Faults:

The interior door handle on the driver side constantly breaks.

The wind deflector for the sunroof broke.

I've had problems with the transmission and mechanics tell me nothing is wrong. It sputters when idling and sometimes slips when down-shifting at speed.

General Comments:

The car is very comfortable and performs well when running right. The transmission worries me and it looks as though others have had the same problem.

Faults:

Serpentine belt broke.

Belt tensioner needed replacing.

Drivers interior door handle broke off.

Auto transmission would sometimes not engage when put into drive.

Sunroof wind deflector broke.

General Comments:

The best feature of the GLS Sonata is the 3.0L V6 engine. It will definitely get up and go compared to the four cylinder. Everything else is just pretty much what you would expect out of a Hyundai. The interior is simple and plain, but comfortable. The exterior steals some designs from Accord and Camry and at the right angle the front end kind of resembles a 94-98 mustang. Guess it was a desperate attempt to make a Hyundai look like a normal car. They have always made some funky looking cars. But anyways it was pretty good to me in the time I owned it. I ended up totaling it out when some moron pulled out in front of me while I was going about 50mph. The airbags deployed as they should and probably saved my life. I loved the car, but from what I've seen not too many others shared the good Hyundai experience that I did so I would probably not buy another. I'd rather just remember it how it was.

Faults:

Driver's side window wouldn't seal properly allowing air to leak (and whistle) at 300 miles. Dealer found no problem.

I fixed the problem with only a piece of electrical tape.

Rear wheels were badly out of alignment at 4,000 miles. Dealer corrected: No charge.

Inside driver's door handle replaced at 25,000 miles.

One ventilation grille replaced at 26,000 miles.

Battery exploded at 38,000 miles.

Electric trunk-release actuator replaced at 60,000 miles.

General Comments:

This car was reliable, roomy, and comfortable.

Handling was moderate under most driving conditions.

The winter-weather performance was top rate.

Always started and warmed up quickly.

Traction was good, and braking was controlled and predictable even without anti-lock brakes.

The automatic transmission shifted smoothly and predictably in most driving situations, but when pushed hard in driving situations like hard acceleration and passing, it couldn't seem to find the right gear.

Driving with the electronic controller in P (power) mode instead of N (normal) allowed the transmission to perform more to my liking.

For a base model car I thought this car was a good buy considering the size, basic options including air-conditioning; comfort, quality of upholstery and carpeting, and the engine-power and fuel economy.

I would buy this car again for a great used price.

Faults:

The car is always overheating and has a smell of burning rubber... I've taken it in multiple times, but all they do is flush the coolant and then it overheats again in 3 months. I have to flush the coolant about 3 times a year!

Also, all the non-mechanical "shortcuts" they take are obvious. All the little pieces of plastic everywhere inside the car are falling off, melting, crumbling, breaking, etc. They're not "major", but each of many repairs costs a good $100-150.

The door handle has broken at least once, the remote trunk latch no longer works, the arm to open the sunroof broke, the car started stalling out on me at 60,000 miles and I had to have the idle serve replaced not to mention the brakes (although the latter was normal wear & tear, but it put me back $400 so I felt obliged to mention it).

Everything in the car squeaks, the seats, the steering wheel.

The sunroof and trunk leak too.

Whenever I wash my car, the paint comes off with the dirt which is really ugly since the car has green paint, but is white/metal underneath.

I have countless little dings in my car from people bumping into it - and I haven't had this with other cars so I think this car's metal is just too soft.

The paint's also coming off the side view mirrors, leaving them all white-looking.

General Comments:

If this car was older, then I wouldn't be so disgruntled - all those problems would be acceptable. But to have all these problems with a car after only about 4 years of age, I think, is unacceptable. I will never buy a Hyundai again.

Faults:

With my Sonata now, it's been fine up until about October of '99 when I started experiencing some hesitation and gear problems. When I slow down, a lot of times the car will bump into gear especially if I stop at a light on a slight hill. I've had it checked at numerous places for transmission problems and none have been found. So it's very frustrating. I have 2 more years to pay on the car, so I can't trade it in for a new car unless someone pays my loan off.

General Comments:

Overall I like the car, but I just don't want it to break down on me. What I need is to really find out if there have been problems with this model from other owners or maybe the factory has some information for me.