I just spent a little while reviewing other MY 2006 cars that have been cited as competitors for Azera. Not, of course, for pricing or features, but rather for consumer reviews & reliability. There's a lot of outright lambasting of the Azera lately, and while I understand the frustration and would/will feel it myself given the cost of the appliance and the high expectations for quality in modern cars, these failures are, simply and truthfully put, anecdotal, and do not appear to be ubiquitous. We do know that there seems to be some kind of 'knocking' sound in the suspension that generates more noise over broken pavement than other cars, and that the transmission takes too long to shift prior to the TCU programming upgrade. However, other claims of wallowing, suspension too harsh, suspension too soft, seats uncomfortable, etc., is to be taken in stride: if someone is upset because some part fails or performs differently than preferences or expectations, they are about 99% likely to want to say it out loud (on reviews, on forums, etc.), whereas if the consumer is satisfied and does NOT see problems, they may be 5% likely to share those experiences in a public forum.

So I just took an honest and interested look at the kinds of complaints on other 2006 cars from Edmunds consumer reviews, as a contrast with what we have observed / read in the Azera. The "low points" are copied in batches into the attached PDF document. Hope you find it interesting!

This post has been edited by andyman32: Jun 22 2008, 09:11 PM

Attached File(s)
 Anecdotal_MY2006_Consumer_Car_Reviews.pdf ( 149.29k ) Number of downloads: 94

I also thought I'd do some comparisons of consumer ratings and expert reviewer ratings from a few different sources just so we could see how folks on different sides of things think the Azera stacks up.

Just for interest's sake. :) :beer: to all!

This post has been edited by andyman32: Jun 22 2008, 01:18 PM

Attached File(s)
 MY2006_Car_Ratings.pdf ( 58.4k ) Number of downloads: 42

andyman;

Good research. :amen: It is easy for us to think our experiences represent a large number of owners when in fact they don't. You must have some training in statistics or an engineering profession.

For now I have decided to be content with our Azera and concentrate on enjoying the many comfortable features of the car. I may write some of the major shock absorber manufacturers and urge them to produce after market improved shocks for our cars.

Happy motoring! :beer:

Joe

Thank for putting this together. I, for one, am very grateful. It's nice to get a balanced perspective on a vehicle. FWIW, I've pretty much decided on the Azera as my next daily driver (in spite of some harsh criticism/complaints by some current owners on this forum). Although I must say, as the Genesis debut nears I am tempted to pick up a Genesis V6 instead. Ahh, decisions, decisions. ;)

This post has been edited by jwaters943: Jun 22 2008, 08:58 PM

andyman,
You performed a really good service. I, for one, made the switch over to Hyundai after many years with Acura, Legend and several TL's. It was not easy buying my 06 Sonata, but after several months and my second TL coming off lease I bought my Azera. I have never been sorry, not for one minute. Your summary of the statistics prove that the other cars out there are having problems far greater than what we are experiencing with our Azzys and Sonata as well. Every TL I had developed annoying cabin squeaks within a short period of time. My Azera and Sonata are as tight as the day they were purchased. I think that the majority of us who are on this board as well as Edmund's are more car savvy than most and may dwell on a possible flaw/problem more than the rest of the car owners. Not to say that we don't have some annoying problems such as the suspension, but you have to look at the whole picture. We have a car that is thousands less than competitors, it stands out in the crowd, has most of the bells and whistles that you expect on the more expensive luxo-cruisers, and for the most part is proving to be reliable. Sure some people suffer from badge snobbery and will turn up their nose at the flying H, but I think it's safe to say that Hyundai makes a good product and certainly holds its' own with the competition. Every car ever made will have some of its' vehicles exhibit serious symptoms but that's not the norm with our Azeras in spite of the front suspension. :amen:
Don

As has already been pointed out, we represent but just an iota of the total Azera owners around north America. As a result, our opinions are somewhat less than scientific.

I say somewhat less than scientific because we are auto Geeks. We are perfectionists when it comes to our vehicles and that is the reason we frequent such web sites as this. We are just naturally going to be more critical, good or bad. That's what we do best.

Here is an example. We went to dinner with some friends last night. My friend drove us in his 2004 Camry. My wife and I sat in the back seat. Keep in mind that my friend, his wife and my wife are not necessarily auto fans like most of us.

The trip was mostly Interstate driving of about 15 miles each way. During the trip, I noticed a sound coming from the rear which was probably tire cupping. My friend, his wife and my wife noticed absolutely nothing. I pointed out the sound and asked if they could hear it. All of them said it just sounded like regular road noise.

When I pointed out that the sound only occured with each wheel rotation as opposed to constant, they all agreed with me. Never the less, all 3 of them thought it to be normal road noise.

Therein lies the difference between most of us who are more attuned to our vehicles and the rest of the drivers in the world.

We just naturally expect more from our vehicles and most of understand what it takes from the manufacturer to deliver those expectations. We all enjoy driving and expect full value from our purchase.

As my wife said to me last night while riding in my friend's Camry, "I would rather ride with someone who is oblivious to what is going on with the vehicle, than ride with you".

Perhaps most drivers prefer to be oblivious and that is why we never see them on forums such as this.

As I have said many times before, I really love my Azera and only wish that someone would come up with heavier duty front shocks to help dampen the front end bouncing.

David <><

It was fun to do, I'm glad some folks are reading it. I should have grabbed Audi A6 or A8, or S-class, or Saab, or Volvo S80. Talk about problems. As I have said before, this is not to excuse poor quality or to deny that some problems are exceptional and probably well inside "lemon territory". But it is to say that when contrasted with another car that has behaved well, and not had the same problems, is comparing anecdotes with anecdotes. The claim, "My Azera has problems", is significantly different from the claim, "All Azeras are junk." Note that our two most singly reliable, trouble-free cars were middle-age or advanced-age Ford Taurses, cars which have not been known for their steadfast reliability, and haven't been treated gently in other threads even on this very forum. All anecdotal; we were luckier than a LOT of Taurus owners apparently have been.

I still reserve judgment on our own Azeras due to low mileage, and it is worth noting that most of these ratings are done based on initial quality and driving tests. They are not long-term ratings. But it's still at least somewhat informative at least inasmuch as it surveys more anecdotal evidence & ratings than we may garner here.

I was just interested in how well the Azera stacks up... and there you have it. Camries with bad transmissions. Saabs, Mercedes, Audis with electrical demons. BMWs with bad software. Lexus LS with excessive wind and road noise. Poor fuel economy, suspension too soft and suspension too firm were on every car I glanced at. We are not alone. Whereas we read here, "Turns out it's JUST a Hyundai after all...", we read elsewhere, "This was supposed to be a Toyota..." or "They don't make Mercedes like they used to." So it goes.

Just a little light reading, eh? :)

-Andy

This post has been edited by andyman32: Jun 22 2008, 09:31 PM

LOL!!! That's awesome. :clap: I have been the recipient of similar sentiments within my own family... hahahaha!