Small vibration in seats during idle

[Seejay]

Good to know, wonder if the original mounts were some type of hydraulic mounts which probably leaked.

Yes, they were, and the replacements are also.
If they leaked, I never saw it with the bottom panel probably able to easily soak up the fluid from a dead mount (that's a good question!) The mounts do not hold much fluid.
Longitudinal power trains don't have as severe a torque reaction as transverse FWD for a given amount of power and traction, and I believe hydraulics gained widespread use on FWD cars because they last much longer than rubber or polymer once some tech problems were solved. It involved finding a suitable diaphragm material that was impervious to the fluid used. Nearly all motor mounts that deal with torque are hydraulic nowadays.

 

[AustinTX]

Yes, they were, and the replacements are also.

I wonder if there is some type of issue with the motor mounts on the 2015's (yours is a 2015, right?).

I'll email Hyundai management (the dealer won't do anything after multiple complaints) and ask them to authorize a replacement. My sun visors, rear-view mirror, steering wheel, seats - all shake like crazy when I'm stopped, worse when in gear and when the A/C is on ...

 

[Seejay]

I wonder if there is some type of issue with the motor mounts on the 2015's (yours is a 2015, right?).

I'll email Hyundai management (the dealer won't do anything after multiple complaints) and ask them to authorize a replacement. My sun visors, rear-view mirror, steering wheel, seats - all shake like crazy when I'm stopped, worse when in gear and when the A/C is on ...

Yes, mine is a 2015, and I think it was partially failed when I bought the car. It continued to get worse, and this second summer, was enough "not luxury" for me. It may be that if one were to say "motor mount" rather than "vibration", something gets done. A failed motor mount can be visually confirmed, usually. This whole things sounds like one of HMA's "informal" TSBs.

You are not only first person here to complain bitterly about the dealerships in the Austin metro. We are fortunate to have at least two good dealers in the North Houston area. One is better than the other and I go to the better one, even though it is slightly farther away. Austin seems to enjoy much better third-party tweak and specialty shops for cars, ala California.

 

[Genpire]

the vibration you feel when the A/C is on is the electric fan in the front of the car. mine did this same thing and I could feel a pulsing vibration in the seat bottom and the steering wheel. somehow the fan gets out of balance. I had mine replaced under warranty and the issue stopped, but now several months later it is back, but only in the steering wheel. its annoying, but i'm not gonna go in and have a fan replaced every 8 months or so.

 

[Seejay]

the vibration you feel when the A/C is on is the electric fan in the front of the car. mine did this same thing and I could feel a pulsing vibration in the seat bottom and the steering wheel. somehow the fan gets out of balance. I had mine replaced under warranty and the issue stopped, but now several months later it is back, but only in the steering wheel. its annoying, but i'm not gonna go in and have a fan replaced every 8 months or so.

Some of the 2015 v6 sedans had bad motor mounts. Mine was one, and I had them replaced. I think AustinTX has the same problem as I did, but worse.

Your issue was that 2015 v8 sedans had poorly-sourced radiator fans. Apparently, the source is still poor.

 

[AustinTX]

Some of the 2015 v6 sedans had bad motor mounts. Mine was one, and I had them replaced. I think AustinTX has the same problem as I did, but worse.

Your issue was that 2015 v8 sedans had poorly-sourced radiator fans. Apparently, the source is still poor.

I think I actually have both issues: Bad vibration at idle, gets worse with pulsing vibration when the A/C kicks in and the fan starts to run harder ...

Plus, my tire/wheel issue now has the steering wheel vibrate (moves left/right at high frequency) about 1/2 inch while going 60 - 80 mph ...

Consumer Reports just sent me the car survey - mine doesn't help Hyundai/Genesis get high ratings ...

I'm still planning to contact Hyundai corporate to see if they are willing to do something for me beyond the "that's normal" response I have gotten so far ... I just need a break to write up all my issues and find the right contact people ...

 

[t33h00]

Yes, they were, and the replacements are also.
If they leaked, I never saw it with the bottom panel probably able to easily soak up the fluid from a dead mount (that's a good question!) The mounts do not hold much fluid.
Longitudinal power trains don't have as severe a torque reaction as transverse FWD for a given amount of power and traction, and I believe hydraulics gained widespread use on FWD cars because they last much longer than rubber or polymer once some tech problems were solved. It involved finding a suitable diaphragm material that was impervious to the fluid used. Nearly all motor mounts that deal with torque are hydraulic nowadays.

