Hyundai Sonata Owner Experiences

LASHAWN · July 2009

Sounds like your Hyundai Dealer service dept should've at least told you why the pads wore down son quickly, possibly due to your light driving albeit in stop and go traffic. Listen you can't fault the vehicle for your driving habits. Pads are a preventive maintenance item just something your gonna have to deal with no matter what kind of vehicle you drive. Do you think all those people that own 08/09 Chrysler minivans are all that concerned about having to replace their brake pads every 20-25k miles? Not if they did their homework and knew before they bought one.

haidong · July 2009

I have my 2007 Sonata. The brake has problem when I purchased the car. I felt pulsated when I pressed the brake. I took it back to dealer and they resurfaced the rotor, the dealer told me they took 4 cut to surface the rotor. Now it is 33,000 miles and I have to change all my rear brake. I tried to contact with Hyundai, they refuse to do anything for that. And I told them I will not buy hyundai, they do not car. Keep away from Hyundai, tell your friends.

bobad · July 2009

I have 40K on my 2006 V6, and the brakes are fine. They appear ot have 10-20K more miles left on the pads.

Some people drive with their left foot on the brake, and that will wear them out prematurely. Also, disengaging the cruise control at 75+mph with full braking is extremely hard on the brakes and rotors. The brakes should be tapped (or the cruise disengaged from the steering wheel) and the car allowed to coast a while and slow down before applying full brakes.

My Sonata has the best brakes of the 8 or 9 cars I've owned. When I drive other cars now, I'm never happy with the brakes.

LASHAWN · July 2009

I have a 06 V6 Sonata and changed my front brake pads at lil over 55k.

paul4316 · September 2009

I may be comparing apples to oranges but..... I bought new a 2003 Elantra GT and have a little over 89,000 miles on the original brake pads. It is driven by myself and wife. She does a lot of stop and go, I less so. I just pulled a front wheel and removed the calliper ( a ridiculously easy job) and still see plenty of pad left. I do brake easily and anticipate my stops. I also down shift to 3rd , using the engine to slow. ( automatic transmission) We are not slow poke drivers either.

ray78 · September 2009

There are a lot of oil pans that you have not seen then..2.7liter-3-2 liter 3.5 liter chrysler engines all have alumniun oil pans. Many farm tractors have cast iron oil pans. I am sure there are many others out there.

sltho · September 2009

hello,

i purchased an 09 sonata back in oct 2008. the car is great and all, but i noticed a chemical odor (very hard to explain) from the trunk. it was really bad during the summer and the odor is starting to seep into the cabin. i hardly put anything in the trunk and i even checked for dead animals. it's not an organic smell, but a chemical one. the source, after tireless sniffing, is the fabric material that covers the walls and roof of the trunk. the worst is the board that separates the trunk interior from the spare tire compartment.

i've been to the dealership and they act as if there is no smell.

anybody have any issues like this? any remedies?

thank you.

sincerely,
t

james1982 · September 2009

I have an 09 as well, and a I havent noticed any odor coming from the trunk. When you say it smells like a chemical, do you think its fuel or something else? It could be glue.

Of course the biggest concern is whether the odor is noxious. The last thing you want is to accidentally get high or black out while youre driving.

If it was me, I wouldnt use something to simply cover up the smell (air freshener). I would try Febreze or maybe even sprinkle a box of baking soda all over the trunk and leave it in there for a few days before vacuuming it up. In fact, I would go the baking soda route first  you dont want a lot of moisture from Febreze sitting in your hot, dark trunk (it could cause mold to grow).

I hope that helps.

bobad · October 2009

Leave the trunk open in the hot sun for a few hours. That will speed up the dissipation of the odor.

It will dissipate on its own after a month or 2.

Baking soda won't penetrate to the glue on vertical surfaces, and will make a mess. It will make the covering material attract dirt, even after it's vacuumed. The odor absorption of baking soda is over rated anyway.

