No Good Vibrations here

[Pahaska]

I have the cold tire symptom. It doesn't take overnight; I parked for an hour yesterday after driving about 10 miles and I had the vibration for about a mile when I started up again. Not as bad as it gets overnight, though. Temperature was in the 50s.

The vibration is worse if the pressures get a bit low. I topped off the tires today and the vibration was less with just 2 psi added.

 

[ckon]

Bad news here. The vibration is still here after balancing. It actually seemed a little worse than it had been, but the temps here were in the mid 30s last night which is the lowest yet for the season which may account for the problem being a little bit worse. It still cleared up, though, after a few miles.

Is it only the HTRACs that are affected? If only AWDs are plagued with this could it be a problem with the AWD assy? This is getting pretty annoying and not something a car like this should be plagued with if it's gonna keep getting worse as temps drop.

 

[Alwaysforward]

My 5.0 Ultimate has the same issue. As soon as the tires are warmed up it goes right away. I blame this on the tire and the low profile design. Not sure if there is a fix unless we find a better tire. Knowing that it goes away makes it not big deal to me.

Found this on an internet search that talks about this issue:

"Cold weather can make the air molecules in the tire contract, reducing the the air pressure and causing "square wheels" syndrome. Once your tires warm up they should be fine. Cold weather also causes the rubber in some tires to loose some flexibility, causing flat spot. Again, these should disappear as the tire warms up. Performance tires have stiffer rubber in the sidewalls than normal tires, which may compound the problem of flat spotting. The flat spots would take longer to work out. If they don't take it to a tire shop, you may have a leak, which also can be caused by cold weather."

 

[ckon]

My 5.0 Ultimate has the same issue. As soon as the tires are warmed up it goes right away. I blame this on the tire and the low profile design. Not sure if there is a fix unless we find a better tire. Knowing that it goes away makes it not big deal to me.

Found this on an internet search that talks about this issue:

"Cold weather can make the air molecules in the tire contract, reducing the the air pressure and causing "square wheels" syndrome. Once your tires warm up they should be fine. Cold weather also causes the rubber in some tires to loose some flexibility, causing flat spot. Again, these should disappear as the tire warms up. Performance tires have stiffer rubber in the sidewalls than normal tires, which may compound the problem of flat spotting. The flat spots would take longer to work out. If they don't take it to a tire shop, you may have a leak, which also can be caused by cold weather."

Thanx for the info - I didn't know it's still that common with different tires. It's comforting to know it's NOT the AWD assy. We'll just have to put up with it I guess, though if this AM is any indication, it's gonna get pretty bad as the season progresses.

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

Took my car out for an extensive testing session last night. Switched to the TPMS readout so I could monitor temp by pressure changes. Originally my tires were 33psi cold, but it's colder now so they started at 32psi last night. Flat spotting was pretty bad and took 4-5 miles to disappear. The tires were 2, maybe 3 psi higher when warm.

There is still an imbalance with my car but I was really happy to find it moved to the front. Not really happy that I still have a problem, but instead that it's not with some other component of the vehicle. Will be much easier to get fixed once and for all.

My theory is this: The dealer road force balanced the tires when they were still a little square which caused weight to be added when it shouldn't have been. I'll bet if I coordinate with the service manager I can drive in and have them lift the vehicle ASAP, when the tires are still warm. Then they can remove them and balance them while perfectly round. I didn't feel them on my test drive with the other car (switched to have my tires) because the tires were already quite warm, and the prior balancing meant the imbalance is barely perceptible. Especially when moved to the front since it has more weight than the rear.

Which should leave flatspotting as my only issue. I tried adding 3psi to the tires and it helps with both the flatspotting and the other imbalance (makes it even less noticeable.) I don't really want to run my tires so high it will wear out the center of the tires.

The flatspotting is almost certainly due to the nylon used. Hankook's description of the tire:
The tire’s internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by a double layer of spirally wrapped nylon to blend handling, high-speed durability and uniform ride quality.

TireRack has an informative article on flatspotting with tires that use nylon:
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-on/flatspotting-try-saying-no-to-nylon-and-yes-to-polyamide

TL;DR version: tires that use nylon instead of polyamide cap have a "memory" and if you want to fix it, get another tire.

TireRack's solution is, of course, to buy new tires. Personally I think that's fine if I had researched the tire and purchased it knowing about that behavior characteristic, but not acceptable for a $50k luxury sedan bought off the showroom floor.

I'm going to call Hyundai and see what can be done. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it as I suspect there's nothing they'll do.

 

[ckon]

Took my car out for an extensive testing session last night. Switched to the TPMS readout so I could monitor temp by pressure changes. Originally my tires were 33psi cold, but it's colder now so they started at 32psi last night. Flat spotting was pretty bad and took 4-5 miles to disappear. The tires were 2, maybe 3 psi higher when warm.

There is still an imbalance with my car but I was really happy to find it moved to the front. Not really happy that I still have a problem, but instead that it's not with some other component of the vehicle. Will be much easier to get fixed once and for all.

