Elantra Touring

Thinking of getting an Elantra Touring only because I think it's the nicest looking of that segment. Anyone here have one? It's probably too new for any longevity reports but I'll take any feedback. Thanks!

We bought my ex (not ex at the time, mind you) a brand new 2000 elantra wagon with automatic. She finally totalled it about a year ago. It was a good deal for a new car that (at the time) cost $12,000. Good warranty and all that. I think by the end the transmission was acting a bit wonky (I think it was the connector at the VSS...it had happened before) and it used a little oil between changes.

I know it has changed some since then, but given the trend of Korean cars, I can't imagine the new one would be worse than the 2000 model we had.

Clem

I know a few family and friends with newer Hyundai products and they're all pretty good. A friend has a 120k mile Sonata and the only issue so far is a bad fuel level sender, it feels and drives almost like a Honda of similar vintage. If you want a car to keep for a while avoid the automatic and I think you'll be ok.

Oh yeah...and hers had over 100k on it when she wrecked it. I never changed the Timing belt on it (embarrassed face).

Several years ago, I bought a used (program car) 2000 Elantra. 4-cyl/AT. Wife drove it for about a year then handed it down to oldest daughter. She didn't like the car and tried to trash it. I changed the oil in it once and it came out in chunks, figured out that it had almost 10,000 miles on the oil. Still ran great. Had over 100,000 miles on it when my daughter traded it in on a 04 Hyundai Tiburon GT that she's still driving. How well the Elantra took her abuse was a factor in why she bought another Hyundai. My Korean wife is currently driving a fully loaded 2010 Hyundai Sonata Limited V6. She picked it out and loves it. My Korean wife generally don't care to much for Korean products, the quality wasn't as good when she lived in Korea. She's been in the states almost 30 years now.

I like the looks of these.
I have not driven one but to me they look to be much like the Kia Soul but without the poloraizing looks.

Also, there is now the Kia Forte 5 door. http://www.kia.com/#/forte-5-door/explore/
Similar but shorter.

The Touring is the same basic drivetrain they've been using since 2001. Very durable, very easyto work on, very easy to maintain. Nothing fancy, but good reliable transportation.

I think the Elantra touring is very stylish. I drove by the local dealer & didn't even know what it was. I ended up going online to see what this new car Hyundai made was. I was suprised to see it was an Elantra.

They sure can make sharp looking cars now.

She didn't like the car and tried to trash it.

If I was her father I probably would have trashed her after that...

Anywho, the Elantra Touring is a swell vehicle, and (IMO) is a very sharp looking car! Its either one of those or a Fiesta for my mom.

Damn! That little Forte 5 door is a clean looking little car! Sub 3,000 lbs too!

I have over 2000 miles on my Hyundai and it still runs like new. I haven't even had to change the oil or nothing. Excellent reliable car.

Honestly, i really like the older Elantra Touring body style, and the motor has a pretty darn good reputation. I bought a lot of stuff off a local guy who was parting out his turbo setup, and i was very impressed with what he told me about it.

My fiance has a 2008 Elantra, and it's had its share of issues. Mechanically, the motor and tranny are rock solid, but other stuff has been trouble.

The brakes have squealed ever since I last did them about 10 months ago, and I've taken them all apart and put them back together a few times, lubricating everything, de-glazing the pads/rotors, and checking clearances and such. The squealing will stop for about a week and then come back. It's pretty annoying. It stops better than my WRX does though, so they work ok!

Another source of frustration is her air bag/SRS light. It would go on and off for a while, and then it stayed on solid. she took it to the dealer for it to be fixed under warranty, and they denied her claim after taking it all apart and told us that she spilled coffee on the seat belt receiver (she doesn't even drink coffee!!!) and it needs to be replaced at the tune of $2,000.

FWIW, her friend has the same exact car, and it's been fine with no issues whatsoever. I think ours is a lemon, but there's nothing we can do about it now.

^ What pads did you use? These are almost as picky as the old XL7 suzuki's as far as pad selection goes.

I don't see where the seatbelt receiver should cause the airbag light to come on..

As for the reliability. I had a 1999 Hyundai Tiburon that I put 140,000+ miles on in 7 years. It was still rock solid with only needing timing belt, brake pads, and other maintance done. The only issue I had with the car was an air bag light (blamed on my aftermarket stereo.. even though it had been in the car for 20,000 miles and a year's worth of use) and three passengerside front wheel bearings. (All but one under warrenty)

The car gave it's life to save mine. I put her into a ditch to avoid broadsiding a minivan in the rain (van never even knew it had pulled out in front of me and went merrily on it's way) and it STILL got me home 30 miles with the bottom of the radiator ripped out (doing the run up to 60mph and shut off to coast down to 30 ad nausium.. better than sitting in the rain in the middle of nowhere)

The only problems with Hyundai.. The dealers LOVE to deny warrenty claims (we called it america's most voided warrently), the name still carries a stigma, and there is no real resell value. If you can live with those.. they are great cars

For the pads, we used a Raybestos ceramic pad and generic blank rotors. The stock ones are ceramics. The noise seems to be concentrated in the rear this time around, and last time I took everything apart I even checked out the E-brake shoes, and they were fine. Next time around, it's getting factory pads and new e-brake shoes.

