2003 Hyundai Tiburon

A FEW MONTHS AFTER I GOT THE CAR, BACK IN MAY 2003, THE CLUTCH HAS BEEN HORRIBLE. I HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE DEALERSHIP MANY TIMES AND THEY NEVER FIND ANYTHING WRONG. IT SLIPS ALL THE TIME, SOMETIMES WON'T DISENGAGE, WHICH COULD REALLY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. ALOT OF TIMES IT WON'T GO INTO GEAR EVEN THOUGH THE CLUTCH IS PUSHED ALL THE WAY IN. *NM

2003 TIBURON - GTV6 - 6 SPD. MAN.L - PURCHASED MAY 2003, NEW. DURING SUMMER'05 WITH ABOUT 20,000 MILES, TRANSMISSION STARTED ACTING WEIRD, GETTING HARDER TO SHIFT INTO LOWER GEARS, FROM UP OR DOWN. WOULD AT TIMES ACTUALLY HANG IN 2ND, (POWER TO THE WHEELS) EVEN WITH THE CLUTCH FULLY DEPRESSED! (SURPRISING, AND DANGEROUS, WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STOP IN TRAFFIC !) HAD TO REALLY BUMP THE STICK HARD TO GET IT OUT OF GEAR. TOOK TO HYUNDAI DEALER THAT SOLD CAR, WHOSE HEAD MECHANIC DROVE CAR - SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM AND TRIED TO TELL ME I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A STICK. THIS WAS IRRITATING SINCE I HAVE DRIVEN MANUALS MY ENTIRE LIFE GOING BACK TO THE EARLY 70'S. THIS DEALERS SERVICE MANAGER ADVISED I TAKE CAR TO THEIR SISTER-DEALER, WHICH I DID, ON 09-05, WITH 24,379 MILES ON THE CAR. AFTER DRIVING IT, THEY AGREED THERE WAS A PROBLEM, BUT NEEDED TO DISASSEMBLE IT TO FIND OUT WHAT. WHILE THERE, ANOTHER CUSTOMER TOLD ME SHE WAS ON HER 3RD NEW CLUTCH IN HER '03 GTV6 - THE LAST ONE AT HER EXPENSE. LATER AT MY OFFICE, I DID A WEB SEARCH TO FIND THE TIB CLUTCH PROBLEM WAS ALARMINGLY COMMON. THE SERVICE MGR CALLED LATER TO SAY THE CLUTCH/FLYWHEEL WAS BURNED UP, BECAUSE OF THE WAY I'D DRIVEN IT, AND THAT I'D HAVE TO PAY $2,000+ TO FIX IT. I SAID BULLC--P, AND AFTER STATING MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE ONGOING TIB CLUTCH PROBLEMS, HE RELENTED AND SAID THEY'D DO IT UNDER WARRANTY - BUT ONLY ONCE. NEXT ONE WOULD BE ON ME IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN. PARTS REPLACEMENT LIST FOR THIS WORK: 41100-39140 DISC ASSY CLUTCH *** 41300-39115 COVER ASSY CLUTCH 41421-39000 BEARING CLUTCH RELEASE 23260-37311 FLYWHEEL ASSY NOTE *** : THIS IS NOT THE PART# RECOMMENDED BY HYUNDAI'S TSB, WHICH IS 41100-39145. THEY PUT THE OLD PART# BACK IN MY VEHICLE. HAVE HAD NO SIMILAR PROBLEMS YET (NOW AT 32,500 MILES), BUT WHEN (NOT IF) THE CLUTCH FAILS AGAIN, I'M WANT HYUNDAI TO MAKE GOOD TO REPLACE AGAIN - SO ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP FOLKS LIKE US WOULD BE APPRECIATED.*JB