8babies1dog · October 2009

Bought this new 2009 se v6 2 1/2 months ago, we travel quite a bit, have 10,000+
miles as of now. I thought I had done a pretty good job on my research, did at least
enough to know what we wanted. Well, I found out things about this particular trim
model I really didn't have a clue about, but am learning on a regular bases. Such
as Trip computer, heated exterior mirrors on timer, special new suspension system,
the list goes on. The technology on the Sonata and Santa fee is amazing thanks to
one of the largest tech groups in the USA, and also the fact that they are both built
here in Alabama. Hyundai a Korean originated company has only been in the US
a short period of time compared to most of the other foreign and domestic car makers. The v-6 drive train is actually unique to the 2009 models for more than 1 reason. It is revised this year to more HP and Torque using the same basic engine
with some Hi-Tech engineering, coupleled to the shiftronic trans. The main thing
that makes it unique to me is it's desingnd and built by Hyundai USA for their new
car market in the USA. Built as a high performance version, as I was told by a long
time Hyundai service manager with the new (if you will) "sporty" SE in mind). One
more change that pleases me BIG TIME added to the new engine, it is fitted with a
real timing (CHAIN) not a damn belt. How does that grab you. Now I am very much
happier about the decision to buy this car. Do you remember before the stupid belt
deal how often you had to change the timing chain (yea right), NOT! Who's idea was it to put the belt anyway? I'm pretty sure who it wasn't. As for as I know most
or all of the rest still do, not including all trucks. Interesting don't you think. Don't
get me wrong about Korea this really not about that, I don't care who makes it. The
point is this car cost less than all the other midsize sedans equally equipped some
don't even have all this stuff available. If you would like to check this out just put
"2009 sonata comparison" on the search line on say like google. Check specs and
features and msrp on side by side comparison. How can this fairly new car maker
do this and WHY!!!!! Do the other makers don't care what they sell, or do they
think people will continue buying their cars no matter what they build. I used to be
a all GM person, the last GM products I owned didn't cut it. I'm not real proud of it
but you do what you have to do. Still own a 2002 Mazda good service but not what
this car is.

james1982 · October 2009

Congrats on the car! I'm glad you enjoy it!

dave09se · October 2009

Im very happy with my car so far, I never thought that I would own a Hyundai, now I have a KIA also, actually my wife and I bought the Sorento first and were impressed and thats why we bought the Sonata. I plan on keeping both for at least ten years as we only put about 5k miles a year per vehicle. The only thing that bothers me a little bit is the noisy suspension on the Sonata but it is still an awesome value!

billward · October 2009

:sick: Last night, on her way home, my wife was rear ended while driving our new 2009 Sonata (had to be the newest car we have, right? Couldn't have happened while we driving the minivan with three wheels in the junkyard :mad: ). The other car is probably totaled, as it dove and went under the rear bumper on the Sonata, crushing it's front end (it was some small 2002 Ford "sports car kind of car", according to my wife and what I got off the accident report). In addition, the hood of the other car crumpled and the engine was pushed back. Our car is still driveable, and feels absolutely normal, though the behind-the-rear-bumper crumple zone (hard plastic/ABS??) is cracked into a number of pieces, and there seems to be a dent in either the spare tire well or the gas tank (as well as some under body paint damage, right beside/in front of the rear lift/pull hook on the frame, where it drops below the frame. Even with that, the cost estimate is $867+ (the plus being whatever else they find is damaged once they actually get it up on a lift and pull the bumper off). I'll update to let folks know what the final tally is (lucky for us, the woman who hit my wife's insurance is the same as ours, so our company just said "Get it done ASAP, you are 100% covered on everything, including the rental next week when the work is done") My wife, obviously, was not at fault since she was stopped in traffic, and was unhurt, other than a scratch she got after the accident trying to see if the car was damaged.

I'm amazed though that the car suffered so little obvious damage after the other car was damaged so extensively. Makes me glad I own two Sonatas, knowing they are that safe. :shades:

Bad news is that CARFAX will now have a non-routine maintanence ding... good news is we were going to keep the car until the tires fall off at 200K+ miles anyway.

msallmen · October 2009

Thanks for sharing your story. It makes me hopeful that my Sonata will fair similarly, should the need arise.

terrymsu · November 2009

Actually any with any Front-end to Rear-end collision, the car hit in the rear-end will usually have much less damage. Just the nature of the beast.

billward · November 2009

We got the car back last night (so it took 9 days in the shop for repair).

The total came to over $2000; I'll try to give a breakdown tonight or tomorrow, but there was a lot more work that needed to be done once we and the auto repair shop discovered just how smashed in the spare tire wheel well was in the trunk. However, the car looks perfect now, externally (the paint job is incredible; I'm reminded of how nice the metallic fleck paint is on the car, with a nice deep fire). It is possible, if you know what you're looking for or if you have two Sonata's side by side, to see that our spare tire wheel well is "off" slightly, but it's pretty much the best that can be done without total replacement of the trunk.

My wife's back is even starting to get better, and she's back down to not needing the pain relievers that she worried were making her too drowsy.

