Help! Tell me about your Hyundai Sonata

[PixieFan]

We are looking at a 2010 Sonata. It seems almost too good to be true. Tell me your experiences - good or bad. I just want to know what I'm getting into. Thanks in advance. Dawn

 

[Stumpy]

Didn't own a Sonata, but did own an Elantra, Santa Fe and Tiburon. I loved the Elantra, but had to get rid of it because a teenager ran into the back of it and did so much damage that the car was never the same. The Santa Fe was great, we just traded up for a different SUV. The Tiburon looked better than it was. After the fact I found that the 6 speed transmissions had a known flaw that prematurely burned them out. I did a lot of research on the first two, but not the Tiburon and wished I had.

Overall, even though I think the Tib was a mistake to get, the other two cars were very well built and worth it in terms of quality. Hyundai has tried very hard to continuously improve quality over the years and their biggest downfall seems to be old notions about them which are no longer true.

I would definitely consider Hyundai again, but do not drive one now because the dealerships in my area are not good.

 

[klynn]

I love my 2007 Hyundai Sonata! I've never had any problems and it gets great gas mileage for a full size car. I get about 33mpg!

 

[DVC-Don]

We bought our son a new 2009 Elantra. It was a really nice car, but up here in the snow it did not work out in the winter. We traded it in December for a 2010 Subaru Impreza AWD.

I'll be looking at the Santa Fe when I have to replace my SUV.

 

[living la vida mickey]

Love my 2004 Sonata! Only have had to do normal maintenance and new tires. It has 65,000 miles on it. My husband has the 2004 Elantra and loves his. Good cars, good quality and good mileage.

 

[Arielssister]

Same as last post. LOVE my 2004 Sonata! Never have any problems with it. 460 miles per tank highway! It's wonderful!

 

[auralia]

we have a 2003 elantra and while the car is very reliable, i will NEVER BUY A HYUNDAI AGAIN. they have treated me so poorly... i loved my car so much i tried to go buy another one about 3 years ago... they offed me 1500$ on trade in!!! the car blue booked at the time for close to 6500$... 5000$ trade in and it was well mantained and has been in no accidents.... I was floored... they claimed they couldn't sell it for more than 2500$... it had less than 60000 miles on it.... they wouldn't even stand behind their own car... also they said we didn't quallify for the owner loyalty rebate because we had an elantra and that didn't count as having brand loyality because it wasnt an expensive enough car when we bought it!

we just bought a mazda 5 and love it!!! i got it for 17200$ it has 4 captains chairs lots of cargo room a fold away rear seat and runs worlds better than my hyundai ever and gets about 23 miles to gallon city and look it up... i wouldn't buy another hyundai ever they are sleezy and don't even stand behind their own product... heck i just got the 90000 mile service on my car and the next day it died in a parking lot because the battery was bad... i had a paper that said they had checked all systems including the battery the day before... sure... 550$ for the service and then i end up with a shot battery the next day and was just given the run around as to why they didn't actually check it the day before... once they sell you that car you are worthless to them.

 

[mrsstats]

I own a 2005 Sonata - It is by far the best car I have ever owned. I love it. Knock wood , no major issues with it. Runs great. We just bought a 2009 Santa Fe. I would go for it.

 

[brittsmum1998]

We have a 2007 Santa Fe and I love it!

First "brand new" car for us ever.

Our next brand new will also be a Hyundai unless we go w/ a truck. I wish Hyundai would make trucks.

 

[onyx8]

I had a 2003 Santa Fe that needed a new engine in 2006 with only 32k miles on it. Hyundai tried to tell me that my 100k warranty was void (even though I had had all scheduled mantainance at the dealer) and didn't want to cover the engine under the warranty. Eventually I got them to fix it under warranty and promptly traded the car. I will never buy another Hyundai and will never recommend them to anyone- they don't stand behind their product.

 

[Donnainnj]

I have a 2004 Sonata, DH has a 2006 Sonata. Just changed the battery on the 2004 last weekend, seems about the right time for it to have gone, other then that pretty much just recall work. The only thing that bothered me about my car is that any little ding (door opening on it, etc) leaves a mark, and the door handles both inside and out are loosing their paint. (the inside driver's side door handle actually cut DH, and he found there was a recall for older years, when we brought it in for the undercarriage recall he got them to replace the handle even though it isn't in the recall years. They also refinished the passenger handle to prevent the problem on that side. I have issues with my DH's cars visability. For me the headrest is to high. I would buy one again.
Donna

 

[breick]

I have had my 2008 Sonata since August and had one problem which was fixed under warranty. (While it was being fixed, I drove a 2010 Sonata loaner.) Didn't see much difference between the two years. My Sonata runs starts right up, runs well, and drives well in the snow. I would buy this car again.

