Alignment?

[VaiFan]

One thing that may be coming into play here is location. I'm thinking there's a trend developing with more suspension/ride/alignment and tire issues with cars in the northern States & Canada than are being reported in the south.

I have no idea why this would affect alignment but I do know that the roads tend to be quite a bit rougher in the north simply due to cracking and heaving during the freeze/thaw cycles that happen for several months every year. If you don't have tar strips filling in the cracks every few feet, the car doesn't have to deal with them. There is no question that the Genesis performs very well on smooth pavement, and it is the quietest car I've ever owned. So when you start hitting the cracks and tar strips the intrusion of the noise is all the more apparent.

Don't get me wrong, I know that Florida and California etc., have their share of bad roads, I'm just saying that their "share" is smaller than northern NY or in Ontario.

Just a thought that might partially help explain the wild variations in satisfaction with the ride etc.

RW

Obviously you have never driven through the land of Antonio Viaragosa.
AKA Lost Angeles.

 

[Calvin]

rmwweb;

You may be on to something. I sure remember alot more "pot holes" when I lived in PA!

 

[rmwweb]

Obviously you have never driven through the land of Antonio Viaragosa.
AKA Lost Angeles.

Actually, I have spent several months in LA. Every city in North America has its share of crumbling infrastructure and the bad roads that go with that. My point is that, the freeze / thaw cycles that roads go through (in the areas that get seriously severe winters) have more to contend with and tend to be in worse shape overall than in the south.

I'm just trying to figure out why there are such divergent opinions about the ride on this car.

 

[cviz]

I only have 630 miles on my V6 Genesis and it started pulling to the left no matter what type of road I driving on. I have to keep the steering wheel pressure slightly to the right to keep the car tracking straight.

I have an appointment to take the car to the dealer on Friday. I'm hoping this will be an easy fix.

I verified that the pressure on all my tires are at 33 psi, and it still pulling to the left.

 

[Mark_888]

I only have 630 miles on my V6 Genesis and it started pulling to the left no matter what type of road I driving on. I have to keep the steering wheel pressure slightly to the right to keep the car tracking straight.

I have an appointment to take the car to the dealer on Friday. I'm hoping this will be an easy fix.

I verified that the pressure on all my tires are at 33 psi, and it still pulling to the left.

Someone on another forum posted the following:

"Hyundai issued a TSB to correct the alignment specs for the Genesis"
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1b3717/9

I don't know if any of the Hyundai techs on this forum have heard anything about it. If you find out anything, let us know. I noticed the same thing on my Genesis.

 

[Tufast]

Well, stopped by dealer today to inform them that car is pulling to left again. They asked me to bring the car in tomorrow and they are going to contact the Hyundai rep and have him look at it. Will keep you posted.

I must say that even though this has been kind of a pain, the service dept at Dennis Hyundai of Dublin, Steve in particular, has been absolutely outstanding!! They have really stepped up to the plate to make sure that this Genesis owner is satisfied. I have no doubt they will fix the problem.

Thanls for sharing info about the great svc you have received from Dennis Hyundai of Dublin LCGenesis, it's great to hear when a svc dept is taking care of their customers the way that they are supposed to.

I have also noticed the need to exert pressure on the steering wheel to keep the 4.6 tech straight. Mostly to the left but also occasionally to the right. I have assumed this was an over sensistivity to the crowning of the roads as it has been difficult to replicate-seems to be totally road dependent. But this is a very annoying issue unlike anything I have ever experienced in any other car.

When I mentioned this to the service advisor he commented on possible alignment issues and then said something I have never heard before- He claimed that the alignment was definitely weight sensative and that is was calibrated at the factory for average person weight of 150 lbs. He said that if you weigh 225 lbs. that could account for the need to keep pressure on the wheel until the alignment was dialed in for you specificially.

Any comments or thoughts? Has anyone ever heard of the need to be weighed when they bought a car? Or, is the service advisor looking just to add some warranty bucks to his paycheck? I am planning to have the oil changed when the plates come in and will ask about the alignment TSB also but I would like to know if I should have any level of trust with this service adviosr from the start.

It sounds like the crowning of the road for water runoff may be the culprit & the Genesis is just more sensative to this issue. By the way, when I have my BMW 540i aligned at BMW, they had install weights in the vehicle to substitute for passengers prior to doing the alignment. Guess that's whey their alignment costs $159.95 compared to the $69.95 Hyundai charges for a 4 wheel alignment.

