Hyundai/Kia Reliable?

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ls973800

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Maybe just old school (although I am also old) and remember when Honda, Toyota, VW etc were first coming to the states. Took them a long time before they were reliable and accepted in the mainstream.

Kia and Hyunda were later arrivals and really had a bad reputation for many years. They were basically throw a way cars for many years.

I keep reading reports now that they have also become mainstream and accepted. My wife and I are looking for a new car (yes, you've heard it before I'm sure, this will be our last car purchase) and I want to make sure it is something that will last and not be a problem. I know that every brand has pros and cons, but how reliable have these two brands become?

I am looking at the Sorrento and the Santa Fe, but just can't get past a mental block right now of what I remember of these two brands. Am I missing out on a great value and a great car?

There was a thread a month or two ago talking about these two brands but I can't find it doing a search. Of course at the time we weren't in need of a car.

Thanks
 
We've had good luck with ours. I have friends with Kia's and they have had great luck as well. The new 2019 Santa Fe is outstanding, the Wife really wants one.
 
The earlier cars were iffy, but they have continuously improved to the point of leadership now. I have a 2005 Elantra now as a winter beater and it has even been totally reliable and had very few needed repairs with average maintenance. Sis-in-law has a 2013 that's also been fine.
 
Had four Kia's (including a Ford Fiesta) and a Hyundai and never had trouble with any of them. Much more reliable than my experience with GM, Ford or FCA (before it was FCA). Have had better luck htan Toyota but that's not a good comparison because most of those were beaters I bought for the kids.

I'd put the both slightly behind Toyota for reliability, roughly equal to Honda, and well ahead of the (old) big 3, Nissan or VW. There are more sophisticated cars out there, but they just don't have a lot of little things going wrong with them-- at least in my experience. Have had a few GM cars in the last twenty years, and although they weren't lemons, they each cost me about a thousand dollars in repairs over the course of a hundred thousand miles. Can't think of anything like that with any of the HyunKias other than a blown wiring harness on a Rio caused by an idiot battery jumper-- got AAA to track him down and made the tow company pay for that one.
 
The OPs post can only remind me of my first new car...a 1987 Hyundai Excel that after about 25-30K miles of niggling problems ( that included a clutch replacement that wasn't caused by misuse and two sets of brake pads that looked like they were made of Velveeta mixed with resin ) ran decently until I beat the thing pretty severely and it threw a rod at 112K miles.

My 2013 Accent commuter is the exact opposite of that car with no problems of any kind. I would view that as pretty representative of the transformation of Hyundai ( especially in the last 10 years ). The vast majority of owners seem to have a good experience.
 
So far so good with my 2015 Sonata. Almost 92k miles and so far the only repair has been a CV boot replacement. Was ridiculously cheap to have it replaced too.

It was a previous rental car and I drive it pretty hard too. Not a single rattle.
 
My Son has a Sonata he bought new and it now has 114,000 miles and not a single issue.


I bought a new 2017 Santa Fe XL Limited (7 passenger) and it now has 21,000 miles and has been great thus far. The 6 cylinder really moves the vehicle along! This will probably be my wife's next to last car. We have a tendency no too keep cars past 100,000 miles.


As a matter of fact...we will take a real close look at the new Kia Telluride for her next car.
 
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Niece's 2011 Kia Forte 180k. Beat on and abused. Only thing done besides oil changes (when she remembered) was at 175k when it had preventative maintenance. Transmission still on orginal fluid.
 
Now is the time to buy when they are reliable and you get good value for your dollar.

In another 15-20 years they'll carry a premium, and that is around the time when we'll see mainstream Chinese autos in the US sold much like the junkier Kias of 20 years ago.
 
As you have probably gathered, yes, they are reliable. They have had some troubles recently with some of their engines (2013-2016 4 cylinders?), but that seems to have been resolved.

I have had 3 Hyundai vehicles, no problems with any of them (although I have only had one of them for a few months). Several family members have them as well with little to no issues.

Take a look at them, compare to others, and don't let the 80's stigma of a Hyundai cloud your decision.
 
2011 Hyundai Sonata 6MT, engine blew at 99,045. Turns out there was a massive recall on the 2.4L engine, and mine got the worst of it. It was replaced under warranty, but at the time, the warranty was only extended to 120k, which seems unacceptable for an engine that's a ticking time bomb. My Sonata was an early 2011, meaning that it also had over a dozen other open recalls, most recent was one where an issue would cause a module of the airbag system to fry itself when attempting to do its job by telling the airbag to deploy. The suspension pieces are also weak, I've had a more than my fair share of creaks and clunks, though my car did survive 60k in New York before being sold to me in CA.

I really wish that I would have coughed up the extra dough and went with a Camry, especially given that the depreciation on the car was absolutely insane.

All this said, I have really been eyeing the 2016 Sonata Hybrid Limited, or a Hyundai Genesis. I got a lemon, but hot dog, those two cars sure do give you a lot for your money.
 
Yes, Hyundai/KIA are very reliable. And these brands have evolved extremely fast even compared to the Japanese brands when they too were in their hayday. It isn't that you can't have an issue with vehicles but, Hyun/KIA are among the better brands today often surpassing Honda & Toyota in some categories.
 
I had Hyundai IX35 (2011) 2.0 petrol with LPG fuel, drove it for 6 years and 150.000 km, never had problems.

Now I drive Kia Ceed 2017 1.4 petrol, so far so good. Drove 35.000 km already in 1,5 years. I change oil my self. Dont go to dealers. I dont want their waranty 7 years, services are too expensive.
 
My 2013 Elantra is one of the best vehicles I've bought. Always getting 30 mpg plus. Handles ice and snow like a champ. Just oil, brakes and tires.
 
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