2004 Accent front right vibration noise problem, HyundaiTech or anyone?

Well, I now have racked up 38k miles on my 04 accent, and thus far I have
had a new pulse generator, o2 sensor, and a valve associated with the 02
sensor replaced. Now I have another problem just after getting my car back
from the 02 sensor and the valve work.

Between 30-60mph I get a sound and a vibration in the steering wheel, gas
and brake pedal that feel like, just the right front tire is either on a
rough surface or has knobby tires (IE mud swamppers). As I go faster
(Between 30-60 it increases in pitch (Low to High)), braking and gassing
don't seem to make it go away (Other than changing pitch) and bumps or rough
road don't seem to make a difference, changes in what gear I am in seem to
make no difference. I think I feel more vibration when I corner hard right
(faster than 30 miles an hour which puts more pressure on the left front,
and less on the right front) Its not terribly loud but it is there, and I am
afraid it is something that is going to go bad and leave me stuck somewhere
(I drive 150miles a day). I took it to Mr. tire to get my oil changed and
they checked for it and rotated the tires but they said they did not notice
anything out of the ordinary looking at it. Driving it they said they felt
and heard something but they thought it might be normal. They tried
balancing the tires, and checked for other issues but that showed nothing
either.

When I took it home from Mr. Tire I heard it and felt it again but it was
not as loud as before, but it was still there. Maybe pulling the wheel off
interrupted whatever it was. But even with wheels moved from front to back
and vise versa I still had the problem in the front right area.

I am thinking wheel bearing, but I am not sure. Gas mileage is unaffected
(I am still getting between 35-38 last tank was 38mpg), and it does not pull
one way or another. Looking in the wheel well I am not seeing anything that
looks like it is rubbing anything. I don't want to just take it in without
some concrete ideas because I need my car and if I take it in and they claim
they can't find anything wrong it will drive me mad. Should I wait for it
to completely fail and maybe the wheel pop off while driving?

I am hoping someone will say (Yeah I had that happen *** was the problem).
Thanks for any help in advance.

 

If you still have the original tires, its time to change them.

--

 

Why would I do that? Tread has plenty left (6/32, new was 8/32 I think).
Since most of my travel is highway I rarely wear them out. Most people get
between 45 and 60k on tires for the accent (Have a friend with an 04 accent
with 58k on them.)

And since I had the tires rotated and the problem did not shift it means the
tires are fine.

 

I don't care how much tread life you have left or how many miles your
friend has on his, your OEM tires are worn out.

--

 

You're right, Matthew. Since the noise didn't move to the rear of the
vehicle, the problem isn't with the tires. I'm sure that if Mr. Tire had
found something wrong with them that justified replacement, they would
have recommended that (they are primarily a tire store).

It sounds like a front hub bearing to me as well. Typically they make a
humming noise that varies in pitch and loudness proportionally with
vehicle speed. In most cases, the noise is heard before there is any
discernable drag or looseness in the wheel.

 

I just want you to know, If thats the way you feel after I told you moving
the tires did nothing and the fact the tires have less than 40k miles then
you my friend are a retard.

 

Thanks HyundaiTech for confirming my thoughts, now my next question would be
is that covered under the bumper to bumper? Or is that considered a wear
item? Thanks in advance.

 

To back up my idea that the tires are fine here is some info from
tirerack.com
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&code=yes&tireModel=722&GCID=C13674x017&
if the page does not load search Kumho 722 on tire rack and read the review,
one guy claims 65k miles, and if you read the tread ware warranty they don't
even care about miles they care about age, and tread depth which I have
plenty of (1 year old and 6/32 tread depth).

So next time you come throwing an opinion around, stop, do research, then
post. Otherwise you look plain silly.

 

Actually, the front hub bearings are powertrain. 10/100 for original
owner. 5/60 for subsequent owners.

 

As always, thanks for the info. Your help here is always great, don't know
how I would deal with my dealer if you were not around.

 

Are you having issues with your dealer?

 

I have in the past, it seems if I don't point out the faulty part, and the
problem is not painfully obvious they say they could not recreate the
problem and send me away (Been to many Hyundai Dealerships where this is the
case, I end up having to drive around a tech to show them the problem).
However since joining this forum you answer my questions before I go in, and
now I rarly have issues, other than it taking a week to get my car in (I
called on Tuesday to get my car in and the best they could do was next
Wednesday).

 

I'm not sure where your travels take you, Matthew. If you're going to be
close to other dealers or there are others near you you'd consider, then
you might call one of them. My shop isn't that busy right now, so I
suspect there may be other dealers reasonably close that can get you in
sooner if you'd desire.

As to specifying what you think the problem is, I think you have far more
to lose than you have to gain. For example, if you don't know what a bad
wheel bearing sounds like and you tell the service department you think
you have a bad wheel bearing, they may well check for a bad bearing and if
they find none bad, simply return your vehicle without making any further
attempt at repair.

If the noise is obvious, I recommend describing the noise, when it occurs,
and how it changes under differing circumstances. If you think it isn't so
obvious, you probably should have someone from the dealer ride with you.
This will guarantee that everyone understands what you wish to be
corrected.

 

I don't know if you can tell me where you work at, but you have mentioned
you have worked with my dealership before (Thompson Hyundai In Baltimore.)
I live in Essex so if you could recommend a better shop that would be great.
I have called other shops in the past, but they have been equally busy
(Antwerpen sp? is one I think of off the top of my head).

Whenever I bring my car in I always describe the problem I have, then I tell
them what I have heard from here and from other shops (Mr Tire). Since I
have started doing that, rather than just telling them what the symptoms are
I have had no problems (other than waiting a week or two to get my car
fixed).

I guess I would not mind so much but I drive 130-200miles a day so if I have
to wait a week to get my car in that's 650+ miles if they told me its
drivable, or I have to drive my wife's Santa Fe which gets at best 25MPG (My
accent gets 35-38).

But anyway at this point I am rambling. Hopefully next week they will get
my car in, find the problem and fix it within a day or two.

As always HyundaiTech you give a lot of helpful information and I always
appreciate it. If you ever need a recommendation I, and I am sure others
here will be more than willing to give it.

 

I've never actually worked for Thompson. In fact, the only Hyundai dealer
I've worked for in the Baltimore area sold their franchise. I'm not
willing to say where I work for two reasons:
First, what I post is solely my opinion. Second, Hyundai or my employer
may not like what I post and request that I stop. I will say that I work
far enough away that it's very doubtful I'll be working on your car.

I do know that there are some good technicians at Bob Bell and Antwerpen
in Catonsville, but that's no more than a couple techs in each dealer.
I'd think that places to consider in your area besides Thompson would be
Bel Air (Bel Air, MD), Nationwide (Timonium), and Bob Bell (Glen Burnie).

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

 

Hyundaitech, I would have handled this exactly as you did. I just wanted
to add that if you did reveal the location, you'd probably have a line out
to the street with people waiting for your services. You'd probably get a
promotion

Have a good weekend.

Eric