Hyundai Azera/Sonata Coolant Contamination Problem

I have read your reply and a few items jump to the forefront.
1 Korean buyers pay more..yes home country buyers frequently pay more. There are quite a few European brands whose vehicles sell for more in the home market due to taxes, more standard features, currency exchange differences etc etc.
2. You would expect parts to last for some time. Well, that radiator filler neck will last for one hell of a long time and still be functional with or without the black paint. It will be the last part on the radiator to fail.
3. A ten year car will probably NOT have that nice green coolant and probably WILL have more debris in the system due to circulation as I previously said. This is,in part, why manufacturers state the coolant should be changed every X amount of years or X amount of time. Check your owners manual to see what the time frame is for your Sonata and change it on schedule. If the state of your coolant bothers you (although it shouldn't if that photo is of your actual car) have it changed.
4. I cannot help what Hyundai decides is a proper warranty in Korea OR the USA. I CAN understand why it is longer in the USA however. Hyundai wanted to shed their previous poor reputation for building unreliable cars in the early days and adding a long warranty was one part of their strategy..actually building better cars was another.
5.finally, someone has to be first and buyers in the home market get new releases first (usually). Again nothing new here but thank you Korean buyers for finding all the bugs so we don't have to.

Replies to this message:

acelink (May 31, 2007 5:42 am)
- dborth (Jun 01, 2007 1:56 am)

#13 of 17 Re: peeling ?? [targettuning] by acelink

May 31, 2007 (5:42 am)

Replying to: targettuning (May 29, 2007 7:01 am)

Guess what? I received a phone call from Hyundai yesterday. Told me to come in for a service on June 4th.
What they will do, they won't tell me. Told me to leave the car in the morning and pick it up late afternoon. Guess something is wrong with the coolant or whatever afterall. Also, similar service notices have been sent to Azera forum members in Korea but no other info. is given by Hyundai as of this date.

And checking for the service interval for the coolant, it is stated: The first coolant change should be performed at 5 years or 62,500 miles, whichever comes first. Thanks god, I checked the coolant recently. Had I performed the coolant service according to whats written in the manual, my warranty would have expired.

Also, you should see how BMW and other European brands price their cars in Korea before the Korean taxes are levied. Quite outrageous pricing indeed. As much as I would like to believe that Korean buyers enjoy more standard features, I can assure you that you are not missing much. Most notable feature missing from Azera sold in the States is the navigation system offered in Korea. In Korea, this is a pricey option costing around $3,000.

Summing up, we may have more gadgets to fool around, but they aren't free. Every one of them is being paid for. However, I can't help but notice that side airbags are standard safety equipments offered by Hyundai in the States. In Korea, if you want the side airbags, you can only get them by purchasing the most expensive trim level. The side airbags aren't even offered as an option on lesser models. Airbags save lives. I would like to hear Hyundai executives explain why the side airbags is not offered even as an option in Korea. I guess we, Koreans are tough as nails and therefore more resilient to side impacts than American consumers.

Replies to this message:

dborth (Jun 01, 2007 1:56 am)

#14 of 17 Re: peeling ?? [acelink] by dborth

Jun 01, 2007 (1:56 am)

Replying to: acelink (May 31, 2007 5:42 am)

RE 13: Airbags save lives. I would like to hear Hyundai executives explain why the side airbags is not offered even as an option in Korea. I guess we, Koreans are tough as nails and therefore more resilient to side impacts than American consumers.

Lee Iacocca early 1960's "Americans don't want seat belts"
Lee Iacocca early 1980's "Americans don't want airbags"

#15 of 17 Radiator and Power Handle Component replaced FOC by acelink

Jul 18, 2007 (8:44 pm)

On June 4th, Hyundai replaced the radiator and power handle component FOC on my car. Regarding the coolant contamination, they say it was due to contaminated(?) water supply at one of their plants in Korea. I will check the coolant again on a later date to see everything is ok.

As for the power handle component change, it was making mosquito sound at low speed manuevers. They greased it previously, which didn't last. This time, they had an entire lower part replaced which solved my problem for good. An added bonus that came with the new component is that the steering is now firmer at high speed driving,
making the car feel more secure.

For now, I am satisfied with the fixes. I hope I don't have to waste my time fixing what Hyundai should have done right in the first place.

#16 of 17 Azera 06 airconditioning not working by lynn97

Jun 04, 2009 (12:44 pm)

My husband and I recently purchased an 06 Azera from a local dealer.
We found that the A/C was not working while we were driving home.
The dealer cant get the car in for service for almost a week. There is also
a whining noise coming from the engine. Maybe a compressor perhaps?

Replies to this message:

richardcot (Jun 04, 2009 4:33 pm)

#17 of 17 Re: Azera 06 airconditioning not working [lynn97] by richardcot

Jun 04, 2009 (4:33 pm)

Replying to: lynn97 (Jun 04, 2009 12:44 pm)

A whining noise could indicate a bad bearing, possibly in one of the components connected to the serpentine belt.

« Previous
1
2
Next »
Last

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Forum Tools

Search Forums

Enter Keyword(s):

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle

Browse by Board

Browse by Topic

View All Topics

Learn More, Do More

Edmunds Community

Explore Edmunds