The dealer said that there's a microchip in the seatbelt receiver that is fried due to liquid contact. I did some online research and it seems that there is in fact some connection from the seatbelt receivers to the rest of the airbag/SRS system. Part of what's happening is that teh seatbelt chime will intermittently sound even if the seat belts are buckled. The malfunction turns that light on. What sucks is that it's all integrated into the ECU and everything needs to be replaced when something like this happens. If it were an 07, I could just pull a fuse and the light would shut off. If there is an easy fix for this, I'm all ears. I suck with wiring though.

She's getting a new car sometime next year when she completes school and gets a job.

^ You should be able to just replace the buckle itself. Honda has an issue with a lot of our cars and the same issue.

In the rears, sand down the rear brake pad tabs. They like to corrode and hang up really bad. Simple fix if you know what to look for.

mad_machine wrote: I don't see where the seatbelt receiver should cause the airbag light to come on.. As for the reliability. I had a 1999 Hyundai Tiburon that I put 140,000+ miles on in 7 years. It was still rock solid with only needing timing belt, brake pads, and other maintance done. The only issue I had with the car was an air bag light (blamed on my aftermarket stereo.. even though it had been in the car for 20,000 miles and a year's worth of use) and three passengerside front wheel bearings. (All but one under warrenty) The car gave it's life to save mine. I put her into a ditch to avoid broadsiding a minivan in the rain (van never even knew it had pulled out in front of me and went merrily on it's way) and it STILL got me home 30 miles with the bottom of the radiator ripped out (doing the run up to 60mph and shut off to coast down to 30 ad nausium.. better than sitting in the rain in the middle of nowhere) The only problems with Hyundai.. The dealers LOVE to deny warrenty claims (we called it america's most voided warrently), the name still carries a stigma, and there is no real resell value. If you can live with those.. they are great cars

If a dealer tries to deny a warranty claim on me, I will berkeley them up the ass. That being said, I don't expect much to go wrong, as the car seems quite well put together.

Top gear approved AND tested at the Nurburgring:

Bobzilla wrote: ^ You should be able to just replace the buckle itself. Honda has an issue with a lot of our cars and the same issue. In the rears, sand down the rear brake pad tabs. They like to corrode and hang up really bad. Simple fix if you know what to look for.

Yeah, I'll have to find one of these in the boneyard and get one to try out. Hopefully that will work. The dealer supposedly tried this (and then re-installed the old part) when they had the car for a few days a couple months back, but they said it wasn't the problem. I'm convinced they didn't touch it at all. They did lose the cover to the under hood relay box without a problem.

And I've sanded down the "ears" on the pads. They move freely and I put plenty of anti-seize on there too. That's not the issue. It also only does it at very low speeds, like coming to a complete stop. The pedal feels firm with normal feedback from the road. They feel and stop great, but sound horrible.

HiTempguy wrote:

She didn't like the car and tried to trash it.

If I was her father I probably would have trashed her after that...

She didn't exactly admit to it till later, besides the car kept running no matter what she did. I did tell her she trash it she'll be walking and we live outside of town, long walk to anything.

As I understand it, the Elantra touring is not an Elantra at all. Quote from Edmunds: " Not to be confused with the Hyundai Elantra compact sedan, the Touring should be regarded as the sedan's interesting overseas cousin. Introduced to America last year, the Elantra Touring was conceived in Hyundai's European design studio, and its origins are readily apparent." And I had read somewhere that the Elantra name was put on this for recognition purposes for this country.

^ Mechanically they are identical. Yes, the sheetmetal is different but the mechanicals are the same. In fact, the rear sway bar off the Touring is used as an "upgrade" on the Elantra Sedan to help stiffen up the rear of the car.

Now, the NEW Elantra is completely different.

Hmm, that Kia is really sharp. Time to investigate.

I have been driving a 2011 SE 5-speec since October. Handles well. Good economy...comfortabe...I like it very much. Replaced a 2007 Mazds6. Don't really miss the Mz6.

I have a black/black leather car. Have blacked out the chrome on the grille and over the foglamps, still to do the headlights and the chrome on the wheel inserts...and tint and lower. Will look pretty much like this when done.