Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-47
I bought an 03 tibby v6 6spd with about 12k on the odometer, and I'm now at 98,000 miles (mostly taking weekend trips to the beach) with the original clutch. It hasn't shown me any signs of breakdown. I only drive it hard when I'm road racing, aside from that I usually don't turn above 2k rpm. I have added an intake, wheels and suspension (w/ front and rear strut bars) all the original parts are functioning 110% better than I expected.
I guess mechanical problems can be hit or miss sometimes, and I hate it that some of you have ruined perceptions tibby's...they're not all bad.
P.s.though my gas cap paint s peeling, I figured its cause I spill gas on it a lot.
I am very happy that I finally found a website that I can relate to. I bought a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon, which was my first car and I wish I had though it through. Within 3 weeks of buying the vehicle, I already started to have problems!
My car has been cursed with electrical disability and everything in this car is faulty. First, I had a problem with all my buttons and lights on the front dash and radio. That was fixed (covered by warranty), then both locks on the doors, which to just bring to your attention, were fixed twice and once again, I am having the same problem. You see, when I was getting repars done on my car, I was notified that it was some default on the car, and that I wasn't the only one with the problem. That was told to me by the technician. I was getting this information for 6 months until I decided to call the head office. To my surprise, they had NO CLUE of what the technician was talking about! I as a customer of a $30,000 car, was being lied to! I'm sorry, but that was going to far!!! Now, on top of all the other problems, my sunroof is starting to make funny noises. I have never had engine problems, but I hope I didn't just jinx myself because this car is only 3 years old and they already know me at the dealership by my first name! When I completed a comment card, with everything that happened, I also received a letter and phonecall that Hyundai would never do what they did. You see I believe that the 2003 Hyundai Tiburon car should be recalled. I have read and listened to enough people telling me that this car is crap! Maybe one day someone will listen.
Today my 03 Tiburon gets its second clutch and flywheel at 133,000 Km. I to have been driving standard all my life and two clutch and flywheel failures under 150,000 km is ridiculous. Total cost for both $3000. At this point I am writing off Hyundai's as cars I will buy. Anyone know of a class action suit in Canada?
Thx.
I bought a 2003 Tiburon SE in March of 2006. I bought it with 31 000k's. After 1 week of having the car it was at the dealership having a part of the suspension replaced. Not even a week after that it was back to get the light on the spoiler replaced (and ofcourse not covered under warranty) Not even a month after that my sunroof jammed and I was told it was over 300$ to fix it. Few months after that my driverside window motor went and had to replace that, my air bag light come on shortly after that and was told that it was my seatbelt buckle of course none of that was covered under the so called warranty. I have wrote a 3 page letter to Hyundai head office than have replied after a week with 1 sentence telling me when my warranty expires. Now my locks of my driveside door don't work I have to get into my car from the passanger side door. I'm writing another letter to head office than I am going straight to the papers!
'03 Hyundai Tiburon GT Mystic Teal
Defects:
1. Power window motor for drivers and passenger's side windows replaced twice each.
2. Power locks replaced on both driver's and passenger side doors
3. Battery replaced after 20k
4. Sun Roof motor replaced along with the sun shade
5. Paint around the gas cap all came off
6. Paint on rear spoiler faded and beginning to chip
7. Gas line cracked - fumes came into passenger area.
All covered under the warranty except for the paint. Now that the warranty is about to expire - I'm worried what else may break.
I am most embarrassed about driving around a car with chipped paint that is coming off in spots. I take care of the exterior with waxing twice a year and monthly washes... very disappointed. Any comments on the paint defects would be greatly appreciated.
I bought my 03 Tiburon new, in the spring of 04. It has had both window motors replaced twice and both door locks replaced twice, and the left front headlight replaced so many times I lost count, nothing covered under warranty. Outrageous for a car that's put away for 6 months of the year.
Purchased a 2003 Tiby for my daughter (V4, automatic)
Already repairs to sunroof, door locks, power windows, battery replaced, and now cracked exhaust manifold!
She and I have lost faith and wish we had purchased a Civic.
I own a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon it has 95k on it and I bought it used. This car is a big disappointment to me!!! I have had to fix the clutch twice and was about to buy a new one when I found this website. I have had to fix the inside door handles, and the door locks for poor design. I have also had to replace the battery right after I bought the car in Jan 07. I also am working on the power steering problem, the window motor problem, and the paint that is coming off around my gas door. All in all I would never recommend this car to anyone. These cars are horrible and this car should have a recall put on it.
Well I am glad to see that I am not the only one going crazy over my 2003 Tiburon GT (6 cyl)!
I have owned my car since 2005, bought it used from a respectable Hyundai dealership in New York. All was good until I began to have problems with the automatic key entry. I brought it to the Hyundai dealer and they told me that it would cost $30 to hook my car up to a machine to match the car computer up with the key remotes. (Upon reading the owners manual, I realized that turning the key to "ACC" and pressing the lock button would do the exact same thing). Did they really hook my car up to a machine to match "codes," probably not. I didn't feel like it was worth the time to argue getting ripped for the 30 dollars. I refused to bring my car back to the dealership for any other work.
About a month later, I had to replace the batteries in my keyless remote, and completed the sync between my remote and my car. The lights blinked twice, when the correct steps were taken. I smiled and chalked it up as a loss.
