2004 Accent front right vibration noise problem, HyundaiTech or anyone?

Well, I now have racked up 38k miles on my 04 accent, and thus far I have had a new pulse generator, o2 sensor, and a valve associated with the 02 sensor replaced. Now I have another problem just after getting my car back from the 02 sensor and the valve work.

Between 30-60mph I get a sound and a vibration in the steering wheel, gas and brake pedal that feel like, just the right front tire is either on a rough surface or has knobby tires (IE mud swamppers). As I go faster (Between 30-60 it increases in pitch (Low to High)), braking and gassing don't seem to make it go away (Other than changing pitch) and bumps or rough road don't seem to make a difference, changes in what gear I am in seem to make no difference. I think I feel more vibration when I corner hard right (faster than 30 miles an hour which puts more pressure on the left front, and less on the right front) Its not terribly loud but it is there, and I am afraid it is something that is going to go bad and leave me stuck somewhere (I drive 150miles a day). I took it to Mr. tire to get my oil changed and they checked for it and rotated the tires but they said they did not notice anything out of the ordinary looking at it. Driving it they said they felt and heard something but they thought it might be normal. They tried balancing the tires, and checked for other issues but that showed nothing either.

When I took it home from Mr. Tire I heard it and felt it again but it was not as loud as before, but it was still there. Maybe pulling the wheel off interrupted whatever it was. But even with wheels moved from front to back and vise versa I still had the problem in the front right area.

I am thinking wheel bearing, but I am not sure. Gas mileage is unaffected (I am still getting between 35-38 last tank was 38mpg), and it does not pull one way or another. Looking in the wheel well I am not seeing anything that looks like it is rubbing anything. I don't want to just take it in without some concrete ideas because I need my car and if I take it in and they claim they can't find anything wrong it will drive me mad. Should I wait for it to completely fail and maybe the wheel pop off while driving?

I am hoping someone will say (Yeah I had that happen *** was the problem). Thanks for any help in advance.

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert
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If you still have the original tires, its time to change them.

Reply to
Screwtape III

Why would I do that? Tread has plenty left (6/32, new was 8/32 I think). Since most of my travel is highway I rarely wear them out. Most people get between 45 and 60k on tires for the accent (Have a friend with an 04 accent with 58k on them.)

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Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

I don't care how much tread life you have left or how many miles your friend has on his, your OEM tires are worn out.

Reply to
Screwtape III

You're right, Matthew. Since the noise didn't move to the rear of the vehicle, the problem isn't with the tires. I'm sure that if Mr. Tire had found something wrong with them that justified replacement, they would have recommended that (they are primarily a tire store).

It sounds like a front hub bearing to me as well. Typically they make a humming noise that varies in pitch and loudness proportionally with vehicle speed. In most cases, the noise is heard before there is any discernable drag or looseness in the wheel.

Reply to
hyundaitech

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

Thanks HyundaiTech for confirming my thoughts, now my next question would be is that covered under the bumper to bumper? Or is that considered a wear item? Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

To back up my idea that the tires are fine here is some info from tirerack.com

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the page does not load search Kumho 722 on tire rack and read the review, one guy claims 65k miles, and if you read the tread ware warranty they don't even care about miles they care about age, and tread depth which I have plenty of (1 year old and 6/32 tread depth). So next time you come throwing an opinion around, stop, do research, then post. Otherwise you look plain silly.

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

Actually, the front hub bearings are powertrain. 10/100 for original owner. 5/60 for subsequent owners.

Reply to
hyundaitech

As always, thanks for the info. Your help here is always great, don't know how I would deal with my dealer if you were not around.

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

Are you having issues with your dealer?

Reply to
hyundaitech

I have in the past, it seems if I don't point out the faulty part, and the problem is not painfully obvious they say they could not recreate the problem and send me away (Been to many Hyundai Dealerships where this is the case, I end up having to drive around a tech to show them the problem). However since joining this forum you answer my questions before I go in, and now I rarly have issues, other than it taking a week to get my car in (I called on Tuesday to get my car in and the best they could do was next Wednesday).

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

I'm not sure where your travels take you, Matthew. If you're going to be close to other dealers or there are others near you you'd consider, then you might call one of them. My shop isn't that busy right now, so I suspect there may be other dealers reasonably close that can get you in sooner if you'd desire.

As to specifying what you think the problem is, I think you have far more to lose than you have to gain. For example, if you don't know what a bad wheel bearing sounds like and you tell the service department you think you have a bad wheel bearing, they may well check for a bad bearing and if they find none bad, simply return your vehicle without making any further attempt at repair.

If the noise is obvious, I recommend describing the noise, when it occurs, and how it changes under differing circumstances. If you think it isn't so obvious, you probably should have someone from the dealer ride with you. This will guarantee that everyone understands what you wish to be corrected.

Reply to
hyundaitech

I don't know if you can tell me where you work at, but you have mentioned you have worked with my dealership before (Thompson Hyundai In Baltimore.) I live in Essex so if you could recommend a better shop that would be great. I have called other shops in the past, but they have been equally busy (Antwerpen sp? is one I think of off the top of my head).

Whenever I bring my car in I always describe the problem I have, then I tell them what I have heard from here and from other shops (Mr Tire). Since I have started doing that, rather than just telling them what the symptoms are I have had no problems (other than waiting a week or two to get my car fixed).

I guess I would not mind so much but I drive 130-200miles a day so if I have to wait a week to get my car in that's 650+ miles if they told me its drivable, or I have to drive my wife's Santa Fe which gets at best 25MPG (My accent gets 35-38).

But anyway at this point I am rambling. Hopefully next week they will get my car in, find the problem and fix it within a day or two.

As always HyundaiTech you give a lot of helpful information and I always appreciate it. If you ever need a recommendation I, and I am sure others here will be more than willing to give it.

Reply to
Matthew Rebbert

I've never actually worked for Thompson. In fact, the only Hyundai dealer I've worked for in the Baltimore area sold their franchise. I'm not willing to say where I work for two reasons: First, what I post is solely my opinion. Second, Hyundai or my employer may not like what I post and request that I stop. I will say that I work far enough away that it's very doubtful I'll be working on your car.

I do know that there are some good technicians at Bob Bell and Antwerpen in Catonsville, but that's no more than a couple techs in each dealer. I'd think that places to consider in your area besides Thompson would be Bel Air (Bel Air, MD), Nationwide (Timonium), and Bob Bell (Glen Burnie).

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

Reply to
hyundaitech

"hyundaitech" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@localhost.talkaboutautos.com:

Hyundaitech, I would have handled this exactly as you did. I just wanted to add that if you did reveal the location, you'd probably have a line out to the street with people waiting for your services. You'd probably get a promotion :-)

Have a good weekend.

Eric

Reply to
Eric G.

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