2003 Hyundai Tiburon: transmission slipping

Filed Jul 5, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · 85,000 miles · MO

Shifting gears has LED to slipping, grinding, and locking. It's gradually getting worse. Now, even when driving on the freeway shifting can lock up. Sometimes I have to force the shift into gear. Reverse is the worst. Had the master and slave cylinders replaced and still having issues with clutch.

Filed Jun 24, 2012 · Body, Electrical · 65,000 miles · NY

- the clutch is slipping - the motor for the passenger door window has failed and the driver side is failing. - the driver side interior door handle does not work, and the locking mechanism is failing.

Filed Apr 23, 2008 · Transmission · 57,000 miles · OH

Ok so this is what's going on and has sounded like it has been going on for a while I am 18 and just made a new purchase of a 2003 hyundai tiburon gt 5 speed it is the first car I have really ever really babied and I have only had it for 3 weeks I have not drove the car hard or anything and the clutch is slipping bad the car ran and drove fine when I bought the car now im looking at a 2,000 dollar charge for something that shouldn't even have went wrong in the first place I leave for the army in july 2008 and now I don't want to drive my car because I am afraid to mess anything else up on it so I am just kind of stuck looking at and nice red car that isn't drivable and I called hyundai and they said its my problem. There should be something done about this.....

Filed Sep 18, 2007 · Transmission · 00

Clutch slipping until the bearing eventually broke, clutch assembly was replaced but now it feels as if the clutch disengages and engages everytime I release the throttle even a bit. This problem does not go away.

Filed Dec 1, 2006 · Transmission · 13,000 miles · CA

I own a 2003 tiburon with the 2.7l. I purchased the car in 2003. Around 14 thousand miles or so my clutch began slipping and then eventually failed. The car had a failure of the clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel, and the dealer informed the driver the failure was their fault and it would not be covered. A one time good will repair was made and instead of the exorbitant $2000 asked instead we only paid $500. The car was purchased for about $20,000. Hyundai asks for $2,000, 10% of the cost of the vehicle to repair it. 40,000 miles have now reached the odometer, and the clutch has now failed again. The clutch that is currently in my vehicle is one replaced in 2003 still. Hyundai revised the clutch components due to malformed clutch plates in 2004, yet refuses to acknowledge or compensate the owners. Two of the three parts of the vehicle that have failed are covered by hyundai's "america's best warranty", the flywheel and pressure plate. Because the deformed compound on the clutch disk is being blamed on the vehicle operator, hyundai has therefore absolved itself of any responsibility, claiming if it weren't for the operator induced failure of the clutch disk, the pressure plate and flywheel would still be ok. If the parts were replaced under warranty by a dealership then the regional parts director inspects it and deems it shouldn't have, the dealer must pay. This is why so many customers have to wrongly pay. If you dispute the claims of the technicians at hyundai they will take your car apart and inspect, and if it is deemed its the customers fault, the company will not even reassemble the car for you. You must pay them do it! The transmission case had major scraping and abrasion due to the pressure plate movement. The second set of clutch components were removed personally, and therefore are submittable for inspection and review. Photographs documenting the wear and abrasion inside the transmission case are available.

Filed Aug 11, 2006 · Transmission · 25,000 miles · NC

I bought a 2003 hyundai tiburon gt 3 weeks ago from a dealership, medlin motors inc., in rocky mount, nc. I started smelling a burning smell the day I bought the car and asked the dealer what it was and they told me it was probably brake rust or residue coming off from where it was sitting up for a while. So I then dismissed the problem until about 3 weeks later I smelt that smell again and soon after the clutch started slipping. I immediately called the dealership and asked them to fix it. They then picked up the vehicle and took it to their shop. I was under the impression that the warranty would cover it until the next day when we received a phone call stating that the repair bill would be $1700.00. With this information I told them I couldn't afford to repair it since I had just put a $1400.00 down payment on the vehicle 3 weeks prior. They still refuse to fix this problem without a payment of $1700.00. In its simplest form, I paid $1400.00 to drive a car for a month and now I am obligated to a $13000.00 loan for a car I can't drive which is still 30 minutes away at the shop.