 

[curtessey]

We have a 2000 Sonata we purchased new, just flipped 100,000 miles last year. We also have a 2006 Elantra. Love them both. Would definitely buy Hyundai again. We are lucky and have a great dealership for sales and service.

 

[Jeninindy]

My son has a 2002 Elantra and it has been a great car for him.

Currently, it's at the dealership for a recall repair and their service has been great!

There is a recall on the lower control arms that we were not aware of (we bought the car in June 2008 and the recall issued April 2009, but were not notified since we are not the original owners.). The driver's side control arm broke while he was driving (thankfully at a red light, so it wasn't at 55mph) - it broke many things in the front end, all of which are being repaired by the dealership under the recall, so no out of pocket expenses. Car has over 90K miles on it and will have a new front end......He has put close to 40K miles on in the time we have owned it commuting back and forth to college each day.

Here's the recall information for those with a 2001 - 2003 Elantra or Tiburon:

APRIL 2009 -- Hyundai is recalling 170,610 MY 2001-2003 Elantra and MY 2003 Tiburon vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District Of Columbia. Road salt used during the winter months in these jurisdictions may result in internal corrosion and thinning of the steel in the front lower control arms. The corrosion may progress to the point where the lower control arm's upper and lower panels become perforated. A perforated front lower control arm may fracture between its ball joint attachment and the forward and rearward pivot attachments to the chassis. The fracturing of the control arm could an owner"s control over their vehicle that may increase the risk of a crash. Dealers will inspect the front lower control arms for corrosion damage. If specified levels of internal corrosion damage are found, the front lower control arms will be replaced with new front lower control arms incorporating additional holes in the upper and lower panels.If the front lower control arms do not require replacement, the dealer will add drainage holes to the front lower control arms and will treat the front lower control arms with rust-proofing materials to arrest the internal corrosion process. These procedures will be performed free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during April 2009. Owners may contact the Hyundai Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-633-5151. This recall was the subject of a Preliminary Evaluation conducted by the Office of Defects Investigation. 09V-125

 

[ShiPooOwner]

I own a 2005 Hyundai Sonata. Bought it new and it has about 60,000 miles on it now. Haven't had one day's trouble with it and it's one of the best cars I've ever owned. The 2010 Sonatas look beautiful from the ads I've seen. Very tempting to trade in my 2005 on one but it's been such a great car that I think I'll probably wait.

 

[krmgator]

Had an 02 Sonata that I recently sold to family. It had almost 95k miles when I sold and I had had it for 5 years.

Absolutely the most trouble free car I have owned in my life.

 

[averill94]

I would buy another Hyundai in a heartbeat!

We have a 2000 Sonata DH uses back and forth to work (60 miles round trip)
it has 140,000 miles on it!!!! I feel that it just drives like a dream.
We never had any service problems with them.

We also own a Kia, I don't think I would buy another one of them. I always loved and had Toyotas too. Even having nothing to do with their current recall situation I would still buy a Hyundai. You just cant beat what you are getting for the price.

Good luck!

 

[hearts8701]

i have brought 3 in 5 years i love them first was a 2006 traded it in for 2007 i now drive a 2009 i drive alot including down to orlando a few times a year in 2008 i purchased a chevy malibu but quickly went back to my sonata

 

[winniedapooh]

Our Hyundai Sonata was our first new car. It lasted 12 years with very minimal fixes needed. When we went looking for another new car, we were sad that we had to get a minivan because we had three car seats, lol. We donated it when it had 150,000 miles on it and was still running just fine. When DH & I downsize from 2 minivans, we are going back to our Hyundai. We loved it!

 

[rcraw45425]

We had 2 Sonatas back in the mid 90s. The first we bought used from the dealer, the salesman stated over and over about the airbags, blah blah, blah. I went all through a pregnancy thinking I had an air bag(when you wanted one during pregnancy), then mentioned something about the airbag when I took the car in for oil change. THe tech told me flat out that this car did NOT have air bags! The owner got involved, very apologetic, we left with a brand new one for the same payments that day. He even upgraded the stereo to one comparable to the old car. Only problem we ever had with the car was when we tried to trade it, only to be told we were upside down, had to add the remainder on to the cost of our new F150.