Faults:

We have had continuous electrical problems with this car.

At 12,000 miles the rear lights shorted out.

At 26,000 miles the starter went out

At 32,000 miles voltage regulator went out, taking two tries and a consultation from the home office for our dealer to fix it.

At 41,000 miles there was a crack in the gas tank.

At 68,000 miles we had to replace the spark plugs and wires twice in seven months.

General Comments:

There is an inherent engineering problem with the electrical system in the 1997 Hyundai Accent.

We purchased this car for our daughter hoping that a new car was better then a used car. Boy were we wrong. Our daughter has been stranded three times now, and we never know when we are going to get a call from her on the side of the road with a broken down Hyundai Accent. We hesitate to sell the car because we would hate to inflict this pain on anyone else.

We will never purchase a Hyuandai again.

Faults:

Alright, So far I have had nothing major go wrong, but the previous owner never put any oil in the car and when I got it, it still had the original oil filter on it. The car uses oil because it burns it. If the car starts to idle for a long time it starts to smoke like a smoke bomb. Anyways when I got this car it was in bad shape. I have not had to do anything major. The windshield wipers had to be replaced. The paint was virtually missing off the mirrors. That was solved with a can of black spray paint. My major problem right now is I cannot seem to figure out why my reverse lights stopped working. I replaced a lens on the back of the car because I was told to by the state inspector. When I threw it into reverse the lights didn't come on. The airbag idiot light came on and hasn't shut off and all these problems started to happen after I replaced the rear lens. When thrown into reverse it makes a grinding noise no matter how far down you push the clutch.

General Comments:

I didn't pay very much for this car so I can expect to have problems. The dealer was a crooked man from port city. In corpus christi Tx. He pocketed the money I had paid for a tail light lens and skipped town. I feel the same way about the rest of those guys. I was lucky enough to have a receiept for that 100 dollars. I am very happy because this is the first car that I paid for by myself. I will be driving this clunker in college. When you are going down the road at 70 mph you always have that noise of the road inside your car. It reminds you how bad it's going to be when you get in a wreck.

Faults:

I purchased this car new from a dealership.

Within 30 days of purchase, two thin cords broke connecting the rear hatch door to the interior. The dealership repaired them for free. Within 12 months, the cords broke again. I did not bother to get them fixed again as they serve a limited function.

Once, in 2002, the car failed to start. I had the starter replaced by a private mechanic.

General Comments:

VERITABLY PROBLEM FREE! Considering all the abuse this car has taken, it is remarkably dependable. Only once in five years has it failed to start. I am a careless owner who puts oil in the engine when it starts to smoke. Lack of maintenance doesn't seem to hurt it any. I have driven it to work 5 days a week for 5 years. I take 6 hour road trips once a month and I drive cross country once a year. I have no qualms about taking this car cross country again this year.