Checklist for buying a used Elantra Options

[silet]

The reflash the ECU with corrected software... it'a patch and applies to 01 through 03 models.

[ewang]

any known major issues with the 04's? Because I'm thinking of getting an 04'

[elantragt]

Based on these charts at MSN Autos, the Elantra overall is a very reliable car and a good value used:

Elantra Reliability

--------------------------

Here's another good source of reviews of the car and a lot of the reviews talk about problems areas:

http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Hyundai_Elantra.html

The review below is not typical but it shows that there is some valuable insight in these reviews:

The moment I drove the new car home, the factory sunroof was rattling really badly. Three dealerships could not repair it; finally one figured it out and had to rip the whole roof apart to fix it.

Also from the start the car had several annoying ticks or rattles in the door and other general body areas which with age seem to have resolved themselved.

Emergency brake rotted/froze after 1 winter. Back wheel was smoking all the time, burning the brake pad down to the metal. Again, Three dealerships and 7 visits later, they finally figured it out after replacing a master cylinder, pads, and several other useless brake parts, because they were all guessing and couldn't diagnose such a simple fix.

A/C condenser went after 1 year of ownership and I had to pay $450 to replace it; It was not covered under warranty because they said it could have been caused from a rock in the road puncturing it, though no one can be sure.

General comments?
Now that I've had the car 2 1/2 years, I am finally feeling like it's grown into itself and the issues are gone for the moment. I haven't had any repairs in about a year. Seems like the first year it had way too many problems.

In summary, all of my issues would not have been as frustrating had Hyundai service technicians been better diagnosticians to begin with.

All dealerships in my area (Boston) are horrible. Just horrible. That's the only downside on the Hyundais in general. Poor service from the dealerships, very untrained techs and they do a lot of guessing.

[Bobzilla]

I remember their reliability was the reason I bought mine. Jay will concur, the 01-03 XD's were the best car made by Hyundai during that time span.

[winc]

With the exception of an ongoing problem with vibrations from tire balance, my 02 EGT 5dr 5spd ABS has had VERY few issues. Warranty repaired the following issues:
--Noisy fuel pump (could hear low variable whirring at all times with engine running, even over normal radio volume at highway speeds, noise gone since pump replaced).
--Black vinyl door window frame applique (pinches/binds in warm weather from window going up & down... advice: put an adhesive behind vertical weatherstrip after tape is replaced, secures weatherstrip to prevent reoccurence).
--Shift boot bubbled up, vinyl delaminating/coming off backing.
Headlight lenses were cloudy/dirty looking... dealer replaced them.

Aside from warranty work, everything has been mostly maintenance-related:
--Replaced timing belt/tensioners, all 3 drive belts (around $300 at dealer).
--Both tie rod ends (loose at 75k), alignments, tires, wiper blades.
--Tune up (plugs/wires)
--Warped brake rotors (happened after tire rotation, doubt the shop torqued lugs)

Quirks (?) of note... I've noticed higher grade fuels actually reduce performance, but also some tanks of 87 octane vary. If you find a gas station that seems to run great, stick with it... several times I've had tanks of gas that has very poor low-end grunt, especially trying to start out in 1st from a stop, goes away on next refueling. (Have also had strange "no-go" on cold start... idles fine but on take-off, hit the throttle and won't rev at all for a second or two... rarely happens but might be linked to same gas situation) My ECU has not had the re-flash.

I'm at 81k currently. Original rear brake pads (10% remaining), replaced fronts prematurely at 65k (had over 50% remaining) only because rotors replaced due to warpage <my rotors came off easily, but I'm in warmer climate... I still applied anti-seize to lugs and rotors>. No signs of any leaks or seepage from engine/trans/struts, everything is surprisingly clean and dry.

With regular maintenance, my car has held up very well. I do oil changes every 3500-4000 miles, tire rotations every other oil change. Even if I take it to a reputable shop, EVERY time the wheels have been removed, I retorque the lugs when I get the car home (new front rotors warped 5k later, again tires just rotated... better safe than sorry).

[elantragt]

I think it's about time some of our members with the HD chime in about their cars!

[timby]

I've got 2 Elantra's an 05 and 06. Like many others I have a few problems that make me scratch my head such as the following:

Needing to pay a lot to get 30,000 mileage checkup.

Has anyone reasoned out why you have to remove the tail light assemble to change a burnt out bulb (someone wasn't thinking too clearly on that one).

Visor's falling out.

Both sets of michelin tires wore out less than 13000 miles.

Why they decided to do what they did with the recirculating gasses into the intake (leaves a lot of oil in the intake).

Otherwise, we get good mileage and and a fairly reliable vehicle. So I would recommend the 05's and not worry too much about warranty as it's lost when the original owner sells.

Just my 2 cents ...

[Tom06]

30k mile service, I'm thinking your dealer might have sold you unnecessary services. You only need to do what's in the manual.

Tires, I'm thinking a bad alignment. The tires are usually long lasting, I only replaced them at 25k because their grip in the rain was terrible; there was plenty of tread left.

[sarge]

Has anyone reasoned out why you have to remove the tail light assemble to change a burnt out bulb (someone wasn't thinking too clearly on that one).

Really? that does seem odd - I'm guessing you have sedans, cause I didn't have to remove the housing for my hatchback when I hooked up my trailer lights(which are hooked right by the bulb)

Both sets of michelin tires wore out less than 13000 miles.

Don't think I heard much good about those tires...