2000 Hyundai Tiburon from North America - Comments

I've owned my 2000 Tiburon for 4 years now. GENERAL MAINTENANCE is expected. Replaced the light bulbs once, which is expected. and wheel bearings do go, especially on racing cars, about every 40,000 miles. but to the comment above, my car too was stalling out randomly. Turned out it was the simplest little fuse, but mechanics will try to screw you. Good luck.

I have a 2000 Tiburon and here is what I've been experiencing:

Hands down, all the lights have gone out at least 2 times on my car, the headlights more than 5 and they aren't cheap.

Intermittent revving of engine while coming to a stop which is embarrassing when you are at a stop light and the people beside you think you want to race. It stalls out sometimes when doing this but usually goes up and down between 1K-2K RPM then stops. Engine light comes on and goes off. When at full speed it thumps are around like it's missing. This doesn't happen much, but so far I have replaced the MASS AIRFLOW METER (Hyundai won't sell it because they want to put it on for you... ha) The original lasted about 2 years and the ones from the junkyard last about the same. They sell for about $50, and Hyundai quotes the ones they won't sell you at $200+.

My horn comes and goes... always going when I need her inspected.

Wheel bearings so far on one side.

Eats tires and they aren't cheap either.

Seatbelts, hence the recall just wasn't worth the time of weeks in the shop.

Alternator was replaced 2 times before the car was 2 years old. It started that revving and hesitating. This was the solution Hyundai decided. Plus, they said my lights blew WAY too often so it HAD to be the alternator. Mass Airflow Meter was the problem thanks to my friend.

Replaced fuel pump and filter to rule out the hesitating and revving problem. Didn't fix it.

Driver side window (power) didn't want to go up. Easy, just open the entire door panel and put the rod back into the bracket... the windows have issues of their own in the wiring too I believe.

My clock and dome light do not work anymore.

You have to SLAM the trunk to get a proper close. If you do it lightly, it clicks and then rattles while you drive.

I think my wipers were backwards when I got the car.

My left and right door panels are black and gray... different but I have seen lots of Tiburons this way. Maybe it's just a "thing."

Floor clips for floor mats are a joke.

I can get 20 miles off of my fuel light... :)

This has been a good car with petty little things here and there. It has never left me stranded at least but it's no picnic either. The most expensive fix was ONE side of wheel bearings because you have to buy the entire housing instead of the bearings. Ran me appx. $130. (a little more than the price of a tire) oooh wait... I gotta replace those again. : (

Hope this helps, and I KNOW it will.

I have the chance to purchase a 2000 Blue Hyundai Tiberon SE with 5 speed manual transmission. They say its $6,998.00 but the mileage is like 138,000. That's bad right? It's been in the dealership 3 months but it was winter here... It will get a safety inspection but I just wonder what I should do. There is something at the Capital dealership like a GM Protection Plan and then a Lubricol Warranty or something like that. Any comments anyone?

I own a 2000 Tiburon and a 1998 Elantra and have been happy with them both. The Tibby has about 110,000 miles on her now, and the Elantra has 226,000. Both are reliable, and get reasonable gas mileage (30 ish on the freeway).

My Tiburon does seem to eat wearable components rather quickly -- rear brakes being the most notable, though front brakes and wheel bearings also seem to wear quickly. Hyundai clutches are garbage, at least in my experience, so be prepared for a replacement sooner that you'd expect -- at say 100k miles for an experienced, reasonable driver. A friend of mine had to replace the clutch in his Sonata at about 60k miles -- he is not an abusive driver, though the car was purchased used.

Though not unexpected in this price class, both of these vehicles seem to have been made with rather crack-prone plastics for certain interior elements, such as the visor mounts/clips, door handles and dashboard components, so be careful with them.

To the person looking at the Tibby with 138k miles on it:

The price seems a bit high, at least from my Southern California perspective. In good condition the RD-2s (2000-2001) sell for about $5000 with about that mileage.

Be certain that the timing belt has been replaced according to schedule -- Every 60,000 miles. As with any interference engine, a timing belt failure is catastrophic -- you might even be able to get the dealership to replace it if you ask nicely.

Hello,

Just like most here I am having issues with my 2000 Tibby.

I bought mine a year and a half ago. In the last 5 months it's been in the shop 5 times.

Most recently it's doing a weird stalling thing. It began gradually, and now, sometimes it won't start for nearly 15 minutes. Then I realized I had a loose battery cable and fixed it. It was fine for a week, but is now doing it again.

I took it to a shop and tested my battery; they said the battery was fine. He said he's about 90 percent sure it's a fuel problem, but when the car was in the shop in Feb. they ruled out my gas pump being a problem. It was some other thing, like some of the wires were corroded.

I don't know but this is all getting very costly and confusing. And it sounds like this stalling thing is normal for this vehicle. Does anyone have any input or know what it might be?

I have owned my Tiburon for four years now.. it's been a pretty good lil car.. but some problems..

1. I use nothing but carquest products; oil filter, battery etc. and seemingly goes thru belts at an abnormal rate.

2. Potholes are my cars worst enemy. I seemingly fly when I hit the smallest pothole!

3. The car rattles consistently.

4. The check engine light comes on and off.

I know there is nothing wrong with the car, I have taken it to a mechanic and then to another mechanic; they cannot find anything wrong.

5. In reverse the car makes a swoosh sound and continues in drive for a little while until I brake...

Overall it's been a reliable car.. just a few kinks.. oh yeah my windows don't come up and down like they should.. it's like they forget their function and then remember what their job is... LOL... anyways.!!

I bought a 2000 Tib for $3300 with only 77000 on it, it had some minor cosmetic issues but other than that it seemed in good condition.

