Elantra steering wheel wobble/vibration

2002 Elantra with 180,000 km highway driving...

Here's the problem but my dealer and another garage have yet to solve the problem. I'm getting tired of paying to try things without a solution in sight...

- steering wheel wobbles at lower speeds

- at higher speeds it's a vibration

- sometimes pulls to the left sometimes slightly to the right.. sometimes not at all.

Here's what's been tried so far:

- Tie rod ends needed changing (Possibly unrelated)

- Several allignments (thankfully i didn't have to pay for all of them)

- Several tire balancings

- 4 new tires.. problem went away for a few weeks but is back again

- Re-balance made no difference

I suggested the rims may be the problem but i've been told several times that the balancing would sort that out... but balancing is really the fix if it was only a high speed issue right?

Any ideas or suggestions?

Reply to
jmh_ottawa
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So many eccentric circles involved, tires, rims, axles, that trying to get rid of the vibrations is a problem.

Reply to
irwell

If your wheel is bent, balancing may not sort things out well enough.

If it went away when the new tires were installed, I'd expect it to be a tire issue. It's possible that one of the tires is defective and not round or has a shifted belt or something. I'd expect primary assistance from the tire installer; i.e. the problem is likely due to the tires, so they should probably be checking and fixing the problem for free, if indeed tire related.

Reply to
hyundaitech

That sounds like a bent wheel or a tires that's either worn unevenly or improperly mounted.

That would be consistent with the low speed wobble.

That sounds like worn front ball joints or tie rod ends.

If the tie rod ends are worn, attempting to align the car is an exercise in futility. No reputable shop would do it.

Are they wearing evenly? If the alignment is off, uneven wear will result and cause the problem

If it's a wear problem, that wouldn't be surprising.

How do you drive the car? Aggressive cornering, wheelspinning acceleration and hard stopping can all cause wear issues and/or internal tire problems.

It sounds to me like the tires are the most likely culprit. If you had a seriously bent wheel, you would feel the wobble no matter what. Jack up the car and check to see if the tires hop or wobble when you spin them. Look for uneven tread wear. If you see any of these, you've probably found your culprit.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

I've had several new tires on the car so an actualy tire problem is becoming improbably. I've been told that it's a possible belt shift but on

6 tires on the same car.. how many times can you replace tires at a cost and keep being told it's the belts.

We're talking about 4 brand new tires that have seen less than 5,000 km... all recently re-balanced after the initial installation.

After the tie-rod ends were replaced a while back an alignment was done.. none of this work seemed to have any effect so i took it back and asked they re-check the alignement... which they did and said was fine.

At that point the focus shifted to tires... the two rear tires were getting old so at this point ok 4 new tires and a re-balancing it is...

Yes the problem did seem to go away but only for about 2-3 weeks at which point the problem returns.

After visiting my dealer and another garage...no one can really give me an answer and i get comments like "well there's not much else it can be"... i've changed tires, tie rod ends, had multiple alignment and balancings done.

I've been told that balancing would take care of any rim issue and that changing rims would be pointless but i'm starting to get tired at throwing money at a problem that isn't going away. So far it's getting close to $1000 over the past 6 months or so.

Reply to
jmh_ottawa

I've had the same IDENTICAL problem on my Kia Sedona van since it was new in

2003. I kept taking it back but they never could fix it. Replaced tires twice. Did a tire load test. Alignments galore. The tires wear evenly and I've had them replaced once after 30,000 miles. Still wobbles at slow speeds on the steering wheel. This is from day one. I just live with it until I trade it in. The Kia dealer is totally useless after taking it back for oil changes and scheduled maintenance and complaining about the wobble each time.

