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Hyundai Elantra 5-door

4930 messages,  Last post on Feb 19, 2012 at 12:53 PM

You are in the Hyundai Elantra Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Elantra, Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 67 of 494

#657 of 4930 smells by focusmatt2

Jul 26, 2001 (7:39 am)

Apparently Hyundai has issues with smelly interiors and smelly A/C's. I was reading a review of the Elantra over in the UK and they said they noticed a "Saab-like fishy smell enimating from the HVAC" and that the leather smelled noxious.
 
Before I bought my Focus, I test drove an Elantra sedan back when that was all that was available, and it seemed nice enough, but I noticed some things, and I'm wondering if they carry over on the Elantra GT:
 
1. entering the freeway onramp, I noticed that little rocks and debris hitting the lower half of the car resonated unpleasantly-- a lot of thunks and thuds. I took a Focus and a Golf down the same onramp and didn't notice the sounds (on the same day), so i know it wasn't due to paving or some other phenomenon. It was very noticeable how hollow-sounding these thuds were.
 
2. The handling and steering were mushy; the automatic was smooth shifting but the manual transmission felt like a 1992 Saturn or something, notchy as can be. The steering was limp and not heavy weighted like the Focus.
 
3. Those fake plastic wheel covers were about the grossest things i've seen. Ordering alloys is difficult due to its placement in one of those option packages.
 
If those conditions were any different, I would have picked the Elantra over the Focus. But, 7 months have passed. I love my Focus to death, it's more european than most VW's in terms of its handling and ride and steering manners, but my rotors are warped, my balance is still off after several attempts to fix it, etc. When it came down to it, the Hyundai dealer acted like I was trying to rob the bank when I asked for an Elantra GLS with Option 4 I believe? Automatic, Sunroof, CD player, etc. for drive-out. So, basically, 14,300. I went to the Ford dealer, and they gave me a ZX3 with a faster engine, 16" alloys, CD player, automatic, power everything, for 14,300.
 
But I'll consider the GT because I need 5 doors and can get leather and alloys.

#658 of 4930 focusmatt2 by silver_bullet

Jul 26, 2001 (8:04 am)

Stepping from our ZX3 into the GT, we noticed the same thing - the Elantra doesn't have the ride quality or steering feel of the Focus, but Hyundai sure gives you a lot of "toys" for the price... take your pick. I also noticed the leather smell - an hour after driving the demo, my clothes still reeked of leather, and it wasn't a pleasant smell. I'd take a nice, simple, sturdy cloth interior any day - or perforated leatherette, like Audi offers on the A4.
 
Warped rotors? Join the club. Just bite the bullet and get some higher quality aftermarket rotors from EBC or Brembo, and you'll solve that problem.

#659 of 4930 Elantra GT Update by compensate

Jul 26, 2001 (8:13 am)

OK. I'm now at 960 miles after 9 days of ownership of my GT 5-speed with moonroof.
 
So far, here is my synopsis:
 
(1) I don't notice the bad-smelling A/C stuff other people have talked about. Then again, my sinuses are not the best in the world. . .
 
(2) The CD/sound system, in my opinion, is pretty awesome.
 
(3) The A/C get cold faster than any other car I have ever owned.
 
(4) The car is beginning to pull VERY slightly to the left. I've checked all tire pressure and all were set to about 31psi by dealer (so, no overinflation for me). I'll wait before I make a trip to the dealer to have it fixed (probably minor mis-alignment issue).
 
(5) The only real bothersome problem I am having is that when I take a fairly sharp curve to the right, I hear an intermittent clicking sound from the front left wheel well area. This sound doesn't happen in right turns/curves, only when turning to the left. I don't know if this is a front-end/suspension issue or what. I may wait to get it checked. I wonder if this might be realted to the slight mis-alignment issue, since th car pulls slightly to the left and this clicking sound only happens when I make sharp left turns. Strange one... Anyone have any ideas?
 
Overall, this is a great car for the money.
 
focusmatt2:
 
I'd seriously look at the Elantra GT. I myself traded in my 1998 Escort Wagon and was pretty "upside-down" with respect to payoff on the Escort. My Hyundai dealer worked with me on increasing the selling price on the GT to compensate for the negative equity in my trade.
 
To answer your questions:
(1) I never noticed anything like this with my GT.
(2) The handling and steering might still be considered a little soft, but this simply makes the car more comfortable on long trips - better than the stiff sport-economy ride in my wife's 1999 Protege ES for sure. There is less road feedback to the driver, but the car still corners and handles very well, in my opinion.
(3) No wheel covers on the GT! Alloys are standard and not part of a package on the GT.
 
Good luck!

#660 of 4930 compensate - clicking sound by silver_bullet

Jul 26, 2001 (8:54 am)

I think the two conditions (noise and pull) might be related, but only an inspection will tell. Is the clicking mostly noticeable only at low speeds? If so, you might have a damaged or defective CV joint. I'd also suggest checking all the lug nuts with a torque wrench to make sure you don't have a loose wheel - I've seen it happen on new cars. Other than that, I'd snoop around to see if there is a piece of trim or wheel well lining getting in the way during turns. Good luck!

