Plastic parts degrade quickly in Australia's hot climate.
Keep in mind that this is my youngest son's car and he doesn't notice anything wrong with it unless it won't run.
Clear coat over paintwork degraded due to heat. Painted metal window frame was particularly badly affected. every door had lost it's clear-coat and the underlying colour coat had dissolved away revealing the colour of the undercoat.
Lower Timing belt was broken from soon after the car was purchased. This caused the engine to idle roughly and affected fuel economy. I didn't know this was broken until the following problem.
Upper timing belt Tensioner parted company with it's bearing recently. This was the final straw for this car, It's now up for sale. Replacement of both belts and Tensioners was a major undertaking.
Other components replaced over a 2 year period:
All Drive belts (AirCon, Alternator, Power Steering)
Catalytic Converter.
Fuel Filter.
Front Engine Mount - Top Left mount is still broken.
A/C Accumulator replaced twice. First time with a genuine Hyundai part which only lasted 13 months before developing leaks around the pipe welding.
AirCon Compressor has a noisy bearing and leaks slowly. Could expire at any time.
AirCon Idle solenoid. This has never worked. Requires that the idle be set high so the engine doesn't stall when the AirCon compressor starts.
Radiator Hoses (Both)
Front & rear Shocks/Struts.
New Front & Rear Bumpers. This is something I never expected to have to replace. Again, the Australian climate does in the plastic components used.
Dashboard Clock is not settable from the front panel.
Lamps in the dashboard module are very difficult to replace. They appear to require soldering.
The tacho was not working when the car was purchased. A component in the engine bay (capacitor and 2K Ohm resistor in a sealed module) was broken. Replaced the resistor with a higher wattage component (20 cents) rather than pay Hyundai's usual extortionate part price.
Alternator replaced with reconditioned unit for AU$315 rather than pay Hyundai's quoted price of AU$630.
Headlight reflectors have rusted. Very poor lighting as a result.
This car has been a maintenance nightmare.
In the two years my son has owned it, more has been spent on maintenance than the original purchase price of AU$1800.
On the positive side, for an older 2.4 Litre auto, it's performance is not too bad.
Being a front wheel drive car, handling is quite good.
Driver and Passenger comfort is good, although the driver's seat is far too low. I feel like a midget, when peering over the dashboard even though I am 180cm (6 Feet) tall.
There is absolutely no rust in this car. This is one thing Hyundai got right.
Hyundai parts prices are an absolute rip off. I personally have owned many cars and do much of the maintenance on them. I have never felt so completely ripped off by any other manufacturer.
This entry seems a little unbalanced as a lot of the problems you reported are age and / or wear and tear related, and it sounds like you are very particular with your cars which is good, but for a purchase price of $1800 you do have to expect some problems, and to me it seems most cars regardless of make or model would need some tlc in their older age. it would be interesting to know if any other people have probs with hyundai parts pricing as I have heard similar comments before.
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