My theory is this: The dealer road force balanced the tires when they were still a little square which caused weight to be added when it shouldn't have been. I'll bet if I coordinate with the service manager I can drive in and have them lift the vehicle ASAP, when the tires are still warm. Then they can remove them and balance them while perfectly round. I didn't feel them on my test drive with the other car (switched to have my tires) because the tires were already quite warm, and the prior balancing meant the imbalance is barely perceptible. Especially when moved to the front since it has more weight than the rear.

Which should leave flatspotting as my only issue. I tried adding 3psi to the tires and it helps with both the flatspotting and the other imbalance (makes it even less noticeable.) I don't really want to run my tires so high it will wear out the center of the tires.

The flatspotting is almost certainly due to the nylon used. Hankook's description of the tire:
The tire’s internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by a double layer of spirally wrapped nylon to blend handling, high-speed durability and uniform ride quality.

TireRack has an informative article on flatspotting with tires that use nylon:
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-on/flatspotting-try-saying-no-to-nylon-and-yes-to-polyamide

TL;DR version: tires that use nylon instead of polyamide cap have a "memory" and if you want to fix it, get another tire.

TireRack's solution is, of course, to buy new tires. Personally I think that's fine if I had researched the tire and purchased it knowing about that behavior characteristic, but not acceptable for a $50k luxury sedan bought off the showroom floor.

I'm going to call Hyundai and see what can be done. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it as I suspect there's nothing they'll do.

I'm gonna wait until a couple of colder days to see if it gets worse and then, if it does I'll call them, too. Good luck to ya!

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

Yeah the saga continues for me. Called in, very politely explained the situation. The rep absolutely insisted that all warranty claims go through Hankook and not Hyundai. I explained I’m not looking for a warranty replacement and that this is a brand new vehicle that's been in service since the very beginning. Hankook did not choose these tires, Hyundai did. If I were to go through an RMA process I would receive tires that perform identically to the ones I already have. That flatspot overnight. We went around in circles a few times and I escalated. Waited 15m for a supervisor, none available, she said one would call me back in an hour. It's been longer than that and I doubt I'm getting a call back tonight.

Great customer service Hyundai. Really gonna beat Lexus with this performance.

I knew the rep wasn't on my side when she tried restating what I wanted and phrased it like I was looking for Hyundai to buy me better tires. NOPE, I'm happy with every other aspect of these tires other than flatspotting after a day.

I'll try tomorrow, schedule permitting. What I'm trying for is to receive a fair market value of these tires so I can buy the tires I want. Which again, really means I'd be fine with these exact tires just with polyamide caps instead of nylon. Bunch of bull**** I'm having to deal with this after buying a brand new car. I've been buying new precisely so I don't have to deal with crap like this!

Thanks for the well wishes. I like hearing other people's updates on this issue too!

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

Well hot damn, they actually called back! This guy was fantastic. While the situation isn't resolved yet, he assured me that all their customers and especially Genesis/Equus customers are listened to, and that I shouldn't be having these issues with a brand new car.

I got him to verbally agree the flatspotting shouldn't be happening overnight given the circumstances.

When asked if it would be helpful if everyone with an issue called in, he said it wouldn't help my case but people should call in if they're having this issue (or any issue, you know how they speak.) They're going to be looking into the case in the next 3-4 business days and then will get back to me. Fingers crossed.

 

[ckon]

Well hot damn, they actually called back! This guy was fantastic. While the situation isn't resolved yet, he assured me that all their customers and especially Genesis/Equus customers are listened to, and that I shouldn't be having these issues with a brand new car.

I got him to verbally agree the flatspotting shouldn't be happening overnight given the circumstances.

When asked if it would be helpful if everyone with an issue called in, he said it wouldn't help my case but people should call in if they're having this issue (or any issue, you know how they speak.) They're going to be looking into the case in the next 3-4 business days and then will get back to me. Fingers crossed.

WOW! Encouraging. Do you have his name or anything else we can refer to if/when we call?

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

WOW! Encouraging. Do you have his name or anything else we can refer to if/when we call?

I didn't get his name or extension (they don't use employee IDs,) nor did I record the call. He had a foreign name (maybe Han Lo?) that didn't stick in my head. Didn't expect them to call so late so it caught me off guard. The only thing I have is my case # which is 7008142.

Be careful when referring to that case, as I suspect it also contains a good chunk of my problems with my local dealer. I haven't detailed that info because I don't want to muddy the waters, but they flat out lied to me twice, abused my transmission (recorded via dash cam,) and left what I thought was a permanent black mark on the tan interior (it wasn't permanent: their detailing department was able to get it out without a trace, using I don't know what kind of freakin' magic.) After lots of turmoil I'm back on a good track with them. Stinks that the service was this bad, my sales guy was incredibly awesome and I'd already been recommending him to people.

If your experience is anything like mine, don't expect anything from the front line folks at Hyundai USA. I think their hands are tied.

