Steering Wheel Vibration

[zielritter]

Hi, guys -
New owner of a black noir pearl 2012 3.8L base package here. I've had the car about a week and love it except for one nagging issue: I have a visible vibration/shaking in the steering wheel that begins at 65mph. The oddest part is that the vibration is worst when traveling up hill; it smooths out a bit on level and downhill stretches. It also lessens when I get on the gas regardless of grade.

When I noticed the issue I promptly took it back to the dealer. All 4 tires were badly out of balance (apparently the techs didn't feel checking in cars properly the day mine came in), but the alignment was fine. The "master" tech also test drove and said it was fine now.

I immediately took it on to the freeway after getting it back. The issue was marginally better, but imo still unacceptable (i.e. you could still see the wheel oscillating a bit when going up hill at >65mph).

Before taking it back, I had the thought that maybe the tires were over inflated. Sure enough they were albeit not by a huge amount (36 psi in all 4), but this didn't fix the issue either. Goes without saying that the car is back at the dealer again and I suggested they try swapping out the tires with another vehicle to see if the issue improved.

Any recommendations from you all? I saw a few threads about this issue, and they seemed to center around poor tires, which might be my issue too. I have the Dunlop SP Sports riding on the 17" wheels.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CanukV6]

If your car is new and has been sitting in one spot for a while, it is possible the tires are flatspotted. I had this with the Dunlops on my 2009 after a few weeks of storage. It takes a long road trip with the tires warm to get rid of it as the tires return to normal roundness. The problem with balancing the tires in their flatspotted condition, is that you are trying to compensate for a changing condition. If after about 500 miles the condition is still there, request your dealer re-balance the tires. If that doesn't cure it then I would be insisting on a replacement set as you may have mis-aligned belts or something else wrong with the tires.

 

[snork]

To me it also sounds like a tire balancing problem. Specifically you noted it gets worse up hills and when on the gas. These 2 conditions shift weight to the rear of the car which will unload the front tires and could transmit the vibrations more to the steering wheel.

 

[zielritter]

Thanks both. Well the dealer is being very generous and understanding. They've pretty much consented that it's an issue with the tires since it's been sitting for a while.

They don't think I should have to wait for the tires to lose a flat spot or be corrected through repeatedly balancing (they said it could be a shifted belt?) and are giving me the option to chose a new set of tires from the ones they have available for the Genesis (or others if that works out better).

Does anyone have any recommendations? What are the other tires I could chose from and what are the best?

 

[snork]

Well that's good. Lots of tire threads on here if you do a search. Continental ExtremeContact DWS seem to be a consensus recommendation. My CPO Genny came with Hankook Ventus V4 ES. They ride quiet and smooth, good dry traction, decent wet traction, haven't had them in the snow yet. They have 50,000 mi warranty so hopefully treadlife will be good, lots of tires this size only last 25-30k miles.

 

[zielritter]

Well that's good. Lots of tire threads on here if you do a search. Continental ExtremeContact DWS seem to be a consensus recommendation. My CPO Genny came with Hankook Ventus V4 ES. They ride quiet and smooth, good dry traction, decent wet traction, haven't had them in the snow yet. They have 50,000 mi warranty so hopefully treadlife will be good, lots of tires this size only last 25-30k miles.

Good deal. I'll do a search in tire forum. Thanks for the help.

 

[brfatal]

lots of tires this size only last 25-30k miles.

It's not really the size, it's the weight of the car they are on. The Genny is a heavy, heavy car so the tires see more abuse turning and (especially) stopping the car compared to the same wheels and tires on a Miata or a Honda.

Biggest causes if vibration:
-Out of balance wheels (checked)
-Flat spots on the tires
-Warped rotors
-Tie rod play

If the tires have flat spots in them, they likely won't go away.

 

[zielritter]

Did some reading this afternoon. Left a message with the Service Rep that I want to go with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS or the
Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. Both seem heavily recommended. I looked at the Dunlops (flops) on Tirerack - 3.6/10 on the reviews and lots of issues with balancing, road noise, and longevity. Wow, they seem really crappy and it's amazing that they are OEM on such an otherwise nice vehicle.. The Continentals and Bridgestones had average reviews in the 8's.

 

[Mark_888]

Wow, they seem really crappy and it's amazing that they are OEM on such an otherwise nice vehicle..

The Dunlop's get good MPG for EPA certification, which is very important to manufacturers these days.

 

[zielritter]

The Dunlop's get good MPG for EPA certification, which is very important to manufacturers these days.

I guess that's a good point. Probably not everybody complains about the Dunlop's ride quality either, so they still end up ahead.

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[CanukV6]

I had the Continental DWS on my 2009 and was very pleased with them. Depending where you live, you may need Winter Tires - don't think you can get through snow & ice with all season tires however good they are. If that is the case I would go with a good performance summer tire and budget for winter tires and rims.
Great that your dealer is supporting you on this.

 

[Mark_888]

If you have the Genesis Base Trim with 17" wheels, I would highly recommend the Michelin Primacy MXV4 in either H or V speed rating (H is a little softer and V may take corners a bit better, but not much difference between them). You don't hear a lot about these tires on this forum, because they don't make them in sizes of that tire that fit the Genesis 18" wheels, but the Michelin Primacy is a superior tire in terms of handling, braking, and very comfortable. They are the highest rated tires on TireRack.com in their category.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS

If you have a Costco Membership (or wouldn't mind getting one) I would recommend them for your purchase due to the good job they do balancing them and they will rotate and rebalance the tires every 7500 mile for free (if you maintain your Costco membership). Costco will also use 100% nitrogen (which leaks air a little less slowly). Second choice is Discount Tire.

