1999 Hyundai Tiburon from North America

Summary:

The car is a total disappointment

Faults:

My car had to be taken in to the service center at 19,000 miles. The car was jumping out of gear. I would be driving at speeds up to 70 miles per hour and the car would suddenly drop to a lower gear. Terrifying. The service technician said the problem was a bad speed sensor and it needed to be replaced. I had to have a rental car for a couple of days. I picked up my car and on the way home from the service center my car wouldn't change gears, motor sounded like I had it in neutral. I had a rental car for yet another 2 days. They replaced the speed sensor again and I was on my way. I believe it was a week later-I will have to check my stack of paperwork to be sure on the date-that I was back at the service again. This time they decided that the transmission would have to be replaced. Another rental for a week while the transmission comes in. It has been 45,000 miles since then and I am having the same problem. Back to the service we go. The transmission was replaced 4 days ago. Today I almost didn't make it to work. Same problem car will not change gears at correct speeds, it can't read what gear it's in, and jumps in and out randomly. The service center is closed over the weekend, so I will be without my car again. My appointment is this Monday and I am at a lose of what to even say. My car has never ran properly. The paint is flaking in areas. The buttons on the radio have always stuck. The only thing I can depend on is that something will always be wrong with this car.

General Comments:

The car is dangerous and unreliable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th July, 2003

4th May 2005, 16:42

Do you have an Automatic or Manual Tranny? Is it possible that this problem may only be for the auto's?

26th Mar 2008, 19:46

It seems that there are a lot of people who have problems with the auto tranny. I own a 98 FX, standard, it needed a little work on the tranny, but not too bad. I'm guessing the person who owned it before was horrible at driving stick LOL. Standard tranny's are cheaper to buy and fix than an automatic. We have owned 3 Tibs, and other than my 98, the 97 never had tranny problems, and so far the 2000 hasn't.

Stacey

1999 Hyundai Tiburon FX 2.0L DOHC 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

A high performance bargain

Faults:

No warning bell for headlights has led too many a needed recharges of the battery.

My foot gets caught often underneath the dash while leaving the vehicle (worried it will rip off some day (the dash not my foot) ).

Engine noise when not using premium fuel.

General Comments:

I'm very happy with the car. I wish it was a little taller (I'm 6'2). But I can fit in it without any major discomfort. It performs great and handles like a charm. But performance drops a lot around 97 thousand K's. But its recommended you get the timing belt fixed then anyways and alls well.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th May, 2003

1999 Hyundai Tiburon from North America

Summary:

Well worth the money

Faults:

I've had this car since March of 99 and I haven't had, but a few small problems with it. Right now I have the service engine light on steady and when I move it blinks. I'm not quite sure whats wrong with it... supposedly it was fixed last month, but the problem came up again. The car seems to sputter when you press on the gas. Actually if anyone's had any similar problems to this I'd be curious to know and if you've rectified the problem.

General Comments:

This car for me has been very low maintenance up to this point. I would recommend the Tiburon to anyone that doesn't want to spend too much money, but still have a flashy ride.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th March, 2003

19th Nov 2003, 19:10

Steven, did you ever find a fix to your problem? I am having the same exact problem, so I took it to the dealer, and he told me to get a tune-up. I had my husband change the spark plugs and the fuel filter, but I still have the check engine light on. It's usually steady when I'm at a stop sign and it flashes when I'm driving.

24th Mar 2004, 09:25

Have you replaced the plug wires? We have an Accent with the 1.6L DOHC engine that did the same thing (cylinder miss w/flashing check eng). The plugs sit between the cams. The plug wires have a connector that is about 6 inches long, and they go down in the head, where they are surrounded by metal. The SLIGHTEST imperfection in the plug wire will cause the cylinder to miss (the price of a high performance cylinder head configuration). Even though the wires look OK, replace them.

27th Mar 2005, 11:54

I have had a similar problem with my 99 Tiburon. The engine light would not go out. It took me a while, but I finally found out what was causing it. The first problem was my 02 sensor, along with my flex pipe. The second time was my Throttle Acceleration sensor. This was causing my car to jump and shake while I was driving it.