Hey Seejay! what dealer did you take the car in for the fix? Im in Houston too so I may take it there and tell them about the problem, hopefully they will understand what Im talking about. LOL. My car is 2016 model (August 2015) if thats a case.
Also, the car has problem with alignment I guess, I have to keep the steering wheel a little bit off to left to have the car go straight. The car only has 18,000 miles though.

 

[beel27]

Just bought a G80 2018 3.8 RWD. Touched 4000 KMS and the idle vibration got me =(. It's annoying. Almost nil vibration with the AC off. And annoying vibration with the AC on. It's not noticeable until you really keep staring at the steering wheel. But it's a lot more when you hold the steering wheel. It's very annoying. What could be the cause? I'm. Heart broken

 

[FornicatorSteve]

I am having the same issue that has been listed earlier in this thread with my Genesis 3.8 RWD. When i am in drive and come to a full stop, it vibrates like crazy. I've been to four dealers in the central Florida area. One replaced the fuel pump and cleaned the throttle body, one cleaned the throttle body again, another said "come back another time" after I had made and confirmed an appointment with them the week prior, and another tried to sell me on a $180 induction service stating that the motor mounts were fine.

I know they didn't look at them, so I'm having another third party shop that did some transmission work for my old car have a look-see at the motor mounts, which they said sounded like the issue after telling them what was going on with it. If they are able to find that the motor mounts have excessive wear, would that be enough to have Hyundai fix the issue?

I've tried contacting their corporate division, and they left a message on my phone, after calling back less than a minute later I got no response. This really shouldn't happen on a vehicle of this level. None of my rentals shook like this, 3 of which were Hyundais.

 

[Seejay]

Wow, G80 should not be plagued with this.
Unsure, but there seems to be an "unofficial" TSB regarding the motor mount failure for the V6. My dealer went straight to the motor mounts after I complained about excessive vibration at idle with AC on a hot day.

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[FornicatorSteve]

My mechanic took a look at it today, and they said that the mounts were in great condition and there was nothing that they could find wrong with the car.

He said their shop services a couple of other Genesis sedans and they both have this issue as well, and that it's an unfortunate norm of the car since Hyundai isn't recognizing the issue officially. He also said that the Hyundai's weren't going to be as smooth as Japanese cars, but my 14 year old Acura TL that did have bad motor mounts didn't vibrate this hard at all.

So far my options seems to be to complain to corporate until they do something or eat the cost of new motor mounts with the possibility of the issue persisting.

This is my main gripe with the car, and none of the loaner G80s nor the other used 3.8s had this issue, but if they aren't going to fix it, a Genesis will not be my next car, even though it's been my dream car for a couple years.

 

[tlcdj2]

I have had this issue on my 2015 Ultimate since 7-8K miles. Hyundai has been trying to fix for40K miles and over 20 days in shop and finally they said just a characteristic of car. If it was they would not have tried to fix and if it is it should not be on this class of car.I am in a battle with them and they tell me they have not heard of this from anyone else. They are to call me in a couple of days to discuss options because I want it fixed or replaced. The issue as I see it is the slight vibration is there all of the time but when ac comes on the idle goes up about 150rpm it gets more pronounced if they just idled car different at idle it would cure issue. They say they can not change that setting. This is BS.....

James,
I know it's been a while since you've posted regarding this vibration issue. I purchased a 2015 Genesis 3.8 Sedan (CPO vehicle) on 7/28/18. When I test drove it I noticed the vibration right away once we (the salesman and I) stopped at a traffic light. He said that it is an A/C issue and service can take care of it since it has a full warranty. My mistake was taking delivery!!!!!! I dropped the cat back at the dealer on Wednesday 8/1 (3 days later) and their "Genesis Master" as I was told said that all the cars do that. I said that the loaner car 2018 G80 does not have the issue. After the car being there 3 days they told me that they found nothing wrong with th A/C but the fuel filter was changed and that fixed the problem. I no sooner pulled out and I felt it again. I was pressed for time and went home. The next day I called them and they told me to drop it off the following week which was Friday 8/3. I went get the car today and was proudly told that it was fixed! they cleaned out the carbon fill up in the air filtration system and around the exhaust manifold. I pulled out of the dealership, drove a half a block away, and at the traffic light the vibration was worse than when I dropped it off the first time. I brought it right back and the service manager had me sit in the car with the technician who worked on the car. He told me that this is a characteristic of some of these cars and there is nothing they can do and I should consider talking to the sales department about another vehicle if I can't live with this. I told him and the manager to replace the entire A/C unit or whatever it will take to fix the problem. I thought of raising the RPM but that leads to more fuel consumption and overall is not so good for the vehicle. PLUS... why should I have to put a band aid on it. So now I'm back home and found your post and posts from others with the same issue. Please tell me how you made out and what can you reccomend me to do next.
Thanks!
Tom

