh, yeah you can get a vibration. And if the spiral is bad enough, it can even move a "floating" caliper when the brakes are not applied. Have to admit that the first time I saw this it took me a while to figure out what the heck was going on. Very strange sound when you first hear it. Sounds like something is rhythmically tapping the caliper with a hammer as the wheel goes around.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    The dealership called to tell me they need my car for another day. They are going to swap the tires and wheels from another Elantra and see how that affects the shaking in my car. Their top tech, whose name rhymes with Hyundai (Jon Day -- I hope this is a good sign!), will also be doing the work.

    Jlflemmons, the service advisor understood what you told me about the rotors, and he said that they'll take a look into that as well tomorrow.

    I think today they tried balancing the wheels again and then had one of their other techs take it out for a spin. That wouldn't help a brake issue, of course, but that's part of the normal procedure for the vibration-on-the-highway problem.

    BTW, my loaner vehicle is a brand new Santa Fe. So, no big rush to get the Elantra back to me... ; ) (Am I the only one who doesn't actually mind that new Hyundai smell as well?)
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    The dealership replaced my front rotors and they also took the tires & wheels off of another Elantra and stuck them on mine. The car seems to be back to normal now. I'm going on a road trip this weekend, so that'll be a good test to see if my problem is totally solved.

    My usual service advisor wasn't there today, but I will call him up in a few days and see if he has anything else to note from what they did in the last 2 days.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    Now I'm hearing a chirping/rattling noise under the hood when I first start the car in the morning. It gets worse if I start up the a/c (or the defroster, which uses the compressor as well). I also hear the same chirp noise when I back up, and then it goes away when I put the car into Drive, but then I hear a buzzing like noise as I press on the gas pedal the first few times. It then goes away, only to come back after I have the car sitting around overnight (or longer).

    The same noise happened in both dry, mid 70's weather in the middle of the day, and then this morning after it had rained part of the night (and the temp was 63 or so, and slightly humid). So, I don't think it's weather-related. Maybe it's just a belt starting to slip. It happens (it just seems to happen to me LOL). Time to call the dealership again!
  • rdaneel528rdaneel528 Member Posts: 4
    Hey guys, I'm having serious problems with the clutch on my 5spd 2001 Elantra GLS. Yesterday I just had a third clutch installed on my car. My first clutch went at 18,000 miles. The second one went 16,000 miles after that at 34,000. The dealer insists that it is my fault, that I am wearing out the clutch by riding it. I am not riding my clutch, or using it to hold a hill, or anything of that nature. In both cases the clutch went in just over a year so I had to pay out of pocket both times. I want to somehow prove to Hyundai that it is not my fault so I can get my money back. Has anyone had a similar problem? Or know of any issue with this car that might 'cause my clutch to wear out in 18,000 miles or less?
  • 5port5port Member Posts: 395
    Yes, someone else had the same problem and I dont remember if I read it on Edmunds or some other Elantra related Web page. He went thru the same thing as you (replace clutch twice) only to discover on the third change that his flywheel was not right. Some thing about it being not flat.I believe the dealer replaced the flywheel under warranty and that solved it. Sorry if I sound vague but I read this about a year ago and dont remember where. Hope it all works out for you as no one wants trouble with their clutch (and I believe you dont ride it).
  • jacobi1jacobi1 Member Posts: 32
    Just a quick update:
    Hyundai Canada has approved the painting of my door trims and back quarter pannels. The National hyundai rep came down to look at my car and came to the conclusion that the doors were not 'flush' with the body, therefore leaving some of the car exposed to salt and sand damage. Overall, I'm very excited and please with the way this situation has been handled. However it did take a long time for them to recognize that it wasn't just 'wear and tear' but a defect in my cars build. My dealership has also been fantastic.

    After 70000km's my car seems to be running pretty good. It's certainly not as 'tight' as it was when I first bought it. There's much more shakes and rattles then there was 8 months ago but that is to be expected on a 'cheap' car. Overall, I'm satisfied.

