Long Term Test from Car & Driver

[ctrcbob]

Picked up a copy of the August 2010 Car & Driver and read the long term test on a 2009 Genesis 4.6. The first 40,000 miles of a 100,000 mile long term test. Just a few things that C&D said, that many of us already know.

After talking about the navigation system demanding a street name before one can enter the city, (which I have no problem with), they go on to say;

"A more fundamental problem is the car's ride quality. The Genesis handles decently - if you havent been exposed to German luxury cars, but the trade-off for decent body control and steering (it bests what's offered by Lincoln and Buick) - is impact harshness that borders on the unacceptable, especially on Michigan's frost-heaved roads."
(Note that they say HARSHNESS that borders on the UNACCEPTABLE, which is exactly what many of us have been saying all along).

Another problem was "the sound system twice going mysteriously silent". "First time was on a cross-country drive. I immediately called the Hyundai public-relations office and was put in contact with a technician who talked me through the reboot process". (did not know there was a reboot process). "Apparently the radio can get stuck in Bluetooth mode and refuse to play any audio. The same problem occured later at 26,467 miles". (Although he said that was the only two times it happened, I guess the first "reboot process" did not work ----- mine got fixed when my technician changed the amplifier - no more problems, knock on wood).

Goes on to say good things, like after 40,000 miles, nothing had fallen off and it hadn't quit on us even once. The leather looked as if it had been subjected to 40,000 miles of hard use, but the cabin held up well nonetheless. A few creaks and groans could be heard inside over harsh impacts - otherwise, the car has fared well and still looks good.

Genesis isn't a Mercedes but it's a superior vehicle in the $40,000 bracket.

Beware of any automotive pundit who tells you this Genesis is superior to a BMW 5-series, but keep in mind that it does provide plenty of features and ability for five figures less than a base 535i.

Note that there is a lot more in the article, both great and so-so, but too much to post here. Pick up a copy of C&D for yourself.

 

[Aquineas]

This is also being discussed here, and you can find the Car & Driver update here.

 

[cschuler]

"A more fundamental problem is the car's ride quality. The Genesis handles decently - if you havent been exposed to German luxury cars, but the trade-off for decent body control and steering (it bests what's offered by Lincoln and Buick) - is impact harshness that borders on the unacceptable, especially on Michigan's frost-heaved roads."

(Note that they say HARSHNESS that borders on the UNACCEPTABLE, which is exactly what many of us have been saying all along).

I have a 2010 and also find the ride on the harsh side, but not unacceptable. Did Hyundai make a suspension change in the 2010 models?

 

[msitter]

I have both the BMW and the Genesis and the run flat tires on the BMW are just as harsh as the 2009 Genesis is. I plan on putting regular tires on it when replacement time comes and a can of Slime in the trunk. I belong to the Auto Club so a flat is covered. I did not realize that rf tires are unfixable. If you pick up a nail the tire is history and at $375+ for the non rotatable staggered tires that can be expensive. In addition to costing about $1700 to replace the set of run flat tires they are unbelievably harsh to ride on. My 2010 Genesis is firm but I do not see the harshness everyone talks about. The Dunlop tires are noisy as hell but I can solve that at replacement time. While the Genesis is no BMW in total driving feel, I don't see that that feel is worth $20k extra or more that a 550i costs.

 

[Pahaska]

Lost Audio today

Interesting that the C&D report includes the audio going silent. Mine did that to me this afternoon for the very first time. I drove about 15 miles with everything working fine, parked for about 2 hours in the shade, and found no audio on restart.

The only thing unusual was that I parked beside my Airstream, under a metal canopy. I initially was not surprised that the audio did not come on. It was only after I backed out of the shed that I realized I had a problem.

I'm facing a weekend without sound. Can anyone tell me what the reboot procedure is????

 

[CanukV6]

I have a 2010 and also find the ride on the harsh side, but not unacceptable. Did Hyundai make a suspension change in the 2010 models?