About 3 months later, the keyless began to act up again. The passenger side door would not react to the keyless entry and upon attempting to open the lock manually from the inside, the clip that holds the lock mechanism to the vertical bar detached, allowing the lock to move freely, but without any affect on actually locking the door. I brought the car into a local Hyundai dealership near my parents house and they told me it was not under warranty and it would cost a pretty penny. I was able to take the door apart and after a couple hours of fitting my hand and tools inside of the tight fit, I was able to reattach the clip to the vertical bar. Although my passenger door does not react to the keyless lock/alarm, I am now able to lock the door from the inside.
Now just most recently, my cars mileage is 77 miles over the 60,000 mile warranty that came with the car. Go figure, the same week that the car goes over 60K, the driver side lock does not work with the keyless OR manually (the same problem that occurred to the passenger side just a year or so prior). I was timid to attempt to manually lock the driver side door because of the clip problem that I incurred when trying to do the same with the passenger side. I could attempt to force the lock close, but I know that would not solve anything, just make things worse.
My experience with the Tiburon is that there is some sort of electrical problem that is not allowing the lock to engage though the keyless remote, possibly a relay that has stuck in an open position, or vise-versa. I am ticked because I cannot even lock my door manually! What is going on with this car? What has Hyundai done to assist in this problem, considering that it seems to be happening to more than just one customer?
The car looks great, but it definitely has its problems.
To add to the lock problem (which is my most major concern) I too am having the peeling paint problem around the ring of the gas cap door.
What's up Hyundai? Are you going to help out your customers even if they are over the warranty period?
I have to agree with many of the comments written by other dissatisfied customers. I too after purchasing an '03 Hyundai Tiberon have experienced many of the same problems. In addition, because I purchased the vehicle from a private party, it is not covered by a warranty. The problems I have run into are; the drivers side window motor quitting, and water leaking in through the sunroof. More recently due to the cold where I live, naturally the doors freeze shut, but due to poor design both car door handles have literally broken off!! I am at a loss and wish that there would be some recalls to address these problems because at this point I will not be purchasing another Hyundai.
I have an 03 Tiburon GTV6, 6 spd manual. Currently I have 98K on the clock and almost all of these are highway/interstate miles. I have performed all required maintenance on this car and have driven it well. I have replaced the battery, door lock actuator, air conditioner, both window motors, the driver's side door (rusted through before 35,000 miles), the throw rod, clutch and flywheel. This car has been nothing, but a nightmare and wish I had purchased something else.
CD
The car is beautiful to ride, it's smooth, fun, and just quick speed when needed for fun and with safety of course. I've been reading along and glad to see others are sharing the same electrical issues as I am.
I was nearly convinced the 2004 flood in DE/NJ was the main reason for my everlasting and current issues with electrical problems. A family member borrowed the car and was trapped in the storm trying to reach safety measures. In the mean time, it had wakes going over the hood from what I'm told. I'm glad I wasn't there to see it. I would have freaked.
Besides the sunroof never really working, I had it taken back to the original manufacture company and they claimed it was never programmed and they fixed it. By 2005 it completely stopped working. Several cold storms allowed it to freeze partially opened and finding floods inside the vehicle. Once I was able to keep the sunroof closed properly, It's never been open since. The lights aren't even on anymore.
I also get it when I open or close the windows, the lights dim in flicker at the same time, but briefly. It's not just the internal lights, but exterior as well.
My battery on the alarm key is dying, occasionally it locks me out of the vehicle with the alarm set, but it's nothing too serious. Just press it a few times and it's working fine. I've only used the key once for the door to unlock it after turning off the alarm because winter weather froze the door shut.
Oh yeah, I had a mechanical error once. My tire rod snapped in half. My Florida Hyundai shop is terrible. They wouldn't pay for it even though my package covered it. They said it was only covered if it had happened in NJ where I had it purchased from. Bumper to bumper package was supposed to cover this and Florida refused to. I was on a road trip from NJ to FL, while it broke in GA. Luckily my goal was in N. Florida.
My battery recently died the other day. I've been having a terrible time to car pool with someone to go get a new battery. It's the first one and its lasted 5 years. I'm hoping it's the battery. But in the mean time I was looking for the manual on the vehicle. I was wondering if anyone knew were I could get a copy of one?
And why did they have to make two different screws on the plastic lid under the hood? LOL. Besides that, I love the car, it's fun for the most part. I've thought of trading it in, but I'm not sure I'm ready to. It's got good 78,000 miles on it and it's still happy for the most part.
The 2003 Tiburon V6 is my first car ever, and I must say, I am very torn. I love the handling, and the look on the exterior. I have the ultra sport package with leather interior and the sunroof, and it's fun and eye-catching. However, my gas mileage is WRETCHED! I have the automatic, but still, it is around 13MPG or less. I check the tire pressure and clean the air filter frequently, and have no idea what the source of this problem is, but with gas approaching $3.50 a gallon, it sucks. Is anyone else experiencing similar problems? I honestly feared there was either a gas leak or problem with the fuel injection when I first got the car, that's how noticeable it is.
I got my 2003 Tiburon about a month ago and so far I love it. I have a V6 automatic.
The only problem I have is the passenger window not working, but after reading all the bad commentary on the 2003 Tiburon, I'm debating on whether to sell my Tiburon for something more reliable, or to just keep it?
We have a 2003 Tiburon. We haven't had the problems I have read here, but I do have an ongoing problem with the seat belt light coming on. Had it fixed once and they told me it was the seat belt sensor and we may need to replace it. Has anyone had this done, and if so, was it expensive?