2014 Hyundai Elantra Owner's Manual

785
Maintenance
License plate light bulb
replacement
1. Remove the cover by pressing itas direction of the arrows.
2. Remove the bulb by pulling it straight out.
3. Install a new bulb.
4. Reinstall in the reverse order.
Interior light bulb replacement
OMD070046
■ Luggage lamp ■Map lamp
■Vanity mirror lamp ■ Room lamp
OMD070044/OMD070043 OMD070045/OTD079035

Maintenance
86
7
1. Using a flat-blade screwdriver,
gently pry the lens from the interi-
or lamp housing.
2. Remove the bulb by pulling it straight out.
3. Install a new bulb in the socket.
4. Align the lens tabs with the interior lamp housing notches and snap
the lens into place.
WARNING
Use care not to dirty or damage
lenses, lens tabs, and plastic
housings.

787
Maintenance
APPEARANCE CARE
Exterior care
Exterior general caution
It is very important to follow the label
directions when using any chemical
cleaner or polish. Read all warning
and caution statements that appear
on the label.
Finish maintenance
Washing
To help protect your vehicle’s finish
from rust and deterioration, wash it
thoroughly and frequently at least
once a month with lukewarm or cold
water.
If you use your vehicle for off-road
driving, you should wash it after each
off-road trip. Pay special attention to
the removal of any accumulation of
salt, dirt, mud, and other foreign
materials. Make sure the drain holes
in the lower edges of the doors and
rocker panels are kept clear and
clean.Insects, tar, tree sap, bird droppings,
industrial pollution and similar
deposits can damage your vehicle’s
finish if not removed immediately.
Even prompt washing with plain
water may not completely remove all
these deposits. A mild soap, safe for
use on painted surfaces, should be
used.
After washing, rinse the vehicle thor-
oughly with lukewarm or cold water.
Do not allow soap to dry on the fin-
ish.
WARNING
After washing the vehicle, test
the brakes while driving slowly
to see if they have been affected
by water before getting on the
road. If braking performance is
impaired, dry the brakes by
applying them lightly while
maintaining a slow forward
speed.
CAUTION
Do not use strong soap, chem-
ical detergents or hot water,and do not wash the vehicle indirect sunlight or when thebody of the vehicle is warm.
Be careful when washing the side windows of your vehicle.
Especially, with high-pressurewater. Water may leak throughthe windows and wet the inte-rior.
To prevent damage to the plastic parts, do not clean withchemical solvents or strongdetergents.

Maintenance
88
7
Waxing
A good coat of wax is a barrier
between your paint and contaminate.
Keeping a good coat of wax on your
vehicle will help protect it.
Wax the vehicle when water will no
longer bead on the paint.
Always wash and dry the vehicle
before waxing. Use a good quality
liquid or paste wax, and follow the
manufacturer’s instructions. Wax all
metal trim to protect it and to main-
tain its luster.
Removing oil, tar, and similar materi-
als with a spot remover will usually
strip the wax from the finish. Be sure
to re-wax these areas even if the rest
of the vehicle does not yet need wax-
ing.CAUTION
Wiping dust or dirt off the
body with a dry cloth willscratch the finish.
Do not use steel wool, abra- sive cleaners, or strong deter-gents containing highly alka-line or caustic agents onchrome-plated or anodizedaluminum parts. This mayresult in damage to the pro-tective coating and cause dis-coloration or paint deteriora-tion.
CAUTION
Water washing in the engine compartment including highpressure water washing maycause the failure of electricalcircuits located in the enginecompartment.
Never allow water or other liq- uids to come in contact withelectrical/electronic compo-nents inside the vehicle asthis may damage them.
OJB037800

789
Maintenance
Finish damage repair
Deep scratches or stone chips in the
painted surface must be repaired
promptly. Exposed metal will quickly
rust and may develop into a major
repair expense.
✽ ✽NOTICE
If your vehicle is damaged and
requires any metal repair or
replacement, be sure the body shop
applies anti-corrosion materials to
the parts repaired or replaced.
Bright-metal maintenance
To remove road tar and insects,
use a tar remover, not a scraper or
other sharp object.
To protect the surfaces of bright- metal parts from corrosion, apply a
coating of wax or chrome preser-
vative and rub to a high luster.
During winter weather or in coastal areas, cover the bright metal parts
with a heavier coating of wax or
preservative. If necessary, coat the
parts with non-corrosive petroleum
jelly or other protective compound.
Underbody maintenance
Corrosive materials used for ice and
snow removal and dust control may
collect on the underbody. If these
materials are not removed, acceler-
ated rusting can occur on underbody
parts such as the fuel lines, frame,
floor pan and exhaust system, even
though they have been treated with
rust protection.
Thoroughly flush the vehicle under-
body and wheel openings with luke-
warm or cold water once a month,
after off-road driving and at the end
of each winter. Pay special attention
to these areas because it is difficult
to see all the mud and dirt. It will do
more harm than good to wet down
the road grime without removing it.
The lower edges of doors, rocker
panels, and frame members have
drain holes that should not be
allowed to clog with dirt; trapped
water in these areas can cause rust-
ing.

