IT'S OFFICIAL - Hyundai can kiss my A$$

[Jmontigny]

Here is the story. About 2 months ago I was in an accident with my 1997 GMC. My brother let me borrow his 2001 Accent while I had no vehicle. The first day I drove it I noticed the motor ticking/knocking. The oil was fine and oil changes had been done. I asked my brother and he said it had been doing it for a while now. After listening closer I felt that it may be bottom end noise and not simply the lifters. I dropped the car off at the dealer to get fixed. A week later the car was ready. They had dumped some mystery oil into it hoping to quiet the noise at the request of the Hyundai DPSM (District Parts and Service Rep). Next morning I started the car and proceeded to drive it only to find that it now sounded like the motor would maybe make it ten miles before self destructing. Needless to say the noise was now 10x worse. I again dropped it off at the dealer to get fixed. Again I explained that the noise is not a simple lifter problem but is coming from the bottom end of the motor. The dealer heard the noise with me.A week later the car was ready to be picked up. They replaced the lifters at the request of the Hyundai DPSM. I did not even have to leave the parking lot when I heard the same noise still. I left the car there for them to fix again. The car has sat at the dealer ever since. Today the service manager told my brother they can't fix the car because the DPSM will not allow the bottom end to be replaced. The DPSM said the POS engine in the car is normal for a Hyundai Accent so Hyundai does not feel they need to replace it. It is normal for the motor to rap like that since it is expected to according to Hyundai.As of today the car still needs a bottom end replaced. The service manager and the service tech at the dealer agree but The Hyundai DPSM refuses to repair the car. The DPSM said my brother could complain to Hyundai Customer Assistance if he wanted to.I will make sure everyone I know NEVER BUYS A HYUNDAI and I will also make sure that everyone I know that has one sells it as soon as they have a chance. I knew Hyundai was getting cheap on warranty repairs but this is just absolute BULL$#!T. Now my brother is stuck with an Accent he wants to sell but can't since the motor raps and Hyundai won't fix it.DO NOT BUY HYUNDAI. The low purchase price may be appealing but you pay for it in the end, believe me.

[AKLGT]

well i would assume that an Hyundai accent would not be cost effective to even replace the engine. the cars are designed to run them into the ground and throw away. i would never buy an accent for that reason, only to have one for normal driving and then to run it into the ground. also, what year is the car? how many miles? the newer hyundai's are made much better and are more reliable. not that i'm a huge hyundai fan because i don't know if i'd ever actually buy one (even though I do really like the tuscon), but they have been getting much better in the automotive world in quality, safety, reliability.

[Jmontigny]

It was a 2001 with only 40,000 miles. The bottom end was junk already.

[ColonelPanic]

Boy, that sucks! Hate to hear about the news... I kinda have a knocking Toyota engine that the dealer has admitted is suffering from a severe "valve train noise" when cold, that nobody else seems to have, but refuse to do anything about, so I know how that goes! And a Toyota dealer blew me off as being a jerk wasting their time when I went to talk to them about it. Very helpful. The only thing I can do is wait until the engine blows up.Honestly, I know many folks who drive late model Hyundai and Kias, and they've been excellent in the reliability department. The most impressive story is a good friend who has had three '04 Elantra GT's, one with 45,000 miles and none of them have ever visited the shop for *any* warranty repairs whatsoever. He bought a second GT for his wife, which was trouble free the entire time, but unfortunately was totalled about 8 months after due to a drunk driver. They replaced that with another GT and it's been just as reliable as the other two. I asked him about the dealer's service quality, and he couldn't tell me since he has not had to pay them any visits. That's much more than I can say about my Vibe. Everybody builds crap. If it's a car, it's a piece of crap. I'm convinced that due to that fact, I'm looking for the best bang for my buck. So I'm getting a new 2006 Hyundai Sonata, despite your recommendation, and I'm more than certain that it will be ten times more reliable than this Vibe.

[AKLGT]

ya, unless it's 2003+ I wouldn't ever buy a Hyundai. and 40K miles.... that sucks, but again, it's an accent, so what do you expect really? they are POS to begin with. that's why they are so cheap. like a kia spectra or sephia, cheap POS junk. drive 'em til they blow up and then throw 'em away. not worth replacing or putting a lot of money into.