I would think that they probably all leave the factory dead on but the combination of boat, train and truck transport can and will affect alignment if the car is submitted to a lot of movement while tied down or if it's not properly tied down.

Yeah, that's part of the reason Hyundai warranties 1 alignment & 1 wheel balance during the 1st 12mos/12k miles, in case either is "off from the factory".

It sure sounds like the Dunlop tires are the real evil in rough rides, alignment, and pulling to either side. So, can we say the Genesis is a fantastic car spoiled by cheap tires?

Yeah, I hate Dunlop tires....

My experience:

"Pulling" seems to be very related to the road - it just seems to be more sensitive to crown than anything I've ever driven. Dealer has no answer.
Changing to Yokohama W.drive winter tires on the V6 18" wheels seems to have reduced the pulling, but I till think it has poor on-centre tracking.

"Bouncing" on rough roads (I have not experienced the "resonance" on expansion joints) is still there with the winter tires - maybe a little bit better. I really have to be pushing it, and the road has to be very heaved/rolling/wretched. I also think that the feedback through the steering wheel is more extreme than what the chassis is actually doing - I will be startled by the feeling, but the car is still doing just fine.

YMMV.

I have Canadian V6 with Premium package, Yoko W.drives on 18" Hyundai wheels.

cmr

I agree, that it sounds like the crowning of the road with the suspension of the Genesis & the Dunlop tires making it more prevalent.

Actually, I have spent several months in LA. Every city in North America has its share of crumbling infrastructure and the bad roads that go with that. My point is that, the freeze / thaw cycles that roads go through (in the areas that get seriously severe winters) have more to contend with and tend to be in worse shape overall than in the south.

I'm just trying to figure out why there are such divergent opinions about the ride on this car.

+1...on the crappy roads everywhere. I sure hope that this issue is addressed in the near future, because my cars stay out of align & sometimes damaged because of it...

 

[doug725]

One of the reasons there are divergent opinions on the ride is because of road differences in regions, but, also the fact that some of the particular vehicles are worse than others. One of my main points has been that the demo I drove extensively was OK - acceptable, but the car I actually puchased rides horrible and exhibits more extreme behavior. Now that I think of it one car I test drove was bad also, but I chalked it up to low psi. Tire brnad/pressure may help but does not solve the problem.

 

[doug725]

The car is too sensitive to crowns, swells and ridges in the road -I'm sure that's related to to ride/alignment concerns.

 

[72vetteman]

I have been having the same problem with my 09 V-6 Tech Package since I took delivery the middle of Nov 08. I drove it away and thought since it was new that it just might be the tires. Being that I only live about 5 minutes from my dealer I drove it through Dec just to keep verifying. When driving on normal side streets and main roads in my town it was not nearly as noticeable, but as soon as I entered the highway the pull to left was terrible. The amount of wheel correction to the right actaully was causing my arm to get tight.

At this point ( 375 MILES) I decided that was enough and it was time to get it fixed. The dealer had my car for 2 days working the problem and said they were un-able to resolve the issue. I picked it back up since it was close to holidays and I didn't want it to sit there and have different guys trying to resolve the issue. After the first of year I took it back in and they kept it for 3days this time, 525 miles now. They aligned it numerous times to factory specs and said it was dead on each time. From there they contacted Hyundai and they recommended that the calipers be all disassembeld and the rotors be mic checked to verify that they were not out around. Inspection results were all good. At this point another V-6 tech package was brought in and all 4 wheels were transferred from car to car to verify it was not a tire wheel package problem. The results did not change, still terrible pull on the highway. Once again I drove it away and now it sits in the garage at home.

The dealer had asked to keep it longer but due to job restraints I had to let it sit in the garage until I arrive back in country( LATE APRIL). The reason behind this is I did not want it driven while out of COUNTRY and Hyundai coma back saying that I lived with it for this period when I was not at home. The car will be taken immediately to the dealer upon my arrival. They have one last action that they have been asked to due which is move front and rear subframes as per direction of Hyundai. I see this is mentioned in one of the other posts here.

The GM at the dealer is fully involved in this and is aware that I wil seek Lemon Law if it is not resolved the next time. Even if Lemon Law is APPROVED I would actaully want another one, except now it will be a V-8 Tech Package. My wife says it doesn't roar like our SRT Charger did. She wants to the QUIET rumble and Power of a V-8.

 

[doug725]

I sympathize - I do hope you can get the situtaion resolved to your satisfaction!