The loaner car our insurance got us was a 2010 Sonata GLS I-4 (with 8500 miles on it; I thought we were racking up the miles!) that did NOT have PEP, and that someone had smoked in. It was a nice car.... but there is a HUGE difference in the feeling of quality in the car between having PEP or not, especially in the feel of the driver's seat; my wife really needed that lumbar support that was missing in the rental after how her back was hurt from the accident (she was rear-ended in a pretty horrific accident by a car doing >50 back in 1989, and her back has been problematic ever since; it's one of the reasons I wouldn't even look at the non-PEP Sonatas, she needed the extra lumbar support normally, much less after this last accident). I'll say it again here for the record though: Hyundai should seriously consider just making PEP standard on ALL Sonatas, as the feeling of quality in the car (especially in Rentals and such) would be a useful marketing tool all by itself. Doing so would probably only add $500 to the base price, which is not going to be noticed after two years.

Oh, and as a preview of my "Full Report" to come: XM (the company) is just AWFUL. They need to just wither and die, and be replaced by a company that actually gives a darn about customer satisfaction. I have NEVER seen a company that treats their own PAYING CUSTOMERS (when our 3 month trial ended two months ago, we purchased a three year XM Everyingthing subscription (though not Best of Sirius) for the Sonata) so poorly. I'm not normally a "Write a letter to the company" kind of guy, but I'm going to end up writing a letter expressing my extreme disappointment with them, along with posting it here in the next week. Since they've also reneged on promises to Congress that they made when they merged with Sirius (the ala-cart packaging promise, in particular), I'm also going to contact my Congressman to see if they want to reexamine whether Sirius/XM needs to have some corrective action taken about their monopoly. Something needs to be done.

cardsfan1 · November 2009

Glad to hear that your car was repaired to your satisfaction. I'm curious to know what sort of problems you had with XM. Also, what is PEP? Thanks!

billward · November 2009

Ok, as promised, here's the breakdown of my experience. In this case, I used The Body Shop, from Checkered Flag, in Virginia Beach, to do the repair. A bit eye opening in one respect on how expensive the car was to repair, by the way.

The original estimate for the repair itself was $857.20 (total), with $425.28 in parts/painting, and 3.2 hours labor, plus 4.2 hours for painting labor (and an additional for the painter's helper, but at a lower rate). Final cost was $2079.72, with $462.28 in parts; the huge difference wasn't parts, it was labor, as they ended up needing 28.8 hours of labor and 6.6 hours for paint, with the increase in time being mostly from the damage inside the trunk (in the wheel well, primarily, 18 hours was in that). The crushed spare tire wheel well is the only place where you can still tell the car was damaged, even after all of that work, and you have to be LOOKING to see it even then. In fairness, we only discovered just how badly the wheel well was crushed the evening before we turned the car over for the repair; the estimate did not include that, as it was only something that was suggested as a possible problem prior to going up on the lift, until we pulled the carpet up and examined the well; we would have had quite a problem getting the spare out if needed prior to the repair. They totally replaced the rear bumper, the lower cover (the piece beneath the bumper, which was shattered badly), and the right and left rear lower panels (behind the rear wheels, on the side, below the join line). I was surprised they needed to replace those, but I suppose they must have been part of the rear crumple zone, or were damaged when the other car dove under the rear.

The paint job is outstanding; just seeing the paint job, I want to fall in love with my poor car all over again, as the metallic flake still picks up the light so nicely. They were very careful to ensure that it all matched perfectly, although that wasn't difficult since it's a 2009; Hyundai still uses the same color, of course, so it wasn't tough to match, and the car was so new there wasn't any fading. I haven't been able to find any orange peel or overspray, either, though I haven't had the ability to look extensively in bright light to be sure. Regardless, the car looks outstanding.

While our car was in the shop, our insurance company obtained an Enterprise Rental Car; Enterprise arranged to do their best to match our Sonata, and got us a Grey 2010 Sonata (with 8500 miles already on the ODO... WOW, that's high for a car that had to be less than 2 months old!). Unfortunately, the previous renter had not bothered to read that he or she was not allowed to smoke in the vehicle; it REEKED of smoke, but that wasn't Enterprise's fault. The car did not have PEP, however (the Preferred Equipment Package, for those who don't know the shorthand), which was the first time I'd driven a Sonata without PEP since we'd bought ours in May (although I'd had a rental 2008 without it in the Spring of 2008 for almost a week while down in Florida, after having had a 2008 Limited V6 with all options for a week in fall 2007). The lack of PEP was a bit tough; my wife was the one who ended up needing to use the rental, and she had a bad back to begin with; it' been particularly tough since the accident. Ironic that one of the reasons we had PEP to begin with was the driver's seat with Lumbar support, and when she needed it most, the replacement didn't have it. The difference between PEP and non-PEP is sufficient that I would urge Hyundai to just make PEP standard on ALL Sonata's except for the I4 Manual, and consider it even for that. In the rental market alone, the difference in perception for folks who've never driven a Sonata would be worthwhile, I believe.

