21st Dec 2004, 14:33

My friend's RAV4 did the same thing. His transmission went out the third day he had it. Had to help him take it back to the dealer. My old 93 Ford Probe GT (before I bought a 05 Tuscon) out performed and outlasted my mom's 95 Honda Accord and my sister 96 Altima. From my experience, it really doesn't matter which car brand you go with. Sometimes you end up with a crappy car or sometimes you get a good one.

4th Jan 2005, 19:26

I have a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe, 16,000 miles on it. The clutch went out and destroyed the flywheel. The service department said it wouldn't be covered under Hyundai's warranty because it was my fault. They call it abusive driving. I had never experienced any slipping or clutch noise. I don't race. I notice the web is filled with Hyundai clutch horror stories. It's a pity Hyundai doesn't fess up to an obvious problem with its clutchs. They've lost a future customer.

29th Jan 2005, 23:52

Back in 1998 we bought the hyundai Excel and it did the same thing. We went to the store and ended up pushing it to the shop. After that the engine started acting up. After that we just sold it to buy something that will be reliable enough to get us to the store and around town.

4th Mar 2005, 07:46

I have not had problems with the transmission...yet. I purchased a new 2004 Santa Fe, after weeks of research with rave reviews, a little over a year ago and have had it in for service numerous times with other problems... from electrical to window/door seals. The problems are still not corrected and the vehicle is already rough starting and driving. The interior is noisy, but can be drowned out with the radio. The dealer is unwilling to stand behind the vehicle and credits the blame to Hyundai assembling it on a Friday afternoon at closing. I am now making double payments to receive a decent trade in for a quality vehicle. Hyundai and my local dealer has lost a customer!

21st Aug 2005, 17:52

We bought a 1997 Hyundai Accent when it was new. We now have 106,000 miles on it. We haven't had any problems with the clutch until recently. It doesn't seem to fully disengage every time its depressed now, but I'm sure it's a minor adjustment.

Sorry everyone seems to be having problems with theirs.

8th Sep 2006, 15:20

I have a 2002 Santa Fe and after 2 years of having it, my clutch went out and the flywheel needed replaced as well! They also called it "abusive driving" even though at the time, I was a stay at home mom of 2 babies and I never went anywhere! I've had this car for almost 5 years now and am finally getting rid of it. It has been nothing, but a piece of junk and I will not buy a Hyundai again.

20th Oct 2006, 15:17

"The dealer is unwilling to stand behind the vehicle and credits the blame to Hyundai assembling it on a Friday afternoon at closing."

And why is that your fault? it shouldn't. If the product is bad, they should give you a discount on the payments.

17th Nov 2006, 12:24

Don't believe "12 Fords we've owned in the past 30 years none has ever required a repair"

22nd Jul 2009, 09:56

I have a 2004 Sante Fe. I have not had any major problems with the car.. We actually have over 120,000 miles on the vehicle.. It's been strong, but I have encountered 2 things this past year that my shop cannot figure out nor can we.

If you leave the vehicle running while filling up, it starts to putter and shuts down. OR if you turn it off prior to the pump it has a very hard time starting??? #2 is when you go through a large puddle or some water.. The vehicle seems as if it's going to stall & the steering becomes very ridged.. then snaps out of it???

Any clues?