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I know Hyundai has had its problems in the past and they seem to have gotten on track. Based on the coupe overseas does anyone know of reliability issues so far? Also what of Hyundai in general these days?
Reliabilty
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Hi curt, welcome to the forums. As far as reliability Hyundai overall has been improving quite a bit. Many of their cars rank high and compare well with the Japanese. As far as the Coupe I have not read anything negative. However these are first geneartion cars so there are bound to be some issues. I would have some hesitations buying a first year car but since the cars were released in Korea first and have been on the market there for a few months now I feel any issues for the US spec car may have been worked out, at least I hope.
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Hello Curt & welcome to the forum. If you get a chance, go to the new member introductions section & tell us a little about yourself.
Anyways, to answer your question, I'm writing a book below, sorry so long winded..LoL
I'll admit that I'm bias towards Hyundai, because of how reliable their cars are, even though I have never owned one. This is due to the fact Hyundai has never produced a vehicle I care to own/drive. The quality has been there, but the performance has not & I'm a true car enthusiast.
Their reliability is phenomanal compared to other auto manufacturers & they are as good as or better than all in this day & age. This is no exageration, but the simple truth. I know, because I see these cars day in day out for over 10yrs now. Since I work for a Hyundai dealership svc dept, I can tell you that these cars just don't tear up compared to other makes.
Hyundai is the equivalent in quality/durability of Honda & Toyota. It's just a matter of preference between the 3. But I see Hyundai pulling ahead in the next few years. American & German cars are less durable & less reliable. Regular failure of alternators, A/C compressors, P/S pumps, water pumps, tensioners, radiators, thermostats, windows, locks, etc is common at about 60k miles on American/German cars. On Japanese/ Korean cars, these parts usually last over 100K.
Now quality with regards to materials used In fit & finish will normally be better on the German makes. For instance leather, wood grain, aluminum trim, stitching, glass, & amenities. That is until the Genesis came out. It is closely approaching these higher end standards. I would put in league with Lexus & Infiniti.
I've composed a list of recently released vehicles from Hyundai in the last decade with all the common issues I can recall with each model. Actually most of the new cars released from Hyundai in recent years have very few if any repetitive problems what so ever:
New Accent 07' up - 1st few had bad alternators (but was quickly revised)
00-06' Accent - exaust manifolds
New Elantra 07' up - no problems
01-06' Elantra - window regulators, radiators, exaust manifolds
New Sonata 06' up - sunvisors & 1st few had weak timing chain tensioners (but was quickly revised)
02-05' Sonata - inside door handles chrome peeling, airbag wiring, o2 sensors
New SantaFe 07' up - no problems
01-06' SantaFe - crank sensors & 1st few had bad alternators (but was quickly revised)
New Tiburon 03' up - window motors, sunroof motors, & clutches suck
97-01' Tiburon - window regulators, o2 sensors, exaust manifolds
Azera - rear sunshade gear & pass side dash cracking near airbag
Tucson - no problems
Veracruz - battery drain if sits w/o starting for a week
Entourage - sliding doors open on their own (but was quickly revised)
Genesis - no problems as of yet
XG300/350 - POS - alternators, A/C compressors, P/S high pressure line, window motors, A/C control heads, throttle bodies, AIC motors, airbag wiring.
This is all the repetitive stuff I can think of for each car after thinking on it for a while. Considering that's Hyundai's entire lineup for last decade, there's not that many problems on new vehicles or revised vehicles, with exception of the XG.
Anyways, to answer your question, I'm writing a book below, sorry so long winded..LoL
I'll admit that I'm bias towards Hyundai, because of how reliable their cars are, even though I have never owned one. This is due to the fact Hyundai has never produced a vehicle I care to own/drive. The quality has been there, but the performance has not & I'm a true car enthusiast.
Their reliability is phenomanal compared to other auto manufacturers & they are as good as or better than all in this day & age. This is no exageration, but the simple truth. I know, because I see these cars day in day out for over 10yrs now. Since I work for a Hyundai dealership svc dept, I can tell you that these cars just don't tear up compared to other makes.
Hyundai is the equivalent in quality/durability of Honda & Toyota. It's just a matter of preference between the 3. But I see Hyundai pulling ahead in the next few years. American & German cars are less durable & less reliable. Regular failure of alternators, A/C compressors, P/S pumps, water pumps, tensioners, radiators, thermostats, windows, locks, etc is common at about 60k miles on American/German cars. On Japanese/ Korean cars, these parts usually last over 100K.