Tom

Reply to
Tom

Reply to message from "jmh_ottawa" (Fri, 20 Oct 2006 21:

50:08) about "Re: Elantra steering wheel wobble/vibration":

j> We're talking about 4 brand new tires that have seen less than 5,000 j> km... j> all recently re-balanced after the initial installation.

j> After the tie-rod ends were replaced a while back an alignment was j> done.. none of this work seemed to have any effect so i took it back j> and asked they re-check the alignement... which they did and said was j> fine.

j> At that point the focus shifted to tires... j> the two rear tires were getting old so at this point ok 4 new tires and j> a re- balancing it is...

j> Yes the problem did seem to go away but only for about 2-3 weeks at j> which point the problem returns.

j> After visiting my dealer and another garage...no one can really give me j> an answer and i get comments like "well there's not much else it can j> be"... j> i've changed tires, tie rod ends, had multiple alignment and balancings j> done.

Jim

In all these discussions l am yet to see any mention of rotating the wheels. Either l missed that in your posts or it was the only thing you did not do for this problem.

l agree with others that the focus is on the wheels / tires," and since the tires have been changed I can only suspect that you may have a bent rim or two in front.

Wheel balancing should show up side to side variations from true but maybe it did not.

Why not rotate the wheels and tell us if that made a difference?

Best Regards Wayne Moses Sun, 22 Oct 2006 10:13:16 -0500

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Reply to
Wayne Moses

There's a difference between belt shift and uneven wear. The former WOULD be improbable on six tires, but the latter would be very probably if there is an underlying problem with the alignment or worn front end parts (joints).

It doesn't take long to trash a tire if the alignment or balance is out.

Who did the alignment? I've found that shops that specialize in alignment are far more likely to do a good job than dealers or tire stores. In particular, chain tire stores - or any chain stores - tend to be problematic.

If the work has been done properly, that's true. For balancing, find a shop with a Hunter balancing machine and a technician that knows how to use it. Again, dealers and many tire stores - chains in particular - are lousy at this.

Unless there is a visible wobble in one of your rims, that's not the problem.

Here are a couple of other possibilities:

- One or more of the brake rotors could be badly out of balance (I've heard of this happening with Elantras). If that's the case, no amount of balancing of the wheels will solve the problem, unless they're done on the car (not common these days). Even then, when you rotate your tires, you'll have to get them re-balanced.

- The lug nuts may be over-torqued, under-torqued or inconsistently torqued. If they were not installed using a torque wrench, they're not likely to be correctly torqued. A reputable tire/wheel shop will ALWAYS use a torque wrench on lugs.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

As well, bad shocks will cause tire problems. Have you (the OP) looked at the shocks yet?

Though I've never seen torque related problems be as common as the concern for them, it remains that today's wheels do indeed want to be torqued. Rotors can be warped from improper torque. It's not as big of a problem as it is given credit for, but it is an area to look at when running out of ideas.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

The alignements were done at the dealer and another garage.. both said they were slightly out but not by much.

The rotors had been changed not too long ago but that was well after the problem first showed up and has had no effect since.

The wheels have been rotated so many times that i now don't know where they were originally when the problem first started.

Now i think about it more the rims themselves may be the issue as when they were once rotated i do remember having a heck of a time getting them off the rear. Perhaps they were damaged at that time... although i do remember mentioning this to the tech's and they said a balancing should sort that out..

One thing i've yet to try is a st of new rims if only on the front to start.

Reply to
jmh_ottawa

When wheels don't come of easily, a big hammer is the tool of choice. No, balancing won't make them straight again. Have you tried raising the wheel and spinning it with an indicator in place? Does not have to be fancy, a couple of pieces of wood and a dowel that just about touches the rim.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

With 100,000 miles, just junk it and get another car. once you have all these eccentric circles out of whack you will never get it right.

Reply to
irwell

I think the first step is to verify the rims aren't the problem... i'll likely wait till this storm passes and i get some nicer weather before checking them out... if a new ones are needed then rims don't cost too much but it's a place to start and it would give me some peace of mind that they have at least been checked.

Reply to
jmh_ottawa

Did they do a four wheel alignment or just the front?

Then their not likely to be the problem.

That may eliminate balance as the cause.