    Enjoy the drive.
  • bigmikeybigmikey Member Posts: 1
    Greetings. What a great board. My wife's '01 Elantra has a popping sound under the passenger side front seat. She has 21,000 miles on it. It started around 17,000 miles. I noticed it in the winter, but when summer rolled around, it became much more pronounced. It sounds like it is stress related (metal on metal). It is loudest upon acceleration, but you can hear everything retract on braking. I don't think it is in any moving, mechanical parts. Anyone else have this problem? If so, how did you fix it? Thanks for your help.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    I took my Elantra in to the dealership recently because in the morning (or after the car sits around for more than 8 hours or so), there is a pretty noticeable belt squeak/rattle noise that you can hear when the car is put into reverse. When I put the car into drive and push the gas pedal, there is sort of a buzzing noise from up front that comes and goes as you press the pedal, but then the strange noises go away after maybe 20 seconds of driving. They adjusted one of the belts (the same one the a/c is on because the noise was worse one morning when I put the a/c on but then wasn't as bad when I turned it off). That worked for about a week. Now the noise is back, and I took the car in again. They said that as long as the noise only occurs when the car is cold, then there isn't anything to worry about. However, the noise is pretty bad, and I'm sure everyone in my apartment complex who hears it will probably think I'm driving a piece of junk (and therefore will probably get a Honda instead of a Hyundai the next time they go car shopping). Do you think it might be related to a bad belt tensioner? The tech who looked at my car said the belt looks fine.

    I think it's time to go to another dealership. I'm not exactly happy with the hassles I've had to face from the one I bought my car at (especially after they took 3 tries to fix a brake noise issue that turned out to be rotors they didn't turn right to begin with). Who cares if the place I bought it from will give me $15 oil changes for life?

    Anyone else getting these noises, then?
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    Try putting just a little belt dressing or rub bar soap on the belt with the engine off, of course. Then see if the noise changes. If it does, no matter what the belt looks like, it may need changing. I have heard a serpentine belt that sounded just like a bad lifter, squeak like a bad bearing, and whirr like some kind of animal. Nothing surprises me on belt noises anymore.

    Jim
  • ramblin_moramblin_mo Member Posts: 29
    25 mile one way trips to work 21 miles on highway and 4 miles in city.
    03 GLS auto running 60 mph with no AC results in 32-33mpg. 70 mph with AC 23-24 mpg.
    I've never seen such drastic changes in mileage. Not a big deal, just curious if others experience the same.

    Minor problems to be addressed next dealer visit. Peeling vinyl exterior door trim on drivers side and a turn signal indicator that has to be manually turned off 95% of the time.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    You may already know this, but there's a TSB for the peeling door trim. My '01 GLS has escaped this problem so far, but I keep an eye on it.

    Re gas mileage, I noticed that when I started using the A/C a lot this summer my overall mpg dropped from 29 to 28.5--not a big difference. That is all in-town driving, combination of city streets and freeway (aka "large parking lot" much of the time). When I've taken it on a long drive with the A/C on, speeds of 60-70 mph, I got around 35 mpg. That's for a 5-speed.
  • vjb27vjb27 Member Posts: 2
    My '01 Elantra GT developed the 65-75 mph vibration. Had the tires balanced a while ago. Didn't fix it. Had a very slight pulsation in the pedal when braking, thought that it could be the culprit. The tech agreed, re-surfaced the rotors, and now the vibration is gone. Good luck!
  • jimbeaumijimbeaumi Member Posts: 620
    I have the vibration still, but brakes are very smooth when applied. The last balance and alignment did not really affect the shimmy, unfortunately. Suggestions?
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    In my case, the dealership gave me new tires and wheels.

    You probably had a "normal" balancing done. There is a special type of balancing called radial force balancing (I think that's the right term for it). You'll have to ask for it, as your dealership may have to make special arrangements for you to get this type of balancing.

    I think that my dealership did that to my car, but it didn't help out the vibration at all. So, that's when they gave me the new tires and wheels.