Filed Jul 27, 2006 · Transmission · FM

My 2003 hyundai tibruon gt has a clutch that is slipping and there is only about 80,000 miles on my car. I have a daughter and if this clutch goes while we are in the car it could cause injuries to us both.

Filed Jul 10, 2006 · Transmission · 60,000 miles · CA

The clutch on my 2003 hyundai tiburon has been prematurely slipping at only 65k miles. According to members on www.newtiburon.com, this is apparently a common problem and one that should be addressed by hyundai.

Filed May 29, 2006 · Transmission · 30,000 miles · 00

With 30000 km on my 2003 hyundai tiburon gt v-6 my clutch is slipping and worn. There is a well documented problem with the clutches on these cars, and the dealers unwillingness to warranty the repair.

Filed Mar 20, 2006 · Transmission · 40,000 miles · NJ

Owned my 2003 hyundai tiburon for about 36 months. During that time I have had to replace the clutch and flywheel twice. This is ridiculous. I have been driving manual transmissions since 1967 and have never burnt a clutch. And I am not alone. There are hundreds and hundreds of documented cases on the net and perhaps even thousands. Each repair costs $1500-$2000. The first repair in november 2004 cost me $1800. Both failures happened in traffic and both times had to take evasive maneuver to prevent an accident. The last time I ended up in a highway ditch to prevent a 40 ft trailer from running my car over. Somebody better take a look at this car because it definitely has clutch / flywheel problems probably cause by poorly designed hydraulics. The way the hydraulics are designed causes the fluid to be restricted in one direction leading to smoother shifting, but it is this "smoother shifting" (slipping) that apparently is causing the excessive heat and burning up the clutches and flywheels. Is there someone out there in government that cares enough to address this problem? Corporate giant hyundai is not stepping up to correct this problem. At the rate of these failures, however, I'm destined to have another one. I am really "afraid" to drive it. Is anyone going to do anything about this? Or are they going to allow corporate giant hyundai to rip off the citizens of this country? I will be contacting my us senator and will be contacting the heads of the senate committees that oversee the federal safety agency. I've noticed that complaints have been filed here for quite some time and nothing has been done, not even an investigation. *** there is only space in this complaint for one failure "date." my first failure occurred in november 2004, and the second failure occurred in december 2005 (repaired in march 2006). Why so long in repairing? I refused to pay for it unless hyundai did something. I have records of all the repairs if needed.

Filed Feb 16, 2006 · Transmission · 37,000 miles · FL

My clutch is really slipping bad and needs to be replaced. I have heard many people with this complaint. I think the issue with the hyundai tiburon clutches needs to be looked at.

Filed Sep 17, 2005 · Transmission, Visibility · 6,000 miles · TX

On july 04 2003, we purchased a 2003 new hyundai tiburon from philpott motors in nederland. The VIN[xxx]. It started on dec 19, 20031 when the passenger window motor had to be replaced under warranty. Then, on dec. 22, 20031 the vehicle had a coolant leak that was repaired under warranty. On february 16, 2004 the clutch went out all of a sudden with any warning. To april of 2003. In which all the parts they replaced have a production date of april 2003. In august of 2004 seven months later the clutch went out again on ih10 during noon traffic they would not cover it. The mechanic at transmission exchange told him that was not the case and that he stated that the slave cylinder was probably bent prior to their repairs six months ago. My complaint to philpott that if they agreed to cover the slave cylinder why would they not cover all the charges due to the fact this is a pull/push and if the salve cylinder was bent that it would cause this type of damage to the clutch. They refused to cover it costing $1,920.85. On september 16, 2005 the battery went out. . In august of 2005 the battery went out again. On the last week of august my daughter brought the vehicle to be serviced and asked why the air bag light was on and the technician told her the car was fine that he did not note any problems and that the light was on because it was telling her that everything was working. On september 05, the clutch started slipping again and we have parked the vehicle. Everyone has been told the exact line. It was the driver and it's a wear and tear item. Like the dealers have been told what update: the hyundai rep stated that there was not any abnormal wear on my clutch that the flywheel was the problem and that we would have to pay to have it fixed because, the flywheel is not covered under the warranty. *jb updated 07/18/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)