steering feels strange

[jig]

I have a very strange sensation with the steering on my 4.6. When I turn the steering wheel more than about a 1/4 turn, the car wants to continue in that direction even with my hand off the wheel. I took the car in and the service manager test drove it and agreed that it seemed strange too. There were no other v-8's to compare it with so I left it with them to test. After 3 days they notified me that they had replaced the steering pump and bled the system. After picking up the car and driving it for a few days, it seems about the same as before. I know the car is rear wheel drive and that the steering is hydraulic with electric assist, but I have never experienced this sensation before. Every other car I have ever driven including the 2011 Sonata (has electric steering) wants to revert back to center when you let the wheel go. Can any other 4.6 drivers comment on this. If this is a normal condition , it definitely seems strange.

 

[Raja]

"Can any other 4.6 drivers comment on this. " >>

It does seem strange. Our 4.6 reverts back to center when we let the steering wheel go.

Does your car revert back to center, if you don't turn more than 1/4 ?

 

[jig]

Let me try to be more specific. Let's say I make a right hand turn at about 5-10 mph. When I release the wheel coming out of the turn, it will try to re-center by itself. Now lets say I am going about 30 mph down a 2 lane road and change from the outer lane to the inner lane. When I turn the wheel in the direction of the other lane and then release it, the wheel stays turned and does not re-center itself. I have to move the wheel in the other direction. Every other car I have ever driven, when you release the wheel it wants to go back to center based on forward motion. This condition is not noticeable when I am going down a straight road as course corrections are minimal--say 1-2 inches either way. When I exceed that amount, say 3-6 inches off center of the wheel, the steering wants to continue in that direction unless I pull the steering back to center. This is less noticeable if you drive with 2 hands at the 2 and 10 position, but I usually drive with one hand at about the 7-8 position. I hope this helps.

 

[Sayantsi]

Your wheel alignment may have too much caster, or your tire pressures may be too low - tire pressure is easy to check, but the alignment is most easily done at a tire shop with equipment.

I don't know what the recommended range is for caster alignment, but caster is the setting that effects camber when the steering wheel is turned in either direction and dictates how aggressively the tires "fall over" when you steer. Generally anything over 5 degrees and the car will be less inclined to "right itself" when you take your hand of the wheel. It is a trade off between cornering grip and stability vs turning effort - not necessarily bad, just a different feeling like you are describing.

Has the car always done this since new, or did anything change recently?

 

[nearwater]

Your wheel alignment may have too much caster, or your tire pressures may be too low - tire pressure is easy to check, but the alignment is most easily done at a tire shop with equipment.

I don't know what the recommended range is for caster alignment, but caster is the setting that effects camber when the steering wheel is turned in either direction and dictates how aggressively the tires "fall over" when you steer. Generally anything over 5 degrees and the car will be less inclined to "right itself" when you take your hand of the wheel. It is a trade off between cornering grip and stability vs turning effort - not necessarily bad, just a different feeling like you are describing.

Has the car always done this since new, or did anything change recently?

Good point about the alignment, but the caster is preset at the factory and it isn't adjustable on our Genesis sedans.
I think the range was somewhere around 7~8. Mine was like 7.5/7.7

Dan

 

[Sayantsi]

I'd love to see that cited - I have a hard time believing caster can't be set on this car, but then again, I don't know enough about it yet. Caster is usually factory set on a fwd car, not a rwd car.

I did find this - the 09 3.8/4.6 factory spec - 7.63°±0.75°. That's a start for looking at alignment issues. If its 8-9 degrees, that is pretty extreme.

 

[nearwater]

I'd love to see that cited - I have a hard time believing caster can't be set on this car, but then again, I don't know enough about it yet. Caster is usually factory set on a fwd car, not a rwd car.

I did find this - the 09 3.8/4.6 factory spec - 7.63°±0.75°. That's a start for looking at alignment issues. If its 8-9 degrees, that is pretty extreme.

Here;

Just a screenshot of the pdf file I had.
For more info, checkout www.hmaservice.com

Dan

 

[nearwater]

Sayantsi,
FYI, the front camber isn't adjustable either.
I was surprised to find that out.(Thanks, TJPark01)

Dan

 

[Sayantsi]

Here;

Just a screenshot of the pdf file I had.
For more info, checkout www.hmaservice.com

Dan

To what car is that supposed to be for? I ask because the caster numbers are not what is in the HMA Service for the BH - makes me believe that section is not correct for the Genesis. If I could, I'd get under the car and look for adjustment points myself. The text in that section reads exactly like what it should for a fwd car, not a rwd car.

Also, the numbers I'm citing are from http://hmaservice.com/ for the Genesis Sedan... so if you are also citing numbers, there is incorrect info somewhere.

http://hmaservice.com/ then go to "Service Information" then "Shop" then select the "Genesis(BH)" from the model dropdown. Pick a year/model, then navigate down to "Suspension"->"General"->"Specifications".

 

[nearwater]

To what car is that supposed to be for?

2009 Genesis 4.6

I ask because the caster numbers are not what is in the HMA Service for the BH - makes me believe that section is not correct for the Genesis. If I could, I'd get under the car and look for adjustment points myself. The text in that section reads exactly like what it should for a fwd car, not a rwd car.

Also, the numbers I'm citing are from http://hmaservice.com/ for the Genesis Sedan... so if you are also citing numbers, there is incorrect info somewhere.

http://hmaservice.com/ then go to "Service Information" then "Shop" then select the "Genesis(BH)" from the model dropdown. Pick a year/model, then navigate down to "Suspension"->"General"->"Specifications".

Funny. It does state 7.63 in the spec section, but try looking here;
GENESIS(BH) >2009 > G 4.6 DOHC > Suspension System > Tires/Wheels > Wheel > Repair procedures

Says caster is pre-set from factory.

Dan

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[Sayantsi]

So I looked into this - the Hyundai has no adjustment bolts to change caster - without an aftermarket kit, it can't be changed. I'd take it to Hyundai and try and compare it to another car again if I was the OP then. Maybe something is damaged or broken if there is no factory caster adjustments, and caster may be a red herring anyway. Tire pressure might be something still too.

 

[jig]

Went back to the dealership today and drove another 4.6 with about 12,000 miles on it. First thing I noticed was that the ride quality was noticeably worse with this car. It might have been a 2009 or else he was running way to much pressure in the tires. Anyhow, The test car's steering seemed to revert back to center better than my car, however I noticed that when I was going slow between 20-30 mph and made large steering input changes that this car would also tend to steer in that direction. As speed increased, the car would tend to re-center better. I could live with this car as I felt the steering while different than what I'm used to was OK. On the way home, I noticed steering effort increase and took more effort to re-center the wheel. Almost feels like it is losing power. So the problem worsens after car is hot. Not really a problem when the car is cold. The tire pressure is ok and the car alignment is fine because it does not pull either way. The service manager is stumped and he said I will be notified when the southeast Hyundai engineer is back in the Miami area. As stated in my original post, I was told the original pump was replaced and the system bled