1997 Hyundai Tiburon FX 2.0 Twin Cam from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A very good looking sporty car for a not very sporty price

Faults:

My front head lights go out every 3 weeks or so. They seem to alternate each time.

The gearbox is a little rough, but fine most of the time. Sometimes, 1st and Reverse are impossible to get in.

The ride is fairly smooth, however the engine hums very loudly even after you've settled at a constant speed (low or high).

General Comments:

The car is very nice looking and definitely turns heads. Looks fantatasic with 16 inch alloy rims, side skirts and a rear spoiler. Even better if you lower it (I haven't lowered mine).

The car is very very reliable, the previous owner of the car took great care of it and didn't run into any problems and I am experiencing the same reliability. I service it every 5000 Ks and change the Oil every 10000 Ks. If you look after your car, she'll look after you.

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

Review Date: 20th March, 2003

1997 Hyundai Tiburon from North America

Summary:

An inexpensive sporty feeling car with minor problems

Faults:

The check engine light started coming on a month or two after I purchased the car from someone else. At the time of the purchase, the car ran very nicely, no power problems or even any minor issues (except paint, but it's not bad).

When the check engine light came on, there was no noticeable performance problems. After reading newsgroups and the manual, it seems like the Oxygen Sensor is to blame... so I waited. After a month or two with the check engine light on, problems began to grow with the engine... specifically loss of power when climbing hills and when accelerating. It feels like a compression problem.

Right now it's in the shop, and they want to charge me $70 just to have their computer talk to the car's computer. I'll update after I find out more, but I'm curious if anyone else had similar problems?

General Comments:

Note: I know it was dumb of me not to take the car in when the check engine light came on -- so comments to that end are pointless.

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

Review Date: 30th September, 2002

30th Mar 2005, 07:12

Maybe it is just a sensor.

15th Nov 2005, 22:24

The same thing happened to me after I bought mine from someone else, I had the oxygen sensor replaced right away, if you get it replaced use one that will work for all cars, not the special made part, it costs twice what the regular part does.

1997 Hyundai Tiburon FX 2.0 from South Africa

Summary:

Tiburon - excellent value for money

Faults:

I have had no problems with this beautiful car. Everything has and still works like a dream.

General Comments:

I love my Tiburon. It has decent amount of power and handles excellently. I have owned it for 4 years and I intend on keeping it for ever. I always get comments on how sexy the car is.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd April, 2002

20th Feb 2007, 06:52

Excellent review, in South Africa, Tiburon owners have troublefree motoring, with these cars. The Tibs that come in for servicing at Hyundai has very high mileage, but they run like new.

Well done Hyundai SA.

In reply to 20th Feb 2007, 06:52

19th Nov 2012, 02:13

I have the Tiburon 2.0L FX, and I purchased it with 100k on the clock. 7 years later, with almost 300k on mileage counter, she still performs beautifully; that's with regular service intervals every 15k. I did have a few minor problems with her since I got it, but like any used vehicle, you must expect that. The only mechanical problems I encountered were:

1. The garage I purchased it from changed the radiator, never had cooling problems ever since, even with the long distances I cover regularly.

2. I changed handbrake cables last year after many years of pleasant motoring.

3. I changed the driver window mechanism 2 years ago; a simple installation that took me about an hour. The part itself wasn't expensive.

4. Clutch replaced after 4 years (put in a Valeo kit), very soft clutch.

5. Only mechanical breakdown I had was 6 months ago, I ran a bearing in the gearbox, which broke the crown wheel and mainshaft pinion. Sent it to the transmission guys, they stripped down the gearbox and replaced all parts. Had to put in another clutch, but she drives even smoother now.

What I learnt from this lesson is always use the correct lubricants in both the engine and gearbox. The repair on the gearbox was far cheaper than most cars would cost.

Other than the above, I still enjoy driving her, and it's very cheap to maintain from insurance to parts, and not forgetting very fuel efficient, and you've still got an adequate amount of power with a 2.0L motor.

Yes, and it still looks very good on the road; people can't stop looking at it.