I PURCHASED A 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON GTV6 - 6 SPEED IN APRIL OF 2003. 20,000 MILES LATER, THOUGHT NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR, MY CLUTCH WENT OUT. THE DEALER REPLACED MY CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL USING A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN. NOW, AT 48,000 MILES (28,000 MILES LATER), MY CLUTCH HAS FAILED AGAIN. I AM IN NO WAY A HARD DRIVER, AND AM A VERY EXPERIENCED MANUAL TRANSMISSION DRIVER. THIS FAILURE IS COSTING ME $2000 TO REPAIR, AND HAS PUT ME AND MY FAMILY IN A FINANCIAL STRAIN. CLUTCHES SHOULD NOT GO OUT THIS QUICKLY, AND THERE ARE MANY OTHERS WHO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH NO MANUFACTURER RESOLUTION. I HOPE THAT THIS MESSAGE REACHES FAR; HYUNDAI SHOULD ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY. I'M AFRAID THAT NEXT TIME MY CLUTCH WILL FAIL ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE A LOT WORSE. *JB

TWO DAYS AGO I NOTICED A WEIRD SCRAPING NOISE COMING FROM UNDER MY HOOD, AND MY CLUTCH BEGAN TO FEEL DIFFERENT, I COULD FEEL THE SCRAPE. THE NEXT DAY, AT MID DAY THINKING ABOUT TAKING THE CAR TO HAVE IT CHECKED, THE CLUTCH GOES TO THE FLOOR AND IS JUST COMPLETELY GONE IN AN INSTANT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE SHOP AND I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL ARE COMPLETELY GONE AND NEED NEW ONES. I HAVE BEEN READING THAT THE NEWER CLUTCHES AND FLYWHEEL ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER AND ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONES INSTALLED IN THE CARS, HOPEFULLY THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WITH MINE. THE PARTS ARE TO BE REPLACED BUT ALL THE COST IS ON ME. *NM

I HAVE A 2.7L V6 TIBURON FROM 03 AND CURRENTLY HAVE MY CAR IN THE SHOP FOR A NEW CLUTCH AT 22.5K MILES ON IT. AT FIRST I WAS SHOCKED AND CONVINCED THAT THEY WOULD FIND SOMETHING ELSE WRONG WITH THE CAR THAT CAUSED THE CLUTCH TO WEAR PREMATURELY. HOWEVER, THEIR ASSESSMENT WAS THAT I ABUSED THE CLUTCH WITH ABNORMAL DRIVING CAUSING IT TO OVERHEAT. THEY ALSO COMMENTED THAT THERE WAS NO UNUSUAL WEAR ON THE TIRES BUT THEY NOTICED A COLD AIR INTAKE (HATED THE SILENT WINE OF STOCK) WHICH POINTS TO HARD DRIVING. THEY THEN PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT THE CLUTCH IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AFTER 12K MILES AND THAT IT WOULD BE $2,200 TO FIX. THIS IS MY SECOND MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLE IN 13 YEARS AND I DROVE MY PREVIOUS ONE AROUND 100K MILES WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH. I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE STICK AND I DON'T RIDE THE CLUTCH OR DRIVE LIKE A MANIAC SO I WENT ONLINE LOOKING FOR SIMILAR PROBLEMS OTHER PEOPLE MAY HAVE HAD. SURE ENOUGH THERE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF THREADS ABOUT THE 03 CLUTCH PROBLEMS WITH MANY OF THEM WEARING OUT AROUND THE SAME MILEAGE AS MINE. AS I CONTINUE TO READ UP ON IT I FIND THAT THEY DID CHANGE THE CLUTCH THEY WERE PUTTING INTO THE 03 TIBURON'S VERY QUICKLY AND YET THEY MAINTAIN THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE OLD ONES. IT IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH THESE CLUTCHES GOING OUT SO OFTEN AND EARLY. HYUNDAI KNOWS THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE CLUTCHES THEY PUT IN THE 03 TIBURON AND REFUSES TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS CLUTCH I'M CONVINCED IT IS A BAD PART, NOT BAD DRIVERS CAUSING THIS PROBLEM. THERE IS EVEN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN THE MAKING OVER THIS ISSUE. *NM

