1996 Hyundai Accent 4 door sedan from North America

Summary:

Good first car that I am sorry to see it go

Faults:

Timing Belt replaced at 75,000 miles.

Ignition Switch replaced at 100,000 miles.

Automatic Transmission blew at 130,000 miles.

General Comments:

This great little car got me to and from college every single day for three years with no (major) problems, until my transmission went last December. I did beat the hell out of it though. It would still be running today if I took care of it.

I found the front seats to be quite comfortable, but I am a small person. The back seats, on the other hand, are very cramped.

Great on gas, but not great on highway. I could NEVER get this car over 65MPH without the steering wheel shaking violently. I could never drive it in "econ" mode because it had such horrible pickup in "Normal" mode as it is. Horrible power on steep hills, too.

I did love this car though. 4 years of reliable service despite the fact I didn't maintain it isn't bad in my book.

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

Review Date: 29th March, 2004

31st Mar 2004, 23:15

A few minor problems that I forgot to add in my original review:

Passenger side door handle cracked and became unusable.

Drivers side window became very hard to roll up - I actually gained muscle in my left arm solely from rolling my window up! I brought it in to my mechanic, who told me to contact a glass company, so I brought it to a glass company, who told me to contact my mechanic. Gave up after that.

Both back doors became hard to open, due to lack of use. Keep them oiled.

THE MOST ANNOYING THING: If I had a friend, or a gas attendant put oil in my car who wasn't aware of how to properly replace the oil cap, I would lose it. I've had to buy at least 15 oil caps in the history of this car. When you close it, it may seem tight, but you have to keep turning until you feel a little "pop" Crappiest design I've ever seen. It finally got to a point where I went to the junk yard and bought every single oil cap they had for my accent.

I also forgot to mention my accidents:

#1 - I hit a deer going 50MPH. Major front end damage. The whole thing just crumpled like an accordion. No air bags went off, which was curious. Wasn't totaled though, so I got everything fixed.

#2 - I rear-ended an SUV sitting at a stop sign (not because of any mechanical malfunction - this one was my own sheer stupidity). I hit him going maybe 10MPH. Again, the front end completely crumpled, again, no air bags. This made me QUITE nervous.

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1996 Hyundai Accent from North America

Summary:

A horrible nightmare

Faults:

This car was an absolute nightmare and I will forever stay away from Hyundais again. Not a year went by that I didn't have to fix a laundry list of things in order to get it inspected. If you live in a cold wintery climate watch out. The doors froze up on me one morning and when I went to open it the handle literally snapped. I had to spend the next 6 months entering my car from the passenger side and even that side almost cracked a subsequent cold morning. I had to wait hours until it warmed up just to feel safe enough to pull on the handle.

The heating/defrost system is a joke. My side windows and even the front upper half would never defrost. The rear defog lasted I think 2 months then went.

Check engine light went on months after I bought the car and never went off. Spent money on diagnostics at the dealership and they found nothing but wanted me to put more money into finding out what was wrong. In your dreams.

Keep all doors well-oiled regularly. I seldom used the rear passenger doors and quickly found that they will rust in place. The hinges on them are very chintzy. I never had this problem with any other car regardless of how often I used the doors.

Gas line burst and leaked oil in torrents. Two lines "melted" together.

Oil filter burst.

Replaced brakes.

Replaced coil and both front tires.

Trans-axle blew out. This was the topper. Of course it happened right after I sank 300.00 in a new coil and front tires.

Car is now toast. My only regret is that I wasn't awarded the satisfaction of pushing it off a cliff myself.

General Comments:

Great gas mileage.

Handles well and is quick and responsive when running.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st March, 2004