Faults:

Nothing, so far (Knock on wood!)

General Comments:

Almost 35,000 miles on my '02 Accent GS and I couldn't be happier! (Knock on wood) I drive 70 miles per day, 350 miles per week, interstate travel and while the car DOES show its "economy" (i.e. nothing too luxurious), I am very pleased with its performance and fuel economy. I have been experimenting with interstate speed and have found that if I keep the car under 60 mph I get 37 MPH!!! A difinite PLUS on a shool teacher's salary! Even at highway speed (65 MPH) I get an average of 33 MPH. The car is basic transportation... It's been dependable and a pleasure to drive. I hope she holds together because I'm gonna' have this critter a LLLOOONNNGGG time. =)

Faults:

Faulty Air Conditioning.

General Comments:

Not a street racer, but has reasonable power for an engine so small.

Fit and finish is at a satisfactory level.

I am very happy with my car. It has been very reliable. I used to live in Edmonton, Alberta where it can get very cold. In all that time I never had any difficulty starting the engine.

I have driven through the Rocky Mountains between Vancouver and Edmonton many times. The car does quite well on all but the steepest sections. I even moved one large mother, three cats, one dog and a turtle with luggage, through the mountains, no problem! I never dropped below 80 km per hour even on the steepest sections!

Faults:

Seats uncomfortable for long-distance driving.

Manifold cracked at 98,750 miles.

Throttle position sensor replaced at 97,920 miles.

Cheap car from the start - high labor and part cost.

General Comments:

The car was alright from the start.

If you can do the work yourself, do so.

Any of the warranties that are promised by Hyundai are not true unless you do every single bit of maintenance with them - even oil changes. They wouldn't cover a misfire problem because a month prior I started doing all of the maintenance.

My fiancee noticed two days ago (11/8/04) that her exhaust is getting loud. I looked under her hood and just behind the oxygen sensor under the heat shield is a crack in the manifold. I can't believe that would happen after that many miles. I have an 88 ranger with 412,000+ miles on the body and the engine was rebuilt once and I just replaced the driver's side 2 months ago. The manifold (s) should last the life of the engine at least.

Transmission filters, spark plug wires, and even wheel studs from the rotor have to be purchased through Hyundai because they don't have any aftermarket parts that fit or stock them. I had to return parts several times because they never fit.

The car is cheap from the start, but then they charge over $70 an hour for labor (more than any other place I have ever heard of) and have a high percentage markup on parts. It costed $48 for a transmission filter and I can go and buy one for my mom's 98 Taurus at Auto zone for $16. The touch-up paint is almost $15 and you can get it at Wal Mart for $3.

Taking a 10 hour trip to Michigan from Wisconsin is very uncomfortable - especially with no cruise control.

There has to be a recall for that manifold.