I AM HAVING SEVERE ISSUES WITH THE MANUAL CLUTCH ON MY 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON. MY VEHICLE HAS ONLY 23,000 MILES AND IS EXPERIENCING SEVERE CLUTCH SLIPPAGE. I HAD THE CLUTCH EXAMINED AT 12,000 MILES AND WAS TOLD THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE. NOW HYUNDAI IS TELLING ME THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT THE CLUTCH PLATE IS "GLAZED" AND WILL LIKELY NEED TO BE REPLACED. HYUNDAI STATED THAT THIS IS DUE TO "NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR" AND IS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT ALMOST ALL OF THE 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON'S HAVE THIS SAME ISSUES AND MANY HAVE HAD TO BE REPAIRED SEVERAL TIMES AND STILL EXPERIENCE CLUTCH FAILURE. *NM

BOUGHT A USED 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON WITH 18,484 MILES ON IT. IT HAS BEEN DRIVEN RESPONSIBLY FOR 10,000 MILES AND NOW GEAR OIL COMBINED WITH CLUTCH DUST IS LEAKING FROM ONE OF THE GEAR BOX SEALS. THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN AT HERB CHAMBERS HYUNDAI ON SOUTHBRIDGE ST. IN AUBURN, MA SAYS THIS WILL REQUIRE A CLUTCH AND SEAL REPLACEMENT WITH THE LIKELIHOOD OF A FLYWHEEL REPLACEMENT AS WELL. FOR ALL OF THIS, THE ESTIMATED COST IS $322 PARTS AND $900 LABOR. I FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE FROM A CAR COMPANY KNOWN FOR ITS WARRANTY AND A SAFETY HAZARD TO OWNERS EXPERIENCING THIS SAME ISSUE. IT IS UNHEARD OF FOR THIS TO HAPPEN SO PREMATURELY IN A VEHICLE AND MAY BE IGNORED BY OTHER OWNERS. *JB

BEGAN HAVING TROUBLE SHIFTING FROM ANY GEAR TO ANY OTHER GEAR WITHOUT "DOUBLE CLUTCHING." TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE CLUTCH WAS BAD. FOLLOWING THE ADVICE OF THE DEALERSHIP I ORDERED AN AFTERMARKET CLUTCH AND AN AFTERMARKET FLYWHEEL. THE DEALER RECOMMENDED DOING THIS BECAUSE OF DURABILITY ISSUES WITH THE STOCK SETUP. ONCE THE DEALER BEGAN THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL ITSELF THEY THEN DETERMINED THAT THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION (6 SPEED) NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE HYUNDAI REGIONAL REP. WANTED TO GO AGAINST A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN AND SIMPLY FIX THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRANS ITSELF. THE DEALER ACTUALLY HAD TO FIGHT WITH THE REP TO FOLLOW HYUNDAI'S OWN TSB. THE DEALERSHIP ITSELF WAS GREAT AND DEFIANTLY HONEST ABOUT THE CLUTCH PROBLEMS ON THE 03 TIB V6 6SP, BUT I STILL FEEL THAT HYUNDAI NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THE ISSUE AND REIMBURSE PEOPLE FOR AFTERMARKET CLUTCHES BECAUSE THE STOCK SYSTEM IS NOT BUILT TO HANDLE THE KIND OF STRESSES THAT THE ENGINE EXERTS ON IT. I HAVE ONLY OWNED MANUEL TRANS CARS AND DRIVE MAINLY HIGHWAY MILES. I HAVE NEVER HAD TO REPLACE A CLUTCH BEFORE 130,000 MILES... MY TIBURON'S REQUIRED CLUTCH, FLYWHEEL AND TRANS REPLACEMENT AT ABOUT 40,000 MILES... EVEN THOUGH THE TRANS ITSELF WAS COVERED BY WARRANTY, IT STILL COST OVER $1000 FOR PARTS AND LABOR TO THE CLUTCH ITSELF (FAR CHEAPER THAN THE $2000 OR SO IT COSTS TO BUY THE STOCK SETUP). HAVING A CLUTCH AND TRANS GO AT 40,000 MILES IS UNACCEPTABLE, KNOWING THAT THIS IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR THE TIBBY ONLY MAKES THE ISSUE MORE UNACCEPTABLE. *JB