    Good luck getting the problem fixed!
  • undertheblueundertheblue Member Posts: 1
    Hello all, here is my story, well the beginning of it anyways. I purchased my 2003 Hyundai Elantra GLS just 24 hours ago and the thing has already been in the shop once and needs to go again. Everything works wonderfully with the car except for one thing, the moon roof. It works just fine and dandy but after you open and close it once and turn off the car it blows a fuse. I noticed this the first night when the moon roof did not work so I thought I would start with the fuses, turned out to be right since it was blown. I replaced it with the only 15amp spare and all was well until I tried using it an hour later. So I brought it into the shop to get it "fixed" and it worked. They claimed that a wire had frayed, but they had fixed it and replaced the fuse. Since I was unable to pick the car up myself I was unable to twice test the moon roof. Came home and got into the car and of course since the person who picked up the car tried to make sure the moon roof worked, the fuse has blown again. I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem and would know how to fix it, so I could possibly pass it along to the service center and therefore not wasting to much of my time so I can enjoy my new car! Thank you very much!!!!!
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    I'm having another Hyundai dealership take a look at my Elantra's morning belt rattle next week. I don't like the fact that the dealership I bought it from told me the noise I'm hearing is normal even though adjusting the belt tension fixed it for a week or so. It seems pretty obvious to me that either a belt or tensioner is acting up, and I shouldn't have to put up with this on a car that's not even a year old yet. If this noise is normal, then I should be able to hear it on each and every Elantra in the lot at the dealership. If it's part of the engine breaking in, then I should be able to hear it on each and every used Elantra at the dealership. I actually thought about talking to the owner of the dealership to see if he would like to drive my car for a week and then see if he'll tell me it's normal. Oh well, I guess I should get to know the other two Hyundai dealerships in Columbus anyway, so this is a good way to do so.
  • newhartfordnewhartford Member Posts: 49
    Just bought an Elantra GLS 5M with the keyless entry package. Love the car - everything edmunds says about it is true. Fit and finish is terrific. One minor problem? - the keyless entry seems to intermittanly lock the car by itself. At first I thought I was accidentally pressing the button in my pocket but it has happended when this was obviously not the case. Have talked to other Elantra and Sonata owners and they say the same thing. Anyone know what's going on?
  • spamletspamlet Member Posts: 22
    The Elantra has an auto-locking feature that will lock the car after so long. I think it's one minute if you unlock the doors but don't open them. If the key is in the ignition the doors will not lock.

    The best analysis I have heard why they built this in is because the key fob is so freaking sensitive that even thinking about the fob will unlock the door.

    I like the auto-lock feature (mainly because I have forgotten to lock the door) but it could lead to a lockout very easily if you're not careful.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    I've noticed once or twice that if I use the keyless entry to unlock the doors, but then I don't go to the car right away, the doors will lock again after a moment or so.

    The key fob is set up in such a way that if it rubs up against something in your pocket or purse, it will more than likely press the purposefully-made-larger lock button. The unlock button is small and requires more pressure -- the comment about "even thinking about the fob will unlock the door" isn't true in my case. Instead, thinking about the key fob usually locks the doors because the lock button takes up so much more surface area.

    I wondered what the big deal about keyless entry was -- and then I got it on my Elantra. I'm never using my key to unlock the doors ever again ; )

    Now, if only the key fob had a trunk release button on it as well...
  • jlflemmonsjlflemmons Member Posts: 2,242
    Years ago I was working in my garage when the rear hatch on my wife's Safari popped open. Strange, I thought, but I just latched it back down and went back to the task at hand. Then, the doors locked. Then the hatch popped again. As I walked over to put the hatch back down, the doors unlocked, then locked again. Mystified, I walked into the house to ask my wife if she had been having problems with the van. That's when I found my then two year old daughter sitting in the floor playing with my wife's key fob.

    Jim
  • frankenstein1frankenstein1 Member Posts: 21
    i have been experiencing that gear search between 2 and 3rd gears, but i noticed that when i flick the switch on the shifting console marked "ECT" (sp?), everything is smooth. what do those letters stand for and why does it make my transmission shift better?
  • j9blairj9blair Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2001 Elantra. 9 months after I got my car, the right headlight went out. A year later, the same one went out again. Then, several months after that, my left headlight went out.

    Is anyone else experiencing these problems? It's very frustrating.
  • drmpdrmp Member Posts: 187
    Automatic tranny with 46000 miles. Anybody had similar experience? What was the fix? How much? Please respond. Thanks
  • tmanttmant Member Posts: 70
    What is this gear search you are talking about? Is it like what I asked before about the automatic feeling like it has another gear? If this is what you are talking about, the car drives like it has more than 4 gears, but nothing unsual beyond that.