#661 of 4930 Thanks silver_bullet by compensate

Jul 26, 2001 (11:26 am)

Boy, a defective CV after only 900 miles would be a bummer. I think I'll suggest that as a possibility to the dealer. They darn well better buy the whole left-side axle and replace it, as I don't trust the idea of them trying to rebuild one of the CV joints.
 
We'll see! Thanks for your comments.

#662 of 4930 reading some more about the Elantra by focusmatt2

Jul 26, 2001 (12:13 pm)

I was reading a BBC Top Gear article about the new Elantra... before this generation model it was called the "Lantra". Apparently there is a 1.8 engine offered that's far better than the 2.0. It has less horsepower, but the gear ratios are better. That's what i dislike about the elantra.
 
And I know the handling can be foresaken, but people don't believe me when I tell them how great the handling is on the Focus. The ZX3 it's different than the sedan, actually, it has a sportier suspension and 16" tires (on my version). They're Z-rated tires and I've managed to turn 90 degrees left at 40 mph and still stay on the pavement. That's beemer territory.
 
But I'd be willing to foresake that at the right price. I have seen a few used Sonatas for sale with V6, with about 20K on the clock. I'd much prefer that when it comes down to it...I've driven the Sonata and it is a very wonderful well-screwed car.

#663 of 4930 re: clicking noise/gas mileage by coastroad

Jul 26, 2001 (3:14 pm)

I bought a pewter 5-sp Elantra GT a month ago, and have managed to accumulate 2000 miles. My commute is 80% freeway, and I recorded my first three fill-ups at 27.5 mpg, 30.0 mpg, and 34.5 mpg., in that order. The car now seems to be consistent at 33-34 mpg for my commute.
 
For those of you who have heard a persistent clicking noise at low speed (sounds like it could be behind the dash), it was the right, front strut tower bearing in my car. The dealer was aware of this problem and reassembled the bearing assembly, which usually fixes the problem. In my case, it lessened the noise, but it comes and goes. the dealer said their fix from now on would be to replace the bearing and they have ordered the parts.
 
I changed my own oil at 2000 miles with Mobil 1 synthetic. I am curious to see if there is any affect on mpg. The oil change was easy - everything accessible.
 
I am use to luxury cars, which is an unfair comparison to the GT, However I believe the Elantra was definitely worth the money and a good commuter car - fun, well equipped, and fairly quiet for a compact.

#664 of 4930 Just joined by pgh_elantra_gt

Jul 26, 2001 (8:26 pm)

Just joined the club. I have a pewter GT with auto trans, moonroof, floor mats and mud guards. I started to read this club's messages from the beginning and haven't finished yet, so I hope I am not repeating anything. I have a rattle at the front of the sunroof, pushing up on the headliner stops it. Anybody else have this problem? If so, how can I fix it myself (my dealer is about 1 hour away from where I live)? Also , I bought an air deflector from the parts department where I bought my car from, but I can't get it to fit. Only the j hook on one side will fit, the other side is too far away from where it should be. I noticed the deflector is the same width as the moonroof itself, on other cars with the same kind of deflector, it is alot wider than the moonroof. Does the GT have a bigger (wider) moonroof than the GLS? Anybody have a GT with a factory deflector and is it alot wider than the moonroof? Sorry for the long read and all the questions. I love my GT and couldn't wait to buy it. It amazes me every time I drive it, excellent value and so many features. Thanks.

#665 of 4930 To coastroad & pgh_elantra... by therhino

Jul 26, 2001 (9:26 pm)

You both got the color GT I wanted!...I live in Florida and my only choices were two black ones and one cranberry. I'm starting to like the cranberry in a way, I just hope it holds up better than red usually does. I still haven't seen any cobalt blue ones around, or any other GT's on the road for that matter.
   I have the moonroof too, but no deflector so can't answer that question,( no rattles either ).
   By the way, to protect my alloy wheels from being stolen I checked out getting locking lug nuts from Hyundai (about $25 for four), then found a set at Discount Auto Parts for $10. To save anyone the trouble, they are 12mm x 1.50 acorn shaped (Gorilla Guard # 61631N)
   Take it easy, thanks to silver_bullet for the answer to the AC dilemma...

#666 of 4930 Hyundai Parts Not Fitting by compensate

Jul 27, 2001 (5:57 am)

That was an interesting comment about the sunroof wind deflector not seeming to fit properly, as I have had a similar problem with my mud flaps. I tried to install one of the rear-wheel mud flaps (directions were hard to follow and the photograph looked like a 10th generation photocopy). There were only 3 holes per mudflap, but I couldn't get all three to line-up at once. One of the holes did not seem to be in the right place. I called the dealer and they verified the proper part number. The dealer also said that the part number for mud flaps was the same for both the GT and GLS. That made me wonder if the GT wheel-well is actually slightly different, but they didn't catch it.
 
Anyone else had problems with the mud flaps (and the wind deflector)?
 
Thanks!

Messages Page 67 of 494

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