Faults:

Brake line.

Another brake line.

Entire brake system had to be overhauled.

Front axle.

Wheel bearings.

A/C.

Trunk and gas door levers rusted out and stopped working (poorly placed right on the floor, moved to the dash on the 2002 models for a reason).

Interior light had to be turned on and off manually or it would stick on.

Rear door handles sometimes work, sometimes don't.

Paint has peeled off the door handles, passenger side mirror and door trim pieces.

General Comments:

The car was built in December 2000. Purchased new by my grandma in 2001. She hardly ever drove it, and then shortly after was no longer able to drive at all, so the car received very little use for most of its life. I occasionally began driving the car in 2008, and officially took it over in 2012.

First of all, the brakes & suspension components on these cars are high maintenance. My sister owned a 2005 Sonata, same thing.

These early Sonatas are known for having TERRIBLE door handles. The rear ones only work when they feel like it, they're flimsy, and the paint has peeled off some of them. They were redesigned for the 2002 models for a reason.

The car is seriously underpowered. I know it's a sedan, not a race car, and no one buys a Hyundai for performance, but still... you literally have to floor the gas pedal to get the thing to move from a stop or when merging onto the highway. It's even worse when the A/C is on. This is probably the most annoying thing about the car.

Handling sucks. Like I previously stated, excessive body roll (the car leans to one side) even on mild turns. Suspension is mushy yet doesn't cushion bumps. The transmission shifts harshly and constantly, feels like the transmission fluid is low, yet all three times I've had it checked I was told it wasn't.

Steering wheel has shook while idling since new, from what I remember.

Now, the positives. I will say that gas mileage is really good, the car gets 30 MPG easily. The seats are pretty plush, interior is roomy with very good headroom, nice styling, nice sounding stereo (the car originally had a cassette player, but even that sounded pretty good) and I've never had any engine problems as of this writing.

In conclusion, very poor performance, good gas mileage, roomy, reliability isn't horrible but not good either... no major problems, but lots and lots of minor problems. I don't think the longevity of these cars is very good... as previously stated, my sister owned a 2005 Sonata, my best friend also drove one, also an '05, both driven regularly, unlike mine, and both were completely used up and clapped out by 100,000 miles, not exaggerating. If you're on a low budget, these cars will do, but keep in mind that Hyundais are inexpensive for a reason. Personally I no longer feel they're worth it, there are better cars for the same money, and this will probably be my last Hyundai.

Faults:

The only major problem that I have had with this car, is that I had to replace the A/C compressor in 2006 when the car had about 180,000 miles on it.

Nothing major other than that.

General Comments:

This car is very reliable. Has never left me stranded in 369,000 miles. Still has good compression. Can still go over 100 MPH, even with this many miles. I have never had to rebuild anything on this car.

Faults:

Water pump went out around 50 K miles; Replaced timing belt at this time.

Passenger side window off track, won't go up all the way, occurred around 35 K miles.

Replaced alternator, repaired burnt connectors and wiring at 73 K miles. (Battery cable was burnt and had to be replaced???)

Replaced spark plugs, ignition coil boots and/or wires, scan and clear fault codes, inspect secondary ignition system, replace plug wires, ignition coil assembly.

Flush transmission and transmission cooling system.

R & R timing belt, balance shaft belt and crankshaft position sensor, clear fault code and road test.= (the balance shaft belt was broken, wrapped around the crankshaft position sensor & broke it).

Check engine light on again, now has pending code P0446, EVAP Vent control solenoid circuit performance, and P 0723 Engine speed input circuit.

General Comments:

Grandparents purchased this car in 2003. They were the 2nd owners, and car had about 23 K miles on it.

Since this time, the regular maintenance has been kept on the vehicle with regular oil changes, tune ups, and required maintenance was performed per scheduled requirements, such as servicing transmission and replacing timing belt, etc.

It was very dependable up until around 50 K miles; after that, if it hasn't been one thing, it has been another; Parts and labor has totaled around $3,000 at this point. I'm not sure how much this latest repair will cost. I have to say I'm very disappointed in Hyundai at this time.

The check engine light has come on a total of about 4-5 times; each time prompting rather expensive repairs.

One of the above repairs resulted in the car breaking down on the freeway and having to be towed into the repair shop. Preventive maintenance does not prevent expensive repairs, and there is no way to predict what sensor is going to turn on the check engine light next time; Of course, the 10K warranty doesn't transfer to the 2nd owner, and was never of any help.