 

[Seejay]

My lease is up in December, and sadly, because of the vibration (less since the mounts were replaced but still far worse than my 12 year old Sonata) and the sunroof, I will not even dream of buying the car.
Genesis has nothing I find interesting. I think I am going to drive an old Panther platform or an older Lexus LS for a while until I see something I really like.

 

[2bornot2b]

I have a 2009 v6 with 147k on the clock and have owned it for two yrs and put 31k on since I purchased it. On 8/17 I returned from a 10 day vacation and when I drove off in my car all seemed normal. After a few minutes of driving, I turned on the A/C and while waiting at a traffic light I noticed a vibration in the driver seat. I cycled through a few settings and concluded that the vibration was only present when using the A/C. In the two yrs of ownership this had never been an issue with this car. Hopefully within the next few days I will take it to the mechanic and see what he thinks may be the problem.

 

[UltGen15]

I currently have a 2015 3.8 RWD Ultimate being worked on at a dealer in Atlanta Ga. I noticed the vibration on the test drive and sat in other vehicles to see if I felt the vibration. There was no vibration in the other 2015 Genesis the salesman and I sat in nor in a 2018 3.8 RWD. I did not take delivery and have an Owe You agreement in my paperwork that says the vibration must be fixed for me to take delivery of the car. If it is not fixed I will have to find another car or try to purchase a newer Genesis or buy another brand. I hope the engine mounts fix the issue. I really do like the car (except that the Ultimate head unit cannot have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto added)

 

[Genpire]

like I said previously, its the A/C fan itself.

 

[UltGen15]

Genpire, I took delivery of the car yesterday 9/5. The engine mounts helped some but I will take it to a Hyundai dealer close to my house and have them look at the A/C fan. Thanks

 

[Genpire]

I hope it works for you. I had my fan replaced and it immediately cured the problem. zero vibration at all, it was a glorious thing. Then about 6 months or so later the issue returned, although not as bad. My thought is that the a/c fan balance gets off. either a weight goes flying or the a/c fan itself is just junk quality and throws itself out of balance over time.

 

[UltGen15]

I hope it works for you. I had my fan replaced and it immediately cured the problem. zero vibration at all, it was a glorious thing. Then about 6 months or so later the issue returned, although not as bad. My thought is that the a/c fan balance gets off. either a weight goes flying or the a/c fan itself is just junk quality and throws itself out of balance over time.

Here we go...I took my car to the dealer and explained the issue and your situation. The tech in the back looked over the car but said everything was working properly. The service advisor said they cannot do a warranty repair unless a part is found to be defective. The car is awesome with the A/C off but doesn’t accelerate as quickly (I know the A/C pulls on the motor a little) but this is definitely not a normal decrease in performance. And of course the vibrates and its almost like you can hear the fan turning (whoosh whoosh) noise...I need to find a way for someone to truly address the issue and not tell me the car is fine.

 

[Seejay]

As far as we collectively know (from other threads), the 8 cylinder sedan had an AC booster fan problem. The vibration is probably caused by a schlock bearing that lasts one hard season.
For the 6 cylinder sedan, the problem is different and more complex. [from personal experience] A heavy AC load on the crank causes the engine to shake at the engine speeds encountered in stop and go traffic, with maximal effects stopped at a light during hot conditions. The amount of vibration seems to be proportional to the load on the engine. With the AC running on cool days, there was virtually no vibration with good engine mounts. When my engine mount failed, the vibrations got worse across the board. For failed motor mounts, a possible dead giveaway to the trained ear is a "clunk" when the engine starter is first engaged. Ultimately, it's a design failure I thought they had worked out for the G80, but that is not what I am picking up on the forums.
With the lifeless brake pedal and the constant engine drone and vibration, I found my car unpleasant to drive in heavy traffic.