Advice Please! 30 day old CPO 2009 4.6 Alignment/Tire Balance Problem

[jda8]

On July 27, 2013, I paid $23,500 for a CPO 2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 Tech Package at Glenbrook Hyundai in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It had just under 28,000 miles. In addition, I paid $1,400 for the Hyundai certified "WRAP" 100,000 mile extended "bumper to bumper" warranty that is handled by Hyundai, and not by some third party administrator. Since I bought it, I have put about 1,400 miles on it.

Ever since I drove the car off the lot, I noticed that it pulled to the right. I also noticed that at speeds 70 m.p.h. and above (i.e. toll road) it shimmied/shaked. It's very annoying and unacceptable for a car of this caliber, especially one that I bought Hyundai CPO with an extended warranty.

I e-mailed my salesman on August 12, 2013 explaining the problem. No response. I then called service, and they told me that I would have to speak to sales to get such a problem "covered" for free since it is a normal wear-and-tear issue, not a warranty issue. (Yes, I realize that no warranty covers tire balancing or alignment, but I just bought the car.) I called my salesman and left a voice mail. No response. I live 1.5 hours away from Glenbrook Hyundai, but there is a Hyundai dealership just five miles away (Goshen Hyundai). I made an appointment with Goshen Hyundai, and last Thursday, Goshen Hyundai had my car all day. The extremely friendly, knowledgeable service manager met with me in person at 5:30 p.m. and told me that I have two problems: the front two tires are badly cupped and the alignment is off. His opinion is that the car was sold to me that way, which makes sense, and that my driving only 1,400 miles could not possibly cause such poor alignment and cupping of the front tires. He also had me rub my hand both directions on the front tires and feel how when rubbing them back toward the rear of the car, they feel like saw blades, but they are smooth when I rub them toward the front. The rear two tires are smooth both directions. He didn't charge me any money to look at my car, and he gave me a printout of his diagnosis. He told me to take my car back to Glenbrook Hyundai since I just bought it from them. The printout he gave me essentially says that my car is in need of two new tires and an alignment.

I then called Glenbrook Hyundai and asked to speak to the highest-ranking sales manager on duty. I explained to him my situation and he was extremely rude and disrespectful. Surprise, surprise. He told me I must have hit a pothole. I told him that it has been pulling to the right and shimmying since the day I got it. He said, "You're telling me you've had that car a month and haven't hit one pot hole?" He continued to be rude and condescending. He then said that I could bring it in to Glenbrook Hyundai, which of course would cause me to take an entire day off work, and they would look at my car and determine whether they would cover the cost or charge me full price. He also said I would have to pay $89 for a "diagnostic fee" and they would not diagnose the problem for free. He told me to call back on Tuesday and set up an appointment. He also noted, as it states on the Carfax that I have from when I bought it, that the dealership performed a tire balance, rotation, and alignment just a couple of weeks before I bought it. While that may be true, it still pulls to the right and shakes at high speeds.

WHAT DO I DO? I am furious. I hate driving my car on the highway because it virtually steers me into the ditch and shimmies at high speeds. The tires, which are Continental ExtremeContact DWS 18", and appear to be new, are not cheap to replace. I have no idea if I take a day off work, and drive to Fort Wayne, whether Glenbrook Hyundai will tell me I have to pay full price for two new tires and an alignment because they determine it is not a pre-existing issue. Should I call the corporate Hyundai USA customer service department and get them involved before I call Glenbrook Hyundai? Advice please!! Thanks in advance, and I'm sorry for such a long post. Just wanted the readers to have all the info.

 

[homeofstone]

This link should help in understanding what may be going on. http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=11061

Also take your car to a tire dealer that sells the brand on your car. Tell them the story and that you may have bad tires which are covered by tire mfg. warranty.

 

[shagnat]

On July 27, 2013, I paid $23,500 for a CPO 2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 Tech Package at Glenbrook Hyundai in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It had just under 28,000 miles. In addition, I paid $1,400 for the Hyundai certified "WRAP" 100,000 mile extended "bumper to bumper" warranty that is handled by Hyundai, and not by some third party administrator. Since I bought it, I have put about 1,400 miles on it.

Ever since I drove the car off the lot, I noticed that it pulled to the right. I also noticed that at speeds 70 m.p.h. and above (i.e. toll road) it shimmied/shaked. It's very annoying and unacceptable for a car of this caliber, especially one that I bought Hyundai CPO with an extended warranty.

