time for a new ride?...

[Audiophiliac]

EDIT: After further discovery on the part of a very helpful Hyundai dealer in St. George, UT, I now know what caused our issues with the original power steering pump and the replacement OEM pump that was installed on the car. Neither was the fault of Hyundai or their parts on this car.

There were still the 3 remanufactured pumps that simply did not work, but Firestone paid for the difference to upgrade to the Hyundai pump after all the hassle to get it in and working. So kudos to them....except for the clown who left the nut off the pulley. After the bill from the UT dealer, I will only be out $50 or so if I factor in the cost difference of the pumps that Firestone ate.

Sorry I made a thread without having all the details yet. Oops.

[gridracer]

just wondering how do you still owe money on a 5-6 year old car that was originally her grandma's? I know shit happens and money's tight but that car should be paid for by now shouldn't it?

[Audiophiliac]

Not sure when her grandma bought it. We were given the car and have only been making payments on it for a short time. So we really do not have much into it at this point.

[kg1961]

I would stay away from Vw I have had about 18 of them in my life. You thought you had problem with part with your car now. Hell I had a 85 gti I had to go 9 times to get a simple set of brake pads as the aftermarket guy can't make them, they were to thick ect ect . I ended up with vw 88 fox pad they worked. They make great cars but unless you know someone were you live that can work on them and a good parts company you will not be happy. I have my 2008 tl right now and I have to say i have never been happier with honda. If i was going mini van that would be my first choice
We have a 2009 tundra(work truck) now. Toyota there service and nickle and diming you sucks in calgary. Ever time i go into them for there free oil change there a bill for some bs

[stipud]

Wow you're getting rid of an otherwise reliable car, which you still owe money on, because of power steering pump issues? I wish all I had was your problem . And it sounds like your issue is Firestone moreso than the Hyundai no less. Get a factory pump installed by a proper dealer before you dismiss the car!

Now the Odyssey and Quest are pretty fast for minivans, and the Odyssey has "car ish" handling, but they are still minivans. The early VQ35's in the Quests had occasional oil leak issues, but those have been ironed out in recent models (and fixed with recalls, etc).

[Audiophiliac]

EDITED

[ttocs]

if they had to remove the belt and reinstall it, then they had to touch it in some way. I mean I can understand if they said that it was in good condition when they had it but to say that they never touched it would hve to be an our right lie wouldn't it? How else do you get the belt off/on other then using the tensioner?

[oldschoolfan]

My dad has a hyundai and I can't stand it. The build quality is terrible. He as always been a go to the dealer for your service kind of guy. Had the radiator replaces at the dealer with a factory part. It lasted a week. The plastic tanks did not even fit correctly on the aluminum core. It was literally gushing at the seems. There is no refinement to those vehicles mechanically.

[dBincognito]

This is why I do all the work on my cars, I got a 2002 Hyundai Elantra with over 250,000 miles on it that runs like a champ and has never had one problem.

[Audiophiliac]

EDITED

[Jim Truett]

so we have decided to look for a 2002-2004 Honda Odyssey.

Why? I'd rather have PS problems than a shit transmission. The '99 to 2002 4 speeds were trash from the start. The '03 to '05 5 speeds weren't much better.

The 4 speeds fail to handle the power output of the engine. the shift strategy allows for slippage and cooks the fluid in short order. I just replaced one for a friend that is on his fourth trans in 160k.

The 5 speeds suffered from cooking the transmission fluid as well. They added an oil jet to help cool the third gear clutch pack, but it is a band-aid at best.

Honda ATF-Z1 (their OEM Trans Fluid) is junk. It is a heavily friction modified non-synthetic fluid. It's flashpoint has been measured at ~330*F, and with the shift strategies the fluid sees this temp on a regular basis. I run Mobil1 or Valvoline Synthetic ATF in my Honda automatics and they last. The flashpoint of those fluids is 420*+. The only issue is if you have a warranty on the transmission, because of the non-OEM fluid it might not be honored.

The Odyssey has a great engine. With regular maintenance it could go 400k. It just might take several transmissions to get there.

If you have to, get an '03 to '05. The engine design is better and it makes more power. They also come with the 5 speed trans.