Where to find info on a 2004 Hyundai Sonata

[frau kaleun]

Bear with me, oh fellow Subsimmers, cuz I am not a car person.

My mother left me her 2004 Hyundai Sonata when she died, the car is in great shape - only about 10k miles on it and it's virtually spotless as far as looks having been kept in a garage and (obviously) not driven very much or very far. This is, quite literally, the car you've heard about that was only taken out by a little old lady when she went to church on Sundays.

I still need to get it checked out mechanically but in order to do that I need to drive it to the shop. The tags on it are good til the end of next month and the title should be transferred in plenty of time (I hope) for me to get that switched over so there's no lapse in the registration, but the insurance on it lapsed a few months ago so I need to make sure it's covered.

But when I started to take care of that online one of the first questions asked was about anti-lock brakes and I have no clue about that so that's where I stopped the process. There may be other questions of that nature that I won't have a ready answer for either.

I want to get this thing added to my policy so I can pick it up this weekend and get it checked out next week, also because it needs to be driven having sat idle for almost eight months now. And also because there is no doubt work that needs to be done on my current POS vehicle that I don't want to pay for since I won't be driving it that much longer. I have a bunch of the documentation for the Sonata but I can't find anything in there about AL brakes yes or no. My sister found more info at mom's house but I won't be able to look at it until I get out there, at which point I won't be able to get the insurance sorted out in order to bring it home that day.

I looked here

http://www.edmunds.com/hyundai/sonata/2004/

and I didn't see anything that said it has AL brakes, OTOH I really don't know enough not to have missed it if it's there. If it doesn't say it specifically, does that mean it doesn't have them? Would answering one way or the other and getting it wrong (temporarily) make that much of a difference with the insurance? If this site isn't answering the question, where else would I find the answer if it's something I should do my best to answer correctly?

If anybody has or has had one of these critters and just knows the answer, that would be awesome. As would any additional info regarding quirks of the car or other potential issues to look out for.

It's either the GLS or LX model, I can't remember which offhand but I know it was one of those cuz I compared with some of paperwork I have.

Any and all help/info much appreciated!

[Betonov]

If I'm not mistaken anti-lock brakes are another term for ABS breaks. They don't lock at sudden stops.

Find a nice empty stretch of road, pick up some speed and slam the brakes. If you dont hear a squeel you got ABS

[CaptainMattJ.]

it looks like it does have anti lock brakes. Like betonov said, you can always test it, and if you hear the squeal, then you dont have anti lock. but it does seem like a 2004 sonata GLS has Anti lock.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by CaptainMattJ.

it looks like it does have anti lock brakes. Like betonov said, you can always test it, and if you hear the squeal, then you dont have anti lock. but it does seem like a 2004 sonata GLS has Anti lock.

Where are you seeing that? Somewhere on the Edmunds site? The closest I could figure was "traction control" which looks like optional but not standard. Altho knowing my mom, if it was available she got it. My male relatives seem to think the car was "loaded" with everything available.

[danasan]

Hi FK,

it seems to be a question of which generation the car is. There was a shift in 2004...

Have a look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai...2.80.932010.29

scroll down to 2004

From generation 5 on, the anti lock breaks are standard in the U.S.

Edit: To be honest. If it was mine, with only 10k miles on it, I would not sell it - it could serve me well for a couple of years.

Edit II: On the other hand, here is a review http://cars.about.com/cs/newcarprofi...unda_Sonat.htm which states it was not standard. So it really depends on the generation.

It is easy to find out while driving in a parking lot...

[Falkirion]

Do what Benetov suggested. Pick up some speed on an empty road and slam the brakes on to find out if you've got ABS in the thing or not. The brake pedal will vibrate a bit but thats normal so don't freak out when it happens.

Sounds like a good deal you've got there, 10k miles done on an 04' is a pretty good car to be selling if you do decide to sell that is. I'd keep it as the low mileage is a good thing.

[frau kaleun]

The problem with that suggestion is that I only want the answer to fill in the form required to get the car insured, and until the car is insured I can't take it out on the road somewhere to test the brakes as that would be illegal here.

I have considered the possibility of trading the car in on something else eventually, but that will depend on how it goes with settling the rest of the estate, primarily the sale of the house. If there is enough money to take care of several other things first and still be able to consider a nice trade-in, it's something I will think about as I've never in my life had a car that *I* picked out for myself, by myself. But paying off any outstanding debts and then looking for a condo or at least a bigger apartment will definitely come first.

OTOH I'm not much of a car person, so it's not like I have a burning desire to drive some particular make/model of vehicle, and the ones I would *really* want in that instance would be out of my price range anyway as well as extremely impractical.

Plus I've never even driven the Sonata, it's possible I will do so and then really like it. There is no doubt that it will be a vast improvement on what I've been used to... the car I'm driving now is 22 years old and I've been driving it for almost all of that. Apparently the engine in this thing is one of the last of Chevy's "Wolverine" models because it simply WILL NOT DIE. Since it's paid for and insuring it is so cheap I finally just resolved to drive it until it fell apart and/or repairs and maintenance became more expensive per year than making payments on something else. Now I won't have to do that... I'll just need to find a nice cliff somewhere to push it off of.

