Hi,
I recently inherited a 2005 Accent from my grandmother. The car has been religiously maintained since it was bought new, but the timing belt has never been done. Even though it only has 20k on it, I plan to get it replaced, or replace it myself since it is 7 years old. Other than the timing belt, is there any other common problems with these cars? Since I have such an emotional attachment to it, Id like to keep it around for a long time to come. Thanks

 

When was the trans fluid last changed? If it's never been serviced, I'd suggest doing that as well. Other than that and the timing belt, it should be fine. Best of luck with it.

 

Thanks! My other car is a BMW, and Im so used to taking care of the wear items on them, having a low maintenance car to daily drive is great. For example: on the BMW the cooling systems are very problematic over 60k as well as the suspension bushings and should be replaced.
The only preventative maintenance on the Hyundai is just timing belt and fluid changes?

 

from 60,000 to 80,000 miles there are things that are looked at and the mechanic will try to get you to cover a few at the same time.
i had the timing belt done at 65000 miles.
my 06 accent auto had the belts and water pump replace at around 78,000 miles.
at around 80,000 miles i did the sparkplugs myself and found white corrosion on the coil packs( i used electric contact cleaner to clean them)
at around 90,000 miles i flushed the coolant system and swapped the power steering fluid.
those are the main things, you should be ok for a while.

 

Smile! You've inherited a fantastic car. My '02 Accent has 184,000 miles on it, and I've had almost no problems out of it. Here's what I think is important:

- Change timing belts every 60K. I'm on my third.
- Change all of your fluids at recommended intervals. I never let my oil go past 3K.
- Spark plugs are cheap and easy to put in. I put new plugs in every 30-40K.
- I like the coolant/steering flush.

My car has a 1.5L SOHC. What a fantastic engine. Not much power, not much top-end speed, but reliable! You blessed - a reliable car with sentimental value. Happy motoring.

 

1-timing belt+bearing set
2-other 3 belts
3- water pump must change