2005 Hyundai Accent GL from North America - Comments

Slightly loose belt which makes a small amount of noise at start-up and continues for 3 - 4 minutes.

This is a nice little car, considering it's price range (approx. $15,500 before taxes and all the other charges the dealerships like to add).

The throttle is a little sensitive, which makes starting from a stop a learning curve due to a lively, but small power plant, but other than that the car runs very well.

I have not gotten up to highway speeds as yet. Why? Well, the owners' manual suggests that exceeding 88kph (or around 55mph) for the first 2,000 km (or around 1,242 miles), is not a good idea and since I tend to drive my vehicles until they totally give up, keeping in mind the mandated regular service and a good deal of care, I thought it prudent to follow the suggestion, even though the dealership people poo pooed this saying that Hyundai is VERY conservative about such things.

Glad to hear you are happy with the newer 2005 Accent! I own a 2001 model and have had nothing major go bad with it. Maybe it's due to following the service manual you spoke of in your review!? I remember trying not to drive it too hard those first thousand miles. How hard it was, but everyone I see who buys new cars nowadays love to drive them too fast and end up either braking it or in an car wreck! Either way I think it's good to drive the Accent slow and off the freeways for a while so you can save the cars engine life and your own life as it takes time to get used to any news car! Glad to hear someone reads the manual for once! I've regularly done oil changes, spark plugs and another other easy tune ups as mentioned in the Hyundai Service manual too!

So stick by that manual, don't listen too much to those guys at the dealer laughing it off as you should be able to get your car above 50,000 miles with no problem like mine!

Another minor thing is make sure the gas cap is on tight (6-7 clicks minimum). I left it loose and even off for a day and it puts on the 'check engine' light that needs to be turn off at the Hyundai dealer. I found out it turns of after a few weeks so you could do that if you know that's the problem for sure. Or just get used to making sure it's tight so you don't have to think about it ever :) Maybe they fixed that on the 2005's? Anyways. Got new tires so the gas mileage is rocking 300 miles per tank now! Enjoy your car! I hope to get another one to replace our faulty wired Pontiac car soon...

http://www.carsurvey.org/review_15735.html

That 55 mph requirement is likely for breaking in new tires, AFAIK. If you replace tires, you'll hear about it.

What I wonder is that why am I seeing such wildly different prices people pay - one guy paid $7500 for a base model in 2004, which sounds too cheap (even after rebates), and the poster above paid $15000 b/w tax and other fees, which sounds too expensive (should be a loaded Elantra's price). Different dealers & rebates?

The difference in pricing could be a couple of things. 1. Some people put the price of the car before all applicable charges (tax, license, doc etc). A $7500 car would probably be about $8500 out the door. As for the $7k versus $15k difference, it could be a difference between American Dollars and Canadian Dollars (the reviewer is in North America, but we do not know where.) If neither of those reasons sounds good... well I tried.

I paid 9875 in us dollars for a 2005 Accent GLS with automatic, A/C and the mats. Price included a 1000 dollar rebate. I am located in NJ. Other charges were destination fee that everyone gets charged, but is on the sticker price. 545 dollars. 199 dollars doc. fee, 199 dollars for the window etching. $7.50 for some new tire thing in NJ. Also another $7.50 for on-line registration. Registration for 4 years in NJ was 232. Final price with everything was $11,665 before trade. Sticker price was just under $13,000 and with the so called appearance package was $14,695 The only thing that they got me on was the destination fee of 545 is in the price on the sticker and I was expecting it to be in the included in the price $9,875 so if you are comparing prices $10,420. Also after going back and forth with the dealer about trade in value. We traded in a 94 Ford explorer. with 132k in a dent on passenger side V-8 4wd AC not working right. KBB value in fair condition 1500. I was able to receive 1300 when at first they said they would give me a few hundred. It all comes down to numbers no matter what they say. Another dealer in the area I spoke to on the phone gave me a price of $10,896. I spoke to the same sales person my parents bought Santa Fe from last year.

I recently bought a 05 accent and am happy with the car. I was surprised at the quickness of it as well as how quiet the ride is. It could be quieter, but oh well. The seats are a little uncomfortable. We got the car for about 8500 before tax, etc.. (In Washington State) It came to 10 something after all was included. A good deal, I think..