    I'm not familiar with any ECT button anywhere near the shifter, at least for US models. The closest thing that I think you could be talking about is the TCS button next to the hazard lights. That's the traction control system and I doubt activating and deactiving that could have made your erratic shifting (or the shifting that I experience as above) any better or different.
  • frankenstein1frankenstein1 Member Posts: 21
    http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/iindex.asp?id=10066#_10066

    the ECT button is located on the lower right side of the selector lever.

    also look here:
    http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/iindex.asp?id=10463#_10463

    its shown in fig. "F"
  • kaz6kaz6 Member Posts: 331
    I don't think my Mom's GLS has one. The last time I drove it, I instinctively reached for it while climbing a grade and it wasn't there. The shift selector in the drawing does not look like her's either. Her's is: P R N D 3 2 1 I have to shift the selector to 3 to cut out the overdrive gear. One thing that annoys me is that the selector goes from N-3 without stopping on D. Is this normal? My GT has a 5-spd. and sounds/drives completely different.
  • kiltedfoolkiltedfool Member Posts: 18
    The weather stripping on my '03 GT's driver side door is shredding in a space about 10 inches high. It falls at or a little above where my shoulder would be when seated. I don't think the seat belt buckle has caused it it just looks like a quality of material issue.

    Anyone else had this? My wife has Thursday off and we're looking to schedule the 18k mileage service and have it repaired under warranty. Problem is, the dealer I got my GT from is a cast iron PITA to get them to admit anything is warranty. I liked the salesman who sold it to me, but thus far their service department is the standard greedy crooks.

    KF
  • mike91326mike91326 Member Posts: 251
    The ECT button was found on pre 2001 Elantra's. The 2001 - 2003 Elantra's do not have it.
  • 5port5port Member Posts: 395
    kiltedfool:

        Some people have a habit of holding the door frame while entering the car that would wear out the stripping in one spot over time. Dont have this problem in my 01 GT.

        My dealer is the opposite of yours. My buying experience sucked. The service dept is topps. Once they ordered a part for me under warranty. When I arrived to pick-up my car they admitted they received the wrong part. In consolation they paid one day on my rental car and gave me tickets for three free car washes.
  • mpgmanmpgman Member Posts: 723
    Turn off the motor, remove the key, get out of the car and close the door. Wait a few seconds and open and close the driver's side door again. That should over ride the auto lock feature. At least it appears to do so on my GT hatch.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    Hyundai was nice enough to send me a card for my Elantra's first anniversary. So, I thought it was time to sum up my first year of ownership here on the Town Hall...

    I'm somewhat impressed with my car, but there are still some issues that Hyundai needs to fix if they want to make even better cars. Most of these have to do with weird noises -- some normal, others not, and then those that turn out to be normal but still don't seem like they should actually be normal ; )

    Let's take the brakes. They stop very nicely, but in damp 40 to 60 degree weather, mine would constantly make a thoompy, almost "fart"-like noise right when the car would come to a complete stop. You would also hear it when slowing down to 5 mph or so for a speed bump and then letting go of the pedal. Once spring and summer came, the noise went away. I'm not looking forward to the damp weather this fall, though... and I'm not looking forward to the occasional squeal that the brakes will make in cold weather as well (although that's more normal, and it only occurs when the car is COLD, whereas the damp weather thoomp would happen almost all the time when driving the car around).

    As of late, I have been hearing some belt rattle noises when putting the car into gear after it has been sitting around for more than 12 hours. The noise usually occurs in the mornings, but I've had it occur at other times of the day too. The dealership said not to worry about the noise unless it happens when the car is warm. Of course, they can't seem to duplicate it either, although adjusting one of the belts seemed to fix it for a week or so. Then the noise came back. Oh well...

    Once in a while, if I drive the car around town a few miles, get on the highway for a while (maybe 10 or 15 miles to get to another end of town), and then get off the highway and then arrive at my destination, I'll notice a strange gurgling/popping/tapping noise that seems to come from the back of the car. It only lasts for a few seconds, and then it goes away. I'm assuming it's normal -- maybe it's some pressure being released, who knows. I'll ask the dealer about this soon.

    I've had the front door black trim issues, and the paint job (done in my case instead of new trim) to fix it is doing fine, at least.

    The driver seat tends to "pop" ever so slightly while I move to get out of the car. It's not the seat moving on the track, but instead it has something to do with the dials on the side for tilt/angle adjustments. I recall the driver's seat in the 2001 Elantras being VERY hard to adjust, and I wonder if the newer, easier-to-adjust dials are to blame for this small issue. I asked the dealership if they could "tighten" this once before, and that seemed to help. So, I'll do that again.

