Hyundai Elantra Problems

The Elantra’s 1.8-litre engine has reputation for piston slap and ticking noise, hence the offer to cost of the parts. Carmakers will often make an offer like this, they pay for the parts, and you pay for the labour. They usually argue that you have to bear some of the cost because you’ve had the use of the car for a period of time. If you want to pursue it try to convince Hyundai to come around to your way of thinking by direct negotiation, or enlist a government body like the ACCC to help you.

Hyundai has the Elantra, Honda the Civic, and Toyota the Camry. All can be bought as sedans and all fall within your budget. For mine the Camry represents the best value for the money.

Is that 360,000 miles or is it kilometres? I’ll assume it is kilometres given that’s what the odometer displays. It’s impossible to answer your question with any accuracy, but you have already had a good run out of the car and I wouldn’t expect that you would get another 360,000 kilometres out of it. But if it has been well serviced with regular oil and filter changes the engine could conceivably go for many years yet. You could have a mechanic give a health check, take a compression reading for instance, and that might give you an idea of how much life is left in it.

The registration needs to be transferred within 14 days of the vehicle being sold. On sale you need to complete and sign the seller’s section (Part B) of the Vehicle Registration Transfer Application (F3520) and have the buyer sign it as well. Keep this as proof of transfer until the registration has been transferred out of your name. The buyer keeps Part A of the form and is responsible for submitting it to Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Generally the cost will depend on the variant and year. You can get more information on quick and cheap key replacments from dealers or automotive locksmiths here.

They’re not really interested in the specific model, just when it was built. If it was built in 2018 that’s what it will be registered as.

It’s not likely to be a safety concern; you can still drive the car, as you normally would no matter what mode it’s in. The differences in the modes usually comes down to shift points. In ECO it will shift at lower revs than when in NORM, and at higher revs when in SPORT. Hyundai has informed you that a fix is coming, so I would suggest you do as they have said, and wait.

The Elantra is a reliable car and, barring unforseen events, there is no reason it won’t give you good service for the five years you plan to own it. If you have any doubts the warranty of five years with unlimited kilometres should give you confidence in the car.