Okay. You're either here because you're love the Genesis Coupe - or hate it. More often than not people sign up at forums like these to complain and/or research issues. Sometimes people sign up to gather around like-minded same-car owners.
What are some of the things you don't like about the Genesis Coupe? What would you like to see improved in the second generation? When all is said and done, I'll take the most popular complaints and wishes and add them to this post...
Here are some of my owner observations pro and con regarding the Genesis Coupe, in case it helps anyone.
I previously owned a 306 hp 3.8 R-Spec Coupe, and when I traded it in for a 348 hp 2016 3.8 Base Coupe, I looked forward to (and LOVE) the added horsepower, but even after test driving it, I didn't fully appreciate how different the 3.8 engine had become, and how much its automatic transmission, even with its paddle shifters and Sport Mode, would degrade the overall driving experience. The difference between the two models was huge: the R-Spec was very sporty and great fun to drive whereas the automatic model, though still fun to drive, was only kind of sporty, sometimes. To the 'average' backyard mechanic, the 2016 3.8 GDI engine (as opposed to the 2011 R-Spec engine) is likely to be a more bewildering jumble of unfamiliar gadgetry, and it is so computer-controlled that many owners may well feel too intimidated and inconvenienced to perform any maintenance themselves.
1. I didn't know about the possible negative aspects of Hyundai's implementation of gasoline direct injection (all I knew was that GDI was an 'improvement' that accounted for much of that increased horsepower.) As I understand it, EGR gases are fed back into the intake manifold and enter the engine through the intake valves, but no cooling, valve-washing fuel flows over the intake valves because gasoline is injected below the valves, directly into the combustion chamber. Therefore, intake valves accumulate crankcase EGR blowby carbon deposits that degrade performance, requiring costly intake system cleaning (recommended every 15K miles or so by the dealer) at a cost of around $260 per cleaning. (My 3.8 already has 23K miles and has never yet been cleaned. I’ve lately noticed some rough starting symptoms; maybe it’s time to clean the intake system.)
Hyundai's engineers must have known this could create problems, yet they opted not to supply a simple, inexpensive
oil catch can that could greatly mitigate intake valve fouling. If you want one, you’ll have to purchase and install it yourself.
Outside of complex removal of the intake plenum, there's no obvious way to visually inspect the intake valves to determine the actual degree of fouling, nor to visually verify that the costly cleaning actually removes any of the deposits.
I have a lighted inspection probe tool (like an endoscope) that I suspect might be able to very carefully snaked down through the intake plenum and into one of the intake tubes to get a glimpse of the condition of at least one intake valve... but I haven't tried it yet. Doing a very costly upper engine teardown every 15,000 miles to verify the accretion status and the effectiveness of dealer cleaning is out of the question for all but the mechanically crazy.
2. I was rather surprised to discover that on the 2016 348 hp 3.8 engine, each plug has its own coil bolted on top of it, so periodically inspecting the
plugs is a bit more hassle than I'm used to. Granted, Hyundai doesn't recommend or mandate periodic plug inspection, but I like to check them every 20K miles as a general practice nevertheless. Most of the
plugs are obscured by a rat's nest of other components that overlay them and must be loosened or removed to gain access. I assume those separate coils help with fuel economy and increased horsepower. That's good, but it adds enough maintenance hassle that I have so far not bothered to do it.
3. After seven years of production, the oil filter and oil pan drain plug on the 3.8 Coupe STILL remain deliberately placed in the most inaccessible possible locations underneath the engine, making it an ordeal for an owner to change their own oil: you need to jack up the front of the car and remove the pan that entirely covers the bottom of the engine compartment, before you can even get to the oil drain plug and filter.
4. I was disappointed to find that the headlights on the 2011 R-Spec were quite superior in brightness and beam control, to the headlights on the 2016 Base Coupe. Why not equip all vehicles with the best available headlighting, for customer safety? Does doing otherwise suggest that base coupe owners don't need to be as safe driving at night, as owners of more upscale models? Naturally, the dealer's sales rep didn't mention any of this during the purchase process. Ironically, it might well have persuaded me to upgrade.
5. I will never again buy a vehicle without first obtaining assurance that a full set of high quality, vehicle and model-specific factory maintenance manuals can be either purchased in print or downloaded as high resolution PDFs at a reasonable price, ie, under $50. Call me cheap!
6. The automatic transmission in the 2016 3.8 coupe is a big disappointment. "Sport Mode" makes shifts noticeably faster when you want crisp accelleration, but most of the time, I end up leaving it in gas-saving Drive (Drone) mode as i snore my way through heavy traffic. If I need to suddenly accellerate and then decelerate in Drone Mode, the response of the transmission is delayed and sloppy. When I stomp the accellerator, there's a clumsy stumble, then the engine roars, rocketing me forward, and if I then try to modulate that accelleration, the engine may surge or choke as I, the computer, the transmission, and (maybe) the Automatic Traction Control, wrestle for dominance. Any such manuvers are best done in the somewhat more responsive sport mode, but even then, I still feel like I’m wrestling to some degree for control. Also, the paddle shifters turn with the steering
wheel, which I guess makes sense, except they can become very clumsy to use if I’m accellerating while turning the
wheel beyond 45 degrees. The 6-speed manual in my previous 3.8 R-Spec was a hundred times easier and more fun to use during assertive driving, giving me a much greater feeling of control at all times.
7. Why Hyundai never increased the wheelbase by 4-5 inches, is a mystery to me. Dealer salesmen told me that many older adults didn't view the Coupe as a true 'luxury' sport vehicle (even the Ultimate) because it didn't fit people over 5'10" very well. Larger adults couldn't push the seats back far enough to be comfortable, and the base coupe’s cheaper fabric seats aren’t anything to write home about, either. Stretching the wheelbase by just a few inches might have opened up more sales to well-heeled adult buyers, and the extra length would have simplified the occasional loading of lengthy objects: you could easily lower the rear seat backs all the way without having them hit the front seat backs. With the coupe's present design, if you’re 5’10 or taller and keep your seats set full to the rear like me, loading a lengthy object means both doors have to be opened and both front seats slid forward, just to get the rear seat backs all the way down so you can load a few 8-ft. 2x4s. Subsequent unloading usually requires a repeat of that scenario.
8. For performance reasons, I wish the Genesis Coupes were factory equipped with aluminum hoods and trunk lids instead of heavier steel components. Every little bit of reduced weight, helps.
9. My 2011 R-Spec did not have cruise control. It drove me crazy, expecially on long trips (every trip in Texas tends to be a long trip!) and since the horsepower curve on the 306 HP 3.8 R-Spec just started to ramp up around 70 MPH, holding the R-Spec at posted 70-75 MPH speed limits with my accellerator foot, was a constant hassle…speed would always creep up to 85 in a few seconds. Cruise control would have solved that problem. I hope Hyundai changed that policy and made Cruise available options for subsequent R-Specs and/or Tracks.
. (I knew this before buying, but it wasn't a concern for me!).
