(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata01.jpg)
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonatafirst.jpg)
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata9.jpg)
Alright, she almost has 60 K on her. I wanted to come on the board and chime in on how she has been so far. I saw a couple of other people reporting around this mileage. I hope this won't be a waste of bandwidth, if anything, I'll be curious if other people chime in and tell me how theirs are doing around this mileage and maybe tell me what I can look forward to in the next 20 k or so.

I have had to do virtually nothing with the car for the exception of routine maintenance and brake rotor upgrades.
So in all, this car has been a "worry free" vehicle in terms of reliability. Knock on wood, but I literally have not had to spend a dime on repairs etc...except for, like I said, mandatory maintenance. This might seem like a no brainer to some reading this at 60K, but we have another car that is the same year and Lord knows I have spent hundreds of dollars on it for repairs not under warranty.

My 2006 Sonata is completely bone stock for the exeption of the new rotors put on about 4k miles ago. I replaced tires about 6 K miles ago with Sumitumo HTR ZIIIs.
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/caliper4.jpg)
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata10.jpg)

The interior is really holding up well, the vynil is virtually 99% in tact despite the fact that I hawl dj equipment in this car every weekend...speakers, speaker stands, cd cases, and anything else you can think of. (IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata11.jpg)

The exterior has a few paint chips on the hood and the bumper as well. This is, I am sure, due to triple digit speeds on the highway. I am trying to figure out the best way to repair them and will probably search on this forum for the best solution.(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata7.jpg)
The black paint on the inside of the exhaust tip were completely flaking off but that was a $1 fix from wal mart primer and paint.
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata5.jpg)
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata8.jpg)
(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata6.jpg)
Though this car has been worry free, there are a few things that I absolutely despise about this car which I am sure some have heard and some may agree with me as well. When I first registered on this forum, my first thread I think was about the glare on the dash board. A lot of people thought I was crazy, but to this day, when it's sunny (and it's sunny here, a lot, haven't seen rain in months) it makes a huge glare on the dash and this picture doesn't even do it justice because the lens on the camera focuses and makes it look a lot less.(IMG:http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p368/hmr1979/sonata12.jpg)

And while that's a minor thing and may be a pet peeve issue, there are other issues that are hard to live with:
1) The pedal on the accelerator is really stiff. Not sure if mine is the only one that feels stiff. Stealer-ship says b/c every car will feel different, they can't do anything about it. The stiff part is ok I guess, but when I press the accelerator from stand still, it seems that the initial push doesn't really communicate with the engine until about a split second later when a huge jolt out of nowhere appears. This is very annoying and makes launches become like solving a math quiz. In another words it's not smooth to say the least
2) Not really sure why the gears are setup to where the 1st gets the most power and the 2nd virtually has no power unless at 5K and up rpm. Unless you kick down to 1st gear EVEN AT rolling 30 MPH, this car won't go anywhere at WOT from a 2nd gear roll...it won't at all...feels like it's hawling a pickup in a 4 cylinder. I am not an engineer but to my understand, the cars that have a map where the 2nd gear holds the longest would get pretty good 0-60 time. 1/4 mile is another story. 1st gear on this car is super sweet, but when it kicks into 2nd gear, it's like it put on the imaginary brake.
3) The transmission issue I think everyone agrees is piece of work. I also have tried everything like unplugging the battery and etc... but I have come to the conclusion that if you want it to behave normally, you have to have it in shiftronic, period.
4) Those who think this car does not: roll, squat, waves...eh....yeaah. It honestly handles like noodles. To those who lowered the car with springs: did it help the car in terms of handling? I really would love to do a suspension upgrade on this car, but being that there are not alot of aftermarket shocks..i guess this discussion is moot for now? I just saw someone with Ks on the other threar, but I am assuming that would be a pretty penny route opposed to doing something a little less drastic like KYB Gr2s...which doesn't fit (IMG:style_emoticons/default/innocent.gif)
Someone please make a tsb and end links, that can't be that hard LOL

Other than those issues, the car has been great in terms of reliability. Conclusion is: It looks good, it's alot of car for the money, it's spacious, it has livable gas mileage, it's reliable and it's slow as **** for a 3 1/2 liter V6. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

This post has been edited by hmr1979: Aug 6 2009, 09:44 PM

Well what do you expect from such a decrepid old car? Time for a new one! (I recommend the 2011!)

