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What do you think?
1) I assume that there is a factory wax job on the car, so I don't need to wax it for a while?
2) Should I spray something on the interior fabric to protect it?
3) And the previous poster mentioned putting armor-all or something on the vinyl. Should this step be taken?
I'm just trying to find out what all I need to do to keep this baby beautiful. And is 3000mi the first time I should take it in?
Thanks for any advice!
Had my first tail light go out. Blundered around trying to get the metal cover open--loosened the three nuts, was confused by separate plastic covered doo dad and for the life of me couldn't figure out how to get the cover open-- looked considerably larger than the fabric top cover. Since I was going on a 700 mile trip and had already gotten a warning from a cop, I decided to have both tail lights replaced when I visited the dealer. They also discovered the center stop light was out and replaced.
The headlight was covered by warranty. The tail lights cost me $106, only about $5 was for the bulbs. I've had a lot of cars in my life and have always been able to figure out how to get at the tail light bulbs. Hyundai's web manual and another one that I looked at are next to useless in giving details saying something like "remove cover and replace bulbs"... duh!
Am I just dense or what? Any hints on doing this?
My dealer experience is another reason why I'll leave most non-warranty work to an independent garage. It seems like Hyundai offsets low purchase with high repair costs. Thank God that except for the bulbs and a neutral safety switch that absolutely nothing has gone wrong in 52K miles.
http://www.303products.com/main.php?infopage=freesample
Will let you know how it works
PS backy will you email me please at ellandry@bellsouth.net
I have over 13000 miles and have not had a bulb burn out yet.
To csandste: Could your voltage regulator be overcharging a bit and blowing your bulbs out? I've seen that happen.
For the first 1200 miles, are we really not supposed to go more than 55mph? (am I supposed to drive with hazards on along the side of the highway??)
It says to keep RPM between 2,000 and 4,000, so does that mean we can't use the overdrive to get up to highway speed?
I've still got 1,050 miles to go before its "broken-in", so I just wondered how strict these rules were....
I posted the tail light problem on a Hyundai specific board and was told to pull out through the trunk, but without the detail that you gave. I think the dealer's flat rate was .5 hours per bulb. For the life of me, I can't think of why they would make things so difficult unless it's to stir up some repair money for the dealer. Every other car has been a five minute job at most. When the weather's better I'll have another look at the assembly--this one did have three nuts and a rubber grommet but hatch area was larger than the surrounding fabric cover-- odd. No mention of tail light bulb replacement in the manual. They must want you to take it in.
I've had few problems with my Elantra (see below), and no serious problems. In three years, it's been out of service for unscheduled work for only one hour that was the car's fault (bad O2 sensor); it has made some return trips to the dealer because they didn't fix some things right during scheduled maintenance stops, but I don't blame those on the car.
The car drives better than when it was new. The engine has loosened up, as has the shifter. It feels a little quicker than new, but I've not timed it. Fuel economy has improved a lot, from 24-25 mpg when new to 28-30 now, in mostly city driving. I still love the exceptional driving position (one of the best I've ever found) and comfortable ride. On days when I drive to the park-and-ride and take a bus downtown, I can't wait to climb into my 'lantra and zip the rest of the way home.
Total maintenance costs have been $312.85, all by the dealer. That includes oil/filter changes on the "severe" schedule, every 3750 miles or so. These costs were inflated by the 15,000 service, on which I failed to tell the service advisor NOT to do the "dealer recommended services" and just do the factory recommended services, and I got socked for $190. That won't happen again.
Here's the problems I've had with the car; all repairs were done at no cost under warranty:
- Some screw caps fell off the arm rests in the first few days, and some fell out of the car. I expect they weren't installed properly. New caps ordered and installed.
- Engine raced on cold starts. Dealer said a computer flash was coming and they'd contact me. But after a few days, the problem disappeared and has not returned.
- Rattle in dash at around 2500 RPMs. Dealer tried to fix the problem three times and took out most of the rattle. Now there's a faint buzz when accelerating, and only on a cold day when the car is cold.
- Squeak in clutch pedal. Took three tries to fix it--the first time, they removed, cleaned, and lubed the throwout bearing; the second time, they lubed the clutch linkage and rod; the third time, they removed and cleaned the pin between the slave cylinder and clutch lever and added anti-seize, and it's been fine since.
- Driver's door squeaked when opening. Dealer replaced door checker.