I believe there were subtle changes to the suspension for the 2010 (and maybe even late 2009) models. Some re-calibration and change of bushings were mentioned and it is generally agreed that the 2010 models are an improvement although not a huge improvement. Bear in mind that ride is a very subjective matter and it also depends what kind of roads you drive and temperature also is a factor - worse when cold. I have recently changed to new tires (Continental DWS) and they have made a noticable improvement in impact harshness.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I believe that these car magazines have certain authors that will always prefer German Cars over anything else, no matter how good an Asian Car performs. There is a certain prejudice there that cannot be denied.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the Genesis is better than the German Cars, but I think Lexus has had some cars that were better, and they continually rank the BMW, Audi and Mercedes higher, no matter the repair histories of them. Some of these German Cars spent half of their life in the shop and all the authors talked about was how well they cornered at 85 mph.

 

[Onedurwho]

I love it when I can find more "real world" testing. Until I spend all my days banking 'round Talladega...drifting through a skid-pad and running 0-60 then stomping the brakes (oh, wait, rush hour...I forgot that one) a bunch of the mag-test's really don't mean much to me. Nice reading...but not real "real-world" daily driver info. Now the long term stuff does come a bit closer...

 

[Rey]

To reboot any electronic glitch first try disconnecting the battery for 24 hrs. The capacitors that hold some memory functions will discharge and the car will "relearn". A quicker method to discharge the capacitors is to unhook the positive and negative cables from the battery, and then connect the positive and negative cables together for about two minutes or so. Problem is the reach of the cables is too short to connect them, so you have to use a short jumper wire.
I drove my Genesis and a 6 series BMW (with sport suspension) back-to-back on the same bumpy twisty roads at "normal" legal speeds. The BMW felt tighter, more connected and more confidence-inspiring than the Genesis, but the difference was not all that much so as to justify the huge price differential. I think if Genesis hardened the suspension bushings their ride would be very close to BMW's without much discomfort.

 

[mk1]

To reboot any electronic glitch first try disconnecting the battery for 24 hrs. The capacitors that hold some memory functions will discharge and the car will "relearn". A quicker method to discharge the capacitors is to unhook the positive and negative cables from the battery, and then connect the positive and negative cables together for about two minutes or so. Problem is the reach of the cables is too short to connect them, so you have to use a short jumper wire.
I drove my Genesis and a 6 series BMW (with sport suspension) back-to-back on the same bumpy twisty roads at "normal" legal speeds. The BMW felt tighter, more connected and more confidence-inspiring than the Genesis, but the difference was not all that much so as to justify the huge price differential. I think if Genesis hardened the suspension bushings their ride would be very close to BMW's without much discomfort.

The re-boot process is much simpler than this....just shut the car off for 3 minutes or more and everything will be back to normal. Until it happen again of course.

In my case, I also have the occaisional problem where HD radio becomes mush more muted, and the reboot takes care ot it. Also have had instances where XM will mysteriosly switch to channel 1 on it's own.

I'm tempted to bring it to the dealer, but of course they say that unless I can repeat the problem while there, nothing is wrong. This particular problem is hard to replicate on a consistent basis, unlike the telescoping steering wheel problem.

Any suggestions on how to recreate this problem while at the dealership is greatly welcomed.

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[ctrcbob]

Re: Lost Audio today

Interesting that the C&D report includes the audio going silent. Mine did that to me this afternoon for the very first time. I drove about 15 miles with everything working fine, parked for about 2 hours in the shade, and found no audio on restart.

The only thing unusual was that I parked beside my Airstream, under a metal canopy. I initially was not surprised that the audio did not come on. It was only after I backed out of the shed that I realized I had a problem.

I'm facing a weekend without sound. Can anyone tell me what the reboot procedure is????

Pahaska,

MK1 is correct. When I was having the problem, with the audio staying off, once I shut the engine off, like when I would enter a gas station, or better yet, go for groceries, or even parked my car at home, the next time I started the car, the audio would again function. I used to say ignition had to be off for five minutes, but MK1 is probably correct in saying ignition should be off for three minutes.

BTW, after complaining to my dealer service department, (who has a Genesis Trained Technician who is great), they changed my amplifier, located in the forward right side of the trunk. (You can't see the amp as it is well hidden). No more problems.