Reliability of Hyndai Sonata

I own a Hyundai Sonata (100K) and a Honda Accord (50K). I would not buy a Hyundai again, primarily because I shared the same experience of getting a poor response from Hyundai America on an obvious defect. I had to sue Hyundai in small claims court before the manufacturer agreed to pay for the repair. They insisted on a confidentiality agreement, which is why I cannot elaborate. I have also had more costly repairs on my Sonata (e.g., electric window regulators, real wheel bearings). I do not think that Hyundai's are bad cars - I just won't reward a manufacturer that doesn't care about customer satisfaction with future purchases. I should add that I know of two other people who had similar bad experiences with Hyundai America. By contrast, my Hyundai dealer has been top notch in terms of service.

My Honda has been very reliable thru 50K - no repairs other than normal maintenance.

snipped-for-privacy@boe> > Hello,

I own a Hyundai Sonata (100K) and a Honda Accord (50K). I would not buy a Hyundai again, primarily because I shared the same experience of getting a poor response from Hyundai America on an obvious defect. I had to sue Hyundai in small claims court before the manufacturer agreed to pay for the repair. They insisted on a confidentiality agreement, which is why I cannot elaborate. I have also had more costly repairs on my Sonata (e.g., electric window regulators, real wheel bearings). I do not think that Hyundai's are bad cars - I just won't reward a manufacturer that doesn't care about customer satisfaction with future purchases. I should add that I know of two other people who had similar bad experiences with Hyundai America. By contrast, my Hyundai dealer has been top notch in terms of service.

My Honda has been very reliable thru 50K - no repairs other than normal maintenance.

snipped-for-privacy@boe> > Hello,

I own a Hyundai Sonata (100K) and a Honda Accord (50K). I would not buy a Hyundai again, primarily because I shared the same experience of getting a poor response from Hyundai America on an obvious defect. I had to sue Hyundai in small claims court before the manufacturer agreed to pay for the repair. They insisted on a confidentiality agreement, which is why I cannot elaborate. I have also had more costly repairs on my Sonata (e.g., electric window regulators, real wheel bearings). I do not think that Hyundai's are bad cars - I just won't reward a manufacturer that doesn't care about customer satisfaction with future purchases. I should add that I know of two other people who had similar bad experiences with Hyundai America. By contrast, my Hyundai dealer has been top notch in terms of service.

My Honda has been very reliable thru 50K - no repairs other than normal maintenance.

snipped-for-privacy@boe> > Hello,

I own a Hyundai Sonata (100K) and a Honda Accord (50K). I would not buy a Hyundai again, primarily because I shared the same experience of getting a poor response from Hyundai America on an obvious defect. I had to sue Hyundai in small claims court before the manufacturer agreed to pay for the repair. They insisted on a confidentiality agreement, which is why I cannot elaborate. I have also had more costly repairs on my Sonata (e.g., electric window regulators, real wheel bearings). I do not think that Hyundai's are bad cars - I just won't reward a manufacturer that doesn't care about customer satisfaction with future purchases. I should add that I know of two other people who had similar bad experiences with Hyundai America. By contrast, my Hyundai dealer has been top notch in terms of service.

My Honda has been very reliable thru 50K - no repairs other than normal maintenance.

snipped-for-privacy@boe> > Hello,

I own a Hyundai Sonata (100K) and a Honda Accord (50K). I would not buy a Hyundai again, primarily because I shared the same experience of getting a poor response from Hyundai America on an obvious defect. I had to sue Hyundai in small claims court before the manufacturer agreed to pay for the repair. They insisted on a confidentiality agreement, which is why I cannot elaborate. I have also had more costly repairs on my Sonata (e.g., electric window regulators, real wheel bearings). I do not think that Hyundai's are bad cars - I just won't reward a manufacturer that doesn't care about customer satisfaction with future purchases. I should add that I know of two other people who had similar bad experiences with Hyundai America. By contrast, my Hyundai dealer has been top notch in terms of service.

My Honda has been very reliable thru 50K - no repairs other than normal maintenance.

snipped-for-privacy@boe> > Hello,

Just curious, what year? Are the USA made Sonatas better or worse than the Korea made? Given that the 06 was a brand new model, can you use older models as a comparison for reliability?

Every car maker has had the problems you describe at one time or another and that is why buyers are quick to change brands after many years of driving one they liked.

My Hyundai Sonata is a 2000. I assume it's Korean made. Again, my issue is not so much with the car (which I still drive every day), it's with the manufacturer. The other two people I know had 2002 Sonatas. None of us will ever buy a Hyundai again.