Now quality with regards to materials used In fit & finish will normally be better on the German makes. For instance leather, wood grain, aluminum trim, stitching, glass, & amenities. That is until the Genesis came out. It is closely approaching these higher end standards. I would put in league with Lexus & Infiniti.
I've composed a list of recently released vehicles from Hyundai in the last decade with all the common issues I can recall with each model. Actually most of the new cars released from Hyundai in recent years have very few if any repetitive problems what so ever:
New Accent 07' up - 1st few had bad alternators (but was quickly revised)
00-06' Accent - exaust manifolds
New Elantra 07' up - no problems
01-06' Elantra - window regulators, radiators, exaust manifolds
New Sonata 06' up - sunvisors & 1st few had weak timing chain tensioners (but was quickly revised)
02-05' Sonata - inside door handles chrome peeling, airbag wiring, o2 sensors
New SantaFe 07' up - no problems
01-06' SantaFe - crank sensors & 1st few had bad alternators (but was quickly revised)
New Tiburon 03' up - window motors, sunroof motors, & clutches suck
97-01' Tiburon - window regulators, o2 sensors, exaust manifolds
Azera - rear sunshade gear & pass side dash cracking near airbag
Tucson - no problems
Veracruz - battery drain if sits w/o starting for a week
Entourage - sliding doors open on their own (but was quickly revised)
Genesis - no problems as of yet
XG300/350 - POS - alternators, A/C compressors, P/S high pressure line, window motors, A/C control heads, throttle bodies, AIC motors, airbag wiring.
This is all the repetitive stuff I can think of for each car after thinking on it for a while. Considering that's Hyundai's entire lineup for last decade, there's not that many problems on new vehicles or revised vehicles, with exception of the XG.
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just to add to the list trufast has 06 and up santa fe,azera,sonata. 2.7L-3.8L throttle body and some gas pedal issues possible due to the cold weather we experiance up here there will be a reflash soon according to the engineers. they usually get the bugs worked out of things very quickly. other than that were kinda like maytag repair men. i used to be a domestic car guy but i bought a hyundai and never looked back, my tiburon has served me well at 92kmi. and my next car will be a hyundai genesis coupe (just because)
I've been wondering about these same things lately also...as far as the genesis coupe and them actually releasing an affordable sports coupe within the reach on many....with that your bound to get people who don't have any business owning a RWD turbo platform and don't exactly have the proper "know how" or skills to drive it w/o breaking it.
Therefore, I wonder how many problems their going to write off as "user error" so to speak because you know how it only take so many to ruin it for everyone. THEN, I know not too many dealerships are not too fond of "modified" cars coming in for warranty work, and I know I wanna see at least 300whp(I'll settle for about 260whp! haha) within a couple months of owning it because Im putting down 270 to the wheels in my Ion Redline and I'd hate to take a step down in power for TOO long haha. The quality of the gencoupe alone though should keep my content for a while.
With all that said and done, I still want that great Hyundai warranty at the end of the day for that added piece of mind. Maybe I'm asking too much:dunno: Either way I'm excited to see it hit the shores but just a little skeptical on the reliability of it at 250+whp ya know...I didn't really want to tear a motor apart of switch turbos to get to about 300hp.
Therefore, I wonder how many problems their going to write off as "user error" so to speak because you know how it only take so many to ruin it for everyone. THEN, I know not too many dealerships are not too fond of "modified" cars coming in for warranty work, and I know I wanna see at least 300whp(I'll settle for about 260whp! haha) within a couple months of owning it because Im putting down 270 to the wheels in my Ion Redline and I'd hate to take a step down in power for TOO long haha. The quality of the gencoupe alone though should keep my content for a while.
With all that said and done, I still want that great Hyundai warranty at the end of the day for that added piece of mind. Maybe I'm asking too much:dunno: Either way I'm excited to see it hit the shores but just a little skeptical on the reliability of it at 250+whp ya know...I didn't really want to tear a motor apart of switch turbos to get to about 300hp.
