2001 Elantra failures.

Sofar on my 2001 Elantra the failures are limited to:-

A) The digital clock, stopped working about a year after purchase.

B) The electric door locks, erratic operation, sometimes all the
doors locked, sometimes they all unlocked, solved the problem by
removing the fuse and opening and closing the doors manually.

C) The original battery has baulked a couple of times when the car has
been left for a couple of weeks without starting.

D) Tires replaced at 35000 miles.

Present milage is 47000.

 

A) I have the same car, the dealership changed the digital clock
without any charge.

B) No problem with doors
C) Battery already changes @ 40000 miles
D) Tires replaced much earlier, the car came with cheap/second rated
Michelin tyres.

 

I could have had the clock changed, decided to leave it.
Also have changed the windshield wipers.

 

The way I see it, this is rather good for a six year old car.

Counting defects, that would be two failures on one car and one on the
other in six years. I'm not counting batteries, wipers, or tires, because
those are maintenance issues. In these cases, we have 0.17 and 0.33
problems per year. Heck, even if we include the maintenance items listed,
we're up to no more than 0.84 problems per year. Even the most reliable
carlines don't average those figures (and I'd say that your experiences in
these cases have been better than average) on brand new vehicles-- they're
still just above 1.00 problem per vehicle per year.

I will say that the clock, the locks, and the battery are all common
issues on 2001 to 2006 (2001 to 2003 only for the locks) Elantras. The
problem with the clock is internal to the clock. The problem with the
locks is typically corrosion in the door wiring harness connectors, an
issue which Hyundai found and took actions to correct in the 2004 Elantra.
And, well, as I've said in another thread, the batteries still tend to be
crap, although a better grade of crap than ten years ago.

 

Overall i've been happy with my 2002 Elantra even though i too have had my
share of problems:

-Wiper motor & linkage
-Input speed sensor
-Output Speed Sensor
-Exhaust Flex-pipe (happens to be part of the cat :roll eyes
-Purge Valve on gas tank

My battery actually lasted 6 years which is good for our climate here in
canada. Of course tires, brakes, batteries, belts etc are all items you
expect to replace... Those items listed above were unexpected.

That still works out to be less than 1 problem per year.. even if some of
those problems cost over $500 to fix.

 

Hey, did the Purge Valve problem cause the "large/small evaporative
control system leak" check engine light? I've had that occasionally,
but haven't gotten it checked out.

It's funny how some of the problems are the same! I've had two of your
issues; I wonder if the 3rd is the same?

On my 2001 elantra, between when I bought it at 68k and 105k now, I've
had:

1) Power Door Locks don't work (I just replaced the fuse with a
slightly higher rated one; though after reading this I'll have to look
at the door harness corrosion thing)

2) Alarm sounds at random intervals - A switch on hood doesn't
register that the hood is closed, probably because the hood is a bit
bent there. I stuck a rubber stopper on the switch so that it will
close properly -- then again maybe that bent the hood

3) Check engine light re: Evaporative system, large leak

4) Silent computer error code: Transmission Position Sensor bad. I
bought a new one, but have been too lazy to put it on.

5) Coolant boiled over, from a faulty thermostat. This lead to:

6) Radiator Leak. Had to get that replaced.

7) Bad Transmission output sensor; I replaced that (an easy job,
thankfully)

8) Check engine light re: Evaporative system, small leak -- no doubt
the same thing as above, but again... too lazy to get it fixed

9) Check engine light re: Catalyst efficiency low; When I also got a
light about the O2 sensor being bad, I replaced that, which fixed this
as well.

10) Bad Transmission input speed sensor, replaced, also an easy job.

Then there's the newest issue: Sometimes the TCM sets a code that my
OBD-II reader can't read. Gonna have to get that checked out.

These are apart from the things that are probably blamable on my bad
driving:

A bent tie rod, axle, and other suspension components after driving up
a curb really badly (this was my first car ever, it took some abuse --
but fortunately never shared that abuse with other cars).

Tires that wore unevenly, and to the belt before I noticed, because of
said damage, that left the car out of alignment for almost a year.

And also apart from regular maintenance that I'm curious about -- I
had to replace the same headlight bulb twice in a row within a year.

And of course that mechanic that could have messed up my car by
putting Dexron fluid in my transmission.

*sigh*

But when I'm not working on it, I do like my car.

 

Yes that's the problem... the only symptom i have is that it's damn slow to
fill the gas tank.

 

1. Blown door lock fuses tend to be issues with the door lock actuators,
not the wiring. The corrosion of the wiring connectors tends to lead to
more odd and erratic issues due to continuity between unrelated circuits.

2. You're on the right track here. If you have more trouble than it's
worth, you can just unplug the hood switch. The alarm system will then
think the hood is always shut.

3,8. Large leak failures (P0455) are rarely due to the purge valve. If
the purge valve is indeed the cause, the purge valve will be stuck shut
(the normal position when not energized) even when energized. This code
means that the engine is not able to pull a vacuum on the vapor system.
More frequent causes are fuel in the vapor lines or the canister, or an
actual vapor leak somewhere (including an improperly installed or sealed
fuel cap).

If you can retrieve the actual code number that sets in the TCM, I can
tell you what it means.

 

Failures with the purge valve won't cause problems filling the tank. The
purge valve is between the engine and the fuel tank. You're looking for a
problem-- to be specific, a blockage-- between the fuel tank and
atmosphere.

 

The code is P0441 i'm supposed to take this in tomorrow so i'll likely
inquire about it further to see what their take is on it.

 

Just got some more info from my dealer:

The OBD codes i'm getting are

P0441 - Evaporative Emission Control System Incorrect Purge Flow
P0445 - EVAP Emission Control System Purge Control Valve Circuit Shorted

Initially i opted for a smoke test to see wher ethe leak may be but that
was prior to checking the codes. It seems the two are linked and getting
the purge control valve changed may be the best starting point.

It seems unlikely that this would cause gassing up to be slow but at least
it eliminates it as an issue and further testing can be done fro mthat
point on. I did mention that perahps the Vacuum Switching Valve may be the
problem.

The saga continues...