Silver Lake

Review of Hyundai of Athens

2016 Sonata: This review applies to my Sonata not ...

2016 Sonata: This review applies to my Sonata not the dealership. What I don't like about my Sonata: (a) The air conditioning system does not hold a constant temperature. The cabin temperature is always either too cold or too hot. Never at a comfortable constant temperature. (b) No manual down shift of gears to slow down the speed of my car when I'm driving down a mountain. Even when I'm using cruse control mode the car still picks up speed when descending a hill or mountain. The breaks must be applied to reduce the speed which cancels out my cruse control, not to mention the excessive wear on my break pads. (c) The cruse control does not maintain a constant speed when driving over mountainous roads. Driving down hills the car speeds up to a dangerous speed. When driving up hills the car slows down until the cruse control eventually down shifts to a lower gear. (d) The owner's manual is written in general terms. It is not specific enough to trouble shoot a problem. At the end of a general description there is usually a statement directing the owner to take the car to a Hyundai dealership for service or repair. I like to do as much as I can on my own to keep my car in a good mechanical working order. I don't need an owners manual to tell me take my vehicle to a Hyundai dealership if I suspect something is wrong. What is the purpose of an owners manual? I thought it was to teach the car's owner how to trouble shoot mechanical problems before deciding if he needs a mechanic. (e) The Sonata's entertainment system is difficult to figure out. The owners manual does a poor job of explaining the options and features of the entertainment system.

Don't bother to call Hyundai's customer support. If you call you will get a menu of options to choose from. Then you will be placed in a call queue for a long time. Once a person takes your call he/she can't give you an immediate answer. You will again be placed on hold while the service representative speaks to a automotive technician. Next you may get an answer that you can use, but probably not.

What I like about my Hyundai Sonata: (a) The gas mileage is comparable to a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. (b) The engine and power train is holding up well. (c) The Sonata is reliable. After I put one hundred thousand miles on my Sonata I will be a better judge of its reliability.