[Jmontigny]

Well I spent 7yrs as a Hyundai parts manager before this year. Hear is what I have seen:99-02 Sonata, everyone has rear wheel bearings that fail and eventually allow the rear tires to fall right off.99-02 Sonata, every four cylinder timing belt can not make it past 40,000-60,000 miles without breaking99-05 Sonata, check engine lights that will drive you nuts until you finally trade the car.01-04 Elantra, crankshafts that walk so bad they hit the flywheel/torque converter.04-05 Elantra, passenger airbag sensor that won't recognize someone sitting in the seat01-05 Santa Fe, transfer case either leaks explodes or all the above before 60,000 miles. The problem is so bad Hyundai does not cover the 4wd system as part of the powertrain warranty.01-05 Santa Fe, driveline shakes that can not be found sometimes01-05 Santa Fe, check engine lights that again drive you nuts until you sell the vehicle00-04 Accent, motor problems ranging from lifters to bottom ends00-05 Accent, auto transmissions that fail every 30,000 miles03-05 Tiburon, 6spd that can't handle the piddly 170ft/lbs of torqueShould I keep going or is that enough?

[Kari]

Quote, originally posted by Jmontigny »00-04 Accent, motor problems ranging from lifters to bottom endsSo if you were the parts manager, and you knew the Accents had these problems as of the 2000 model, why didn't you stop your brother from buying the Accent?

[ColonelPanic]

Thanks for the input there. I'll keep that in mind. BTW, do we know you?

[AKLGT]

hey, you get what you pay for.

[Jmontigny]

As to the "Do we know you" post.I actually spent a few months here when we were buying my wifes car. I love the Vibe but she was not interested. She bought a 2005 Malibu Maxx and I got a 2005 Silverado 4x4.My brother actually wants to sell his Accent so he can get a used Vibe or a Xb. He wants the high fuel mileage.Why did I let my brother buy an Accent? Good question. I guess at the time I figured what are the chances he will get a bad one and even if he does I was working at the dealer so I would get anything fixed for him. Since I am not there anymore I guess he is screwed

[Kari]

Quote, originally posted by Jmontigny »Why did I let my brother buy an Accent? Good question. I guess at the time I figured what are the chances he will get a bad one and even if he does I was working at the dealer so I would get anything fixed for him.Couldn't that be applied to anyone though? Obviously you felt at the time that the chances were good that he wouldn't get a bad one. He did, but that doesn't mean all Hyundais are bad.I guess we're just trying to figure out why, after 5 months of not posting, you came back to a Vibe site to rant about Hyundai...LOL. That's not to say people who don't have the car aren't welcome here...this post just seems kind of random...heh.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by Jmontigny »Why did I let my brother buy an Accent? Good question. I guess at the time I figured what are the chances he will get a bad one and even if he does I was working at the dealer so I would get anything fixed for him. Since I am not there anymore I guess he is screwedlol. looks like he is for sure now! hopefully he doesn't owe much or anything for that matter and can just get rid of it!

[ColonelPanic]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/050314-1.htm

[Rixation]

Whoa, Jay!?!?! I remember you from ElantraXD.com back in like 2001-2002. Anyway, sorry to hear about your Hyundai fallout.

[Mavrik]

Its the age of disposable cars... best warranty on the market? ok sure.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by Kari »I guess we're just trying to figure out why, after 5 months of not posting, you came back to a Vibe site to rant about Hyundai...LOL. That's not to say people who don't have the car aren't welcome here...this post just seems kind of random...heh.you know, I didn't think of any of that when I was reading this thread. Not sure it matters though, maybe he saw that Col is thnking of buying a Hyundai and wanted to make sure he went into it with his eyes wide open. Seems very pertinent to that potential future car purchase, I'd have expected more of a "thanks for the heads up" than a "why are you posting that here?" Jmontigny, I think before I buy another new car, I might bribe someone from the parts or service department at that dealer to get that kind of problem overview you gave us on Hyundais. Of course, when I bought my Vibe in 12/2002, the salepeople didn't know much about the cars and the service department knew even less

[ToolGuy]

I guess the replacement Neon is doomed then since the engine is a joint effort between Hyundai, Chrysler and Mitsubishi.

[Kari]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »you know, I didn't think of any of that when I was reading this thread. Not sure it matters though, maybe he saw that Col is thnking of buying a Hyundai and wanted to make sure he went into it with his eyes wide open. Seems very pertinent to that potential future car purchase, I'd have expected more of a "thanks for the heads up" than a "why are you posting that here?" And James did say that... I was just thinking it seemed like a random post, that's all...just wondering what brought him back after 6 months in hiding or lurking to post about Hyundai. Everyone he knows and has talked to that has owned Hyundais or Kias has never even had to have them in the shop, so it just seems like any other car, some are bad and some aren't. Surely we wouldn't want to judge all Vibes by Sir Knocksalot either...LOL