hyundais

[Devil 505]

my wife gets home yesterday and tells me the truck caught on fire, she was kinda exagerating but could have caught on fire had she not unplugged the resistor.  the heater had lost the number 5 speed about a month ago and I never thought much about it, but I guess this is a very common problem with gm, I did a search and found this in trailblazers and pickups. several trailblazers have actually caught on fire from this.  So something people might want to check if they own one of these.
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seems to me that the automakers would have to fix these "know" problems to me

I've seen that a few thousand times working in a GM garage for the last 10 years. I can tell that you have had that connector replaced at least once already (the original wires are colored, not just black and white). There have been a few where you couldn't disconnect the harness because the plastic plug welded itself to the blower motor resistor. GM has redesigned those resistors numerous times and have yet to correct this issue. It may even still be covered under warranty via a special policy adjustment, but I think 2001 is outside the model years included. Call your local GM dealer service department and find out for sure. Those parts are not cheap to replace, and I'm not sure if there are aftermarket parts available.

[Tank-Ace]

American cars are as good or better these days.  Why don't ya try one of those?  Be American, Buy American.

When I was looking for cars, that really tickled my funny bone. Everyone still thinks American cars tend to be of lower quality, yet they look to be the ones with fewer transmissions going out at a mere 80k.


Still, really wish the USA would stop importing so much of the raw materials, and even modular parts. Would create jobs, and increase quality at the same time.

[MrGeezer]

Sadly, not many car OR boat engine manufacturers set up worse case senerio rust/corrosion testing.  It IS possible to induce corrosion in a lab but that will not perfectly match what happens with corrosion over time to different metals, much less moisture/rain/water scenerios in so many different environments.

People who live in rust belt and corrosion prone areas have different responsibilities when it comes to their car care.  All under-vehicle areas are highly prone--quarter panels are the poster children for corrosion.

If you live in an area that gets any yearly snow, ice, sleet, and your state allows SALT or any NACL mix in sand, spray, or silicates put down to help winter driving then you will be prone to rust/corrosion on your vehicle.

Many states have decent car was facilities to allow washing the underside of the vehicle after each snow event and then the owner manually cleaning around the quarter panels with a high pressure soapy water emulsion.

My father did car restoration in Northeast Illinois as a side line for decades.  Every time the salt truck went by he just smiled and smiled.

[eagl]

yep. exel. 1.6 liter(i think) carbed engine. they were ok for what they were. they got people into cars for nearly half the price of similar cars back then. i had a couple customers that had them. they were generally happy'ish with them, and eventually all of them traded up to real cars.

Thing is, for about the same money at the time you could get a 2 yr old civic or a very very very lightly used escort, both of which were better cars even used.  My Dad got a nice brand new escort that was a bit of a lot orphan for less than a mid-range exel.  That escort was a great reliable car and its only problems were that it was white and it was a very late build of the previous year's model, so nobody wanted it.  It sold about a year after its manufacture date so everyone considered it to be "used" even though it had maybe 70 miles on it.  So the dealer sold it for the price you'd expect to pay for a super low mile repo, about $2,000 off, which is a pretty big discount when MSRP was only around $7500 brand new (if I recall correctly).

[Dadsguns]

Thanks for posting this, I own a 97 Sonata I bought new that I intended on giving to my niece that attends college in PA for getting around.  I changed my mind since it probably will not pass the emissions test in PA so was going to sell it here for some cash, I will definitely get it checked out before I do sell it....   

I dont drive the sonata much anymore since I cant seem to leave my new Ram 3500 laramie mega cab in the driveway,... 

[CAP1]

Thanks for posting this, I own a 97 Sonata I bought new that I intended on giving to my niece that attends college in PA for getting around.  I changed my mind since it probably will not pass the emissions test in PA so was going to sell it here for some cash, I will definitely get it checked out before I do sell it....   

I dont drive the sonata much anymore since I cant seem to leave my new Ram 3500 laramie mega cab in the driveway,... 

 the rusted spots on that cradle, would be towards the passengers side rear of the engine compartment. if you were climbing under the car with it on jackstands, you would look just inside where the passengers side tire is and slightly to the rear. it should jump out atcha.

[Dadsguns]

the rusted spots on that cradle, would be towards the passengers side rear of the engine compartment. if you were climbing under the car with it on jackstands, you would look just inside where the passengers side tire is and slightly to the rear. it should jump out atcha.

Just for laughs.... what would be the cost of repair? 
Pretty sure it would exceed the value of the car by a mile....  Might be worth just scraping it for parts you think?

[CAP1]

Just for laughs.... what would be the cost of repair? 
Pretty sure it would exceed the value of the car by a mile....  Might be worth just scraping it for parts you think?

 you'll be looking at anywhere from about 800 to 1100 for this. i suggested to this customer to junk the car.....he chose the repair.

[Dimebag]

you'll be looking at anywhere from about 800 to 1100 for this. i suggested to this customer to junk the car.....he chose the repair.

why in the world did you not get him a used one????

[CAP1]

why in the world did you not get him a used one????

 i did. it took the scrap yard nearly a week to find a good one to sell me. i also had to replace the p/s control arm, as the one on this car was destroyed from the corrosion.

 the price i mentioned above was the entire job, and a couple other little things he wanted handled. the owner of the shop across the street says i did it too cheap.

[Dimebag]

ah ok. good deal.

dunno where you are but it appears north east.  that being said, if you have a LKQ (www.lkqcorp.com) close to you, they can pull almost any kind of parts from our southern yards for NO additional charge... takes a few days for the part to make it from us to them to you, but i'm sure it would have taken the same amount of time as it did your supplier to find a rust-free unit up there. 

[CAP1]

ah ok. good deal.

dunno where you are but it appears north east.  that being said, if you have a LKQ (www.lkqcorp.com) close to you, they can pull almost any kind of parts from our southern yards for NO additional charge... takes a few days for the part to make it from us to them to you, but i'm sure it would have taken the same amount of time as it did your supplier to find a rust-free unit up there.  

 crap!! i forgot all about them! they took care of me when i needed a new diff. for my 97 dakota. i generally deal with a local yard called micciches. they've been good to me in over 15 years of dealing with them.

 and like i mentioned.....i REALLY wanted him to just trash the car. i'd have rathered see him spend that money towards something a little nicer, that i still would've been maintaining for him. i honestly think he just tossed that money down the pooper.....and i told him as much. he thanked me for my concern, but said that this was the best way for them to go for now.

[Dimebag]

but salvage value on that isnt much more than a grand if that, and scrap is half of that.... what kind of reliable car can you buy for 2.5k (the thousand from selling it to LKQ or likewise plus the thousand he paid to fix it)

imo good call fixin what u know you got owner

where are you at anyway

[CAP1]

but salvage value on that isnt much more than a grand if that, and scrap is half of that.... what kind of reliable car can you buy for 2.5k (the thousand from selling it to LKQ or likewise plus the thousand he paid to fix it)

imo good call fixin what u know you got owner

where are you at anyway

 i'm in south jersey, right across the bridge from philly.

[Shuffler]

I hate to see a hard working man or woman struggle. Those lazy bastards can drown for all I care.