2003 Hyundai Tiburon

I BOUGHT A 2003 TIBURON 6/15/05, FOR $14,000 8/27/05 STARTED MAKING GRINDING NOISES, SMOKING,SOUNDED LIKE ENGINE BLEW UP. TOWED TO ROMERO MOTORS, ONTARIO, CLOSEST HYUNDAI DEALER. I HAD ORIGINAL WARRANTY & EXTENDED WARRANTY. ROMERO MOTORS SAID REPLACE CLUTCH $1,400. I COULD NOT AFFORD IT & TOOK TO MY MECHANIC. OPENING ENGINE HOOD THERE WERE METAL SHAVINGS ALL OVER ENGINE, AND IT CUT TRANNY CASE IN HALF. I CALLED CLAREMONT FORD/MAZDA (PURCHASED CAR THERE)AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO BRING IT TO THEM. THEY TOWED IT TO ROMERO MOTORS. I CALLED CLAREMONT FORD/MAZDA AND WAS ADVISED TO CALL ROMERO MOTORS. AGAIN, I WAS TOLD BY ROMERO MOTORS IT WAS CLUTCH WEAR N TEAR ITEM & CLUTCH TOOK OUT TRANSMISSION/NO COVERAGE UNDER WARRANTY. NEW ESTIMATE $3,400.00, AND TO MY HORROR CHARGED $818 TEAR DOWN FEE TO PUT CAR BACK TOGETHER. I AGAIN TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC, PURCHASED $920 IN PARTS TO FIX PROBLEM PAID MY MECHANIC TO FIX. 100% HYUNDAI PARTS. IT RAN A WEEK AND GEARS WENT OUT, THIS TIME I TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP, GLENDORA HYUNDAI, WHERE I HAD BOUGHT PARTS THEY GAVE ME ESTIMATE OF $2,700 GEAR SHIFT INSTALLED BACKWARDS TEARING UP TRANSMISSION AGAIN. I HAVE KNOWN THIS MECHANIC FOR 24 YEARS AND HE TOLD ME HE PUT THE SHIFTER IN EXACTLY THE WAY HE TOOK IT OUT. GLENDORA HYUNDAI SAID THAT THEY RECEIVED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT ROMERO MOTORS ALL THE TIME, THAT ROMERO'S MECHANICS HAD PROBABLY JUST THROWN MY CAR BACK TOGETHER, NOT BOTHERING TO PUT EVERYTHING WHERE IT BELONGED, BROKEN PARTS WERE LEFT ON FRONT SEAT. SO IT WAS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE GEARSHIFT WAS IN BACKWARDS. THIS CAR COST ME $4,700, WAS DOWN FROM 8/27/05 UNTIL ONE WEEK AGO. I HAVE PICTURES OF THE CLUTCH AND TRANNY CASE SHOWING DAMAGE, CLOSE TO SAWING INTO PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE BAR AND THEY CITED ROMERO MOTORS. MY LIFE HAS BEEN ONE BIG NIGHTMARE SINCE 8/27, NOW I'M FINDING OUT THIS IS HYDRAULIC PROBLEM AND WILL HAPPEN EVERY 5,000 TO 10,000 MILES. 8JB

DEALER HAS BEEN GREAT. CORP REP=BAD. PURCHASED BRAND NEW ON DEC 31 02, AND DRIVEN 3400 MILES BEFORE CLUTCH RELATED PROBLEMS WERE FIRST INTRODUCED. I WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT A MONTH LATER. THAT WAS THE EARLIEST I COULD BRING IT IN AND BE LEFT WITHOUT A CAR FOR 3 DAYS. CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 11,400 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I BROUGHT THE CAR IN WITH THE DEALER THEN WARRANTED THE CLUTCH DISC, FLYWHEEL, PRESSURE PLATE AND THROW OUT BEARING, BUT REPLACED THEM WITH THE SAME PARTS AS BEFORE, WHICH WAS REALLY A TEMPORARY FIX TO THE GENERAL PROBLEM BEING DESIGN FAILURE, BEING THERE ARE NUMEROUS PART NUMBER CHANGES FROM 02-04. THAT NIGHT I CONTACTED THE DEALER AGAIN, AND REPORTED THAT THE ISSUE WAS STILL NOT FIXED, AND THERE WAS STILL NOT A SMOOTH ENGAGEMENT AND THAT THE CLUTCH WAS STILL JUDDERING. THE SERVICE SAID DRIVE THE CAR FOR 2 WEEKS AND MAKE SURE IT WASN'T ME NOT BEING USED TO THE NEW CLUTCH PUT IN THE CAR. I DROVE IT FOR 2 WEEKS, AND CALLED BACK ONLY TO BE DENIED WARRANTY FROM THE CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVE AT THE TIME(SHE IS NO LONGER THERE)(NOT BY THE DEALER) I HAVE NOW HAD JUDDER AND MILD RANDOM SLIPPAGE AND HAVE DEALT WITH THIS FOR THE PAST 70,000 MILES. I DID UNDER DEALERS ADVICE TAKE OUT A VALVE LOCATED IN THE SLAVE CYLINDER TO ALLOW MORE HYDRAULIC FLUID THROUGH AT ONE TIME IN ORDER TO ALLOW FOR BETTER ENGAGEMENT AND LESS WEAR TO THE CLUTCH. THE VALVE IS NOT IN THE CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER IN THE 04 AND NEW CARS. *JB

