2004 Hyundai Terracan crtdi from UK and Ireland - Comments

2000 miles 4 months old front and rear suspension faulty, notified dealer. It took dealer 4months to check out and order parts. Found that front and rear suspension bottoming out on the bump stops. Informed Hyundai customer care. The dealer then ordered a pair of rear shocks. Only 1 turned up after 2 weeks, then 2 weeks later the other turned up. Fault was still there. They then ordered a pair of springs and exactly the same happened. This problem has been checked and identified as a problem by the Hyundai product manager and 7 months on still not rectified. I bought this vehicle to tow a caravan weighing 1500kg.Since 2000 miles and 4 months old it can't even carry the driver of the vehicle over a silent policeman at 5mph and not bottom out. Hyundai have had this problem out in Australia and have manufactured a new optional extra suspension kit for people who tow caravan/trailers.So this to me means the original suspension is inadequate for the job they say it can do. I wouldn't have bought this vehicle if I'd have known this about the suspension.

Problems with rear diff. Fault took 6 months to rectify by fitting a new one, no problems since.

Alloy wheel coating coming off all the wheels, Hyundai have Ok'd 4 new wheels and 4 tyres as there was excessive wear on the tyres due to the faulty diff and suspension.

Leather coming off the steering wheel, new steering wheel on order.

Gear knob changed as the gear numbers couldn't be seen and the car only had 8000 miles on the clock.

2 new side steps fitted as there was rust appering on them. They were ordered and fitted within 1 week.

Rear window metal strip by the quarter lights rusted. They were changed within 2 weeks.

Rear boot struts faulty, they were changed within 1 week.

Other niggley faults to top it all.

This 4x4 has got a brilliant engine and quite economical.

The leather seats are great.

Good space in the boot.

Could do with more storage in the boot area for warning triangle and tow rope and tools.

Good clear view of dash board and controls.

Need to put darker grey carpet in the car rather than the light one as it marks easy.

This is my review on the terracan and would just like to add, that the dealership changed the car for a 55/05 model and this car with 70 miles on the clock developed the same problems with the suspension. After 2years from the first Terracan the Trek N Tow has finally been fitted to the Terracan. Much better ride until I started going over the dreaded silent policemen which are on route to my place of work. Then after about 1000 miles the car started to bottom out again. I have now contacted H.M.C (Hyundai motor Co) about this continuing problem. Please leave comments about your terracan as I wish to collect all the info I can on this 4x4 so I can challenge H.M.C.The easiest way to check if it is bottoming out is to place some grease on the rear bump stops and then just drive about, after a few miles check if the grease has transfered from the rubber bump stop to the rear axle. This is the method the Hyundai Technical Dept used when they checked out the car first in September 2005.This car can't transport a driver on it's own let alone a caravan without bottoming out and the ride is very hard and there is no absorbsion of shock from the spring or shock absorbers. If I could turn back time I wouldn't have got rid of my ISUZU TROOPER.

While in Adelaide last October (06) I read a very informative article in an Australian 4x4 magazine which compared the Trek n Tow option unfavourably to an after market alternative. I'm sorry, but I can't recall the name of the magazine or the manufacturer of the after market option, and I had to leave the magazine behind, but I recall that it mentioned the issue with the bump stops. The article implied that Hyundai indicated they considered the bump stops to be a normal part of the suspension travel and that the frequent bottoming out was perfectly normal. The article also inferred that the vehicle itself utilised some previous generation Mitsubishi Shogun technology, and that some after market components are interchangeable. If required, I could always ask the mother in law if she's still reading the magazine in the toilet where I left it...

I had a 2004 Terracan and I really wish you luck with HMCUK. I found the dealer here in N. Ireland totally incompetent. Didn't know how to fix the Terracan, Didn't want to fix the Terracan. Easier to infer you were an overly fussy customer, rather than sort out the problem.

I found HYUNDAI UK the same, utterly useless and disinterested, After all they already had pocketed your money hadn't they. In my case £21.5K as I had been stupid enough to buy all the bells and whistles so to speak, on the strength of their non existent "5 year warranty"!

Second time I phoned the case officer at HYUNDAI UK in charge of sorting my problem laden car, he wasn't available!!!

He never ever was available again. You'll find a female shielding him from all calls. Probably interferes with his day dreaming, certainly he/she doesn't even make an attempt to sort customer's problem's.

Also had the suspension problem, mechanic told me he never saw a shock absorber so totally "pancaked" as the one he removed from my passenger side rear. This had happened in road use for no apparent reason.

Dealer wouldn't let me talk to him after that, telling tales (truth) out of school. This dealer was such a tightwad he wouldn't send his mechanics on Hyundai technical (and I use the term " technical" loosely) courses.

Had to find out from the Aussies down under that it was my Diff faulty, took hyundai 8.5 months to diagnose and replace. My terracan kept locking itself as soon as the key came out of the ignition.

It still was doing it when I lost a packet getting rid of it @11 months old.

I really hope you get treated better than I did. I will never buy a hyundai or a Kia (Kia is part of hyundai) again, and I think prospective customers do their research and avoid the pain and frustration.

What use is a 5 year warranty? when hyundai UK don't deliver on their promise.

2007 Sonata 11000 kms. Rear suspension got progressively noisier in our cold winter and rough roads. We are embarrassed to carry passengers : it's that bad.Reported to dealer and Hyundai Canada. The dealer claimed all cars were noisy when it gets to be -30 ; but my other cars never had that problem. They ordered new brackets to fix the problem.That was 3 weeks ago. I think it needs new rear struts. They seem to be falling apart.

Have a 05 plate Terracan approximately 60,000 miles on the clock, bought it for towing a horse box. Comfortable and roomy car no problems here at all.

After a few weeks:-

Part of the gearbox went and had a sticking clutch - repaired and all is now well.

Started to have intermittent loss of power; back to the garage. Losing coolant apparently the engine management system backs off the power if there is coolant loss? Anyway pressure tested by garage and couldn't find leak however, it was loosing coolant. Had the car for just under 3 weeks and stripped the head down. Still waiting for the report on what was done.

There is still an apparent loss of power when changing from 1st to 2nd gear and in reverse; makes things difficult when towing.

Handling poor and very light on the steering; car moves erratically on the road and can be at times worrying to drive.

I'm disappointed with the car at present as I believe it should be a lot better than it is.

Any one else had a steering problem?

Don't expect too much from Hyundai. Korean cars are not so well built as Japanese or European vehicles, no matter what JD power or whatever consumer's agency could state. That's just propaganda, and the 5 years warranty, a good commercial tactic to attract new clients. If you want a vehicle suitable for everyday driving, start & stop, taking kids to school and driving with the family and the dog on Sundays, while keeping maintenance costs on a reasonable level, then this is not a bad choice. Just don't expect things like a good handling, or a refined riding performance, or avantgarde technology: the interior parts, mechanics and so on are, in the best of cases, simply average, in many others are substandar. For the money you paid, this is what you get. It's not a Mercedes.