Hey everyone. New to the forums. I'm going to be a junior in college and the time has come to look at a newer car. My 95' maxima is about to bite the dust and I need something reliable to drive to my Merrill Lynch internship for the summer. We were first looking at an 09' Sonata V6 (used with 20,000 miles) for $16,500. They were a little reluctant to lower the price so with $1,000 down and trading in the Maxima, the total would have been roughly $14,500 so I decided to walk away from the offer.

I was looking around more and just found an 06' White Azera Limited. It has 43,000 miles and the dealer is asking $13,888. I have been reading quite a few posts on here, one pretty close to what I am posting now. the main problem some Azera owners seem to have is with the suspension system. Is there a public report from Hyundai about this? Maybe a possible recall? If not, would an aftermarket suspension system work? Also, what features are on this car? I know dual climate control, but is the back sunshade standard on the limited?

Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

-matt

Welcome to this forum!

If you don't need sportycar handling (the Azera being more of a boulivardier ride) I suspect you'll be quite peased. A 2006 with that mileage means that someone before you was evidently pleased with the ride, so I wouldn't let that be a concern.

I have 37,000+ miles on my bought-new Limited and I remain quite happy. And yes, the rear sunshade is standard...

Thanks. I looked at Eibach and Tein for aftermarket coils/suspension replacements. Not that I'm a super hard driver. But I heard that with some quick turns, it feels like it's about to rollover. I'm happy it has the rear-sunshade. The only luxury I have in my car now is automatic seats. Moving up to leather seats and a working air conditioner alone will make me feel comfortable (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I bought my 06 about 4 months ago from a dealer and paid 11,500. The car was a limited without the sunroof-leather seats and rear sunshade-great condition. The car had 26,000 miles on it-do your shopping. I'm very happy with my suspension so far-Great car-sporty tight ride. I live in NY were everything is expensive so this will give you a good idea and barginning power.
Also, you know if you buy this car that you've mentioned you still get some warranties with it- PLUS!!

I had a 07 Azera (same as the 06) it was a limited. This was a great car and HAD no problems at all. My circumstances changed and I needed a larger car so I traded my Azera for 08 Entourage. (another great Hyundai).
The 06 Azera should have a factory warranty of 5 years and 60,000 miles an it. The 10 year 1000,000 mile warranty on the power train is not transferable
to the second owner. Hyundai issued a service bulletin for possible suspension problems. A good test drive over poor roads will show up this problem.
as you have probably have read before. Check out www.edmunds.com to see what a used Azera is worth they also have an excellent Azera forum with many subjects about Hyundai Azera

Thanks everyone. Test drove it today. Going later this evening so my step-dad who's mechanic can check it out more in depth. Love the way the car rides. Suspension seems up to par.

Matt, the car's powertrain is impeccable. It's smooth and quick, plenty of power, and surprisingly refined and remarkably well-balanced for a transverse V. The mileage is of no concern on a car this well made. You're unlikely to discover any mechanical issues of any significance before 100K miles plus - maybe even not then. No one here is at that point yet.

The suspension problems are common, but by no means universal. Many folks on here report it because they came here to report it; others are just car enthusiasts and they developed the problem over time. The way some folks describe it, the suspension sounds like you're driving along with blown shocks and all the rubber bushings are gone - rattles and clunks and all. That's a little hard to explain. Others (some with a lot more miles on their cars than ours) say the suspension is A-OK and has been all along. Some are in the middle and report only minor issues and not even "problematic" - I'm in that category, with my own Azera. We own two 07s; the suspension on mine got a little clunky, and I pulled the wheels off and tightened up a bolt on the strut tower a couple of months ago, and it has been quiet ever since. My wife's, with twice the mileage, still has whisper-quiet suspension, no problems at all. If you drive it over broken pavement and it feels / sounds good to you, then that's your answer. The car is FINE.

Others report the wallowing / porpoising issue. That's another one that seems to be a matter of taste and expectations, not a matter of flaws. The car is somewhat 'floaty' on the highway - but lots of cars are. Again, it's not consistent. The way some people describe it their cars are like riding on jello, vibrating and flopping all over the place and barely able to stay in a lane. Others say it's fine, even great, no problems, it does what it's designed to do on the highway quite well. Usually the same folks who have trouble with clunking also have trouble with highway cruising - so there is some type of consistency there, in the car and/or in the individual driving it, or both. If you take it for a spin for a few miles of highway and it feels good to you, then that's that - no problem. The car is fine.

Last is leaning. This again isn't clear. Again, usually the same folks report this issue with their cars. When taking fast corners they report sloppy handling. I do not get this in any way so I can't really distinguish whether it's leaning or body roll that is being experienced. Maybe I don't take my corners fast enough. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif) Again - if you drive it the way you like to drive it, and it feels fine in corners, then that's all there is to it.

There is a TSB regarding the clunking suspension, some of the early shocks began to leak prematurely and were (or will be) replaced under warranty. For those having catastrophic issues with their suspension, the revised gas shocks do not appear to have helped much, if at all. To date, no one here is aware of any aftermarket options for the Azera's suspension, and it's not for a lack of trying - folks have called all over the place, searched every parts site, called reputable aftermarket shock manufacturers to inquire as to their plans. The general position is, the car is too young. They likely will not produce aftermarket options in the U.S. until '06s and maybe '07s are beyond the 5-year warranty. There are Korean coilover shocks that can be retrofitted to the Azera (I forget the brand) but they are fairly expensive.

Good luck and enjoy the car (if you buy it)!

SMA coilovers from seoulfulracing.com cost about $1200 and do wonders to the handling of the car. I would recommend sports or hard types (for more aggressive handling). Other coilovers are the Ksport coilovers but there seems to be talk about these as being very cheap and not as good as the more pricey coilovers. However, for regular driving, these should work fine. You should be able to get these for under $1000. You can also change the hardness setting on these coilovers. The stock shocks are prone to wearing out very early so I would not be surprised if the dealer replaced them on the car you are trying to buy. They cost $90 per shock so pretty cheap.

The 2006 Azera has some kinks but hey it was the first year for this car. I love my 2006 Azera but only have 16,000 miles on it. Mostly in city driving back and forth to work. Other than the clunk the car has had very little problems. Oh yea headlights dim but that can be fixed.

I'm sure you can get a 2006 Azera at a great price. Go for it!

Well I've been going back and forth to the dealership negotiating prices. I have one final question: What is the gas like? I will be doing mostly high way driving with this car to and from work. Thanks

Hard to say, the desire to see what's under the hood would limit mostly highway mileage to maybe 25-26 mpg. More sedate driving, maybe 27-28 mpg.

Speed makes a fairly big difference, best mileage I've had to date was 30.5 mpg while driving thru Virginia (65 mph max limit on interstates and no radar detectors allowed)... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/innocent.gif)

We just got back from a 1200 mile round trip, mostly Interstate averaging around 70, going up we got 28 mpg, coming back down 29, a little tail wind in both directions so we got lucky there. In town we have recently been averaging around 18-19 so this is actually up from our previous 14-15. We have 14.5k miles on the '07.

As previous replies have said, drive the car over as many different types of roads to make sure you know how it will ride for your expectations. While the suspension for us is a little noisy and expansion joints a little firm on the steering wheel we do not mind the ride over all. On the smoother roads it is a very good ride. Take your current car over the same roads and then make your comparison. The engine and tranny are very smooth and great for highway driving and getting up to speed on the freeway entrances.

I've had my '07 Azera for around 4 months. I drive around 75% highway/25% city and usually average around 26 mpg.