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[Alwaysforward]

My theory is this: The dealer road force balanced the tires when they were still a little square which caused weight to be added when it shouldn't have been. I'll bet if I coordinate with the service manager I can drive in and have them lift the vehicle ASAP, when the tires are still warm. Then they can remove them and balance them while perfectly round.

This makes perfect sense. Are you still going to do this test or not?

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

This makes perfect sense. Are you still going to do this test or not?

Yes, next Wednesday afternoon. This has put me too far behind to do anything more with it until then. It's reasonable to expect a status update on this topic around next Friday.

Hopefully I'll hear from Hyundai before then. They said the process usually takes 1 business day, but can take up to 3-4 which means I should have an answer by sometime Tuesday at the latest.

 

[ckon]

Yes, next Wednesday afternoon. This has put me too far behind to do anything more with it until then. It's reasonable to expect a status update on this topic around next Friday.

Hopefully I'll hear from Hyundai before then. They said the process usually takes 1 business day, but can take up to 3-4 which means I should have an answer by sometime Tuesday at the latest.

Good luck!

 

[quanva]

I have the vibration also, also notice it when it car is cold but goes away after a few mins.. I notice it but it's not high on my list of must fix, the sunroof noise is alot higher, and I suspect if i did take the car in they would take the easy way out and say my aftermarket rims are the issue size 20' but using same oem tire make and model)

if it gets worse i'll probably make an appt

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

Alright so I took it in after warming up the tires and they immediately lifted it when I arrived. I was only requesting balancing on the fronts but they, thankfully and wisely, did it on all four.

They found each front tire off by 1/4 ounce and the right rear off by half an ounce. The service manager was very surprised and it was quite vindicating for me - that the tires actually were out of balance despite their top tech not being able to feel it. That's not a dig on him too much, after each of their balancing jobs it took me a while to work out exactly where the vibrations were shifting to.

So now after the tires warm up it is PERFECTLY SMOOTH. Seems ridiculous that it took so many visits to get a brand new car's tires balanced but I'm glad to be done with that portion of it.

Hyundai USA called me back a day later than they said they would, and basically said it's going to be another 3-5 business days. The case has been passed to a regional rep. Each Hyundai rep I talk to tries to tell me it's a Hankook issue and Hyundai's warranty doesn't cover replacements, Hankook does.

Each time I rehash the argument: a $50k luxury sedan should not come with tires that thump like they're out of balance for the first 2-5 miles of every trip. I don't want a warranty replacement because they will do the exact same thing. These tires were Hyundai's choice, and if Hyundai is serious about making a dent in this market they need to give a damn about their buyers.

 

[Nikgen]

Alright so I took it in after warming up the tires and they immediately lifted it when I arrived. I was only requesting balancing on the fronts but they, thankfully and wisely, did it on all four.

They found each front tire off by 1/4 ounce and the right rear off by half an ounce. The service manager was very surprised and it was quite vindicating for me - that the tires actually were out of balance despite their top tech not being able to feel it. That's not a dig on him too much, after each of their balancing jobs it took me a while to work out exactly where the vibrations were shifting to.

So now after the tires warm up it is PERFECTLY SMOOTH. Seems ridiculous that it took so many visits to get a brand new car's tires balanced but I'm glad to be done with that portion of it.

Hyundai USA called me back a day later than they said they would, and basically said it's going to be another 3-5 business days. The case has been passed to a regional rep. Each Hyundai rep I talk to tries to tell me it's a Hankook issue and Hyundai's warranty doesn't cover replacements, Hankook does.

Each time I rehash the argument: a $50k luxury sedan should not come with tires that thump like they're out of balance for the first 2-5 miles of every trip. I don't want a warranty replacement because they will do the exact same thing. These tires were Hyundai's choice, and if Hyundai is serious about making a dent in this market they need to give a damn about their buyers.

23F when I got into my car leaving the office tonight - the coldest we've seen this year. MAJOR flatspotting/thumping for a few miles. The car had been outside for about 10 hours. Tire pressures were showing 27 psi, so I need to add more air for sure - hopefully will be less prominent with more psi? They market the AWD for snow on TV, but appear to have put tires on it that are not really up to par when the temps drop? This is not acceptable to me either!

 

[Nikgen]

Here's the solution to our problems - just carry a set of these around

http://www.raceramps.com/flatstoppers.aspx

 

[NotMyMainAccount]

lol Nikgen!

So the day after my last message the Hyundai USA regional rep called me, he said they're looking into it and they'll call me back.

Today my service manager called me after speaking with one or more people at Hyundai. He told me the Hyundai rep told him it's a known problem but they don't have a solution yet. So I'm still hanging tight. I'd rather have this fixed right than quickly.

 

[Alwaysforward]

Thanks for the update. Keep us posted.

 

[Kmcclosk]

I'm having same flatspot issue. Only happens for first 1-2 miles, but happens every day. Glad to know its not just me, but will keep watching this thread as I don't want to accept this, as minor an inconvenience as it is, for a 50k new car. Thanks for all the updates.