The last point to bring in is an odd one, but one I've already strongly eluded too in a message earlier: the rental car, though equipped with XM, did not have it activated. However, last week, my daughter (away at college) was assaulted by one of the other college students, and needed to come home for the weekend. She's attending a well known (in Virginia, at least) private college three hours+ each way away from our home. Since we have XM-Everything, specifically so that when we have to travel we can have radio we want to listen to, I called up XM to ask them to turn on the rental for the weekend; after all, it's not like we could make use of the radio while our car was in the shop. I had all of the information available for them, and ended up spending an hour before being told "We don't allow even previews. If you want to MOVE your subscription, it's a $15 charge, and you can only do it once." No working with me. No "Customer is always right." No customer service. No >POLITENESS< as they were quite hostile to the idea of doing anything unless I gave them my credit card FIRST so they could bill. At a time when folks are having a hard time with finances, that's not the attitude that will win them customers. I PROVED to them that I have a subscription, gave them everything they needed, explained what was going on, etc. The attitude of XM was "We don't care, we already have your money." That company just needs to DIE, or to have the entire company replaced with people who'll do a better job; shouldn't be hard to find folk who are willing to do what it takes to have happy customers. All in all, XM is just AWFUL.

targettuning · November 2009

Regarding the XM, while I am not too educated on the details about XM contracts..provisions etc. I too have rented cars equipped with XM but it was not active. I inquired about this with our local Enterprise office and they replied that XM has a 3 month complimentary subscription on the cars they (Enterprise) buys just like the average buyer but do not bother to renew or extend that trial subscription due to the obvious reasons...$$$$$$. I did not know a subscriber to XM in their personal vehicle could temporarily "turn-on" an expired trial subscription in a rental then revoke it once the rental was returned. Seems,on the face of it, more trouble than its worth for XM to bother doing it so maybe that is why they make it difficult to do this.

billward · November 2009

You mean XM doesn't undertand the concept of giving people a "taster" to get them interested enough to want service in their own automobile? If I was XM, I'd have XM blaring in every rental car I could, from the day the rental agency got it until it was sold to a private owner (at which point the three month subscription would start) to get folks to LISTEN to XM and want it in their own automobile when they get home (lets face it, 80% of rentals are to folks who are temporarily unable to use their own automobile, or who are on travel; that's a GREAT market to get folks to realize why they want XM in their own car).

The more who listen, the more potential customers you'll have... and the more you make. It's what capitalism is about: show why the customer wants your product, and they'll buy it.

Like I said, XM needs to DIE; they are SO mismanaged, and customer hostile, that they need to just be replaced by a company that gives a darn.

mantag · November 2009

Greatings all. I have a new 4cl limited. I have noticed on several occasions that after the car has been sitting outside overnite, the interior glass fogs up! I di not find any moisture inside the car, no leaks. yet it fogs up, Similar in daytime too. Does it depend on temp/dew point etc? No other in cars near me fog up. What gives?

newowner10 · November 2009

Do you leave the heating/air conditioning on auto? If you are not using the auto setting you may me trapping moisture if you use recirculate setting.

dave868 · November 2009

I have a 2009 limited v6. I have the same issue. no evidence of leak or moisture. But my windows are fogged every morning. even when my other cars are perfectly clear.

On cool nights when I leave work, I look at a parking lot of clear windows except for mine and a friend (who also has a sonata)

I have just accpted that Sonata's windows magically fog up.

mantag · November 2009

hmmm...can't recall exactly. I use both auto/manual cooling/heating. I can't remember which way I leave it when I turn off car. But, I shouldn't have too - right?

I thought perhaps maybe I leave all the vents in the open position, but who wouldn't? Does that cause outside air to still flow inside to cause fogging on the interior depending on outside air temp/de point/humidity etc??

My main thing is, during the winter I do not want to come outside and have to worry about scraping off the INSIDE of the glass due to outside/inside air temp is below freezing!