I e-mailed my salesman on August 12, 2013 explaining the problem. No response. I then called service, and they told me that I would have to speak to sales to get such a problem "covered" for free since it is a normal wear-and-tear issue, not a warranty issue. (Yes, I realize that no warranty covers tire balancing or alignment, but I just bought the car.) I called my salesman and left a voice mail. No response. I live 1.5 hours away from Glenbrook Hyundai, but there is a Hyundai dealership just five miles away (Goshen Hyundai). I made an appointment with Goshen Hyundai, and last Thursday, Goshen Hyundai had my car all day. The extremely friendly, knowledgeable service manager met with me in person at 5:30 p.m. and told me that I have two problems: the front two tires are badly cupped and the alignment is off. His opinion is that the car was sold to me that way, which makes sense, and that my driving only 1,400 miles could not possibly cause such poor alignment and cupping of the front tires. He also had me rub my hand both directions on the front tires and feel how when rubbing them back toward the rear of the car, they feel like saw blades, but they are smooth when I rub them toward the front. The rear two tires are smooth both directions. He didn't charge me any money to look at my car, and he gave me a printout of his diagnosis. He told me to take my car back to Glenbrook Hyundai since I just bought it from them. The printout he gave me essentially says that my car is in need of two new tires and an alignment.

I then called Glenbrook Hyundai and asked to speak to the highest-ranking sales manager on duty. I explained to him my situation and he was extremely rude and disrespectful. Surprise, surprise. He told me I must have hit a pothole. I told him that it has been pulling to the right and shimmying since the day I got it. He said, "You're telling me you've had that car a month and haven't hit one pot hole?" He continued to be rude and condescending. He then said that I could bring it in to Glenbrook Hyundai, which of course would cause me to take an entire day off work, and they would look at my car and determine whether they would cover the cost or charge me full price. He also said I would have to pay $89 for a "diagnostic fee" and they would not diagnose the problem for free. He told me to call back on Tuesday and set up an appointment. He also noted, as it states on the Carfax that I have from when I bought it, that the dealership performed a tire balance, rotation, and alignment just a couple of weeks before I bought it. While that may be true, it still pulls to the right and shakes at high speeds.

WHAT DO I DO? I am furious. I hate driving my car on the highway because it virtually steers me into the ditch and shimmies at high speeds. The tires, which are Continental ExtremeContact DWS 18", and appear to be new, are not cheap to replace. I have no idea if I take a day off work, and drive to Fort Wayne, whether Glenbrook Hyundai will tell me I have to pay full price for two new tires and an alignment because they determine it is not a pre-existing issue. Should I call the corporate Hyundai USA customer service department and get them involved before I call Glenbrook Hyundai? Advice please!! Thanks in advance, and I'm sorry for such a long post. Just wanted the readers to have all the info.

Not to pour salt into your wound, but, I had the same issue with my Conti DWS on my 08 Azera. It was horrible and like you, I hated driving it. So, I traded it on a 10 Genesis which has Pirelli Pzero Nero and all is great!!
Hope you have a pleasant resolution. But, I'd not do business with your purchasing dealer again.

 

[WowCool]

Preevyet , well first if you had the issue from day One and you waited a month to complain "what can I say"
You can buy new tires and get your steering sorted and tires balanced etc.
and put it down to experience. Or you can let the selling dealer have an opportunity to maybe cure the issues with some cash input from yourself..
Try putting the rears on the front and having the vehicle Tracked and all 4 tires balanced.. Overall after driving it for a month the issue is really in your court..
A? Before buying Did you not look at or check/feel the tires treads etc..How about Carfax? any accident reports?
Welcome to the big boys club, be thankful it's not a BeeMer, MB, Jaguar or Maserati
then you would be talking mucho bucko's
-------

 

[jda8]

WowCool: I didn't wait a month to complain. I emailed my salesman exactly two weeks after purchasing it and told him about it. I waited two weeks because I naively hoped that the tires would "balance" themselves out as the car may have sat on the lot for a period of time prior to me buying it. Also, yes it did come with a Carfax as stated in my post but there is no mention of any accidents or repairs. The tires looked brand new when I bought it. I did not rub them with my hands because I didn't even know to do that. This is my first used car purchase. My prior two cars were leased. With respect to the tire manufacturer's warranty, I don't know when or where the tires were purchased. I guess that's a question that the dealership will need to answer for me.

 

[homeofstone]

WowCool: I didn't wait a month to complain. I emailed my salesman exactly two weeks after purchasing it and told him about it. I waited two weeks because I naively hoped that the tires would "balance" themselves out as the car may have sat on the lot for a period of time prior to me buying it. Also, yes it did come with a Carfax as stated in my post but there is no mention of any accidents or repairs. The tires looked brand new when I bought it. I did not rub them with my hands because I didn't even know to do that. This is my first used car purchase. My prior two cars were leased. With respect to the tire manufacturer's warranty, I don't know when or where the tires were purchased. I guess that's a question that the dealership will need to answer for me.

