Lucy of Rumford RI (7/4/01):
I purchased a 2001 Santa Fe in January of this year and have had to take the truck back 4 times already for the same problem. The timing belt tends to skip and makes the truck idle rough, and skip or buck while accelerating in whatever gear I might be in at that time.

Anyone with children or carseats in the front should be made aware of this problem. We sold the vehicle back under lawsuit conditions as the arbitration board did not think the airbag problem was a safety issue or resale value issue! What are they thinking? The time we were in for final inspection at the dealership, another vehicle exactly same year, make and model as ours was there for the same problem.

My 2001 Accent with only 30,000 miles caught fire while I was warming it up in front of my house. The fire departments, ambulance, and police were all called. Insurance investigators determined the muffler overheated and defective shields caused fire to be sucked into the interior of car when I opened the door to escape. Car is melted.

Called Hyundai for them to further investigate problem for potential safety issue (as well as to assume some liability). Told to write a letter if deemed necessary, they would get back to me. Pushed further to speak to supervisor, made contact. Now they don't return my calls. Still pursuing.

Expected to have a car to last me 10 years with the 12,000 annual mileage I accrued. Will end up with a $5,000 loss and no car.

Rhonda of Bluffton OH (7/7/02):
I purchased a 2000 Hyundai Elantra in November 2000. In June 2002, the air conditioning stopped working in my car so I took it to the dealership. To my astonishment this was not covered under warranty due to having 75,000 miles on my vehicle. I was charged $130 to have it looked at and was told there was a hole in my air condensor caused by a stone. I was also told that this is a common occurrence due to the air condensor sitting in the front of the engine compartment.

I called Hyundai Corporation to voice my complaint that either they should build a stronger air condensor unit or place the unit in a different part of the engine compartment so as to not have this a "common occurrence." Hyundai informed me that it wasn't their problem and that I would be responsible for the costs of fixing the unit.

Patti of Riverside CA (4/30/04):
I bought a 2001 Hyundai XG300 with 11,000 miles on it, in very good shape and ran wonderful, powerful, I just loved the car. About 2 months later I get a letter from Hyundai stating that they had overstated the horsepower and were going to give me an extended warranty to 120,000 miles. I thought it was a blessing but it wasn't because I never realized I would be using it as much as I have. Oh and they also have a wonderful road service program, and they have it because they build such a crappy vehicle you will need it.

I have had my car towed 2 times in the last 3 months and believe me I take excellent care of my vehicle which includes oil changes every 3,000 miles. My problems with the car have started with first - zero acceleration, which almost got me killed getting on the freeway -- it just wouldn't go so I took it to the shop and they replaced a sensor. Then a couple weeks later I had family in from Oklahoma and we went on a 15-mile drive. Well, on the way home, I got in the car and the check engine light came on so I thought I would try to make it home -- got on the freeway and the car would only go about 18 MPH and I had it floored so I pulled off and called Hyundai road service and they towed it to San Bernardino, which left me carless for a few days and no one would give me a loaner car, they said it wasn't included in their warranty.

Then again a couple of weeks ago I went to the mall during my lunch hour and when I got back in the car to go back to work, I started the car and the RPM's shot up to 5 and wouldn't come down and I couldn't leave because when I out it in reverse it started clattering really bad, so I called Hyundai and again they sent out a tow truck. Now this week, I was driving to work and my check engine light came on so I took it to the shop again, left it for the day and they replaced another sensor, I believe it was an airflow sensor and changed my oil.

I was driving hime and again, I have lack of acceleration, so I can't take it on the freeway. I called Hyundai Motor Corp. this morning and told them about my situation and they tell me that they will investigate but I will probably have to take it back to the dealership and let them handle it!

I just want a reliable car and I have been sooo nice, I need help. I need my car to get to work and now it is jeopardizing my job becasue I have so many car problems.

Maribel of Candor NY (3/21/04):
I took my 2000 Hyundai Accent into the dealership about 3 weeks ago to get my airflow sensor replaced and to get my overdrive button replaced as well because it wasn't clicking into gear. I told them that I took it to a friend's garage and he told me that there was something wrong with the transmission. They told me they checked it and found nothing wrong.

Now my car is bucking and the overdrive button still doesn't work properly. My car feels like it speeds up and slows down and the rpms shoot up when this happens, I am unable to drive my car right now and I live in an area where a car is necessary. I have only had this car for 2 years and my warranty had exspired at 60,000 miles we are at 70,000 miles.

We still owe nearly $5,000 on it and we are moving to Germany for 3 years because my husband is in the military. The people we have our car financed through won't allow us to ship it. It has to stay in the States. If I didn't have to put so much money into maintaining the vehicle i would have been able to make a settlement payment and would have been able to ship the car but now I have to try to get a loan which will probably be denied.

Tunisha of Old Bridge NJ (2/23/04):
My transmission is having problems working as far as shifting from first gear to second gear which may happen if the RPM's are high enough, at times the transmission will not shift and all the RPM's do is rev. The second thing I am having a problem with is the way the vehicle sometimes does not shift into reverse. Sometimes I have to hit the gas and then the vehicle bucks into reverse. At times the vehicle will not exceed 25mph and I'm forced to pull off the road, turn the car off and wait a few minutes to turn the car on again and then continue.

Heather of Altoona PA (9/4/02):
I bought my Hyundai Accent brand new in May of 2000. I have had nothing but problems with it. I just had a transmission put in last month and its still acting up. 90% of the time I turn the key to shut the car off and the gear shifter is in park, it won't shut off. Last week my hood hinge on the right side broke. Sometimes it stalls in the middle of the intersection.

The Hyundai motor company praises the 100,000 warranty but everytime something happens to the car and I go to the dealership to get it fixed I get the runaround.