Again, it does not happen all the time. Wonder if their is a TSB on this? Would dealer/Hyundai know anything about this?
Thanks

espo35 · November 2009

I think all Sonatas do this.... at least since 2003 model year.
I couldn't tell you why. Luckily, their defrosters work extremely well.

james1982 · November 2009

Yep, I notice the same thing in my '09 GLS. I would like to find out some more information on it too.

mantag · December 2009

Talked w/ a service mgr., No TSP(Tech Service Bulletin) for this. I went to Napa Auto Parts or nay auto parts store. I bought Rain -X Anti Fog for interior windows only. Works great. Around $4.50. Another fine product from the makes of Rain-X!

dovid2 · December 2009

I have the same comparison: I had an 04 GT that got rear brakes at 60,000 miles, and when I traded it for the Sonata at 100,000, the front brakes were still OEM with plenty of pad left. I had never heard of rear brakes wearing first, or brakes lasting that long. I'm interested to see how the Sonata lasts.

I will never understand people who have one issue that may be their own problem who say "Never buy a Hyundai". We have had four and they have been and continue to be an outstanding value.

kmckinnon · January 2011

we can also relate-replaced the rear brakes on our 05 GT at 90,000 miles and when we traded it for our '11 sonata on 7/27/10 it had the original front brakes with plenty of life left. The GT had 100,000+ miles. I think it is now common for the rear brakes to go first. Despite having transmission problems with the 03 sonata we owned (it was replaced under warranty with less than 4,000 miles) we still think they are excellent cars. Traded the 03 sonata for the 05 GT.

backy · January 2011

I had my 2007 Sonata in for its 45k service the other day. I was rather surprised (pleasantly) when they told me the front brakes have 70% life left, and the rears 75%. And the car does mostly urban driving. At this rate, the brakes should last the life of the car, at least as long as I plan on owning it (I'll probably sell it before 100k miles, which will be in about 5 years).

8babies1dog · January 2011

No, i don't work for Hyundai why do you ask?

Kirstie_H · January 2011

I removed the comment as it wasn't relevant.

8babies1dog · January 2011

Ok, only answering a question that was just posted reffering to my
2009 Sonata. Thought this was about Hyundais, sorry!

8babies1dog · January 2011

My 2009 Sonata SE has 35k miles. I had it serviced lately at the dealership
and they found no evidence of excessive wear on any break pads. This
car is amazing, the quality and equipment for the dollar imo is outstanding.

r_l_r · July 2011

I have been driving my Sonata Hybrid for over 1000 miles. My observations are:

Pros -fuel economy, appearance, comfort, accessabiity, std features
Cons engine so quiet you must be sure to turn it off

Observations about the car
Appearance - the striking lines and sleek contours evoked completments from my friends and family.

Ride - The ride is very smooth, yet controlled. The car absorbs road bumps, which are aplenty in Cleveland, yet maintains excellent control and feel in curves and during avoidance maneuvers. Braking is very sure and controlled - the regenerative braking system that recharges the battery does not compromise function. In an emergency braking situation the car braked without pulling to either side and I felt in full control of the car. I had read prior owner comments that earlier Sonatas tended to pull to the left. I have not experienced any tendency for the car to pull to one side during driving or braking. The tires have good gripping and are quiet.

Interior - The interior is well appointed. The switches are where they should be and they are easily accessable. The car is designed to enable the driver to keep an eye on the road at all times. The standard Bluetooth enables the driver to keep vision on the road while receiving and making calls, The voice interface enables you to utilize the phonebook from your phone to conveniently make calls. The head, leg, hip and shoulder room are excellent. The access for entering and leaving the care are also excellent - this was particularly important for me because with knees that do not bend well, I need a car to have a large entry profile. The motorized driver seat is extremely comfortable and its controls are intuitive.

FueL economy - I am getting 36-40 mpg in city driving and 45+ on the highway. The car will cruise using the electric motor up to about 60 mph, albeit for about a mile or so before engaging the gas engine to run the car and recharge the battery. The instrument display enables one to learn how to drive more economically.

8babies1dog · July 2011

I'm happy to hear your pleased with your new car, I really like my 2009 se.
Will look into the turbo when ready to change but I don't see that anywhere
in the near future. No problems at all with this car. Enjoy your new ride. By
the way if you havn't been to the car plant that makes the Sonata it is
something to see. It's in Alabama and you can make reservations to see it.
I did and four of us made the trip it's very interesting.

Hyundai Sonata Owner Experiences

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