"Edw>>I own a Hyundai Sonata (100K) and a Honda Accord (50K). I would not buy a

Your loss :) If your seven year old clunker is what you base 2007 &

My issue with Honda was far more about the treatment I received from the dealer and from the Honda zone office than it was the engine failure itself, although that was certainly bad. I won't repeat the entire story here, but let's just say that not only did Honda not stand behind their car, they actually sent me two letters from the zone office one of which was both accusatory and insulting and a second which was just plain stupid. I haven't bought anything since that bears the Honda name nor will I.

Matt

Why not post this same message 5 or 6 more times?

Matt

My first brand new car was a Dodge Aries. Major problems. My 2nd brand new car was a Buick Skylark, blown tranny at 35,000 miles, not covered. My 3rd brand new car was a Saturn LS2, still more problems and very expensive ones. My last new car was my 2004 Sonata. It's been problem free and it's at 65,000 miles now. I always do the scheduled maintenance on all my cars. The Dodge, Buick and Saturn all had very expensive repairs after the warranty was up. My Sonata has been the best new car I've ever bought. It still runs like a new car and I will definitely buy another Hyundai. But my best car ever was my used 1966 Dodge Dart with the slant 6 engine. I could do all the work myself, the parts were cheap and the engine lasted 200,000 miles until I totaled the car out in a snowstorm. But I sold the motor to a friend who put it in a bread truck and it still ran for 3 more years. Auto makes don't make cars to last anymore, otherwise people wouldn't buy new cars every 5 or 6 years. And the parts are 20X as much as they used to be.

Brian

Never say never. You may be shooting yourself in the foot by ruling out an entire brand.

Cars are redesigned every 3-5 years, and a bad one can suddenly become great.

I have had nothing but trouble from my "bullet proof" Toyota pickup, but the way it looks now, my next one will be a Toyota. Not because of brand loyalty, but because I think the Toyota truck sucks less than the rest.

Bob

I dunno. I recently test drove a new Tundra because Toyota gave me $50 to spend at Home Depot for taking the test drive. I was not impressed at all. I like my 1994 Chevy K1500 with 100K miles better than the new Tundra. Yes, the Tundra has more power and was a little quieter, but almost everything else was negative compared to the Chevy.

The Toyota was like the old F250 Fords where you need a ladder to get in. The visibility out is terrible! The front pillars are extremely wide and the tailgate is so tall that combined with the height of the rear of the truck, you could hide a minivan behind it. The steering was vague and the thing had a beeper that beeped constantly when you shifted into 4-Lo. Very annoying. And the truck is ugly to top it off.

After driving one, I'd never consider buying one. I think the salesman thought I was joking when I said I liked my 13 year-old Chevy better than his brand new Toyota, but I was actually dead serious.

Matt

Matt,

I have driven a 2006 Tundra quite extensively, and found it just "OK". If felt more like I was driving a big, floaty SUV than a rugged truck. It's a moot point anyway. I'm in the market for a Tacoma-sized truck. I drive on narrow grass lanes and levees on my property, and that big ole Tundra would rut up my roads something awful.

I wish I could hold out until Hyundai markets a Tacoma-sized pickup with a ~150hp diesel, but my old Toyota is on its last leg.

I'm not a brand loyalist by any means. All I care about it reliability and bang for the buck. -

Bob

Still apples and oranges. The 01 has nothing in common with the 06-07-08 models. Different engine, transmission, body, assembly plant. Sorry to hear of your problems, but they don't extrapolate anything to the new models.

Watching this thread, I have to say my 02 Sonata was a creampuff! Only had 3 issues, one of which I created;

1. Rear speakers blown, yeah I know, too much bass!
2. MAF sensor died on a HOT 124 degree Laughlin, NV day.
3. Clutch- once in a blue moon it wouldn't disengage which I traced back to a bad slave cylinder. The SM and I went round and round over that one.

All in all, I have had three Sonatas now and I think they are fast becoming the Toyota and Hondas of the 21st century. They've already edged out Nissan amongst several "authoritative" publications.

Now, when they get big, famous and expensive, what other choice will us poor working stiffs have? Maybe Yugo will make a comeback!

Steve

Reply to message from "Steve R" (Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:

SR> Now, when they get big, famous and expensive, what other choice will SR> us poor working stiffs have? Maybe Yugo will make a comeback!

Chinese cars will appear in our not-too-distant future. There are presently

Bye Wayne Moses Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:11:36 -0600

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Too bloody Right I am mate!

One year out here on any vehicle is worth about ten in other places

Oh and not yet a squeak or rattle or problem of any sort and since original post another 18000 on the clock :)