Its a tire mfg. warranty. It has nothing to do with what tire store/warehouse sold the tires to dealer. Take it to any tire store that sells the brand of tires on your car.

 

[WowCool]

As a general rule of thumb, even though I know most of the people at my dealership by their first name & that includes the head honcho" I ALWAYS
phone and make an appointment..(it's a 120mile round trip)..
There is no short cut to person to person/eye contact to get things sorted..
Make an appointment with either the Service Manager or head honcho" take a couple of boxes of fresh donuts and you will be amazed at how much "service" is forthcoming..At least get them to replace the tires at cost & go 50/50 on the cost of tracking & alignment..
(I kno' how frustrating these issues can be, I had a similar sad story with a new 2012 Passat, eventually I changed dealers) Good Luck..

 

[GenesisCaptain]

WHAT DO I DO? I am furious. I hate driving my car on the highway because it virtually steers me into the ditch and shimmies at high speeds. The tires, which are Continental ExtremeContact DWS 18", and appear to be new, are not cheap to replace. I have no idea if I take a day off work, and drive to Fort Wayne, whether Glenbrook Hyundai will tell me I have to pay full price for two new tires and an alignment because they determine it is not a pre-existing issue. Should I call the corporate Hyundai USA customer service department and get them involved before I call Glenbrook Hyundai? Advice please!! Thanks in advance, and I'm sorry for such a long post. Just wanted the readers to have all the info.

Quick plan of attack...

First, recognize that your situation totally sucks and you are at a huge disadvantage. 1,400 miles in 1 month is a lot and puts you in a category of relatively high mileage. Second, at 60 miles away, you are not likely to be a return customer. Next, you have an early CPO. Finally, it will cost you $20 in gas and a lost day of your life, even if they offer to cover everything.

The two front tires may be shot, but proving it to the point that they will replace them is going to be tough, if not impossible. So, anticipate that you may have to settle for buying tires yourself or moving the rears to the front if that improves things.

Getting the shop to redo the alignment should be a no-brainer. It does not cost them much, so they should do that for you. However, the key is to commit to producing a straight car. That is their risk, and they reason that they may not want to do the alignment. As soon as they accept a redo of the alignment, they are potentially on the hook for whatever repairs are necessary to make it drive with no pull.

Tactics:
1) Decide in advance what you can live with, and be prepared to just thrown in the towel and chalk this one up misfortune.
2) Communicate over the phone only, and merely use email to confirm details and next steps. Do not plead a case over email.
3) Be prepared and never raise your voice over the phone. Don't accuse, and appeal to their responsibility to represent the Hyundai luxury brand, especially with a CPO car.
4) Blow off the sales organization and ask for the General Manager. The sales manager has a specific agenda and does look at the business from a holistic view; neither does the service manager. The GM can get it fixed, because he runs the business.
5) Most good tire shops will warrant an alignment for a while, so appeal to that as a justification for fixing your alignment by being better than a basic tire shop.
6) Get the shop to move the rear tires to the front to try to get a tire issue off the table without undue tire expense.

Your best case scenario is that you will get them to replace the front tires, redo the alignment, and do any other work necessary to get the car driving to your satisfaction. However, this will still cost you 120 miles in gas and a lost day.

Your worst case scenario is that they do nothing, you have to get a local shop to do the alignment, you have to replace the tires, and you have to get suspension work done under the CPO warranty.

If I were in your shoes, I would aim to get the dealership to do the alignment and any necessary suspension work to produce a straight-driving car. Settle for swapping the tires if that fixes the drive.

 

[EXBMWGUY]

Quick plan of attack...

First, recognize that your situation totally sucks and you are at a huge disadvantage. 1,400 miles in 1 month is a lot and puts you in a category of relatively high mileage. Second, at 60 miles away, you are not likely to be a return customer. Next, you have an early CPO. Finally, it will cost you $20 in gas and a lost day of your life, even if they offer to cover everything.

The two front tires may be shot, but proving it to the point that they will replace them is going to be tough, if not impossible. So, anticipate that you may have to settle for buying tires yourself or moving the rears to the front if that improves things.

Getting the shop to redo the alignment should be a no-brainer. It does not cost them much, so they should do that for you. However, the key is to commit to producing a straight car. That is their risk, and they reason that they may not want to do the alignment. As soon as they accept a redo of the alignment, they are potentially on the hook for whatever repairs are necessary to make it drive with no pull.