    Speaking of popping noises, the power window switch for the driver side front window seems to be "stuck" if I use the auto-down feature in really hot, muggy weather. I heard a clicking noise coming from my door one day after rolling down the window, and then I discovered after it happened a few times that it would go away if I would roll up the window just a fraction of an inch. Not a biggie -- but still, it had me perplexed for a while!

    I've also had to lubricate the heck out of the front seat belt buckles. Here and there I would hear a squeak coming from the seat, but it turned out to be those buckles making the noise, and not the seat.

    One last issue -- is torque steer something that occurs in these cars after they have been broken in? Sometimes if I'm accelerating and then I have to turn as well (to get through a curve), I almost feel the steering wheel wanting to go the other way while the car shifts (like at 40 mph or so). I don't remember it happening until maybe a month or two ago. Luckily the steering wheel isn't shaking at highway speeds like it has for others in this group -- oh wait, I had that happen too for whatever reason, and the dealership was nice enough to replace both the tires and the wheels (maybe that was to make up for them screwing up my rotors -- check out my earlier posts for info about that).

    So, lots of little issues here... but obviously when you have to deal with quite a few of them, it can lead to an annoying ownership experience. The real kicker was having to bring the car in 3 times for a snap snap noise that turned out to be rotors that weren't turned correctly, but I won't go into much detail there because I've already discussed that on this forum (along with the grainy/sticky gas pedal issue as well).

    I'm not bitter... but I'm not totally satisifed either. At least the car hasn't blown up, though : )
  • jcleeremanjcleereman Member Posts: 1
    I purchased a new 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT / automatic, with the abs/traction control package, not even three months ago. The brakes have not worked twice within a two week span. Once causing me to run into the side of a grocery store. The brakes are pressed down completely, but no braking action follows. The first time, they seemed to have kicked back on after a few seconds and I convinced myself I was hallucinating. The second time, I was just pulling in to a parking space and pressed the brakes and ran into the wall. Brought it in to be fixed, but they couldn't find the problem. After happening twice, I know I'm not imagining things!!! The head of the service department was told to not waste any more time on my car from the area Hyundai representative. So I was charged $33.00 for them to give me back my car, with faulty brakes. Called and talked to Hyundai consumer affairs and was basically told I'm S.O.L., since they didn't find anything. So I have a new car with a scraped up front end and faulty brakes and nobody willing to help me. I bought this new car for peace of mind and its great warranty... that's really paying off now. Am extremely disappointed with the lack of help I've received. I'm driving my car with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the emergency brake... playing Russian Roulette every time I need to press on the brakes. Are they going to work this time??? If anybody has experienced anything similar or has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it. I'll be talking to a consumer law attorney, later today, to hopefully find out what I can do next.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    A few suggestions here...
    1. Write a letter to the service manager at the dealership, copy to the area rep, detailing the whole thing including their refusal to fix the problem, which is a potentially deadly safety issue. Explain that they have now been informed of the issue and that should any damage, injuries, or deaths occur because of this problem, that you will hold the dealership and HMA responsible. If you know a lawyer, cc him/her also (even if you don't actually send the copy to them).
    2. Ask to talk directly to the area rep and explain the problem again, noting the safety issue. Tell them that you insist that they keep your car until they can duplicate the problem (giving you a free loaner in the meantime). Tell them that you will be filing a safety complaint and recall request to the NHTSA.
    3. File the complaint/recall request to the NHTSA. They can start an investigation of the problem.
    4. You might also try writing a letter to the President of HMA, Finnbar O'Neill, asking for intervention in this serious safety matter.
  • jprybajpryba Member Posts: 201
    If I were you, I wouldn't drive the car at all until you figure out where this is all going to head. If the car is THAT dangerous (makes my issues seem like nothing now, eh?), then you should avoid placing yourself or anyone else at risk.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Not only is that the safe thing to do, but it will help back up your contention that the condition is unsafe--too unsafe to drive. In fact, you should demand that the dealer tow your car into service rather than your having to drive it there.
  • wdoranwdoran Member Posts: 31
    My front door has what appears to black tape on the vertical rear window track facing. This is beginning to peel off on my 3 month old Elantra. Is this the problem you refer to? Did dealer paint instead of replace tape? The same tape appears to be on all window moldings on all 4 doors.
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