2005 Hyundai Sonata V6

Summary:

At this point I'm leery of the car and the service

Faults:

Rear Brake Issues.

General Comments:

I bought my 2005 Sonata brand new in January '05. Just recently at just under 18,000 miles I had to have the rear brakes and rotors replaced. I had just had the car inspected at the dealer in January '06 (when the 1 year/ 18,000 mile warranty on the brakes was still good) and no mention of brake issues was made. In April '06 I took the car into the dealer after hearing the brakes squeaking and feeling some play in the brake pedal. The dealer informed me that the rear brakes needed replacing and that (surprise, surprise) they were no longer covered under warranty. The dealer wanted $400 to change the brakes. My fiance bought the parts and replaced them himself for less than half that price. I've been told it's very rare for rear brakes to go at such a low mileage and that it probably should have been seen two months ago during inspection. The general opinion I'm hearing is that the dealer didn't want to replace the brakes for free (per the warranty) so they didn't mention it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th April, 2006

12th Apr 2006, 16:33

That's a good theory except that the factory warranties the car not the dealer. The f actory pays the dealer to replace parts. The factory wanrranty on adjustments is not 18 months 18K miles rather 12/12K.

For what it's worth...

12th Apr 2006, 20:47

I once heard that dealers (dealers in general, not necessarily Hyundai) we rated higher by the factory for not having too many warranty repairs. This would be an incentive to not fix every single problem. Does anyone know about this?

View 3 more comments

2005 Hyundai Sonata GLS 2.7 V6

Summary:

Great car

Faults:

Flawless so far.

General Comments:

Runs very smoothly and quietly. Very well equipped for the price (16000 before tax).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th July, 2005

4th Aug 2005, 16:04

Not a very useful review. It really says nothing.

2005 Hyundai Sonata LX 3.3L V6

Summary:

The best new car that I have bought in years

Faults:

So far, the car has been flawless.

General Comments:

The initial build quality exceeds my prior Buick and Mercedes, and at least equals my prior Acura Legend. There are lots of thoughtful touches in the passenger cabin and the trunk. There is plenty of rear seat legroom and headroom.

With the 17" wheels and performance tires, handling is quite good although the steering is a bit lighter than I prefer. I would also like a bit more side bolster in the front bucket seats; it is easy to slide on the leather in hard turns.

I like the radio and the heater and air conditioner controls for the obvious way they operate and the absence of tiny buttons.

Under hood service items are well marked and color coded.

The car is much quicker than my supercharged Buick, which advertised more horsepower and torque. It is easy to kick off the traction control when taking off on a wet road.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th June, 2005

21st Sep 2005, 07:45

The latest Sonata is certainly a nice looking car, and with the 3.3 litre engine, provides oodles of power. To date, motoring reviews on it appear very favourable. From your report, you clearly rate it highly. So why did they give your report a bland unsmiling face instead of a happy yellow face, I wonder?

29th Nov 2005, 07:22

Actually I think the people who look at our reviews give the smiley faces. I've seen people who've said they're cars suck, and they get a nice big smiley face, so I'm sure they didn't put it there.