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[Richard Ft. Lauderdale]

I thought I noticed a pull to the left when I was on I-95 the other night. I decided it was because I was in the left lane. I was reasonably sure it did not happen when I was in either of the two middle lanes. Now I will have to be more aware the next time I'm on I-95. Thank goodness I don't travel on I-95 very often.

Has anyone noticed a pull to the right in the right lane? I don't think I spent much time in the right lane the other night.

My first post was in November.

I have now definitely determined that mine pulls to the left only in the left lane and have now determined it pulls to the right in the right lane. So this is not a problem with the car, at least not mine. On a flat road (the middle lane) I can let go of the steering wheel and it goes perfectly straight.

 

[Gumma]

When following my wife home with new 09 Genesis V6 driver side rear tire looked off from a distance. Took it back to dealer and they thought it was in my imagination but alignment guy thought I might be right. As it turned out he couldn't do anything immediate as the alignment machine computer hadn't been programmed with proper specs. Once that was done he found out that it was indeed off( by one degree ). Car seems fine now. It was also interesting that while we waited we looked at several others on the lot and they all looked like that same tire was off.

 

[WESTWINDLION]

Hi Jeff,

I just bought a new Genesis 3.8L V6. I have exactly the same problem.

Was your problem ever solved?

Ken from NJ

 

[WESTWINDLION]

Jeff,

Did Hyundai take care of your car issue - left pull?

Ken from NJ

 

[wallymn]

Just 2 cents on the topic.

Most "performance" sedans are going to be more sensitive to road crowning. This is due to suspension and tires...

My friend put PS2s on his M45 and he couldn't drive on some roads without white knuckling. small groves in the road were biting the tires causing the car to wander left/right without warning.

Another friend in a 535xi has exactly the same problem listed here, road crown related left/right pulling (depending on which lane he is in).

Some of this is the trade off of a performance sedan,

Tires can make a difference here.

Since swapping in winter tires my crown related pull left/right is almost gone.


I wish there was a way to demo tires on your car. It would make it so much easier to pick my next set of summer tires.

 

[GripperDon]

Insufficent "Toe In" can also produce the same problem.

 

[riche119]

Just an update for those suffering from the dreaded alignment issue. My 2009 3.8 Premium+ has suffered from a serious pull to the left since it was purchased new 2,500 miles ago. Two trips to the dealer for alignments, tire rotations, etc, had absolutely no effect on the problem. Yesterday my service guy finally heard back from the district service tech. It seems that Hyundai has finally admitted that a "small number" of cars were manufactured with this defect and is "engineering a shim fix" for the problem. The tech stated that shims need to be inserted between the sub-frame and the body structure and Hyundai has yet come up with a package that will be a "cure all". He hoped it would be released within a couple of weeks, but it could possibly be several months. Not what you want to hear about a car released over a year ago! My wife says they should just give us a new car and now I'm starting to agree with her!

 

[GripperDon]

More proof that Hyundai is not yet able to field a true Luxury car to Luxury Car Buyers. Their ability to take the appropriate actions interfacing with us customers is very poor and certainly not up to par with the likes of BMW etc.

 

[WESTWINDLION]

I am having nightmares with the left pull. This issue has become too pronounced for my Genesis V6 sedan.

I have to hold the steering almost 15 degrees to the right to keep driving straight. It is also difficult to keep steering right when there is even slight right curve on highways.

It happens that my wife was driving Genesis over the past weekend, most of her 75-80 miles trip was on highways. Here is what she had to say, "I will have be on steroids and work out my biceps / triceps to keep driving the Genesis over any trip that is beyond 30 minutes." The car just drives off to the left, as if there is a ghost in the car pulling steering to the left!!

I am taking the car back to service next week. I just got off with the dealership and they are trying to put the blame on tires!!

Any recommendations from my Genesis owners friends?

 

[GripperDon]

1. Have the dealer rotate all the tires.

2. If problem persists, Have the car driven by the service department head. Tell him this is time #2 then request a four wheel inspection of the alignment and adjust as necessary to bring it up to the latest specification.

3. Problem persists, Request head of service Department to drive the car. tell them this is time #3 and have them try it for the last time.

4, If problem persists you are prepared to file compaint under lemon law. Take dar to independant alignment shop and IF they fix problem present bill to dealer for reinbursement. If they refuse IMO you have good gounds to file in small claims court.

That about it, sounds hard and I hope they fix it up at step #1.