2001 Hyundai XG300 from North America - Comments

My late husband bought our 2001 XG300 new. It's been garage kept and now has a little over 71,000 miles on it. It's been a good car, but now I'm starting to see some repair bills.

Last summer I spent $1400 on timing belts and drive belts at the 60,000 mile mark. At that time they also replaced the water pump (still don't know why). I keep it maintained with regular oil changes, etc.

Overall, I've been very pleased with this car. Have never had the radio problems others have mentioned on here.

Lately the car has a washboard shutter effect when the transmission shifts between 35-40MPH. At first the repair shop thought it was alignment or balance, but NO. Past experience had us paying out $1800 for a new transmission on a Chrysler product. Now I fear this may be just the beginning of future problems.

I'm thinking about an extended warranty, but don't know where to go or who to trust or how much to spend to get protection. Guess I need to do some research first. It appears the higher the mileage, the more it costs.

Being an older woman, I want a car that's dependable and I'm hoping I can keep this one going without having to buy a new car and bear car payments.

Thanks for this comments board!

I live in england, and I have a 2002 Hyundai XG30. My problem is the drive light goes out and will not come back on when I change to manual gear change, then back over to auto gear change.

Any ideas?? Thanks.

Hello,

I have bought my 2001 300 XGL about 1.5 years ago (its 7/17/2008). After two months the it needed a new power steering SO I got it fixed since I was in it for the long haul. ($-1000 with tune up ect) Now its back in the shop for a bad radiator. This is going to cost me about 1050 all together. Dealer told me that it looks like someone could have put a sealer in the radiator for a quick fix and now it has chunks in it. I still own a loan on this car so I may just get it fixed. I also do feel a vibration when I reach 40-50mph and I had that checked out but the mechanics could not find anything wrong. I hope there will be no problems after this.

I have owned my XG30 for nearly 2 years now over here in UK.

It's got 108,000 miles on the clock and is a lot of car for the money. Apart from wear and tear items like brake pads and the like, it's not too bad.

Just replaced the original Sony radio with another Sony, a 30 minute job, but alas no 10 CD changer.

Just had front pads done, but need new discs now as the old ones are warped. I'm shopping around for them as prices vary so much. Don't go to Hyundai, they will rip off big style.

I don't do vast amounts of miles in her; she's left out all week while I'm out in the truck.

I did have misfire problems a while back, especially in winter. New plug leads and a liberal spraying of wd40 on the electrics stopped the damp getting in.

She's a joy to drive and goes like brown smelly stuff off a chrome plated shovel!

Oh and the battery is on its last legs; no big deal, gonna do that next week.

The MOT is due next month, fingers crossed on that one... she flew through it last year no problems at all, and the tester is very strict!

All in all, a nice car...

Purchased an '01 Grandeur for my wife roughly two years ago, 2nd hand with just under 70,000 K's on the clock. Today it reads near 85,000.

Lovely car to this day with minor problems, here's my version's issues:

1) Although it did not suffer the 'Michelin Leak' issue, I found they are absolutely horrid tyres for Australian roads and conditions. It developed steering wobbles from 40kph and over. Replaced with Continental tyres on all four wheels with proper balancing and alignment. Drives as smooth as new Michelins even with harder compound tyres for Aussie conditions. The Michelin Pilots simply don't agree with this vehicle (even though they may be perfect for other similar cars). Change to a home-made brand specifically designed for your country's conditions.

2) Brake rotors have a tendancy to warp. If you live in a built up city with many stop-starts/traffic lights, expect to get your rotors machined more often. I had this problem hand in hand with the Michelin wobbles, so that was not fun. The rotors have been machined once in the last two months of owning this car and upon braking I can feel the slightest wobble beginning to develop. The vehicle is still on original rotors, and my tyre&brake shop (who I also trust with my heavily modified VL) assured me they had enough metal left to safely machine.

3) Cigarette lighter does not work (both of them) and no 'cig ltr' fuse in the engine bay. Still need to find a way to fix that. The lighter is used frequently for phone charging.

4) Rough idle when cold. Prone to stall once or twice when it happened. Discovered that the accelerator cable connection had worked it's way loose and had slipped, thus lowering idle rpm too far. It took two minutes and a small spanner to fix this issue, with my wife telling me what rpm the engine was doing as I adjusted accordingly.

5) Passenger window squeaks when raising, and water seeps in through both front windows.

Final thoughts: Although Korean cars are 'known' for poorer materials and build quality (and I walked straight past this Hyundai for that simple fact, it's a Hyundai) this particular model appears to be the best of the bunch. It has luxury features you would expect to find in a prominent European vehicle, although it may not have ALL the bells and whistles of the more favoured luxury manufacturers. But when compared to other Korean makes of that era, the Grandeur is the only one that's NOT falling to bits with flaking clearcoat.

Those of you who have purchased one of the duds (and every manufacturer will produce the odd one) your opinions are rightly so and I feel for you.

For those looking to purchase one, inspect as many as you can, and make the best educated guess you can. Although the bad examples are absolute lemons, the good ones are great value.

I have an XG 360 and 6 weeks ago all the dash lights and A/C started flickering on and off. I had it checked and was told it was the battery. Bought new battery drove for two days and the same thing happened again. Then was told it's the alternator. Had brand new alternator installed. Have driven perfectly for 6 weeks. Yesterday I turned on the A/C for the very first time and the same thing has happened all over again. Now I have brand new battery and alternator, but the dash started flickering and it went out again. Anyone else ever had this problem. Please help!

Hi all.

I have a 2001 Hyundai 300XG L series, and it has a 140k miles on it.

I love it, though I have replaced the tires, battery, alternator and blower motor. My local Hyundai dealer is awesome and I can get after market parts from the local auto parts shops.

I also have the haunted radio, slight leak in front windows and some cracks in the leather, but I must say that it is the best car I have ever driven.

Right now my only issues are a bit of rust and the need for new brake pads. For the money though it has a lot of cool features including the side airbags, which is very important to me as I have a child. It's fast, slick looking and everyone thinks it's a Sonata LOL.

I highly recommend a Hyundai, and my next car will be one!!

Jackie S. New Hampshire.

Bought one few weeks ago - unplanned - because of looks, dirt cheap, features and almost immaculate condition with private plate '2000' model, 48000mls. Fingers crossed things are working.

Still cannot understand whats the tab for on the bottom far right of the ACC panel (icon of man sitting with air blowing and a inverted L in front). Usually the blower direction is changed by Mode button. The remote key is a bit quirky, and strangely unlike other cars, there is no blinking light when alarm/immobiliser is on. BTW, can you get extended warranty on this car - mine is around 48000+ and W-2000 model and has a 1 year warranty from Marshall Peterborough. Some advice would be appreciated.

M. Cambridge.