Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
It's rare to see a 10-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. I think this would definitely increase the resale value if you decide to sell the car in, say, year 9.
Good luck on whatever you decide to do....
It might be a loose wire or harness; it might be a piece of plastic or metal that's just floating around; or it could be a slowly loosening screw, arm, or bracket. I'm going to take the panel off this weekend and poke around. I've already checked the seats, the belts, the latches, etc. even to the point of taping things down or making my daughter sit back there and listen as I drove.
Does anyone have experience with this? It looks simple enough, but are there any tricks?
Any advice is appreciated.
This means it's possible for a dealer to buy rentals and sell them at the dealership's used car lot, but the car must be sold as a "used" vehicle.
A program car generally has either been used by dealership personnel (think manager's or owner's "company" car); has been used by a group, organization, or event that the dealer partially underwrites through the "loan" of the vehicles (think "Buick Open" courtesy cars); or, in some cases, has been leased through the dealership or automaker for a special program which results in the vehicle returning to the dealer (think "driver's ed" car). In virtually all these cases the title remains with the dealership or car company. These don't have to be sold "used" if the titles were never registered to the users.
There is no sure way to specify that a "used" rental car is worse or better than a comparable "program" car. Always examine the service records, be cautious of cars with more than 12,000 miles on them, have an independent mechanic check the vehicle, insist on a reasonable warranty (for free), and bargain hard for the lowest price. Whether it's a rental or a program car, you can be sure that the asking price is too high, even if it seems like a great deal.
Don't think the term "program car" has any clearly defined and consistent legal status throughout USA. Anyone know if it is in the uniform commercial code? Essentially marketing terms used in auto industry. Originally they might have meant the car was used by factory executives or others, but don't think that holds true in any uniform meaningful way now. Dealers love to sell used cars as used cars, certified pre-owned cars (under specified warranty), demonstrator cars, program cars, factory exec cars, special events cars (e.g., College World Series in Omaha NE, lease returns, rental cars, etc.
Don't think the word "program" has much value, except to confuse potential buyers, unless you know conclusively what the car was used before as and by whom.
I bought my car on the 12th of this month (pearl white 2002 GLS V6 with ABS and sunroof). I have just noticed a small rattle from on top (sunroof?) when the car goes over bumps at small speeds. This same rattle doesnt occur at high speeds, seemingly because vehicle "up-down" motion is lesser at higher speeds as compared to low speeds. Rattles irritate me and I hope I get to identify the problem. I dont feel like taking the car to the dealer.
Also to everyone else: I am not sure if the new 2002 sonata comes with a cover of sorts for the lighted power outlet (to the right of the coin holder which opens when you push up on it). Mine doesnt have a cover and there is a gaping hole at that area. Does anyone have info on this?
Press and hold AUTO switch
Press the AMB button at least 4 times in 2 seconds
Release the Auto button
Let me know what number is blinking in the display.
I love my 01 Elantra and the Sonata seems to drive out fairly well. Obviously the mid nineties platform was far rarer since there weren't a lot of Sonatas sold then compared to now. Anyone have good or bad experiences with a pre-99 Sonata?
I've been away for a long time. Just read your previous post on the door rattles. I went through my own war over this a while back. My wife's '00 had the rear passenger door rattle problem and I found the following to be helpful:
When you remove the panel---IMMEDIATELY DRIVE the car on a rough surface before you touch anything. See if the rattle returns. If it does not then the problem is a tension related one involving the rear panel attachment. You will have to fiddle with the mounting screws and foam strips in key contact areas where the panel attaches.
If the rattle does show itself without the panel, the likely culprit will be the power window mechanism. There is very little in the way of guide supports in this design. You will have to refer to the Hyundai parts website for a schematic of the inner door if you don't have a shop manual.
My noise only occurred over choppy or broken surface. I was never able to point to any one thing like a screw or mounting frame, etc. so after many tries using small strips of insulating foam, I ended up Dyna-Matting the entire inner door under the panel. Did it for all doors. She is nice and quiet now.
Whenever I'm not sure and a little gentle persuasion doesn't work, I back off until I find out how something works. I really don't like breaking things needlessly. Can you help me?
Thanks in advance.
The tricky part is the armrest. You have to pull the metal U-brace down when re-attaching otherwise the panel rises too far and won't re-seat properly against the window. I also advise putting foam in the U-brace around the screw hole site.
Believe me, unless you are very lucky, it may take you many tries on and off to solve the noise problem. You may become so expert at this you could do it in your sleep. Good Luck.
The '01 looked like a winner with 13,000 and no problems. Till I met a '00 Ford F250 with a trailer hitch at 35 mph when the brakes failed. At 35 MPH the repair fee climbed to $14k for body work new motor (block cracked at mount point)& transmision (case broke at mount). Insurance Company totalled her at pay off of $16,300 take away the deductable I walked away with $15,800 on a car I bought for just over $17k +ttl and drove a year. Would say resale value must be improving or that would not have been the insurance companies FIRST settlement offer. Unfortunately for Hyundai I was not tickled to see that much damage on a low speed impact where the airbag did not even deploy. Not going to knock the car could be just one of those fluke deals stuff happens with mechanical beasts, but I decided to replace her with a gas hog RAM Quad, needed a truck anyway and could not force my wife out of her Crown Vic. Going to miss my average in town of 25 mpg.
She walked away without a scratch! Car was totaled by ins co. Air Bag did not DEPLOY!!!
Was I ever hot! BMW sent 2 engineers from So Carolina to examine the wreck. Of course,
they concluded that due to angle of impact, yadadada air bag should not have deployed....
So Hyundai isn't the only non-deployer....mebbe even possible that it shouldn't have deployed
(though doubtful....still don't believe the bmw investigators!)
