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Sedans Hyundai Sonata Hyundai Sonata 2006-2007
7816 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 2:02 PM
You are in the Hyundai Sonata Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: duke16 (Sep 19, 2009 2:10 pm)
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Hello. I'm looking to buy my first Hyundai and I would like some advice. I found an one-owner 2006 Sonata V6 with 57,000 miles. The car is in good visual shape but I will be frank, I'm a little bit skeptical about reliability and found mixed reviews when searching general forums. I believe Hyundai improved a lot and I'm almost ready to buy it, the price is good (but not extremely cheap). What should I look for on the car ? I will do a 2nd test drive tomorrow. I've heard suspension and transmission problems from some forums, but it appears that those comments were from people that did not own the car and only "heard" it from a friend of a friend or had the car as a rental. I don't want a car payment, that's why I'm buying used, but I also don't want to spend $3,000 on a new transmission. Your comments are greatly appreciated. I really liked the car and all the features it has, but I'm not sure if I will become a Hyundai owner. Can you help ? 
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Replying to: 1st_hyundai (Oct 04, 2009 10:45 am) At 57,000 miles, there are some components such as brakes, tires, and battery that could be nearing the end of their useful lives. Also the car will be due soon for a major servicing, at 60k miles. Since it's a one-owner, are service records available? If not, that is a red flag. If you are buying from a dealer, ask if you can talk with the first owner. You should try to find out if any repairs have been made already, e.g. new brakes and tires, and if transmission fluid has ever been replaced and if regular oil changes were done. Be sure to get a Carfax report (from seller if possible, so they pay for it), which can spot things like major accidents. But it's not foolproof. Be sure to drive the car over all kinds of road surfaces, including rough roads, railroad tracks, speed bumps etc. And listen closely for unusual suspension noise, e.g. a "clank" instead of just a normal noise of the shocks compressing. Of course, check the operation of ALL features. The good news is, since you are the 2nd owner, you would have at least 3,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper warranty left, in case a problem pops up right away. |
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Replying to: stoutt66 (Oct 04, 2009 10:25 am) |
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Replying to: 1st_hyundai (Oct 04, 2009 10:45 am)
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Replying to: curtr (Oct 10, 2009 5:52 pm) 1 blow out while car sitting in driveway 1 flat within 2 weeks of the blowout rear window replaced ( antennae/defroster defective) front power door locks replaced, now rear door locks not working drivers visor repaired (loose and falls down) front drivers headlight bulb replaced-it is a pain to access took almost 1/2 hr L rear and 3rd brake lights out car acts as if in neutral after accelerating from a stop, had to coast to the side of the road and repeatedly try and restart cupholder insert came out, lodged down side of flap and could not open radio volume knob doesn't work passenger visor light not working drivers "cheater" handle pulled out of ceiling glove compartment door pins came out, door drops down drivers outside mirror control not working leaky struts warranty only covers major issues so all these hardware issues would be my expense, plus no loaner coverage and the closest dealer is 30 miles away. plus other design issues I wouldn't necessarily think of until experienced, such as major noise when windows rolled down, air noise is extreme, cannot hear rear speakers have limited sound mp3 display too large, should scroll limited upholstery color selection, dark would show less dirt dash control console has poor lighting, cannot brighten during the day continually replacing cabin air filter or inside gets humid and foggy cd's skip only on this player poor vent directional design for front, rear passengers don't get any air windows seem cheap, sounds are heard thru the glass as if it is really thin unable to use seat or dash covers for protection due to airbags per mfr. |
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Replying to: jhopkins1 (Oct 11, 2009 12:38 pm) If you are finding you have to replace the cabin air filter more than once a year or so, you might just try removing it. My Elantras had/have a place for such a filter, but it was not included in the cars when I bought them and I've never missed it. As for not being able to use seat or dash covers, this is true for any modern car that has SRS airbags in the dash and seats. You might be able to find some covers that are specially designed for a Sonata, and have allowance for airbags, but the dealer was probably playing it safe by recommending you don't use seat or dash covers, due to the potential for liability.
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Replying to: backy (Oct 11, 2009 3:12 pm)
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Replying to: duke16 (Oct 20, 2009 1:55 pm) p.s. please take off Caps Lock. |
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Replying to: jhopkins1 (Oct 11, 2009 12:38 pm) 1. tires..at 30K miles they should be at least 1/2 to 2/3rds worn and flats are not unusual (nails, screws, road trash etc) The blow out? who knows. 2. rear window replacement. Many people unknowingly place items on the rear package shelf that scratch the rather fragile antenna and rear defrost grids. This also happens when removing decals inside the window and even if not careful cleaning the inside glass. These are conductive paint sprayed on over a template. 3. burned out bulbs..ah show me any car that has infinite bulb life. not an issue. 4. roof mounted "assist handle" you must really put a lot of your weight on it to pull free from the roof. They are grab handles mainly used to keep passengers from being thrown about during spirited cornering and frankly I don't know why the driver has one since during that spirited driving he/she should have both hands on the wheel. I don't believe they are to be used as a body hoist to lever in and out of the car. 5. I will concede power equipment controls i.e. window, lock, mirror, seat will randomly fail. The same for door lock actuators, window motors. It happens. 6. Cup insert came out??? OK! 7. Visors...again OK failed, fixed. 8. glove box broke? boy you are hard on some things e.g. visors..assist handle...glove box. These are things I have NEVER repaired or had replaced ever on any car I owned at any mileage. 9. leaking struts..again not unusual since they are "wear-out items" and depending on how bad the roads are where you drive "sooner than later" comes to mind but in any case a little side trip: I bought a 2006 Honda Civic new and BOTH rear shocks leaked out and needed replaced by 4,000 miles. The right side was thought to have been dry long before the 4K when they were replaced. The rest of the stuff is personal dislikes and "I woulda done it different if I designed the thing" So, in conclusion your tires went flat, your bulbs burned out, you had some minor issues with locks and visors and glovebox door and power mirror. Boy there probably are lots of people who wish that was all the problems they had with their car. I notice no mechanical issues..no engine, no transmission (except for the acting as if were in neutral thing). By the way what was wrong there? No brake issues either. Not too shabby I'd say
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