New Owner

[09Genny4.6]

I've owned my 2009 4.6 for a month now and have come to really like it. About a week before I made my decision to buy it over an Infiniti G37X, I saw one pull up at a gas station I was at and I began to talk to the owner about it and turns out he's owned some of my favorite cars- a Grand Prix GXP and a G37, before he bought the Genesis. He said he really liked it and that made my decision. However, there are a couple of issues, some tasteful mods I'm thinking about doing, maintenance questions, and some odd shortfalls feature-wise I have noticed (especially when comparing it to my $10,000 cheaper-when-new fully optioned 2004 Nissan Maxima SL).

Issues:
Power tilt/telescoping is funky- It tilts down, but only will tilt back up once in awhile, so if you move it down, it could potentially stay stuck like that for a couple of days. Telescoping doesn't work at all. Even my Maxima, which is older and has double the mileage still works. I have read it could either be just the switch, could be the tilt/telescoping motor/module, or could be the entire steering shaft that needs to be replaced? Is it likely just the switch? How much is that going to cost?

Headlights- They have a sharp cutoff about 25 feet in front of the vehicle. Driving at night sucks with this car. I even had a Hyundai dealer attempt to re-aim them, but the cutoff of light is still pretty severe and I don't want to have to raise them more which could end up blinding oncoming drivers. Will new bulbs help?

Maintenance-
This car has 140,000 miles on the clock. The engine purrs like a kitten. The transmission shifts smooth, although sometimes I feel some weird shifts.. Not hard or harsh, but sort of clunky. I have zero idea of what previous maintenance was done, but would it be a good idea to drain and refill (new pan/filter and mechatronic sleeve as well) the ATF or could I end up doing damage draining potentially original fluid and just leave it alone? If yes, I'm tempted to go with Red Line's synthetic D6 ATF (which meets Shell's 1375.4 spec) over hard to find Lifeguard 6 or outrageously priced ($76 a quart!!) Hyundai branded fluid.

Other than that, are there any other things to consider for the car at its mileage?

Shortfalls-
Love the car and am kind of nit-picking... But, my Maxima has power folding mirrors, dedicated day and night screen brightness modes (instead of the dorky auto mode that still leaves the brightness high enough to blind you at night), bi-xenon headlights, and projector fog lamps while the Genesis has none of that. Odd omissions for a supposed fully loaded luxury sedan. The sound system and V8 help to make it up, though.

Mods-
Besides the typical mods like a spoiler, 19 inch 5-split spoke design Genesis coupe rims I think look perfect on the sedan and want for mine, and some new LED bulbs inside and out, I have been thinking about exhaust and rigid collars. Anyone have experience with a muffler delete? Nobody has a clear answer whether the drone is completely migraine inducing or manageable, even if you have to turn the radio up a couple of notches. My Maxima has had a muffler delete for awhile now and drone at 50mph or going uphill is noticeable, but I never minded it. Owners who have done rigid collars definitely seem to notice a difference in handling/tautness of the car. Are there any adverse effects of installing them or are they safe?

Sorry for the long post.. I'm jumping into the forum thing and didn't want to make 50 separate threads as I consider this merely a general discussion. Any answers appreciated!

 

[Gunkk]

Premature failure of limit switches in the power tilt steering and power seat are a known issue in the 2009/2010 (I had both sets replaced on my old '09 under warranty). I recommend turning off easy access mode. A dealer can replace them (~$500ish) and there is an excellent thread on here about a DIY fix as well.
TSB and basic info on easy access:
Tilt Steering Wheel Reset Fixes many

For headlights, there is an adjustment screw on each side. A #1 phillips w/ 8+" shaft should do the trick. See here:
2013 3.8 base model headlights
Mine are really stiff/difficult to adjust so a fair amount of downward pressure and torque is needed... feels almost like you're going to break it before it budges. It takes a fair # of turns to move the beam significantly.

In 2009 the 4.6 was available in all 3 trim levels: base, premium and tech. Features varied a bit between the trims, but power folding mirrors were not available until 2012, and 2012 was also when all v8 cars were only available in Tech trim until 2015 when HMA went back to multiple trims for v8 cars (but then you're into another forum section entirely!)

to the club!

 

[09Genny4.6]

Premature failure of limit switches in the power tilt steering and power seat are a known issue in the 2009/2010 (I had both sets replaced on my old '09 under warranty). I recommend turning off easy access mode. A dealer can replace them (~$500ish) and there is an excellent thread on here about a DIY fix as well.
TSB and basic info on easy access:
Tilt Steering Wheel Reset Fixes many

For headlights, there is an adjustment screw on each side. A #1 phillips w/ 8+" shaft should do the trick. See here:
2013 3.8 base model headlights
Mine are really stiff/difficult to adjust so a fair amount of downward pressure and torque is needed... feels almost like you're going to break it before it budges. It takes a fair # of turns to move the beam significantly.

In 2009 the 4.6 was available in all 3 trim levels: base, premium and tech. Features varied a bit between the trims, but power folding mirrors were not available until 2012, and 2012 was also when all v8 cars were only available in Tech trim until 2015 when HMA went back to multiple trims for v8 cars (but then you're into another forum section entirely!)

to the club!

Just tried to do the reset procedure. It helped the steering wheel be able to move up all the way, but even then the upwards motion isn't smooth and the switch is still finicky. The telescoping feature doesn't work at all. Definitely a major downfall when a 2004 Maxima with 250K miles still works and a $40+ thousand luxury sedan doesn't. I'll have to do some bickering with the dealer I go to about it.

I'll try to re-aim them myself. Just need to go buy a long philips and wait for dark, I guess. I'm also going to upgrade the xenons with Osrams @ 5,500K. I have them in my Maxima and they did make a huge difference in output, plus one of the bulbs in my Genesis is in the beginning stages of death... Just starting to turn pink-ish. I checked on the forum and users were kind enough to make a list of all the bulb sizes because Hyundai didn't think to do that in the owner's manual.

My 09 has the tech and premium packages. I have the dark brown leather covering the dashboard and door panels instead of wood trim, cooled driver's seat, auto dimming sideview mirrors, navigation, 6 disc cd changer.. The only thing it's missing is the 17 speaker system with DVD capability. I only have the 14 speaker system, which is still rated at the same wattage as the upgraded system and sounds amazing.