Also today the front left door wouldn't open even when unlocked with a remote. Climbed in through the rear door and tried opening it from inside, but no luck. The locking knob on top of door opening handle was in unlock position, but the door was like it was jammed. I loceked the car using the remote and unlocked it again, and only then did it open. A funny freak occurrance! Hope this doesn't happen again.
I would say the toughest part was finding the right 10mm socket for the plastic engine cover removal. Rest was a breeze. However, I found out that the spark plug from #4 cylinder was drenched in oil. What is the problem and what should I do about it?
According to both my dealer and the Hyundai website, a 5-speed Sonata *LX* exists.
No one has ever seen such an animal in Columbus, Ohio.
Have any of *YOU* seen an LX 5-speed? Even better, any of you own one???
Sonatabean
1) Engine stalling that was corrected by the dealer
2) Rattling in my passenger side window/door.
3) The brakes are not smooth...almost a chattery uneven feel when you slow down. The pads look good, it's almost as if the rotors are the problem. I'm going to change the pads anyway and see if that corrects the problem.
Anyway...I decided it was time to change the spark plugs. The front 3 are easy because you only have to remove the plastic cover. The rear 3 are in an impossible location that can only be reached by removing the top of the engine (air induction manifold?). Can anybody provide any advice on this matter? Can't believe an engine would be designed that way.
Thanks
I had a 1990 Dodge Monaco SE that had a V-6, and it was a breeze to change the plugs since the engine was mounted longitudinally, despite being FWD. However, virtually all other FWD V-6 engines are transversely mounted, and that puts the second bank of plugs in a very difficult location. Often, as noted by "drimple," that requires special equipment and knowledge to make the change.
Since you've got 60,000 miles left on your powertrain warranty, don't risk voiding it (or at least parts of it) by starting to take things off the block. I know a few guys who felt they had to change the plugs on their various V-6s themselves, and a couple of them probably saved a couple hundred bucks by doing it (if you don't figure the cost of their time, frustration, and vehicle out of service). A couple others ended up spending many hundreds to over a thousand dollars to have a mechanic or dealership fix the mess they created when they got in too deep and couldn't get things back together or broke something--not to mention one guy broke his hand when it got crushed as he removed the last bolt from a manifold that was "a lot heavier than I thought.".
In none of these cases was the extra work covered by the warranty of any of the manufacturers, and I'd hate to be one of these guys if a warranty repair is required in the future.
I've just started looking at Sonatas and Elantra GTs.. I'm amazed at how many features Hyundai gets on these cars for the price!
I do have a question about lighting tho:
1. I have read the Elantra has door "entrance" lights (lights on the inside edge of the doors) on the front doors. Can anyone tell me if the Sonata has this, also? How about the back doors?
2. One of the complaints about the Elantra is that there's not enough lighting in the back seat. How is the Sonata? Are there courtesy and/or reading lights?
I think either car would be a great choice.. I'm just a details/features freak.. and so the extra lighting, rear armrest and auto temp control might be enough for me to justify the price of the Sonata over the Elantra. Thanks for your help.
Today, on the highway after about 20 mins driving, the light went ON and at the same time a car shifted to lower gear. I was driving app. at 60mph and 2.2RPM, so when it happened it went to 3.2 RPM. I felt that the engine was weaker than usual. After stopping the engine for few minutes, everything appeared to be as usual OK. Then it happened 2 times again, while driving home.
Any ideas?
We just had our MAF sensor replaced (not the recall) because of similar behavior but no code was found on the first trip in. Took two trips.
It is to prevent possible rust,also, I was told?
Sonata 2002 model Looks Better than the current XG350. Had seen them side-side this weekend and thought the xg350- was Sonata and visa-versa.
I have a 2002 v6 sonata auto and I am experiencing a bit of a problem. It seems that when I first start the car and take off the first shift from 2nd to 3rd can be extremely harsh. A few times I felt like looking in the rear view mirror for the tranny behind me....sometimes it feels that bad...for the most part aside from this the shifting seems okay..
I can be driving for awhile, park the car for like 5 - 10 minutes, then come back to car and drive away and it happens again for the first or second shift...I thought at one point it was because the engine was cold or whatever but in this case the engine is definitely not cold. Anyone else experiencing this?
It is really annoying...once you have been driving for a bit and get beyond the first shift from 2nd to third its great but during that first shift from second to third it doesn't feel like such a nice automobile :-(
I haven't gone to the dealer with it yet but I can already hear it: "Oh that's normal...". Sure doesn't feel normal...
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me..
Cheers
our 2001 tibby is almost a year old, 30,000 miles and zero problems(except this, the alignment went out at 500 miles, same for our Sonata..I took it in 3 year ago, after 1000 miles, they realigned it, and again, out of whack 500 miles later. I took it to Sears, and have had no problems since. Go there once a year for realignments at Sears. Now, if Sears can do it, why can't these guys at Hyundai dealerships realign a car properly?).
This is what the lousy mechanic did:
First, He simply drained the radiator and did not bother to do anything about the fluid in the reservoir (secondary tank). When I pointed this out, he said something like the coolant in the system couldn't be flushed out. Then he started pouring the new coolant in without mixing it properly with the water. When I objected he stopped and fill the rest with water.
Now, the original coolant that came from the factory was colored green. The new coolant is orange-red in color (Is this the right one?). I decide to flush the radiator myself after seeing what he did. After all, I still have the green fluid in the reservoir tank. Anyone know how to flush radiator properly? Also, somehow I can't get the radiator cap off (yes, I twisted the thing all the way to the right). Your advice and suggestion are much appreciated.
Thanks