- Engine light came on due to bad rear O2 sensor. Diagnosed and replaced in one hour, in and out, including a free wash. (Different dealer! I'd go back to them, but the dealer where I bought the car is more convenient.)
- Wind noise from A pillar. Dealer did the TSB service but only replaced the weatherstripping on the driver's A pillar; the noise remains. I'll take it back when convenient.
As I noted, the car was only out of service for unscheduled work once due to the fault of the car--for the O2 sensor. Fortunately, my dealer is close to an office where I can work and has a shuttle service, so it's very convenient to drop the car off in the morning, avoid parking fees all day, and get a lift back to pick up the car in the afternoon. The dealer also has free rental cars, which I've used one time when they kept the car overnight.
Overall I've been very satisfied with my Elantra. I don't know what other compact I'd buy today if I had to make that choice. I'd like the dealer service to be a little more on the ball, but they have been good about trying to fix rattles even after the first year, and eventually they get the job done (and the shuttle is great). I also wish Hyundai would have the IIHS retest the Elantra on the frontal offset crash test, to erase that one black mark on the car.
I have 2500 miles on my 03 GLS and contacted my
dealer to see what price he charges for an oil change.. I was suprised they only charge $21.95! No reason to go anywhere else at that price. Plus I have some discounts on the first few oil changes.
My point to your post, is I hope my 03 is built as good if not better than the older models and I will be satisfied.
ElantraStan
REAR COMBINATION LAMP
Disconnect the negative (-) battery terminal.
Remove the nuts holding the rear combination lamp.
Disconnect the connector and remove the lamp assembly.
Installation is the reverse of removal.
CENTER HIGH MOUNTED STOP LAMP
Disconnect the negative (-) battery terminal.
Pull up slightly and pull back the center high mounted stop lamp.
Disconnect the connector from the harness and remove the lamp assembly.
Installation is the reverse of removal.
LICENSE PLATE LAMP
Disconnect the negative (-) battery terminal.
Remove the mounting bolt, and disconnect the lamp connector from the license plate lamp.
Installation is the reverse of removal.
Very happy that you are still satisfied with your EGT.
I have had mine for 16 months and just shy of 33 000 miles. So far, nothing special to report except the scheduled maintenance ...and a cracked windshield in month 2 of ownership. As was mentioned elsewhere, it seems that the EGT 02MY have a fragile windshields. I would buy the same car anytime.
now.. what does NLEV mean?
ElantraStan
a) what's the downside? (does it change gas milage or anything?)
b) if there is no downside, why isn't this standard?
Remove the nuts holding the rear combination lamp.
Disconnect the connector and remove the lamp assembly."
Saw that on the Hyundai page and another web based repair database that the library has. It's pretty easy to say--take it apart, put it together". Guess I was just too dumb. Was able to undo the three nuts and disconnect wiring, but the bulb certainly didn't want to pull out of there and the cover certainly didn't want to come off. Hopefully this will do it for another 50,000+ miles.
What I am getting at is, depending on your driving habits and driving conditions, 19 mpg in the city for the first 1000 miles is not that strange. I drive pretty moderately and I was getting around 24 mpg early on.
obsidianblack have you changed your oil yet?
curious..
ElantraStan
One tire is shot at this point (15K) Will probably replace all 4 at about 20K in spring. Any recommendations? Anybody do worse than me on tire mileage? As I've posted before, I never nor do any of my acquaintances get more than 30K out of tires.
Local dealer advertising a $9,999 price for a GLS with auto, sunroof, remote entry, CD, antilock brakes! Includes $1,000 loyalty bonus and $400 college grad. Not bad?
Had recall performed today. My service department took care of this quickly and courteously. I am coming close to 36K miles in a little over two years.
I had an 02 Jetta that was 18 months old when totalled, it had 40K. Of course back then, I was commuting about 100 miles daily. My new car, bought 7/9/03, now has 9300 miles on it with less of a commute. I think I just drive too much, but they're made to be driven, right?
Of course that would mean that my wife would have to give it to me for a day to get it done. She has a 02 Jeep Grand Cherokee that she likes, sunroof and the works.. but I think she likes to drive the Elantra more.
The reason I got the Elantra is because she did not like driving her 97 Sebring convertible I restored for her... women! go figure! I traded it in and she loves the Elantra.
ElantraStan
http://www.stanarseneaux.com/elantra/
My 03 Elantra GLS
What do all of you think about the literature you've gotten after buying your Elantras? Never had any other manufacturer (Ford and Chrysler) send stuff out like that.
So far, VERY satisfied!