Just make sure you don't confuse the Primacy MXV4 with the Primacy MXM4 or other Michelin tires.

 

[zielritter]

If you have the Genesis Base Trim with 17" wheels, I would highly recommend the Michelin Primacy MXV4 in either H or V speed rating (H is a little softer and V may take corners a bit better, but not much difference between them). You don't hear a lot about these tires on this forum, because they don't make them in sizes of that tire that fit the Genesis 18" wheels, but the Michelin Primacy is a superior tire in terms of handling, braking, and very comfortable. They are the highest rated tires on TireRack.com in their category.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS

If you have a Costco Membership (or wouldn't mind getting one) I would recommend them for your purchase due to the good job they do balancing them and they will rotate and rebalance the tires every 7500 mile for free (if you maintain your Costco membership). Costco will also use 100% nitrogen (which leaks air a little less slowly). Second choice is Discount Tire.

Just make sure you don't confuse the Primacy MXV4 with the Primacy MXM4 or other Michelin tires.

No Cosco near us and I don't think I would take this particular vehicle to a big box store for any maintenance (not to sound snobbish or anything, but I just want the best service for this car). I'll have to ask about the Michelins too. I haven't had to worry too much about snow on the northern KY side of Cinci, but it is a possibility. Looks like the Michelins do better versus the other two in that regard.

 

[Mark_888]

No Cosco near us and I don't think I would take this particular vehicle to a big box store for any maintenance (not to sound snobbish or anything, but I just want the best service for this car). I'll have to ask about the Michelins too. I haven't had to worry too much about snow on the northern KY side of Cinci, but it is a possibility. Looks like the Michelins do better versus the other two in that regard.

You are confused about Costco. Their tire store provides outstanding tire installation service and their customer service is unrivaled. Discount Tire is good also, but I don't think they use nitrogen (at least not for free). But I guess neither of these is close to you. I would never buy tires at a Hyundai dealer. Neither would I buy tires at a small shop where if something goes wrong, the owner would have to pay out of his pocket to make things right.

 

[Jbo]

Not sure about Dunlops, but I encountered similar issue with Bridgestone S
O4s...problem was twofold. First was tire balance and was cured after two different shops redid work and second is that some of these tires has one or more nylon belt and WILL flat spot over night. Tires will exhibit symptoms until they are up to operating temp, which seems to take5 plus miles and is speed dependent . By the way Costco does mount with nitrogen and it is preferred.Despite the flat spotting, I'd put these tires on again if they weren't so prone to wearing when you use them hard...20K is about it. I'm going to try the supremacy's or pilot a/s's when I retire...this after many hours of research and different forum visits.

 

[SURFDADDY60]

I do not think it is the tires, flatspots are a thing of the past. I test drove a 4.6 today that vibrated above 70MPH and got worse as i approached 80MPH. The vibration did not feel like a balance issue because the car did not shake, only the steering wheel. My guess would be the car is damaged or has a bad steering box or linkage, blown strut, or somethiing is loose. Hyundai did have a reacall on another model because some assembling like worker did not tighten the steering wheel shaft bolts correctly to the steering shaft damper. I did not buy the car because it was just certified and to me, "certified" means that some underpaid mechanic rushed through the process. Very unprofessional.

 

[Mark_888]

I did not buy the car because it was just certified and to me, "certified" means that some underpaid mechanic rushed through the process. Very unprofessional.

Certified (CPO) doesn't mean anything other than whatever extra warranty is included.

 

[homeofstone]

I do not think it is the tires, flatspots are a thing of the past. I test drove a 4.6 today that vibrated above 70MPH and got worse as i approached 80MPH. The vibration did not feel like a balance issue because the car did not shake, only the steering wheel. My guess would be the car is damaged or has a bad steering box or linkage, blown strut, or somethiing is loose. Hyundai did have a reacall on another model because some assembling like worker did not tighten the steering wheel shaft bolts correctly to the steering shaft damper. I did not buy the car because it was just certified and to me, "certified" means that some underpaid mechanic rushed through the process. Very unprofessional.

Flat spots are not a thing of the past. Many V W and Y rated tires have nylon belts in addition to the steel and polyester. Nylon will flat spot in colder weather and also if the car stays parked for several days.

 

[SURFDADDY60]

Flat spots are not a thing of the past. Many V W and Y rated tires have nylon belts in addition to the steel and polyester. Nylon will flat spot in colder weather and also if the car stays parked for several days.

Flatspots we're common with conventional nyon ply tires in cold weather, 40 to 50 years agowhen they we're in common use. in that era, a few miles of driving would even out the tires and it was not considered an issue. The steering vibration issue being discussed here cannot be related to flatspots because after a few miles of driving if there is a flatspot, it should go away. The vibration issue does not go away, so there is something wrong with the car other than the tires.

In addition, most if not all tires today have a M/S rating, mud and snow. This means that the rubber composition of the tires stays plyable in cold weather for decent traction. In the old days of nylon tires, a motorist had to purchase "snow tires" to get the M/S rating.

 

[Jbo]

Call Tirerack and ask the nylon belt and morning flat spot question and post the answer here.