I'm loving my 2005 Accent5! It's my first car, and if I keep enjoying it this much, I may be tempted to stick with Hyundai. Can't beat the warranty, and I get free oil and filter changes as long as I own it.

Thanks for the tip about the gas cap and the "check engine" light. I'll have to head outside and see if clicking it a few more times turns the light out, so that I don't have to stop by the dealership to have it looked at.

I've been reading all your reviews because I am considering buying an Accent. I've heard very little negative comments about it.

As I live in Canada, despite the mild temperatures and lack of snow this year, the weather can be rather harsh during the winter months. I was wondering how this car performs in snowy weather conditions.

All in all, from what I've been reading, this would be the perfect car for me.

I bought a 2005 Hyundai Accent recently with just over 2000 kms on the clock. The car has so far proved fantastic, very comfortable and easy to drive as well as being easy on the wallet. I only paid 12500 New Zealand dollars (about $8000 us) drive away!

To the recent poster asking about Accent performance in bad weather: I'm in Massachusetts, and I have found my 2005 Accent to be a beautiful snow/ice performer. Amazing handling on poor road conditions; extremely easy to regain control in a skid, plows over little snow piles like a tank, and easily stops on icy roads. That little car has some real spirit!

I wrote back in January about how much I was loving my Accent5. I still love driving it, but I'm spending way too much time at the dealership.

Checking the gas cap didn't fix my check engine light. I brought it in, they found the fuel filler tube was deformed, so they ordered a new one, and replaced it, along with the gas cap. A week later, the light came back on, I brought it in (for the 3rd time), and they ordered an evaporator hose. I brought it back in and they replaced the hose, but did a smoke test, and said they'd need to replace the canister. I'm having that done tomorrow... my 5th trip in for a (new) car that I bought just over 6 months ago. Not happy, am I.

I think the dealers are getting kind of crooked. I've given them my car for something trivial and it comes back with more problems than before!

I took the car in for the check engine light and I get it back fine, but someone crunched up the plastic that sits around the shifter. I wanted to go back and complain, but is it really worth it... I might get the car back with no engine.

Maybe they are doing this to get money from Hyundai as they are paying the bill? If the cars are too good the dealers don't make any more money after the sale of the car!?

Hope things turn out well with the gas tank!

Dealerships tend to mess up things on your car during service visits in order to get more money from you or from the manufacturer if the car is under warranty. I have tried to avoid taking my car in for ANYTHING unless it is a major problem. I've taken one car in for a very minor problem and had the air-conditioner sabotaged, a hose ripped loose, bolts loosened, and other things done to require more service visits. My neighbor (who is a mechanic) had the power steering hose deliberately loosened on his truck. This sort of thing is standard practice with most dealership service departments.

Just a quick comment regarding the price paid for these cars when new. It depended greatly on where and when you bought it.

For example, here in the Pittsburgh area, if you bought the car (new) at the beginning of the model year (late 2004, early 2005) you'd pay fairly close to sticker. If you bought it toward the end of the model year (again new, mid Summer to early fall) you got HUGE discounts.

There were newspaper ads all over the place here selling the base Accent, with whatever came standard in the car (plus AC I think) and a 5sp for under $7k... brand new.

All car companies are different, but, in general, there are 2 times a year that are better than all the others for buying a car (from a dealership). Usually around the Christmas/New Year's period (December to mid January) and at the end of the model year (usually mid to late June and after).

Keep in mind, with most cars sold in the US, a model year runs from June to May. So, the new cars coming in post June are either of the NEXT model year or whatever's left at the factory from the current model year.

If you bought a 2005 in August of 2005, you likely got a far better deal than if you bought it in February.

Overall, I'm quite happy with 2005 Hyundai Accent. It has 30,000 miles and I've done my regular maintenance. I think I'll have to get my accessory drive belt adjusted. I'm noticing a squeak that goes on for about 10 minutes (give or take). I used to have this problem with my former car (not a Hyundai) and it should be easy to adjust at my local shop.