1999 Hyundai Sonata GLS review from North America

The transmission began behaving strangely almost immediately after I purchased the car. I took it to the dealer, and they recommended that I have a transmission service done on the vehicle. At 140,000 kilometers, the transmission began to "slip". After spending nearly a week in a transmission shop, I took it to the local Hyundai dealer. They diagnosed the problem as a wiring harness. The cost to repair was $850.00; better than the $2,300.00 to replace the transmission, which was the first recommendation of the Hyundai dealership. Now at 154,000, I have been advised that my catalytic converter is "dead". A mechanic had told me that the converter was not functioning at 116,000 kilometers, but Hyundai disputed this, and did not replace the converter. It would have been warranted had they done so at the time. Now the dealer refuses to cover the cost of the catalytic converter ($1,600) because the car is too far out of warranty (Canada).

I bought the Hyundai because it was the most reasonably priced vehicle in its class, and had an incredible ride. However, I am very disappointed in the failure of these expensive components, and am equally concerned about the poor resale of this vehicle. Most disappointing is the way the local dealership has refused to even consider this warranty issue. I have taken my case to Hyundai Canada (1-800-461-8242) for appeal of the decision.

I would not purchase another Hyundai. This company needs to build higher quality vehicles if they want to truly compete with other imported and domestic vehicles.