2004 Hyundai Elantra User Reviews

Pros

They'll fix

Cons

Lost faith

Purchased As New

Could never get a hold of Customer Care:
Had problem with interior lights; dealer never could find wrong, until years later that a rep. took interest, and was fixed...Still, car battery would only last one year...
At year 8, Alternator had to be replaced-I had Extended Warranty...
And today, 4-21-2012, as I drove in first the car
began to jump and stop, and accelerate on its
on...Luckily at 7AM, Sunday, I managed to
crawl it and drop it off with the guard at the
dealer...
Had full respect for my Hyundai from day one!
Never missed a scheduled maintenance, as records show......read morehide

Pros

got sunroof +heated leather 4 same price as corrolla which had neither.

Cons

motor blew at 152000 7 years old, computer quit at 60,000 km

Purchased As New

Was absolutely thrilled with my Elantra until the motor blew for no apparent reason at 152,000 km. All services were kept up, just had sparkplugs changed, oil changed & oil was full at time of fail. Mechanic said it "spun a bearing". I babied this car! 7 years old and 152000km is NOT a good lifetime for this car. Guess I should have got the Toyota after all, at least it would still be running.
Wrote to Hyundai who basically told me I don't have a hope of getting anything out of them.
Bought a used motor out of a bit newer car (2005) - it only has 41,000km on it - for $675.00 plus about $1000.00 for installation it was still cheaper than buying the extended warranty at purchase time for $2200.00. (& who knows if they would have covered it, if say I couldn't prove all my service schedule was absolutely correct.) Of course I only have 90 days warranty now but this might help someone else decide what they might want to do when purchasing one. Oh yes, and the "main" computer in the car quit completely at 60,000 km which was just past its warranty period. At that time they took pity on me saying "that NEVER happens" and took a computer out of a car on the lot and gave it to me for free.

Was not happy with the level of road noise on the highway. Sound system a bit crappy - hard to read the stereo display at night....read morehide

Cons

None that I've found

Purchased As Used

This is an awesome vehicle, low to no maintenance, wonderful milage, and an overall excellent car.

Pros

looks, reliability,value...

Cons

was expecting the gas mileage to be better, but is ok..back fin peels...

Purchased As Used

I bought this car with 65000 miles, its just great looking and riding car.. i hope to run it until the wheels fall off...

Pros

32mpg reliability

Cons

none

Purchased As New

bought new in 2004 and still going great with 114.000 with only replaceing brakes.have had 4 hyundais now and the other being a 2004 santa fe which my wife drives and has 70000 on it so far and the other 2 put well over 100000 miles on them. I'll never buy anything other than a hyundai.

Pros

Loads of standard features that will cost you extra everywhere else!!!

Cons

The paint quality remains substandard and the surface is easily scratched

My 3rd Hyundai, all three are excellent values. My second Elantra, great economy, loads of standard features, and quality. Excellent value purchased my 04 during December close out sale for $10,500 (yes, new car price) includes moonroof, upgraded stereo, cruise, 5 speed manual, no other new car offerred this kind of value including 100,000 warranty and roadside assistance. This is not to be confused with a luxury or high performance car, look elsewhere if that is what you seek. I have a HUGE SUV that simply sits in the garage while driving 30,000 + annualy in my Hyundai, the gas savings pays for the Hyundai over driving the SUV. It handles like a much larger car, don't expect to win any races, however, the acceleration is adequate. the seating is comfortable, power point, lots of cup holders and door pocket and dash storage. I do find some of the stereo controls are small for my fingers. Don't buy this car for the resale value, it isn't there. Buy this car for its quality, low cost, and economy. Then plan to drive it for 100,000+ miles and throw it away. Yes, a disposable car!...read morehide

Pros

Great value, great options, comfortable ride

Cons

trade/re-sale value

I have a '03 Elantra GT. I love the car. I drive 100 +/- miles round trip to work everyday, I've already racked up 68k on the car, and haven't really had any problems. I had some rotor issues, but since having those taken care of, everything else has been tip-top. i would probably buy another one. in the end, it's a great bang for the buck without compromising too much....read morehide

Pros

Great "added Value" items COME STANDARDWITH GT

Cons

a little underpowered, but a minor complaint

I was going to purchase a Toyota Matrix at first, but when I test drove one and saw how much it would cost to get what I really wanted, it became a "no-brainer" for me.
I had no intention of buying a Hyundai UNTIL I drove one and compared the "Standard" equipment with Toyota......Man, what a revalation!!
I then went into "research mode" and looked Hyndai up on every web site I could find,not to mention Consumer Reports, etc.....the data was amazing........the ONLY thing I could find "wrong" with the Elantra GT wa the fronal offset crash tests which have recently been done on the Elantra. It is now rated TOPS in it's class for frontal crash tests by the insurance institute.......it seems to me that Hyundai takes these tests seriously and has made marked improvments EVERY year on the Elantra. Just chech out the last 4 years' ratings from Consumers Reports.....it will blow you away! It did me!!


I LOVE my Elantra GT, the Kenwood 200 watt cd system is something else too, (I have ALL of my MP3s (4350 songs...... 20gigs saved on cds that I play in my car daily........!!!!! LOVE IT!)...read morehide

Pros

Reliable, peppy, not bad in snow

Cons

Drive it till it dies cause of low resale car

I bought a new one in 2000. Put about 75k miles on it without touching a thing on it. That being said, the cruise quit working right at 61000 miles (conviently after the 60k mile warranty ended), but never got it fixed. It was surprisingly quick, passed with ease and good fuel economy. I would recommend this car if you dont care what others think and want a solid commuter. JD Power and Assocs. just rated this higher then Toyota in initial quality. Hope this helps....read morehide

Pros

Everything about the car

Cons

None

I actually own a 2003, and have had the car for nearly 2 years. It has run rock solid for me, and I have no regrets about buying it. I'd definitely buy another Hyundai.