1998 Hyundai Sonata GSL from North America
Summary:
The worst migraine I've ever had!
Faults:
The door latch on the driver's door and the passenger door have broken.
The sunroof has broken.
A mechanic at the dealership broke the engine block while trying to remove the engine cover (after stripping the bolts), in order to change the belts. Needless to say, the engine was replaced, not at the expense of the dealership, but under the extended warranty. We have since stopped having the vehicle serviced at Hyundai dealerships.
General Comments:
I am trying to initiate a safety recall on the PLASTIC door latches installed on the Sonata and most Hyundai models. The plastic latches break easily, preventing the door from opening from either the inside or outside -- an obvious safety concern. The replacement part is only $97, but the task of repairing the door is labor intensive, because the internal mechanisms for the door latch cannot be accessed when the door is closed! In order to fix our doors, the dealership mechanic had to cut the interior surface of the door!
If you have had a door latch on your Hyundai break, please file a complaint with NHTSA, the government board that governs vehicle safety recalls -- http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 12th August, 2003
21st Jul 2004, 18:45
We also have a broken door handle that was repaired once. The car is a 95 accent. Recently the wind shield wipers died in a rain storm and the sensor is about to be replaced.
8th Jul 2005, 15:11
I have 98 sonata gls that had a door problem. The problem was a $.50 spring about a half inch long that rusted out making the handle inoperative. Spring is behind door panel and if hyundai used a stainless spring there would be problem, but what the hell that would have cost another nickle. After replacing passenger side went the extra bit to check driver side and found that spring about to rot through. The fix takes about half an hour, feel sorry for those who shelled out big bucks to the dealer. Filed a complaint with NTSB, but UNTIL SOMEONE GETS TRAPPED AND DIES NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.
15th Jul 2004, 13:10
I had the same problem with opening the doors from inside. I had to change one of the handles, but I never had a problem after that. One more thing. You don't have to cut anything. This is weird. Just remove the door panel and whatever you have to do in order to fix the problem. The mechanic that worked on your didn't have a clue what he was doing.