OWNED MY 2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON FOR ABOUT 36 MONTHS. DURING THAT TIME I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL TWICE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS SINCE 1967 AND HAVE NEVER BURNT A CLUTCH. AND I AM NOT ALONE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF DOCUMENTED CASES ON THE NET AND PERHAPS EVEN THOUSANDS. EACH REPAIR COSTS $1500-$2000. THE FIRST REPAIR IN NOVEMBER 2004 COST ME $1800. BOTH FAILURES HAPPENED IN TRAFFIC AND BOTH TIMES HAD TO TAKE EVASIVE MANEUVER TO PREVENT AN ACCIDENT. THE LAST TIME I ENDED UP IN A HIGHWAY DITCH TO PREVENT A 40 FT TRAILER FROM RUNNING MY CAR OVER. SOMEBODY BETTER TAKE A LOOK AT THIS CAR BECAUSE IT DEFINITELY HAS CLUTCH / FLYWHEEL PROBLEMS PROBABLY CAUSE BY POORLY DESIGNED HYDRAULICS. THE WAY THE HYDRAULICS ARE DESIGNED CAUSES THE FLUID TO BE RESTRICTED IN ONE DIRECTION LEADING TO SMOOTHER SHIFTING, BUT IT IS THIS "SMOOTHER SHIFTING" (SLIPPING) THAT APPARENTLY IS CAUSING THE EXCESSIVE HEAT AND BURNING UP THE CLUTCHES AND FLYWHEELS. IS THERE SOMEONE OUT THERE IN GOVERNMENT THAT CARES ENOUGH TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM? CORPORATE GIANT HYUNDAI IS NOT STEPPING UP TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. AT THE RATE OF THESE FAILURES, HOWEVER, I'M DESTINED TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE. I AM REALLY "AFRAID" TO DRIVE IT. IS ANYONE GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? OR ARE THEY GOING TO ALLOW CORPORATE GIANT HYUNDAI TO RIP OFF THE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY? I WILL BE CONTACTING MY US SENATOR AND WILL BE CONTACTING THE HEADS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEES THAT OVERSEE THE NHTSA. I'VE NOTICED THAT COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN FILED HERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE, NOT EVEN AN INVESTIGATION. *** THERE IS ONLY SPACE IN THIS COMPLAINT FOR ONE FAILURE "DATE." MY FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED IN NOVEMBER 2004, AND THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED IN DECEMBER 2005 (REPAIRED IN MARCH 2006). WHY SO LONG IN REPAIRING? I REFUSED TO PAY FOR IT UNLESS HYUNDAI DID SOMETHING. I HAVE RECORDS OF ALL THE REPAIRS IF NEEDED. *NM

CLUTCH SLIPPED ON OCCASION - BEGAN TO EMIT ODOR WHEN DRIVING IN SLOW TRAFFIC (RUSH HOUR) CONDITIONS... SLIPPAGE GRADUALLY GOT WORSE TO THE POINT THE CAR BECAME UNRELIABLE. WENT TO DEALERSHIP - TECH DETERMINED CLUTCH & FLYWHEEL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED - GAVE ME A 1700 ESTIMATE AND SAID WARRANTY WOULDN'T TOUCH IT (RESULT OF OPERATOR ERROR). I WENT AHEAD AND ORDERED AN OEM CLUTCH FROM THE DEALER & AN AFTERMARKET FLYWHEEL (AND RENTED A CAR FOR 2 WEEKS WHILE I WAITED FOR MY PARTS TO ARRIVE) AND HAD MY OWN MECHANIC INSTALL MY PARTS. TOTAL COST OUT OF MY POCKET WAS 1400. TURNS OUT THE CLUTCH THE DEALER GAVE ME WAS NOT THE 'NEW' PART (TSB 04-40-005) AND NOW MY CLUTCH IS RATTLING AND HAS NOW BEGAN TO SHOW SIGNS OF FAILURE. *JB