I've had it for a month and already had to replace a throttle positioning sensor and a wheel bearing on front passenger side, still have to replace some things that were bad when I purchased it like the window regulator on driver side window, rear rotors and pads, and have to balance the wheels.

I love the car, it's fun to drive and handles great, but it scares me that I might not be able to afford fixing it if it breaks that often.

I have a 2000 Tib and it has been a good car... but now when I try to put gas in the tank, it keeps clicking off like the tank is full??? I was checking on a recall for this problem and can't find anything..

Also just replaced drivers side window reg that cost a fortune and the switch is possessed; sometimes the windows go up, sometimes they don't...

Now I am hearing a funny noise on the passenger side wheels.. my mechanic says I need brakes... but how do I know it isn't the wheel bearings?? Oh and I have to replace my brake light bulbs once a month!!! Anyone else having these issues?

Do you think a 2000 Tiburon for 2,700 is a good deal if it has 200,000 kms on it, and how long will it run for?

Is that 2,700.00 dollars, as in U.S. dollars?? Um not so much. I wouldn't pay over 1000 dollars for a 2000 Tiburon with that amount of mileage regardless of the condition. The 2.0 is a good motor but they don't last forever, and if the motor doesn't go the transmission WILL GO SOON!! Trust me, I am a Hyundai trained technician... Go get a newer car (mileage wise at least) for that amount of money.

I own a 2001 Tiburon with 155,000 miles on it. I love the car. It has had its issues basically due to the previous owners neglect. Properly maintained it is a fun car to own and drive.

The 2.0 beta engine is very reliable and durable, not to mention easy to work on.

The surging/stalling issue some people are experiencing is probably the mass air flow sensor. It can also cause miss firing and hesitation. The sensor may be dirty or it is faulty. First try cleaning it with a MAF sensor cleaner; follow the directions on the can. Or with the vehicle running, try tapping the MAF sensor and see if the idle changes; if it does the sensor is bad and is in need of replacement.

Good luck, driveability issues are a nightmare.

I have a 2000 Tiburon, that I got about 3 years ago. Everything on that car worked, and worked really good. NO PROBLEMS at ALL!!

But now... not so much...

I was driving at about 70 one day, and then my radiator just exploded... I'm serious. The whole front part of it were the top hose is, just split, and my temp gauge read nothing prior to that to let me know.

So I bought a new radiator, which cost me about $140 bucks. And a new cap, which doesn't come with it. Which is stupid.

Anyway, after that incident, turns out my thermostat had gone out and caused my radiator to build up too much pressure. It has over heated all the time since then.

Soo I changed the thermostat, well that part didn't even work. FAULTY... it wouldn't open to let the fluid circulate. So I tried like 2 more thermostats... none worked.

I eventually just started driving the car without one at all. Didn't over heat anymore. Until recently. Then my car started the whole stalling thing.. I'm some what mechanically inclined. So I checked my spark plugs, thinking that they could be fouled. They were.

So I changed those, my spark leads, and my coil pack. But that didn't stop it. So I thought that I was definitely a fuel problem... so I changed the fuel filter... it was full of rust.... I put a new one in and got my fuel system clean, and that stopped the stalling. Hasn't done it ever again.

But it still over heats...

And now today, which is Thursday July 9th 2009, while driving, my radiator cap had come off, it pretty much boiled all of my water out of my car, with no visible steam to warn me. I noticed a burning smell coming through my A/C, so I pulled over, and there was some oil burning off the down pipe from my exhaust manifold. Not much, but enough to worry me.

I let it cool and put more coolant in it, and got to work which was not even a block away. But when I started up the car to get there, my car was making a loud knocking sound, which sounded like it was coming from my clutch, and my engine sounded like it was knocking or mis firing.

And the overflow box always has a boiling sound when I shut off the car... like the radiator has air in it and it's going in that box..

But after I had let it sit and it got cold, I turned it back on to make sure I hadn't cracked a block or anything like that, but it didn't make the noise anymore.

???

But now when I push my clutch pedal in, it makes a sound as if my belts were slipping, but stops when I let it out. And it feels like it lost a lot of power behind it.

So far I have spent $1,404.97 to fix my car.

Does anyone know why my car continues to over heat (why the thermostats aren't working), and why my car is making that noise when I push my clutch in?

I'm at my wits end with this car... She was a good car, but now I'm seriously thinking about never buying another Hyundai car again..

I need to know how to make it stop over heating for sure...

Please help.

To the "mechanically inclined" Tiburon owner...

YOU HAVE A BLOWN HEAD GASKET FROM THE FIRST BAD THERMOSTAT!!!

THAT'S WHY IT KEPT OVERHEATING, NOT BECAUSE YOU HAD "FAULTY THERMOSTATS!!! AND THE KNOCKING SOUND MEANS YOU BURNT THE CRANK BEARINGS UP. SO NOW YOU NEED A MOTOR!!!

Remember, "mechanically inclined" and experienced Technician are two totally different things. I recommend you take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

To the guy who was asking about the 2000 Tibby for like 2700. I think well that that's a pretty decent deal. I own 2 Tibbys myself, both orange red, one a 97 and one a 2000 model, and I paid 1200 for the 97 and 2800 for the 2000. I happen to love them both, and have not had major problems at all.

The 2000 is a stickshift, and the only thing I have had to change is pull the alternator off the 97 and put it on the 2000. They both always drive good and my 97 has been to well Hades and back.

The only other thing is my head lights.. not my brights, but just the regular lights are going out randomly. Can some one give me some ideas.. is it the fuses.. or just the lights themselves?

It is probably your wiring not having a good enough connection to your lights.