2003 Hyundai Elantra GT

Summary:

Nice car for the price, some things I would change

Faults:

Paint chips and get eroded by bird droppings easily. Paint already dulling.

Door dings very easily. Many marks on all sides of car.

The tape that holds the wing keeps exposing. The tape around the door pillars kept coming up when the windows rolled up and down. The latter was removed by Hyundai and painted black, covered.

The engine stalled for a brief period of time when the air was on and I came to a stop at stop signs, that was about 10k miles ago, since then it has behaved normally.

General Comments:

Lots of storage.

Cheap.

Lots of extras.

Fast and fuel efficient.

Sporty looking, like a Saab.

Sure it may look like a girl car, but I still like it.

Too dark in the trunk and back seat when lights are needed.

The light scheme is strange, different in the dash then down the center column, red and blue, then green for the latter. Why can't it be consistent???

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th June, 2005

2003 Hyundai Elantra GT 2.0-liter

Summary:

The car is OK, the corporation is trying to cheat me

Faults:

At 26,000 miles, my clutch failed. The clutch didn't slip or show any signs that it was about to break. I do not abuse the clutch in any way. I've had several manual cars and had no problems with them. The dealer is making me pay over $900 for the repair.

General Comments:

I use to be a pretty big Hyundai supporter, but I've quickly changed my tune. After I bought my Elantra, I was able to talk my dad, brother, and wife into buying one. 26,000 miles is way to low to have a clutch break on you. I have contacted the corporation and the dealer and no one wants to concede that my car had a faulty clutch in it. I can't even talk to anyone above the first line of customer support because they don't allow it. This is my only way to fight and I'm going to hope it might save a few people from buying this car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th December, 2004

12th May 2005, 13:40

May 10, 2005.

I just paid nearly $1000 to a Hyundai dealer to replace the clutch assembly in my 2003 Hyundai Elantra, which I bought in Aug,2003. Mileage at the time of the clutch failure: 26,255.

I've been driving a manual transmission since the 1st day I sat behind the wheel. I don't ride the clutch; I live in an area where there are no hills and 70% of my driving is done on the highway. I know this has to be a defect of some sort... but how can I prove it?

I asked the mechanic to do what he can to establish maufacturing flaws in the clutch. He said it was just worn down. I Just don't believe that my driving habits could wear down a clutch in 26k miles.

Now having driven the car after the repair, I'm convinced there was something wrong from day 1. It feels like an entirely different vehicle.

I plan to battle with Hyundai to get this repair qualified as a warranty service. I was searching the internet for information about the manufacture specs of the Hyundai Elantra clutch when I found this posting.

2 clutches of the same year model fail at the same mileage? That's not A COINCIDENCE. Where there's one there's another and another. We need to find the others and follow this through. I'll bet if we trace the production of our cars, we'd find they were built in the same plant and/or the clutch parts were taken from the same lot.

Thank you.

Doc Paul.

2003 Hyundai Elantra GT Sedan 2.0

Summary:

A great deal for the money

Faults:

Trunk spring bars went bad at 5,000 miles, dealer replaced.

Front rotors and pads had to be replaced at 25,000 miles. The brake shop had enormous trouble getting the rotors off, resulting in damaging the bearings, which they replaced.

General Comments:

Overall a very good car with excellent standard features. The only option I have is the power sunroof.

The 135hp motor is very underpowered, especially with the automatic transmission. Plus, the engine has a very slight hesitation when accelerating, usually around 3,000 rpm.

The suspension is adequate and handles nicely.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th October, 2004