I own a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6 with 6-speed transmission. I bought it brand-new in 2002 and have driven 65,000 miles so far. I'm now getting rid of it.

I have to admit, I've always loved it - it's a beautifully styled car and the engine is fun to drive. But the problems I've had are just too much now.

VERY IMPORTANT information for ANYONE considering this exact car (2003 year, GT V6 trimline, 6-speed manual) : A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Hyundai because the clutches in these cars have been found to be faulty. Hyundai denies any faulty or deformed parts; the lawsuit specifically states "deformed clutch parts." Apparently I'm one of the luckier ones; I've seen people with their clutches going bad at only 30,000 - mine died at 59,000. When I took it in, they said it was due to my aggressive driving habits, and it's wear-and-tear so I gotta pay for it, too. I threatened Hyundai with the lawsuit and after a couple days, the company agreed to cover my entire clutch repair ($3,200 cost). They specifically reiterated to me that the clutches were NOT deformed, and that their covering my repair was a "good will gesture," to quote them verbatim. I did some further research and I did find out that the clutch parts that replaced the old deformed ones are actually UPGRADED part numbers - so they're actually trying to replace the old clutches with better, beefier ones. Take this story for what it's worth, but for me it's obvious that Hyundai is trying to keep the deformed clutch deal hush-hush, and my repair was little more than an attempt to "pay me off" so I wouldn't pursue legal action.

It's worth mentioning that the new clutch parts are excellent. If only they were available in the first place.

About 900 miles after the clutch job (ONLY 900), my transmission failed completely. I was sitting in a drive-thru, and then realized that I couldn't get the car into any gear; the shifter went limp and dead. The transmission was replaced under warranty, but Hyundai insists that transmissions are sent in from the dealership intact - in other words, neither myself nor the dealer could actually open the transmission and diagnose what happened. Was it negligence? Or crappy parts? Or just coincidence? I will never know, and this very fact has hurt my trust in Hyundai and my car.

I no longer drive that car without fear that something else is just going to suddenly go wrong. I've also had to have the moonroof motor repaired, the e-brake repaired, the passenger and driver door locks (both of them, twice repaired each), the motor for the power windows, busted headlamp, and a foglamp that the dealership didn't even fix (they put a new bulb in and didn't test it; I found out that a mouse had chewed the power cable. I had to repair it myself).

This was all about 500 miles ago - and now there's a strange rattle noise coming from the front driver's side wheel. Another recent development is a strange clunk noise coming from the transmission and/or clutch system. The moment I started hearing these noises, I picked out a nice used Toyota and I'm in the process of trading in.

I can't say if other modern Hyundais - like the newer Santa Fe, for example - are improvements on these problems or if they're all the same. Either way, I'm done with the 2003 Tiburon. Despite all this crap, I will miss that perky little shark.