That's not uncommon, as the Hyundai rims fit the hubs tightly. If you clean off the mating surfaces and apply an anti-corrosion product, you shouldn't have the problem again. BTW, the easiest way I've found to loosen the wheels it to remove the lugs and whack the upper part of the tire with your hand from the outside. That usually pops them right off and won't damage anything. If the wheel is really stick, you can loosen the lugs SLIGHTLY and drive the car a SHORT distance to break the wheels free, then remove them normally.

Unless you really wailed on the rims with a hammer, they shouldn't be damaged. Balancing won't help a bent rim.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

No, a big hammer is a BAD choice. See my other post for simple, safe ways to break stuck rims free.

Exactly.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

I did recently rotate the tires and have everything re-balanced so it's unlikely that it's a balancing issue... That somewhat even brings into question a rim issue but it's the most obvious place to start consiering that i'm fairly happy that it's not the tires themselves.

Reply to
jmh_ottawa

It was a 4 wheel alignment and it was done when the tie-rod-ends were replaced.. i also took it back and had it re-checked twice.

Some force was used to remove the rear tires so this could be the culprit. Since then anti-seize compound was used to prevent them from sticking in the future which has worked really well.

So let's say the rims are replaced and that solves the wobble it still brings into question the pull to the left and right which does seem to come and go. It's not sever but it is noticable and isn't consistantly pulling one way.

It's higher milage yes but apart from the steering issue it's been a pretty good car and is still in very good running order. It's all highway miles and rarely sits in traffic.

Reply to
jmh_ottawa

Are you sure it's not just the crowning and tire depressions on the roads?

I certainly wouldn't replace it for such minor problems.

BTW, what are you running for tire pressures? I find the Elantra handles much better with front/rear pressures of 36/32. The recommended pressure of 30 psi all around guarantees severe understeer and uneven tread wear on the front tires. You could try them at 34/30 if you like a softer ride.

A common modification by Elantra owners is to install a stiffer rear sway bar, which really helps to balance the handling. The stock 13 mm sway bar is too soft, allows the body to roll excessively in corners and creates excessive understeer. Most people are using the 19.2mm sway bar from the '03 Tiburon GT, but some use the 18mm sway bar from the standard Tib. Either way, you should see a big difference in balance and sure-footedness on the road. These are bolt-on parts and they don't affect the alignment or require any other changes/adjustments.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Yes... there is a slight pull to the left but on occasions it is noticably pulling right. Someone mentioned it could be the strut bearings although once again quite a bit of work to remove and reinstall everything for a "maybe"

It's tough to say if cornering triggers the pull to change as it's not excessive but is noticable.

Exactly... once more major things arrise fine but to date the only items i haven't expected to go would be the transmission speed sensors and a wiper motor, oh and the purge valve. Not too bad a list compared to some out there haha..

much better with front/rear pressures of 36/32. The recommended pressure of 30 psi all around guarantees severe understeer and uneven tread wear on the front tires. You could try them at 34/30 if you like a softer ride.

I've had them at 32/32 recently but i will try a slightly higher pressure to see if that has any effect.

sway bar, which really helps to balance the handling.

Something that could be worth doing on a newer car but given it's age it's a "let's see how long it last" scenerio now.

Reply to
jmh_ottawa

We had the exact problem you describe with my wife's 2001 Elantra. It was at the dealer for warranty work so, while it was there, I had them mount and balance a brand new set of Kumho ECSTA 714s. Almost immediately we noticed the steering wheel wobble. Several returns to the dealer for rebalancing and a 4 wheel alignment were fruitless.

Finally, I brought it to my regular mechanic who, after remounting and rebalancing them, ran a dial indicator on the edge of the wheels and discovered that 3 of the 4 were out of round. No salvage yard in my area had any wheels for car and the dealer wanted an insane figure for new wheels (I think it was over 120 USD each), so I ended up getting some American Racing aluminum alloy wheels for $70 each. End of wobble.

BTW, the Kumhos are light years better than the Michelin MXV4s that they replaced.

John

Reply to
jc

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