1996 Hyundai Accent 4 door sedan from North America - Comments

Timing Belt replaced at 75,000 miles.

Ignition Switch replaced at 100,000 miles.

Automatic Transmission blew at 130,000 miles.

This great little car got me to and from college every single day for three years with no (major) problems, until my transmission went last December. I did beat the hell out of it though. It would still be running today if I took care of it.

I found the front seats to be quite comfortable, but I am a small person. The back seats, on the other hand, are very cramped.

Great on gas, but not great on highway. I could NEVER get this car over 65MPH without the steering wheel shaking violently. I could never drive it in "econ" mode because it had such horrible pickup in "Normal" mode as it is. Horrible power on steep hills, too.

I did love this car though. 4 years of reliable service despite the fact I didn't maintain it isn't bad in my book.

A few minor problems that I forgot to add in my original review:

Passenger side door handle cracked and became unusable.

Drivers side window became very hard to roll up - I actually gained muscle in my left arm solely from rolling my window up! I brought it in to my mechanic, who told me to contact a glass company, so I brought it to a glass company, who told me to contact my mechanic. Gave up after that.

Both back doors became hard to open, due to lack of use. Keep them oiled.

THE MOST ANNOYING THING: If I had a friend, or a gas attendant put oil in my car who wasn't aware of how to properly replace the oil cap, I would lose it. I've had to buy at least 15 oil caps in the history of this car. When you close it, it may seem tight, but you have to keep turning until you feel a little "pop" Crappiest design I've ever seen. It finally got to a point where I went to the junk yard and bought every single oil cap they had for my accent.

I also forgot to mention my accidents:

#1 - I hit a deer going 50MPH. Major front end damage. The whole thing just crumpled like an accordion. No air bags went off, which was curious. Wasn't totaled though, so I got everything fixed.

#2 - I rear-ended an SUV sitting at a stop sign (not because of any mechanical malfunction - this one was my own sheer stupidity). I hit him going maybe 10MPH. Again, the front end completely crumpled, again, no air bags. This made me QUITE nervous.

I owned one and I have to say that I loved it. The only problem I really had was that my dashlights blew after a few weeks. Other than that, my little car got around. I never had a problem with speed, I think the fastest that I went was 105 in this car. I ended up crashing it at 75 mph, but I walked away without a scratch. Safe car!!!

I have had my accent for a year and a half. Bought it from some guy who had the engine rebuilt and it had been used for a hundred miles before I bought it. it's now at 185000 miles and I'd have to say, it's a fairly decent car. Same thing about the drive side window. It's really hard to role up and I haven't taken it farther and sixty miles on the highway because it really sucks on the highway. Driver side door no longer opens from the inside, and can be opened from the outside locked or unlocked, cool huh? Since it's been around a lot, I had to change the brakes and rotors. Other than that, due to its age, it's an OK car. It's going to die soon though, I can feel it.

If the steering wheel (and/or the front end of the car) vibrates when doing reasonably high speed, your front wheels are out of alignment and need "balancing". Very quick, very cheap, costing on average £3 per wheel. You might as well have your back ones balanced at the same time. A car's wheels tend to need balancing every year or so depending on the car and how it is driven.

I have a 1996 Hyundai Accent and have had some similar problems with it. About every 2 years the big fuse for the headlights blows out and I have to get it replaced. Also, for the 8 years I have owned the car, the driver side window has been difficult to roll up or down. I found out that the window likes to jump out of the track and have had it fixed plenty of times, it still doesn't work properly. Another thing is whenever I got up to 65mph the car would shake, but a simple alignment and tire balanced fixed that. Other than those things, I love the car and plan to drive it until it dies.

I have a 1996 Hyundai Accent with an automatic transmission. I have had the tranny replaced three times and to my surprise it went again. Am not satisfied with this vehicle.

1995 Accent 98,000 miles. It has so much in common with the preceding:

A broken driver's door opener.

The driver side window is very hard to roll up.

I recently found out that that window operated well in rain and searched this site for lubrication advice. I just seem to have joined the chorus instead.