2001 Hyundai Tiburon from North America - Comments

I recently bought a used 2001 Tiburon at an auto auction. I didn't have time to inspect the paint in detail. I noticed that the hood and other areas were splattered as if a chemical got into the clear coat. We assumed these areas could be buffed out. Later we found the problem was down to the metal. My paint expert determined it was a production paint problem. What a deal.

My wife has a black 03 Tiburon GT. She had the typical window motor issue on the driver side which was intermittent, but the dealership finally replaced after we had to get a little side ways with them cause she was going to college out of town and didn't want to be stuck in Wyoming with the window down.

Finally the other day when I took it in for the dealership oil change (which we have kept up on religiously) I noticed thousands of small cracks in the paint on the hood. I pointed it out to the service advisers. When he went to get the manager I was looking over the car more closely and found a dime sized spider crack in the paint above the passenger side of the windshield where the paint was actually coming up. (From being a body tech for a few years I knew it looked like rust that was forming under the paint.) The manager informed me that the cracking was from sap and the "rust" area was from something pointy being poked from the inside of the car. Considering the car has always been garaged and cleaned religiously I called his bluff and pointed out the cracks were all over the hood meaning one thing. Unless someone had poured several gallons of sap over ONLY the hood and no other area of the car that his answer was junk.

So he told me that the next time the DM was at the dealership that they would call me to bring the car in for him to look at. After not hearing from him for two weeks I call the GM at the dealership and left him a message explaining the situation. Not a hour later the service manager called and told me when to bring it in. When we took it in they called me and said that the paint wasn't under warranty (3year/36,000). Now that made since seeing the car had 60K miles and is an 03 as far as the cracking goes, but there is a 7year/Unlimited mile warranty on "Anti-Perforation" which covers rust-related corrosion of body sheet metal. They also somehow managed to break the passenger seat where it won't go all the way back while it was in having the paint looked at. Anyways they still tried every way to get out of repairing this. Yesterday I contacted Hyundai Consumer Affairs department and filed a report with them. I will up date this as my story continues. I'm not going down without a fight. For my wife and I and for all you poor soles that Hyundai had given the run around to.

I have a Hyundai Tiburon GT SE 2004. The only place where the paint has been peeling on my car is on the windshield wipers (repainted after ~3k miles) and on the gas cap. My problem is that the paint on the bumpers & side skirts is fading at a faster rate than the rest of the car. I first noticed it at about 6 months after I bought the car, but the difference was so minute, I didn't bother reporting it. As time has passed, the difference has grown larger, and I finally brought the car into be seen. I was told that the area representative would have to look at the car, and today I finally spoke with him. They're willing to repaint the gas cap, but the fading yellow paint is "normal wear and tear." Apparently, I can't expect to buy a car and have it look "showroom" after driving it every day. I also got blamed for not washing my car enough. I didn't know that 3-4 shades of difference in color were "normal wear and tear" after ~36k miles. I knew the paint looked kind of cheap when I bought it, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

I have a 2001 Tiburon that I purchased new and now has just under 170,000 miles. The only major problems that I have had have been the VSS sensor that died last year and a manifold gasket seal that began leaking in March. The dealer replaced (and charged me) everything related to the seal before finally replacing the right part.

These last few months have found the clear coat peeling away on the truck fin and around the head lights. Does anyone have a solution to curbing this erosion? Otherwise, my Tiburon has been an absolute joy to own and drive!

I bought a black 2001 Hyundai Tiburon back in January of 2006. It is 15 miles away from having 100,000 miles on it. It was fine until all the belts under the hood went bad, one of the hoses had a leak, and just about 3 or 4 weeks ago my right back passenger side tire's bearing went out. It was completely gone ($600). It was making a horrible roaring noise and I thought it might have been the tires cause they weren't in the best shape. I haven't had any problems with the paint except for on the rims. They were peeling and turning yellow so I decided to buy some new 17 inch rims. Nice looking. Last December my emergency brake froze up so I had to get them to fix that. But I was in a wreck earlier this year. I was rear ended and the only damage it did was cracked the fender just below the vents on the bumper, it broke the frame on the back, crumbled up my license plate and took out a piece of bumper that was about an inch long above the license plate (2100 dollars worth of damage. Yesterday I was leaving to go get my boyfriend and my rear driver side tire wouldn't move. This afternoon I came home and tried moving it and the car would roll, but now it won't start. We tried charging the battery and even tried starting it when it was on charge, but nothing. I don't know what to do with this car. I love it to death it's a great car when it's not tearing up. I just wish car dealers would start making cars that are actually worth your money and time instead of having to blow all your money on buying the car and then fixing it when it tears up.

I have a 2006 Red Fire Pearl Tiburon. It is now a year and 5 months old. After 8 months the hoods clearcoat started peeling off. the hood and fenders were repainted. A month later the trunk started peeling. it was repainted. A month and a half later my roof and driverside quarter panel started painting. those were repainted. Yes I am happy the car was fixed, but the paint has a blue fleck in it and where it was repainted the paint is completely different cause it has no fleck. Also the radio has been changed out due to defect, the catalytic converter shield came unbolted, the seat belt clamp (drivers side) is currently broken, the sunroof motor sticks and get stuck open sometimes. I was told it has trash in the track but even after being cleaned it still sticks. My drivers seat doesn't always lock when I move it back. I love my car but it is basically brand new and just been problem after problem after problem. I have contacted Hyundai Consumer Affairs but never get a response. Great car but NO!

In '04 my girlfriend bought a BRAND NEW '04 Tiburon GT in Blue. 6 months after purchasing she had the roof repainted on her own dime. The same east coast DM told her that it was bird droppings just like many of you have said in the past postings. Since then she's actually had it done again, but by a seperate body shop, not Hyundai. Now the clear coat seems to be disappearing, the plastic parts like the gas cap door and rear bumper are fading. I've waxed the car numerous times using "liquid glass" which I use on my Jeep Wrangler and CBR1000. Doesn't seem to be helping her paint at all.

Hyundai is no help, not even with their "paint warranty" was anything covered. She and I love the car, but Hyundai is skimping on there paint. Won't buy another one just because of this.

I just got a 2001 Tiburon. From what I've been reading, it's been the 2003 models and up where they started putting on the faulty paint. However, like I also have in my car, the paint on the 2001's seem so scratch really easily. I've got tonnes of key scratches all over my drivers side key entry. Other than that I think the paint on the 2001 Tiburon's are safe.