Tactics:
1) Decide in advance what you can live with, and be prepared to just thrown in the towel and chalk this one up misfortune.
2) Communicate over the phone only, and merely use email to confirm details and next steps. Do not plead a case over email.
3) Be prepared and never raise your voice over the phone. Don't accuse, and appeal to their responsibility to represent the Hyundai luxury brand, especially with a CPO car.
4) Blow off the sales organization and ask for the General Manager. The sales manager has a specific agenda and does look at the business from a holistic view; neither does the service manager. The GM can get it fixed, because he runs the business.
5) Most good tire shops will warrant an alignment for a while, so appeal to that as a justification for fixing your alignment by being better than a basic tire shop.
6) Get the shop to move the rear tires to the front to try to get a tire issue off the table without undue tire expense.

Your best case scenario is that you will get them to replace the front tires, redo the alignment, and do any other work necessary to get the car driving to your satisfaction. However, this will still cost you 120 miles in gas and a lost day.

Your worst case scenario is that they do nothing, you have to get a local shop to do the alignment, you have to replace the tires, and you have to get suspension work done under the CPO warranty.

If I were in your shoes, I would aim to get the dealership to do the alignment and any necessary suspension work to produce a straight-driving car. Settle for swapping the tires if that fixes the drive.

^ That is really good advice! I'd also put some urgency into this whole thing, because once done, you're likely to get a ton of satisfaction out of the car for a long time. Good luck!

 

[GenesisCaptain]

I also noticed that at speeds 70 m.p.h. and above (i.e. toll road) it shimmied/shaked.

I forgot to comment on the shimmy in my previous post. That is mostly likely a tire balance problem or a bad tire. Next on the probability could be a bent wheel or brake issue. Finally, it could also be a worn suspension too, but I have not seen many posts about worn suspension causing a shimmy in the Genesis sedan.

Start with a good balance on all four wheels and move the backs up front. Hunter's road force balance is the best. If that takes care of it, then you know it was poor balance, bad tire, or bent wheel. Then, you could try moving the backs up one at a time to see if the problem comes back. With that, you could isolate it to the specific wheel causing the problem and investigate more.

But, I would bet that the balance takes care of it.

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[andriver]

I forgot to comment on the shimmy in my previous post. That is mostly likely a tire balance problem or a bad tire. Next on the probability could be a bent wheel or brake issue. Finally, it could also be a worn suspension too, but I have not seen many posts about worn suspension causing a shimmy in the Genesis sedan.

Start with a good balance on all four wheels and move the backs up front. Hunter's road force balance is the best. If that takes care of it, then you know it was poor balance, bad tire, or bent wheel. Then, you could try moving the backs up one at a time to see if the problem comes back. With that, you could isolate it to the specific wheel causing the problem and investigate more.

But, I would bet that the balance takes care of it.

Agreed.

If it's a bent wheel, the tech should catch it on the balance machine.

 

[StangKiller]

I'd start fresh and spend $1500 for 4 brand new tires and a road force balance. This alignment would be much better than a Hyundai dealership could provide and would pretty much guarantee resolution of your issue.

The alternative, as mentioned, would be to negotiate with the dealership and/or tire shop that carries your brand. While this may provide 2 new tires and slightly better alignment - as soon as you have to rotate you may be right back in the same boat. Having even tread ware across all four tires contributes to a smooth ride and less shimmy on the highway.

 

[shagnat]

I'd start fresh and spend $1500 for 4 brand new tires and a road force balance. This alignment would be much better than a Hyundai dealership could provide and would pretty much guarantee resolution of your issue.

The alternative, as mentioned, would be to negotiate with the dealership and/or tire shop that carries your brand. While this may provide 2 new tires and slightly better alignment - as soon as you have to rotate you may be right back in the same boat. Having even tread ware across all four tires contributes to a smooth ride and less shimmy on the highway.

$1500 tires??? Wow.....

 

[Gunkk]

probably a typo... Tire rack prices for Genny 235/50R18 tires range from $464 to $1400.

...and now that I looked ... I was surprised to see top of the line Michelin pilot super sports on mfr rebate promo for $770 (before tax, mounting).... which is a dynamite price.

 

[WowCool]

To:- jda8..
After All the advice/ideas/suggestions Posted..
Watz the latest?

 

[StangKiller]

$1500 tires??? Wow.....

$1000 for a good set of tires and I think the road force balance runs about $300. Then there is labor for install and balance + tax.

 

[shagnat]

$1000 for a good set of tires and I think the road force balance runs about $300. Then there is labor for install and balance + tax.

What the hang is "road force balance"? How does it differ from a standard bubble balance and why so expensive?

 

[homeofstone]

What the hang is "road force balance"? How does it differ from a standard bubble balance and why so expensive?

Who does bubble balance? I have not seen one is at least 25 years. Goodyear Stores got rid of bubble balancers in about 1978.

 

[Gunkk]

What the hang is "road force balance"? How does it differ from a standard bubble balance and why so expensive?

http://bit.ly/1fEjyyN

 

[StangKiller]

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=109&