not satisfied with 2012 hyundai accent

joesgot4 · #1 12-28-2011, 07:35 PM

ive taken my new 2012 hyundai accent to the dealer 4 times with electronic problems and or 50lb activated passenger seat air bag issues! the light is still coming on saying no one 50lbs is sitting in front passenger seat! even when theres an adult sitting in it !the dealer is having trouble fixing this and im thinking i may have made a mistake buying hyundai instead of new ford focus! the other issue is with the hatchback not unlocking with the rest of the doors! sometimes the hatchback will not unlock at all and i have to get back in car ,turn the engine on, then kill it and then unlock the hatch! i have it programmed where pushing the remote unlock once will unlock everything! so far im very pleased with mpgs,but mpgs arent everything! i drove to pittsburgh,pa 950miles one way fully loaded with 2 adults and three children and slam full of luggage and drove 70mph and returned a respectable 42mpgs overall! i just hope i didnt buy another lemon to rival my beloved 2006 chevy malibu! also something i knew going into this purchase that is now haunting me is hyundai's sevice department SUX !

rfruth · #2 12-28-2011, 10:07 PM

Same dealer each time, can they duplicate the problem(s) ? (all makes have problems, don't give up)

MaxxMPG · #3 12-28-2011, 10:50 PM

If I am reading this right, you have two distinct problems - the passenger airbag deactivation switch fails to sense a passenger in the seat, and the rear hatch doesn't always unlatch when you press the button. The passenger sensor in the seat may be bad, but more than likely the connector under the seat is loose, especially if the harness got hooked on the shoe laces of a rear seat passenger. For the hatch, it could be a weak solenoid or a loose connector.

Both are relatively simple to diagnose, and I think the problem is not with the car, it's with the dealer. My local Hyundai dealer is excellent, and so are two other area dealers where my sister used to take her Hyundai when she owned one. I'd take it to another dealer, and if possible, make a video on your cell phone or small camera so you can show the service writer what's happening. Be optimistic and friendly and explain what's going on and give them a fair chance to investigate and fix the problem. If that other dealer fixes it first shot, you know where to take the car if it has any more problems.

Ophbalance · #4 12-29-2011, 08:00 AM

With my previous 10 years of Hyundai ownership, this was ALWAYS my biggest issue. I very rarely had problems with the car, but very frequently had issues with the dealerships. To date I've not found a single one that I would trust in NEPA or Eastern NC. But I would say the same for Honda in NEPA as well, and when I left the area the only one that was close was in Reading PA.

I know I've detailed this in the past, but to even purchase my 99 Elantra, I had to track down a sales associate the day after all the July 4th sales. There were several sales folks sitting outside the dealership but none offered to help until we approached them. And our test drive consisted of driving around the dealership, and ended with "So, you gonna buy or what?". This ended with us putting 500 down on the car, but not able to get the "Supa Fabulus Deal!" they were offering on the radio. They didn't tell us on the spot, they waited until we were home for the night. The further told us that we'd lose our 500 dollar deposit if we weren't in the next day with some other form of financing. We managed to get a parent to co-sign, but when we attempted to get the color of the car we wanted, we were further told "No, you need to take home the car you test drove. It's already prepped!".

I learned a LOT from that experience, and should have walked on the deal and called the state down on them. However, the difference between them and a Focus was at least 5k at the time, and we just didn't have that kind of money starting out. In talking to a teacher at the college I was in, they had pretty much the same experience with that same dealer.

The dealer in Durham, NC had my car in because it had lost pretty much 50% of its power, and was burning through gas like you wouldn't believe. Turns out the first cat (remember, the car came from NEPA, and had to meet CA emissions for whatever reason) had imploded. The first cat was behind the heatshield and directly below the exhaust header. The dealership had to replace it under warranty (yay) and had it back to me within 2-3 days. I tried to drive it home, but it was STILL doing the 50% power thing. I turned it around and complained. They responded with "Oh, well, it ran fine in the parking lot". They NEVER took it for a drive on the main roads or highway??? The excuse they gave me was they didn't realize it even had two cats as they've never come across it before. Turns out the first cats remains ended up in the second cat. They at least gave me a loaner for that, but any other repair I've had through them has always been a sit and wait deal.

Contrast that with the dealer where I got the Prius. When I brought it home (they didn't even have the money for the car yet, stupid credit union is sloooooow to send payment) I noticed the front bumper was messed up. They came out, looked at it, and said "sure is". They drove it back to the dealer, which is 40 miles away, and put a new one on. They then drove it back. Every time I've been in they've not tried to sell me a new car, they just get the work done. And if I don't have time to wait? Well, every time it's been "no problem Mr. Williams, do you need a loaner?". I've NEVER gotten that at a Hyundai dealer... I have to drag them kicking and screaming into a loaner, and they almost always have just the one "and it's out right now".

JusBringIt · #5 12-29-2011, 08:14 AM

Well, the dealerships make the company. That said, I'm not sure whether or not this issue is isolated, but if it isn't, Hyundai better get on it BEFORE it loses the "media darling" description. Being known as the Hyundai of old is not good for their aspirations...nor any other maker for that matter.

Hopefully your issue is resolved sooner rather than later. Try a different dealer.

joesgot4 · #6 12-29-2011, 07:15 PM

i asked for a loaner and was told they dont offer loaners to customers! now i have to find time to carry it back to the dealer again and im going back out of town so it wont be for a couple of weeks! and that is if some hard to get part comes in! i filed a complaint yesterday at hyundai motors online! here in meridian,ms we have a ford dealer that is top notch when my hyundai was damaged by a shopping cart the ford dealer fixed it! and did a good job in a timely manner! what i have learned over the years is you buy more of the dealer than you do the brand of car! i ran from gm for some of these same reasons! it just seems that there are so few good dealers and my local ford dealer is excellant! i just hope the hyundai's quality will overide the dealers problems! my car still has both problems and im waiting on a fix!

Ophbalance · #7 12-29-2011, 08:25 PM

Perhaps the "no loaner" thing is now a company wide policy? If that's the case, it just sucks. I forgot to mention the other dealer I was happy with, Mazda in Reading, PA. I bought an Escape off of them, and they went above and beyond in fixing a seat issue we had with it. I didn't get a "loaner" per se, but rather an enterprise rent-a-car (for free! At least three times) each time it went in. I think my sales guy is still there, and it's been 8 years!

joesgot4 · #8 12-29-2011, 09:43 PM

the sales manager and salesman who sold me the are both gone now and its only been 5-6 months! they told me they moved to another dealer in a town about 100 miles away! im sick of poor service from dealers! SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE FORD on that point alone!

herm · #9 12-30-2011, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joesgot4

the sales manager and salesman who sold me the are both gone now and its only been 5-6 months!

That sucks, you lost all the pull you had at that dealership. When people select a dealership they never worry about loaner cars and the quality of the service dept.. the furthest thing in their mind is that the car will need to be repaired!

Last time I went to a Ford dealership there was a couple of days waiting period for them to even look at your car.. and they had a vast parking lot full of cars waiting, contrast that to a Toyota dealership with only a couple of cars having their oil changed

That scared me away from Ford..

Ophbalance · #10 12-30-2011, 08:42 AM

The guys I bought my Prius off of are still there, and so is their aging Chesapeake bay retriever (one hip replacement later). Funny as heck to have a big 'ol dog walking around with the good 'ol boys. Course, it's a combined Toyota/Chevy dealer, and the only one in the area, so that probably helps a ton. I get a call about every six months from my sales guy "still happy with your car?" two years after purchase. That's a rare thing to find at a dealership.