1998 Hyundai Sonata GSL review from North America

The door latch on the driver's door and the passenger door have broken.

The sunroof has broken.

A mechanic at the dealership broke the engine block while trying to remove the engine cover (after stripping the bolts) in order to change the belts. Needless to say, the engine was replaced, not at the expense of the dealership, but under the extended warranty. We have since stopped having the vehicle serviced at Hyundai dealerships.

I am trying to initiate a safety recall on the PLASTIC door latches installed on the Sonata and most Hyundai models. The plastic latches break easily, preventing the door from opening from either the inside or outside--an obvious safety concern. The replacement part is only $97, but the task of repairing the door is labor intensive because the internal mechanisms for the door latch cannot be accessed when the door is closed! In order to fix our doors, the dealership mechanic had to cut the interior surface of the door! If you have had a door latch on your Hyundai break, please file a complaint with NHTSA, the government board that governs vehicle safety recalls--http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/