Faults:

Rusting around rear doors just after the 30000 bumper-to-bumper part of the warranty ran out.

Timing belts needed replacing at about 50000 to 60000 miles.

Driver front window motor stopped working.

On a road trip, all hoses blew out and needed replacing.

While commuting to work, the car stopped for no reason. In other words, it was like someone turned a light switch off. While the car was still moving, the computer went dead, the dashboard lights were dead and the engine went dead all in an instant. I pulled off the road and waited a few minutes and tried to start the car, but all it did was run for a minute and then shut off again. After speaking with one of the techs at my local dealer, he told me I probably used bad gas and that moisture more than likely caused the problem. That seemed lame, but after putting some drygas into my tank I haven't had that problem again, YET.

Passenger rear window motor stopped working.

General Comments:

I haven't seen much problem with my car until the last 6 months. In general, I like my car because it surprisingly can haul a lot of stuff with the 40/60 split back seat and because I don't get killed at the gas tank.

My goal is to keep it until it hits at least 200,000 miles.

I've come to website to find some more economical way to fix my older model Hyundai.

Faults:

My 1999 elantra had a recall for the manifold leaking. Three friends had to take their cars in for this too. Everyone of us were told that the pipe from the manifold had to be replaced for $390.00! Seems strange that we all had this item go bad. Shouldn't it have been part of the recall? It seems this is what is paying for the recall. I felt very ripped off and told them not to do the work. I now have a car that I can't use. I was told the front breaks would be $385.47 to fix. I almost didn't dare to drive the car home for fear it wouldn't make it.

Faults:

None, Nothing, Nada, I can't believe it.

Only maintenance work done was to have the dealer change all the belts (the cam belt had not been changed since new.

Has an annoying 'buzz' from the brake light in the back window occasionally.

Other than the belts above, I do all maintenance myself. So far that means a new set of plugs, oil & filters only.

In running cost terms, I don't think I've ever owned a cheaper car to run.

General Comments:

This is the first car we bought when the family moved to Texas from the UK. We were overwhelmed by the choice in cars we had not heard of, so we elected to buy a cheap, used car I could use just to get to and from work. Enter the Elantra.

Every other week the car takes three adults to and from work with total reliability. The 5 speed manual and 2.0l twin cam engine fuel economy is excellent, although the engine is quite buzzy if you push it hard.

Comfort wise - you get what you pay for; local commuting is fine, but I wouldn't go out of state with it unless I had to. It's a good second car.

Equipment level is certainly superior to other small used cars we looked at; a very good a/c, cruise, central locking and electric mirrors.

Faults:

4000 miles right front rotor warped.

6000 miles encountered strange shifting problem. Hyundai service said that was the way it was suppose to shift.

14500 miles transmission was replaced after leaving me stranded.

35000 miles changed the tires (Normal wear and tear)

65000 miles brought the car in for problems with a vibration that occurs when driving over 63mph. After replacing some throttle control the problem is still there and I am out a wad of cash.

69000 miles car went back in for problem of vibrations over 63 mph. They replace something that pulsed signals to the shifter. This was another wad of cash and the problem is still there!

69200 miles brought the car back for vibration problems over 63 mph. After test driving the car with the service guy in it, they determined the problem was engine mounts. Dealer is going to call me back to replace them. (One year later and I still never heard from them)

74000 miles car stopped shifting and got stuck in 3rd gear (I drive an Automatic).

84900 miles speedometer cable broke. (Not fixing it)

849?? miles about 80 miles after the speedometer cable broke the check engine light went on.

This is just stuff I remember off the top of my head.

General Comments:

Good: Comfortable ride and fast acceleration.

Bad: After at least 6 trips to the dealer the warranty covered 1 part valued at approximately $60.00. So in my opinion, never get an upgraded warranty. Better to save the $1k and use it towards fixing the problems you encounter.

At this rate the car will not last to 100k following the trend set by the above listed problems.