Overview & Reviews
After receiving significant upgrades last year, the Sonata receives only minor changes this year. Among these are a battery-saver feature (in the event that any of lights are left on); illuminated window switches; a 12-volt power point in the trunk; and electronic, rather than cable-operated, releases for the trunk lid and fuel door. Additionally, Hyundai announced that it had misstated the horsepower ratings for all of the models in its lineup in previous years, so the Sonata's four-cylinder is now rated at 138 horsepower (down from 149) and its V6 is rated at 170 (down from 181), though the engines themselves are unchanged.
- Excellent warranty, stylish sheet metal, pleasant highway ride, lots of bang for your family-sedan buck.
- Noisy four-cylinder engine, some cheap interior bits.
User Reviews:
Showing 1 through 10 of 191.00-
Hyundai should honor their repairs - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By jamesw71 - May 10 - 10:02 pmI bought it new back in 2004. Stepson crashed it 3 months after I bought it. The dealership is having problems fixing it and honoring my insurance claims. Approximately once a year it wont start. They claimed they fixed it by doing such things as disabling the antitheft system, changing the battery and replacing sensors but I still have the problems. Insurance wont honor the claim anymore saying its a sensor problem even though its the same problem from the crash, the dealership is charging me $500 a year to change the same sensor over and over. Statefarm Insurance and Hyundai are screwing me over on this one. Exterior is coming apart..again, radio problems & door handle problems.
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Cheap to Buy - Expensive to Maintain - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By Brazoo - October 8 - 8:15 amThe Sonata is about $5k less on average to own vs the Honda Accord & Toyota Camry. However I do know about 6 yrs into ownership that in the end I spent much more in repairs on this "cheap car" than going with one of the others. First everything on this car at the garage is "special parts" & expensive. Needs special transmission fluid when flushing, special tires (racing ones found on a Jag)at about $130/tire & already replaced 2 sets. The power radio antenna broke-$300. The power steering line rusted & broke-repair pending. Have 134,000 mi on it presently & gone through 3 sets of brakes & pads an most of driving is wide-open hwy. I suggest buying a better car up front & save $ in long r
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ok car - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By faraway - August 15 - 1:33 pmWe got this car and its very Nice looking. The inside is very Nice. The only thing is the trany needs to be replaced. We are not happy. We talked to some one who has 2001 Hyundai sonata they told us that they had to replace the trany at 12,000 miles and now 68,000 miles later again same problem. Also the airbag light comes on and that will cost about $1000 to fix. If you need the spark plugs replaced it will be about $400 to do it because they have to take part of the motor apart. The tires are different on this car so they are about $160 a each. We have the v6 2.7litter and the oil filter for that style motor doesnt fit you have to get the 4 cylinder. Good looking car.
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problems with Sonata - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By John Franklin - June 2 - 2:00 amTransmission problem right off the lot Recall from corporate about the side airbags being too sensitive Horsepower misrating 181 should be 170 Missing dome light in rear roof area Hyundai says it will cost $1200-$1300 to install one... My gripe? It should have been there to begin with!
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not happy - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By george moore - November 26 - 10:00 amA little disappointed in this Sonata. Whats this with a vibration when your in drive and sitting at a stopsign or redlight. It just vibrates to much. I realize its a 4 cyl. but this is just uncomfortable for me and we have had the car for only 4 days. Everyone is giving it mostly good reviews, Did I miss something?
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BEWARE....FALLING APART - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By Lori - March 19 - 7:32 pmBeware...this car is falling apart. Im reading all of the reviews and how happy owners are about their Sonatas. I am extremely UNHAPPY. I just took it into the dealer and it will cost me approximately $2000 to repair. The airbag light wont go off and cost $481 to fix-not covered under warranty. How is a safety device not covered under warrenty? They said theyare not sure why a belt is making all of this noise but they will have to take the engine apart which with permission is oveer $280 and then I need to replace the timing belt and any other parts. They said they cant diagnose the problem without doing all of this work. I still owe $10000 on this piece of junk!
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Its OK - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By JY - March 15 - 2:00 amI bought this car because of the price. I personally prefer Japanses cars, but financial problems always happen to everyone, I believe. Compared to my old car, Nissan Sentra, its really not fun to drive. But it rides pretty smooth and pretty comfortable. BUT I would definitely go back to NISSAN!!! Just invest a couple of thousands more.
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Not bad, but could be much better - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By Dinerokid - November 11 - 2:00 amI have only driven the car 1,000 miles. Miles per gallon are 12.8 on my last fillup. I have the LX-6 Cylinders. Car handles well and it is quite comfortable, exterior design is very striking and modern. Interior design is quite pleasing and ergonomically correct. Cannot attest to reliability since the car has only 1,000 miles.
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below expectations - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
By Bob Slobbins - July 29 - 2:00 amThe standard equipment list and aesthetics of the Sonata were what led me to choose buying it over the base model Accord. After 12 months of owning it, I have just a few complaints. I needed new brake pads and front tires at 15,000 miles of mostly city driving. The wiper fluid pump and front headlight fuses needed replacing. And the window trim is already peeling. Also, Ive averaged 17 MPG in 95% city driving with automatic.
