Starter grinds when the key is turned.
Engine oil leak because the gasket was not properly sealed at the factory, fixed twice.
Had to get the car towed when the engine light came on, new computer chip, twice replaced.
Oxygen sensor replaced 3 to 4 times, lost count.
Replaced front and rear tires after 30,000 kms.
My outside mirrors use to be black, paint worn right off.
Trunk release had to be fixed at my cost because it was an adjustment.
Heater fans are extremely noisy.
Exhaust work tomorrow, very loud right now.
Recall on the windshield wipers.
Weather stripping coming off the passenger door and trunk.
Replaced all the brake lights within the first year.
Passenger door rattles on the inside.
Several front end alignments.
Loose transmission bolt.
Sometimes the car hesitates on take-off, then "kicks" hard into gear.
There's a sucker born everyday, and I'm one of them. $15,000 out the window. Now that the car is nearing 5 years old, it's quickly self destructing.
My 3 month old gsi seems to be heading in the same direction as your car and this is scary. What a waste of money. I am learning a very costly lesson with this car. Next time I will spend a little more and buy a quality car and not have to put up with the never ending surprises that hyundai cars seem to have built into them. Some days I wish that someone would crash into me so I can get rid of the biggest piece of junk that I have had the misfortune of owning. All potential buyers beware. This car deteriorates rapidly. Each month it gets more sloppy and squeaks and rattles get louder. I now understand why they have such poor resale value.
Thank you.
Hi, I am also a owner of a Automatic GL Hyundai Accent. After saving my money for this car, I was also very dissapointed, and would not recommend this car to anyone that I liked anyway. My car is only 8 months old, and it already has squeaks and rattles in it like you wouldn't believe. And I have also had the oxygen sensor looked at by the dealership, who told me that this was normal, and almost all of the cars do it. My car also jerks through the gears, and surges ahead like you said. This was the worst mistake of my life, and if only I had enough money to buy another one. And it certainly wouldn't be a HYUNDAI!!!
YA, this is one NASTY car indeed - makes me nervous on long trips (being towed once doesn't help) It's been good for about 2 weeks now and I got a 800km return trip this weekend - wish me luck :)
Well I'm back from my trip, but my Accent GL isn't. It almost made half a trip (pretty good for this less then 5yr old car).
About 300km into my 400km trip, (800km round trip) the "check engine" light came on (no surprise for this car), on Friday night of the Aug. long weekend on one the most accelerating highways in Canada (QEW). The engine still ran but barely and power was very limited. But being a proud and determined North American I MADE this poor excuse of a car finish the trip. With top speeds from 45km going up hills and a little faster going down hills I did make it there!
Won't know what's wrong with this waste of metal until Tuesday because of the long weekend. In the meantime I signed my ownership and left it with my sister to sell, I truly feel sorry for the person who buys it, but my pocket book can't afford this car even if the warranty covers it. I hope I never see this car again!
All of the outside door handles have broken off of my 1996 Accent, all with normal use!!
My 1996 Accent nickel and dimes me to death. My latest problem is my door handles. 3 of them have broken
off and the one that is still on doesn't know open the
door from the inside. I would never buy another Accent.
Wow, too bad you guys had all that bad luck. I drove my 1999 Accent from NY to LA last July. Even through the desert with temps reaching 120F and the A/C on not one problem! Car still runs perfect!
By the way, NEVER buy a small car with an automatic. What did you expect?? Learn to drive manual - you will be glad you did.
My impression after owning 2 '96 Accents, is that they are reasonably well built, have a good engine, and provide a nice driving experience for a tiny, cheap car.
Overall build and mechanical quality was just too low though. Interior/exterior door handles broke ridiculously easily. The sheetmetal on doors and fenders seemed very thin and easily dented. The driver's manual window went off track in my hatchback.
The transmission stopped engaging overdrive altogether by 108k miles in the hatchback. I had to spend $1,100 to have a used transmission installed, even though I wanted the original one rebuilt. The mechanic told me they do not make it possible to rebuild the transmission in these cars.
AC and heat worked wonderfully though.
The ride quality was beyond crude. Very stiff and you feel every pebble in the road.
Paint quality didn't seem too bad actually. My purple hatchback started having an issue with the clearcoat peeling off, but that wasn't until after 100k miles and 8 years. On my green sedan, it just got dull around the same age. I didn't think this was unreasonable given the age of each.
The engines ran wonderfully with a bit over 100k miles on each. No major leaks or problems. Always started right up in cold weather. A 1.5L 92hp 4cyl. was just too weak of an engine for the Accent though. They felt reasonably peppy around town, but felt scarily underpowered trying to accelerate uphill, onto the highway, and passing at highway speeds, at 70-75mph, they both had to downshift just to attempt passing at all, and at those speeds the engine winds up very high and it's very unsettling.
Considering how small of a car it is, with how small of an engine it has, it didn't seem too terribly great on gas. I would get about 35mpg on the highway. Generally speaking, for what I'm used to, that's very good. For such a tiny car with a tiny engine though, that doesn't seem so great. My current 4cyl. Chrysler LeBaron 2.5L 4cyl. can average about 32mpg on the highway, so the Accents aren't all that efficient after all.
After driving a friend's '97 Escort wagon recently, the Escort seems like luxury compared to the Accent. It's a little quieter, rides MUCH better, gets about the same gas mileage even though it's a larger car with a larger 2.0L 110hp 4cyl. engine. The Escort seems much more practical for everyday driving. It has A LOT more acceleration power, but not so much on the highway like the Accent. The build quality of the Escort really impressed me. Very solid.
I don't recommend the Accent at all. There are much more dependable, practical, small cars out there for just a little bit more money.
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