Maintenance
90
7
Aluminum wheel maintenance
The aluminum wheels are coated
with a clear protective finish.
Corrosion protection
Protecting your vehicle from corro-
sion
By using the most advanced design
and construction practices to combat
corrosion, HYUNDAI produces cars
of the highest quality. However, this is
only part of the job. To achieve the
long-term corrosion resistance your
vehicle can deliver, the owner's
cooperation and assistance is also
required.
Common causes of corrosion
The most common causes of corro-
sion on your vehicle are:
• Road salt, dirt and moisture that is
allowed to accumulate underneath
the vehicle.
coatings by stones, gravel, abra-
sion or minor scrapes and dents
which leave unprotected metal
exposed to corrosion.WARNING
After washing the vehicle, test
the brakes while driving slowly
to see if they have been affected
by water. If braking performance
is impaired, dry the brakes by
applying them lightly while
maintaining a slow forward
speed.
CAUTION
• Do not use abrasive cleaner, polishing compound, solvent,or wire brushes on aluminumwheels.
Clean the wheel when it has cooled.
Use only a mild soap or neu- tral detergent, and rinse thor-oughly with water. Also, cleanthe wheels after driving onsalted roads.
Do not wash the wheels with high-speed car wash brushes.
Do not use any cleaners con- taining acid or alkaline or aciddetergents.

791
Maintenance
High-corrosion areas
If you live in an area where your vehi-
cle is regularly exposed to corrosive
materials, corrosion protection is
particularly important. Some of the
common causes of accelerated cor-
rosion are road salts, dust control
chemicals, ocean air and industrial
pollution.Moisture breeds corrosion
Moisture creates the conditions in
which corrosion is most likely to
occur. For example, corrosion is
accelerated by high humidity, partic-
ularly when temperatures are just
above freezing. In such conditions,
the corrosive material is kept in con-
tact with the car surfaces by moisture
that is slow to evaporate.
Mud is particularly corrosive
because it is slow to dry and holds
moisture in contact with the vehicle.
Although the mud appears to be dry,
it can still retain the moisture and
promote corrosion.
High temperatures can also acceler-
ate corrosion of parts that are not
properly ventilated so the moisture
can be dispersed. For all these rea-
sons, it is particularly important to
keep your vehicle clean and free of
mud or accumulations of other mate-
rials. This applies not only to the vis-
ible surfaces but particularly to the
underside of the vehicle.To help prevent corrosion
Keep your car clean
The best way to prevent corrosion is
to keep your vehicle clean and free
of corrosive materials. Attention to
the underside of the vehicle is partic-
ularly important.
If you live in a high-corrosion area
— where road salts are used, near
the ocean, areas with industrial
pollution, acid rain, etc.—, you
should take extra care to prevent
corrosion. In winter, hose off the
underside of your vehicle at least
once a month and be sure to clean
the underside thoroughly when
winter is over.

Maintenance
92
7

vehicle, pay particular attention to
the components under the fenders
and other areas that are hidden
from view. Do a thorough job; just
dampening the accumulated mud
rather than washing it away will
accelerate corrosion rather than
prevent it. Water under high pres-
sure and steam are particularly
effective in removing accumulated
mud and corrosive materials.
When cleaning lower door panels, rocker panels and frame members,
be sure that drain holes are kept
open so that moisture can escape
and not be trapped inside to accel-
erate corrosion.Keep your garage dry
Don't park your car in a damp, poor-
ly ventilated garage. This creates a
favorable environment for corrosion.
This is particularly true if you wash
your vehicle in the garage or drive it
into the garage when it is still wet or
covered with snow, ice or mud. Even
a heated garage can contribute to
corrosion unless it is well ventilated
so moisture is dispersed.
Keep paint and trim in good condition
Scratches or chips in the finish
should be covered with "touch-up"
paint as soon as possible to reduce
the possibility of corrosion. If bare
metal is showing through, the atten-
tion of a qualified body and paint
shop is recommended.
Bird droppings are highly corrosive
and may damage painted surfaces in
just a few hours. Always remove bird
droppings as soon as possible.
Interior care
Interior general precautions
Prevent caustic solutions such as
perfume and cosmetic oil, from con-
tacting the interior parts because
they may cause damage or discol-
oration. If they do contact the interior
parts, wipe them off immediately.
See the instructions for the proper
way to clean vinyl.
CAUTION
Never allow water or other liq- uids to come in contact withelectrical/electronic compo-nents inside the vehicle asthis may damage them.
When cleaning leather prod- ucts (steering wheel, seatsetc.), use neutral detergentsor low alcohol content solu-tions. If you use high alcoholcontent solutions or acid/alka-line detergents, the color ofthe leather may fade or thesurface may get stripped off.