[kiwi_2005]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

the car I'm driving now is 22 years old ... I'll just need to find a nice cliff somewhere to push it off of.

If you keep your car for another 3yrs it will be classed as a classic. A collector might be interested in it one day. Don't push it off the cliff!

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

If you keep your car for another 3yrs it will be classed as a classic. A collector might be interested in it one day. Don't push it off the cliff!

Sorry, can't help myself.

Yes the engine may be indestructible but unfortunately that's not the case for the rest of the car. It's an '89 Celebrity and just about done for in every other sense. What's under the hood has lasted but the only way the rest of this car can not be described as "crap" would be in tribute to the fact that it hasn't yet fallen apart given how much of it is currently rusting away. If someone t-boned it tomorrow it could only be considered a mercy killing.

I had work done on it years ago to remove what rust/wear there was and got the paint job back up to spec, as the car was still in decent shape then and I was in no position to buy anything else and had a windfall of just the right amount of cash for some private "consulting" work that I did. But everybody I know who has this car remarks on how bad a job Chevy did with the body, paint, etc. in terms of durability. My brother-in-law had one just like it which sat in a fully enclosed, dry garage most of the time and the finish and paint still started coming off after a couple years with rust taking its place.

Mine, OTOH, has spent almost its entire life sitting outdoors 24/7, so you can just imagine. When it started looking bad the second time around I gave up. When everything is sorted out with the Sonata as far as insurance/title/registration, the Chevy will either be junked or donated to Goodwill (if they'll take it) so they can junk it and get whatever it's worth in parts and scrap metal.

[yubba]

Enjoy the new car, the sonata is a nice car their all over the place here in florida, AL is anti lock brakes, now you don't have an excuse too show up to a subsim meet, you got a new car that will take you any where, and it should be real good on gas.

Look at the rear wheels.
If it has disk brakes, it has ABS.
If it has drum brakes it does not have ABS.

You'll also have an ABS Service Reminder 'Idiot' light somewhere on the instrument panel if you have ABS.
Turn the key on and it should come on for a few seconds then go off.

If you don't have the Owners Manual,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14219380/2...-Owners-Manual

[Sailor Steve]

I had a car with 4-wheel discs and it did not have anti-lock brakes. The advice about the idiot light makes sense though.

I looked at several sites and not one of them mentioned it, which leads me to believe it does not. But they all say it comes standard with four disc brakes, so if Privateer is right then it would be yes. I'm still looking for a comment one way or the other.

[edit] This site says ABS is available, which implies it's not standard, even with 4 discs. On the other hand, that doesn't mean your new car doesn't have them.

[Onkel Neal]

I think you can safely check No ABS and go forward with the insurance. It's not like they check it, even if an accident is involved.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by privateer

Look at the rear wheels.
If it has disk brakes, it has ABS.
If it has drum brakes it does not have ABS.

You'll also have an ABS Service Reminder 'Idiot' light somewhere on the instrument panel if you have ABS.
Turn the key on and it should come on for a few seconds then go off.

If you don't have the Owners Manual,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14219380/2...-Owners-Manual

I've looked at the rear wheels. They are surrounded by big black inflated rubber things and have a shiny round hubcap in the middle.

Checking the dashboard is a good idea, altho I won't be able to look at it until I get out there to pick the car up, at which point I need to have the insurance already taken care of. But it might have a diagram in the owner's manual, which I'm pretty sure I brought home with me. When I went through what I have I was looking for the phrase "anti lock brakes" and not "ABS" or something else so I may have missed it.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

[edit] This site says ABS is available, which implies it's not standard, even with 4 discs. On the other hand, that doesn't mean your new car doesn't have them.

Yeah, it seems to have been optional. I'm guessing if it was an option, my mom got it. I hadn't thought about it but I should probably call my brother-in-law, he may know one way or the other.

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I think you can safely check No ABS and go forward with the insurance. It's not like they check it, even if an accident is involved.

Yeah, I'm just gonna make a guess and check a box and get the damn thing on my policy so I can drive it. I'll only be adding it to the current term which runs out on 8/31, and the car's tags are only good til 8/28. If we don't get the title transferred I can't do anything about updating the registration; if we do the Chevy is history. So one way or the other I'll be in there redoing my policy between now and the end of next month, either to drop the Chevy or remove the Sonata if something happens and I don't get the title/registration sorted out before the tags expire and I have to drive the Chevy again temporarily.

By the time I'm sorting out which car needs to be insured starting 9/1, I'll have whatever info there is and can edit things accordingly. I may be switching insurance companies anyway if I shop around and find a better deal.

Thanks for all your help guys!

[Osmium Steele]

You could always call your local dealer who used to handle Hyundai. They are required to service the the vehicles for 5 years? 10 years? Something like that.

Anyway, call them with the VIN number and they should be able to tell you every option on that car at the time of sale.