All seriousness aside, my gas pedal is fine, as is my tranny. I drive with a very light foot on the go pedal, so maybe that's why. The gear ratios are indeed chosen for economy. That feature is probably to satisfy the CAFE standards more so than Sonata owners. I also find the suspension just great, but again, I drive to go easy on the tires, not to achieve thrilling G's.

I beg to differ on the car being slow for a 3.3 V6. The car weighs 3400 pounds. It's a full size car, man.!

This post has been edited by bobad: Aug 6 2009, 10:44 PM

haaaaa, as little as i pay for this car a month, it's not any where near paid in full, so a 2011 might have to wait until 2013 for me lol

Whoops! Check my post, I edited it.

The stiff accelerator pedal just doesn't sound right. We have two 07's, mines a V6 and my wife has the I4, both pedals are very smooth to push down with no hesitation. The transmission could be a little more responsive but ours are not that bad. My V6 pulls very hard in every gear and I can easily hit 60 in less then seven seconds according to my G-Meter. I bought some touch up paint and I use a toothpick to fill in chips as soon as they happen, they look fine when you just touch paint to the middle of the chip and let the paint spread out. The only repair we've had to date was a seized left rear outer brake pad on the I4, an easy fix and it got me to realize the Sonata brakes need a yearly brake service and lubing. I did just put some Michelin Exalto performance tire's on my wife's GLS, they make a big difference in the road feel and handling in the GLS. They offer much better stability and handling over the soft stock Michelin's. I will put Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Sport in the wider 225/50-17 on my car next spring.

This post has been edited by wymi: Aug 7 2009, 04:05 PM

The only complain I might come up with, and that's more of a COMPARISON to other cars I've been driving lately (my wife's Accord and a Pontiac G6 I rented in San Francisco last week) --- is the BRAKE PEDAL being a bit too soft, and going too low to stop.... These 2 other cars I mentioned respond much quicker to pushing the brake pedal, which gives the driver a better sense of control and safety...

...Otherwise, that G6 I rented from Hertz, an I4 with almost 40k miles on it, was a POS (it's the 2nd time I've been renting from Hertz, and 2nd time I regret it). I don't know if it was abused by the renters, or the car is just not built well, but mechanically it was not in good health....

I feel the same way....about the brake pedal being a bit too soft.

You can actually adjust the tension I believe, but I haven;t done it on this car (nor will I do it) but I had a mechanic do it on an older car I used to own.
Put new rotors and pads like I did, and they will bite much much harder. Mine does for sure.

Great Review! But Im really not sure why you would say there is something wrong with the stiff accelerator? In my Sonata I feel as if the throttle is a bit too delicate and I don't have a heavy foot either. Even if you press on the throttle lightly, the tires sometimes squeal! Right now im stock as well and still have low mileage and still have the 225/50R17 Michelin Pilots that came with the car.

As for acceleration I think the car is great, although the 2nd gear is a bit long, im sure they did it to advertise better 0-60 times. The car shifts into third at around 64 mph (102 km/h) and if it shifted into third before, it would effect 0-60 times alot! Overall I feel a 3.3 V6 with 237 HP hauling close to 3500 lbs and mated to a 5 Speed Shiftronic is doing really well achieving 0-60 in 6.6 sec, constantly doing 1/4 miles in low 15's and also having a max speed of 150 mph (240 km/h) is simply great and doing its job well! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

It must be just my car on the stiff accelerator pedal. It's not that horrible, but I know it's not normal. I say this because I have driven other 06, 07s and recently the newer 09 models. It's not that bad to where I'll have it worked on, might cost me too much. And I didn't mean that it wasn't responsive as in the car won't really go if I hit the pedal, but at initial launch, (especially when I am am rolling a bit in first gear), when I first press the pedal, there is just a split second dead space and then all of sudden boom. That is precisely why I always unintentionally peeled out when I had my stock michelins. Now, however, the HTR ZIII is virtually impossible to peel out in (which I like). The tire is just extremely sticky, and under normal road conditions (no gravel etc..) you won't peel out in it, even floored. Just maybe a tick of wheel spin, but nothing like the stock tires.