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dom, IMO the GenCoupe will be overly built using forged internal parts. Hyundai knows that people will mod these cars. They went through the trouble of putting oil squirters on the bottom of the 3.8L pistons & it's not even FI. As a matter of fact, they advertised the 2.0t to be a tuner's dream. Well in my dream, my 2.0t R-Spec is pushing 400whp. Anyways, if you bump the power up a little on the stock parts you should be fine. On the forums we are guessing about 350whp max for the 2.0t & 400whp for the 3.8L. But, don't expect to get engine repairs done under warranty, I don't & I work there.
Now, when it comes to mods on cars, dealerships do frown on them because they add another variable to the equation. Not only do the techs have to figure out why something failed, but also have to account for the changes you have made. They look repetitively at the same cars each day & when a problem arrises they can usually figure it out easily, but when you bring in a car that's been modified, it's whole different animal in a sense. But, they can't decline a claim unless they can prove that the mods caused the failure.
I recommend only doing I/E & tune on the 3.8L if you want no engine warranty issues. For the 2.0t, I/E, turn factory turbo up, & tune, but that still maybe too much...Personally, that's what I'm doing with my 2.0t for the 1st year or so & will pay more attention to CF replacements during that time. But after that year I will be going all out & will not worry whether or not I have any warranty on my drive train. But, I will still have warranty on my trim, my airbag system, my eletronics, my brakes, my suspension, etc, etc.
Personally I don't need Hyundai's warranty because I know the qualitiy is there & that's what a warranty is for, peace of mind. but, if they don't normally tear up during the warranty period, then it's just ink on paper..LoL
Now, when it comes to mods on cars, dealerships do frown on them because they add another variable to the equation. Not only do the techs have to figure out why something failed, but also have to account for the changes you have made. They look repetitively at the same cars each day & when a problem arrises they can usually figure it out easily, but when you bring in a car that's been modified, it's whole different animal in a sense. But, they can't decline a claim unless they can prove that the mods caused the failure.
I recommend only doing I/E & tune on the 3.8L if you want no engine warranty issues. For the 2.0t, I/E, turn factory turbo up, & tune, but that still maybe too much...Personally, that's what I'm doing with my 2.0t for the 1st year or so & will pay more attention to CF replacements during that time. But after that year I will be going all out & will not worry whether or not I have any warranty on my drive train. But, I will still have warranty on my trim, my airbag system, my eletronics, my brakes, my suspension, etc, etc.
Personally I don't need Hyundai's warranty because I know the qualitiy is there & that's what a warranty is for, peace of mind. but, if they don't normally tear up during the warranty period, then it's just ink on paper..LoL
Sounds good...Im sure they'll hold up fine, I believe the engine will be ok withe I/E, Up in boost, and a good tune...the other culprit is the concern for the drivetrain abuse these things will see everyday. I think I'm going to hold off on the first batch and wait on the R-Spec ones to come out, I bought the first generation of a new platform before and it kinda left a bad taste in my mouth, but like you said these have been out for a little while in Korea, I'll probably wanna buy one soon as I see it on the street haha
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Just some anecdotal evidence. I know a guy with a Sante Fe. He had 220k on it and the motor just went. I asked him what happened. As it turns out he never had the timing belt/chain replaced at the recommended maintanance. He went ahead and put in a new engine and still plans on driving it. It is 4 years old so he drives a lot. I think that says something about Hyundai motors. Maybe not how much power they can take, but they do seem to run as long as the Japanese motors, or at least this one did. Tufast may know vehicles with more miles than that.
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Holy shit, 220k & hadn't had the T-belt replaced. Usually you're lucky if you can make it over a 100k while ignoring it. His SantaFe must of not been very old, so weathering/cracking of the belt was limited.
But, you're right I see Hyundai's constantly w/over a 100k on them, regularly w/over 200k, & every once in a while w/over 300k on them. But, once these better built Hyundais from 1999 up get into the higher mileage, I'm sure I'll see more.
What's more is that a late model Hyundai w/100k on it isn't falling apart like an American built car would be. I mean, we get used car trade-ins all the time that we have to PDI priior to going on the used car lot & they are just ragged out. I know some people are hard on cars, but compared to the Hyundai trade-ins, they are just coming apart & the interiors are the worst.
By the way, most new Hyundais do not have a timing belt, they are chain driven. So, no maintainance interval for that & the customer saves between $350-$700 on that replacement every 60k, which is the recommended replacement interval.
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Thanks guys. I didnt think Hyundai really had any more big problems.
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I would say that most of the problems we see here in our shop are not due to materials or workmanship, but due to the owners just flat out abusing their vehicles and not doing even the simplest maintenance on them.
