2005 Hyundai Sonata

I OWN A 2005 HYUNDAI SONATA. MY AIRBAG LIGHT HAS BEEN ILLUMINATED FOR THE LAST 2+YEARS. I ONLY HAVE ~44,000 MILES ON IT NOW. I CHECKED THE FUSE, ITS NOT BLOWN. I HAD MY CODES CHECKED. THEY STATE I HAVE TO BRING IT TO A DEALER/MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSES OF AIRBAG SYSTEMS. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET. IT APPEARS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 05/06 SONATA'S, WHICH COST UPWARDS OF $1500 TO DIAGNOSE/REPAIR. I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO SPARE TO FIX A CAR - WHICH IS ONLY WORTH ABOUT $4000 IN THE FIRST PLACE. MEANWHILE, I WONDER IF MY AIRBAGS WILL WORK IF I GET IN AN ACCIDENT. I HOPE SOMEONE LOOKS INTO THE AIRBAG PROBLEM WITH THE 05/06 HYUNDAI SONATAS. THANKS. *TR

I OWN A 2005 HYUNDAI SONATA. IT SEEMS THAT THE BRAKES ACT FUNNY (DON'T WORK RIGHT/LONGER STOP TIME) WHENEVER IT IS WET OR COLD OUT. I HAVE HAD WORK DONE ON IT BY THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE FRONT BRAKES WERE FROZE UP AND ONLY HALF WORKING. THEY WANTED $45 TO CLEAN THEM FOR ME. INSTEAD I HAD MY NORMAL MECHANIC DO THE CLEANING WHEN HE REPLACED MY REAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS. HE DID THE CLEANING FOR FREE. ABOUT A MONTH LATER ON MY WAY HOME, DRIVING THROUGH THE RAIN I CAME UP TO A STOP LIGHT WITH 3 OR 4 VEHICLES STOPPED AT IT, I PRESSED THE BRAKE WITH ABOUT FIFTY FEET BETWEEN MY VEHICLE AND THEIRS TRAVELING AT 45 MPH AND THE CAR DIDN'T SLOW DOWN AT ALL. I USED MY EMERGENCY BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN BUT STILL HIT A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. NO ONE WAS HURT. I CAN'T SAY THE SAME FOR MY CAR... IT HIT AN SUV. THE SUV HAD MINOR DAMAGE BUT MY CAR'S FRONT END WAS DESTROYED, AND THE AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. THE CAR WAS TAKEN BACK TO MY MECHANIC FOR REPAIRS AND TO HAVE THE BRAKES CHECKED AND THE BRAKES WERE STICKING A LITTLE BUT ALL HE COULD FIGURE OUT IS THAT THE CALIPERS NEED MORE CLEARANCE. THE BRAKES WORKED FOR HIM WITH NO FIXING BUT HE ALSO DROVE IT IN FAIR/SUNNY WEATHER. TO SUM UP THE INFORMATION I DO REGULAR MAINTENANCE ON MY VEHICLE. THE BRAKES HARDLY, IF AT ALL WORK IN COLD AND WET WEATHER. AND NOTHING IS REALLY BEING DONE EVEN AFTER I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE ISSUE. WHEN I SPOKE TO THE MECHANIC AT THE DEALERSHIP HE SAID IT WAS COMMON FOR THIS CAR TO HAVE BRAKES FREEZE UP DUE TO RUST BUILDUP AND OFFERED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THEM CLEANED (ONCE AGAIN FOR $45) THERE IS ALSO A PART AVAILABLE FOR EXTRA MONEY OF COARSE THAT IS A NEW CALIPER SLIDE ASSEMBLY WITH ADDITIONAL CLEARANCE. THIS TELLS ME THAT HYUNDAI KNOWS ABOUT THE ISSUE BUT IS UNWILLING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. *TR

I HAVE REPLACED PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHTS TWICE IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS. NOW BOTH BRAKE LIGHTS NOT WORKING. THE FUSE IS FINE AND THE BULBS ARE FINE. I FOUND RECALL ON OTHER MODELS OF SONATAS FOR THIS SPECIFIC PROBLEM OF BRAKE LIGHTS BUT HYUNDAI SAYS THAT MY CAR IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. THEY SAY THAT MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT NEGOTIATED IN THE RECALL. *TR

LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS BLOW OUT APPROX. EVERY 3 TO 4 MONTHS. NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO GIVE ANY REASON FOR THIS. AUTO PARTS PERSONNEL STATE THAT HEADLAMPS SHOULD LAST FOR YEARS. LAMPS IN THE 2005 SONATA HAVE TO BE REPLACED AT LEAST 3 OR 4 TIMES PER YEAR. DEALERSHIP COULD NOT PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING HEADLAMP FAILURES. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE 2005 SONATA. REPLACEMENT LAMPS ARE VERY WEAK UNLESS SYLVANIA SILVERSTAR ULTRA NIGHT VISION LAMPS ARE USED, BUT THEY ARE ABOUT $50 FOR A PACK OF TWO. THAT IS AT LEAST $150 TO $200 PER YEAR FOR LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS. DOES ANYONE HAVE A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING EVERY THREE TO FOUR MONTHS SINCE WE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW IN JUNE 2005. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNED A 2005 HYUNDAI SONATA. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH THAT DESTROYED THE VEHICLE AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THREE INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE DRIVER AND TWO REAR PASSENGERS WERE REPORTED INJURED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOWING COMPANY LOT. HYUNDAI INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE AIR BAGS FUNCTIONED PROPERLY. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 95,000.

FOR THE THIRD TIME, THE AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT IS ON IN THE CLUSTER PANEL. LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALER CANNOT TELL ME IF THE AIRBAG IS OPERABLE. I'M SHOCKED AT THE NUMBER OF AIRBAG COMPLAINTS FOUND ON THIS SITE FOR THE 05 SONATA AND THE FAILURE TO DEPLOY. I HAVE RECORDS INDICATING LOOSE CLIPS, DEFECTIVE MODULE REPLACED, ETC. ON SERVICE FOR AIR BAG LIGHT. *TR