Love and hate with a 2002 Hyundai Sante Fe

I drive the above because I am cheap and also because I am going through a divorce. The divorce is a topic that I may or may not ever get around to writing about. The Hyundai was a relatively decent vehicle until a few years ago when it decided to come up with several problems all at once. The windshield has a few cracks and it needs to be replaced. The brakes were redone earlier this year. The top of the steering wheel decided to come apart in my hands one day. The power windows decided to develop a mind of their own as well as some other electrical issues. The rear hatch refuses to open. Sometimes it does not like to start after putting gas in it. It could use a tune up and I am reasonably sure the timing belt needs to be replaced. It has become increasingly hard on gas. It has started to develop some rust at the rear wheel wells. These are just the highlights. The irritating thing is that it only has 170,000km on it and has been reasonably maintained and has never been in an accident. It should be in better shape

Last Thursday I hopped into it during lunch, turned the key, and watched as the passenger window decided to roll itself down of its own accord. Then it refused to go back up. I quickly dropped it off at a shop and told them when they get the window back up to disconnect the power because the Hyundai has some weird electrical issues that I really did not feel like fixing. I just wanted a quick and dirty solution. The cost was minor. I picked it up, drove it home, parked it for the night after six, and went inside.

Friday morning I walked over to start it up and wondered why all the windows were so frosted over. I unlocked the door, turned the key, and noticed the passenger window was all the way down again. The temperature was about -20C overnight. There were no footprints in the snow on the passenger side and a quick check confirmed nothing was stolen. Once the windows were cleared I dropped it back to the shop before work. By chance I ran across the mechanic when I picked it up and he told me his mistake was that once he got the window back up the day before, he reconnected the power supply. This time he got it back up and made sure there was no power going to the window. It is not going anywhere now.

 

I am looking for something else to drive right now. I have mixed feelings about driving a different vehicle and ditching the Hyundai. For all of its faults it has never stranded me. It is just ugly enough that no one will ever steal it. The all-wheel drive has kept me from being stuck in some ugly Alberta snowstorms. The turning circle is tight, I can manoeuver practically anywhere. The V6 will still do over 100mph on the highway if needed, although it is starting to complain about that. Unfortunately it has to go as it is starting to cost me real money.