1998 Hyundai Sonata GSL from North America - Comments

The door latch on the driver's door and the passenger door have broken.

The sunroof has broken.

A mechanic at the dealership broke the engine block while trying to remove the engine cover (after stripping the bolts) in order to change the belts. Needless to say, the engine was replaced, not at the expense of the dealership, but under the extended warranty. We have since stopped having the vehicle serviced at Hyundai dealerships.

I am trying to initiate a safety recall on the PLASTIC door latches installed on the Sonata and most Hyundai models. The plastic latches break easily, preventing the door from opening from either the inside or outside--an obvious safety concern. The replacement part is only $97, but the task of repairing the door is labor intensive because the internal mechanisms for the door latch cannot be accessed when the door is closed! In order to fix our doors, the dealership mechanic had to cut the interior surface of the door! If you have had a door latch on your Hyundai break, please file a complaint with NHTSA, the government board that governs vehicle safety recalls--http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

I had the same problem with opening the doors from inside. I had to change one of the handles, but I never had a problem after that. One more thing. You don't have to cut anything. This is weird. Just remove the door panel and whatever you have to do in order to fix the problem. The mechanic that worked on your didn't have a clue what he was doing.

We also have a broken door handle that was repaired once. The car is a 95 accent. Recently the wind shield wipers died in a rain storm and the sensor is about to be replaced.

I have a 1998 Elantra. I have had to replace the interior door latch 5 times. I contacted Hyundai several times on this matter with no satisfaction. I suggested making a metal latch so it would not break, they stated there has not been enough complaints to redesign the latch. To keep my repair cost low, I had to remove the back door handle and install on the front door, it also broke. I filed a complaint as you suggested. I fear I won't be able to exit my vehicle in a accident. I must roll the window down to exit, and in the cold weather, my electric windows freeze. These door latches have broken since the car was new, and Hyundai did nothing. Now that the car has over 100,000 miles, they still will do nothing.

Vicki Steigerwald

Vicki1021@hotmail.com.

Hyundai Sonata, 1998

Power windows (3 of them) have broken... all in the same way. The white round piece that the cable stays attached to (in the door panel) to roll up and down cracked!!

I have searched online for a recall, but it doesn't seem like this is a major problem...

It just seems weird to me that THREE would break in the same exact way.

Luisa

luisafb99@hotmail.com.

I have 98 sonata gls that had a door problem. The problem was a $.50 spring about a half inch long that rusted out making the handle inoperative. Spring is behind door panel and if hyundai used a stainless spring there would be problem, but what the hell that would have cost another nickle. After replacing passenger side went the extra bit to check driver side and found that spring about to rot through. The fix takes about half an hour, feel sorry for those who shelled out big bucks to the dealer. Filed a complaint with NTSB, but UNTIL SOMEONE GETS TRAPPED AND DIES NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.

I too had the same problem in my 98 Hyundai Sonata GL, I thought I was crazy. I got locked inside my car because a spring broke inside the mechanism and had to climb out the back door only after someone else opened it because the child safety locks were on, on the back doors. The actual door handle broke too. My window is starting to fall off track too. I've replaced the transmission once and its about to go again. The drivers door sags so you have to pick it up to close or slam it. That too fell down too far and locked me in my car cus the door and fender were rubbing and the front fender got dented by trying to get out. Car has caused me nothing, but trouble last 2 years, before that was a great car. I think it hates me now!

1998 Sonata:

Drivers side door electric window broke.

Interior plastic handles break easily.

Latch on drivers side broke.

Gas tank leaked at 150,000 miles.

Water pump replaced at 110,000 miles.