0-60 times and 1/4 are not bad. It's not horrible, but some 4 cylinders can do that , that was just my point. Don't want to open a can worms.

This post has been edited by hmr1979: Aug 9 2009, 12:32 PM

I have a 2008 V6 and it does the same exact thing.....Sometimes no matter how light I am on the gas it still shoots foward. It doesn't happen all the time but enough to annoy me when it does...And the brake pedal is alittle soft too. i bought the car brand new and took it back to the dealer 6 days later to mention something about them. Ended up being fine, I guess it's just the feel of them. Oh well, I enjoy more about the car than I dislike.

I think the power in second gear is fine... I only have 32K on mine.. But if I floor it in 2nd at 25 it pulls strong and smooth... Try a 40mph pull in second tell me that doesn't pull!

My biggest issue w the trans on my 07 V6 is the kick down point is set to low on the Pedal... You have to press it almost completely down to the floor before it will kick down. On our Entourage it's about 50% predal travel for kickdown which makes the trans more responsive and drivable. This particular bad when you are on a neighborhood street & come to intersection and almost stop (yield) but not quite & it always holds 2nd gear (unless you come to a full stop) as you try to pull away entering the intersection & it's stuck in 2nd and the engine is lugging and your hardly moving which is a dangerous way to enter an intersection. You press the pedal 20% nothing, 40% nothing 60% and so forth and still nothing until you floor it then the torque converter struggles to bite as it tries to handle the power of the engine under full throttle so there's alot of slipping and a big delay then you find yourself accelerating down a neighborhood street at full throttle in 1st gear... Great!... And all you wanted to do was just pull away smartly. The setup is wrong. In my old Camry V6 in that situation (since you're hardly moving) it would have crisply kicked down to 2nd at 10%-20% throttle which is easily controllable since you're only at 10%-20% throttle.

I mean down to 1st at 10-20% throttle.

This is a perfect description of how these transmission act. My 09 Optima does this and it drives me nuts. Its almost like there isn't a happy medium. Oh how I wish I would have gotten the manual transmission..LOL

Agree with you a 100%. Very annoing, another reason why I miss my Solara 2000 SLE.
Once it shifts to the 2nd gear, most of the time only manual shift back can take it to the 1st

I am due for a tranny service soon so I am hoping it will somewhat improve shifting behavior. I doubt it would fix anything about the kick down set up points, because I think this is the way they made it to consume less gas.

Though I read another post on here about the tranny fluid drain and fill and it seems like the difference was night and day

Hope mine will be the same outcome

BUMP

Did a complete flush today. I am a hair over 60K now.

AT SPIII fluid, complete flush

I will take her on a spirited run tonight and see if it corrects the 3rd to 2nd down shift. I;ll tell you guys if the tranny service made any difference.

How much did you Plunk down on the Service? I only have 22K on the Sonata. Watched it change the other day. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)

I just went to a local carx
Because i know at 60K all I (personally) need for my car is a tranmission flush
just did my regular every 6k royal purple the other day and they found all coolant levels to be good and healthy.
I bought the lifetime balance /rotate thing with my HTRZ3 so I am good with that
Wipers are good,

these are the kind of things added that the dealers want to tack on (IMG:style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif)

Transmission flush was 128.99
Exchange was going to be 89,
I just wanted to go ahead and do the flush since I am at 60 K

She runs like a champ, did a couple of 120s tonight
Tires sing quietly and she is good...she is always good and stable at top end.

This post has been edited by hmr1979: Oct 19 2009, 09:55 PM