We've seen engines in late model Hyundais (a lot of the 3rd generation Elantras - 01 to 06) with so much sludge that you could stab a screwdriver into the crap in the bottom of the oil pan and it would stand straight up... oil passages completely clogged up. The car comes in on a flatbed wrecker after having thrown a rod, and the customer starts screaming about the 100k mile warranty when we explain to them that the engine will not be warrantied due to lack of maintenance. They swear up and down that they've changed the oil every 3000 miles, but come on... that's not possible at all, and any tech could tell you that. Then they go tell all their friends and family and total strangers that Hyundai is junk and that we don't stand by the warranty. THAT is how Hyundai gets a lot of bad rep.
We had an 07 Tib GT come in last week with the customer complaining of the car pulling to the right. It is driven by a high school girl, probably 17 or 18, and one quick look at the general condition of the car will tell you she can NOT drive... the bottom of the front bumper cover looks like it's been dragged across the concrete (for miles) with the paint gone down to the plastic. The front underside tow hook has been nearly ground down to where it is no longer a closed hook. The right front wheel has curb rash so bad that it can't be balanced, the right rear also has rash but not quite as bad. Rotate the tires, and the car still pulls. So we throw it up on the alignment rack and try to align it, and can't get it aligned. So we go talk to daddy about our findings, how it's obvious that the car has hit something hard with the right front and there is a bent component. Of course daddy's little darling swears that she's NEVER hit anything with the car, despite the obvious evidence, and daddy believes her because little princess wouldn't lie. He says that it's some fault with the car, and they aren't paying a dime because it's still covered under warranty. We refused to perform any more work on the car until the current bill was paid, and they came and picked it up yesterday. They too will go bad-mouth Hyundai to all of their friends and neighbors.
You have to consider the source of what you hear. Hyundais are excellent cars, I've owned a 2001 Tiburon that I LOVED (and miss) and it was a great car, a blast to drive. I traded it in on the 08 Accent that I drive now, and have not had a single problem out of it. I hope to be a very happy Coupe owner if I can work it out. It's easy to get a bad reputation, and hard to get rid of one. It will just take time for people to see for themselves how far Hyundai has come.
We've seen engines in late model Hyundais (a lot of the 3rd generation Elantras - 01 to 06) with so much sludge that you could stab a screwdriver into the crap in the bottom of the oil pan and it would stand straight up... oil passages completely clogged up. The car comes in on a flatbed wrecker after having thrown a rod, and the customer starts screaming about the 100k mile warranty when we explain to them that the engine will not be warrantied due to lack of maintenance. They swear up and down that they've changed the oil every 3000 miles, but come on... that's not possible at all, and any tech could tell you that. Then they go tell all their friends and family and total strangers that Hyundai is junk and that we don't stand by the warranty. THAT is how Hyundai gets a lot of bad rep.
We had an 07 Tib GT come in last week with the customer complaining of the car pulling to the right. It is driven by a high school girl, probably 17 or 18, and one quick look at the general condition of the car will tell you she can NOT drive... the bottom of the front bumper cover looks like it's been dragged across the concrete (for miles) with the paint gone down to the plastic. The front underside tow hook has been nearly ground down to where it is no longer a closed hook. The right front wheel has curb rash so bad that it can't be balanced, the right rear also has rash but not quite as bad. Rotate the tires, and the car still pulls. So we throw it up on the alignment rack and try to align it, and can't get it aligned. So we go talk to daddy about our findings, how it's obvious that the car has hit something hard with the right front and there is a bent component. Of course daddy's little darling swears that she's NEVER hit anything with the car, despite the obvious evidence, and daddy believes her because little princess wouldn't lie. He says that it's some fault with the car, and they aren't paying a dime because it's still covered under warranty. We refused to perform any more work on the car until the current bill was paid, and they came and picked it up yesterday. They too will go bad-mouth Hyundai to all of their friends and neighbors.
You have to consider the source of what you hear. Hyundais are excellent cars, I've owned a 2001 Tiburon that I LOVED (and miss) and it was a great car, a blast to drive. I traded it in on the 08 Accent that I drive now, and have not had a single problem out of it. I hope to be a very happy Coupe owner if I can work it out. It's easy to get a bad reputation, and hard to get rid of one. It will just take time for people to see for themselves how far Hyundai has come.
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