2004 Hyundai Elantra GLS 2.0 DOHC from North America

Summary:

An inexpensive and resilient little car

Faults:

The passenger side seat belt tensioner broke. It was just a defective part, and the warranty covered it.

Airbag warning light came on for no particular reason, it was determined that the airbags were still operational and only the light was lit. It was reset free of charge.

General Comments:

It has decent acceleration and braking performance, on par with other vehicles within this class.

There is significant body roll in turns, however. The suspension is somewhat soggy, which contributes to this, and it's noticeable even in regular driving conditions. In more extreme conditions, the amount of roll is highly exaggerated.

The interior is made up of various gray fabrics and plastics, but there is enough variety to prevent it from being completely boring and depressing. It's tolerable. The cheapness of the fake aluminum/chrome accents on the a/c vents detracts from an otherwise pleasant interior. However, given that the car is as cheap as it is, there aren't any horrible plastic seams in sight.

The standard stereo system is actually quite good, and has lots of bass considering it just has standard size speakers. A thoughtful touch on Hyundai's behalf.

The exterior styling is simple and inoffensive. Panel gaps are actually fairly small and consistent, a positive mark for an inexpensive car such as the Elantra. The trunk line and tail lights emulate those of the more expensive Nissan Altima.

The trunk is quite spacious and the seats fold down to make for even more space. I can fit my BMX bicycle in there with the rear seats folded down, which is perfect because I enjoy taking it to the university with me. The materials in the trunk, however, are quite cheap and have suffered moderate damage from me simply loading and unloading the bike.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th June, 2007

2004 Hyundai Elantra LS from North America

Summary:

This is a very reliable car

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with my car.

General Comments:

The ride is noisy on the high way and isn't stable in wind at high speeds. However, this is a very reliable car and gets great gas mileage 25/38.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th January, 2007

2004 Hyundai Elantra GT sedan from North America

Summary:

Good value, but poor initial quality

Faults:

The moment I drove the new car home, the factory sunroof was rattling really badly. Three dealerships could not repair it; finally one figured it out and had to rip the whole roof apart to fix it.

Also from the start the car had several annoying ticks or rattles in the door and other general body areas which with age seem to have resolved themselved.

Emergency brake rotted/froze after 1 winter. Back wheel was smoking all the time, burning the brake pad down to the metal. Again, Three dealerships and 7 visits later, they finally figured it out after replacing a master cylinder, pads, and several other useless brake parts, because they were all guessing and couldn't diagnose such a simple fix.

A/C condenser went after 1 year of ownership and I had to pay $450 to replace it; It was not covered under warranty because they said it could have been caused from a rock in the road puncturing it, though no one can be sure.

General Comments:

Now that I've had the car 2 1/2 years, I am finally feeling like it's grown into itself and the issues are gone for the moment. I haven't had any repairs in about a year. Seems like the first year it had way too many problems.

In summary, all of my issues would not have been as frustrating had Hyundai service technicians been better diagnosticians to begin with.

All dealerships in my area (Boston) are horrible. Just horrible. That's the only downside on the Hyundais in general. Poor service from the dealerships, very untrained techs and they do a lot of guessing.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th January, 2007

21st Sep 2008, 16:33

I'm sorry you had difficulties the first year; I've had a 2004 GT for nearly five years and 91,500 miles and the only repair I've ever paid for on any of our three Elantras was the O2 sensor on this one. The rest were minor repairs and all under warranty.