2004 Santa Fe LX Vibration...

Well, after 3 visits to the dealership I finally got my Santa Fe vibration
problem fixed. During my first 1000 miles I noticed a slight vibration and
could see the steering wheel slightly vibrate above 60 mph...sometimes. It
was not a 'slam dunk' problem. The dealership balanced my front wheels and
proudly anounced that the problem was fixed. NOT. Same problem. On the
2nd visit the dealership had the wise old sage with 25+ years experience
drive it for 15 miles and advised me that this is normal for a 4WD vehicle
with this type of Bridgestone tire. I was also 'invited' to take it to any
other Hyundai dealership to see they could find a problem. (the kiss off).
I took it to a local tire dealership and had them rebalance all 4 tires.
They told me that 3 of the 4 were slightly out of balance and hoped the
problem was fixed. Nope...sitll there. Now I'm getting frustrated. I want
to love this car and this slight vibration will make me nuts!...So, back to
the dealership and I have to get my salesman to get a meeting with the
Service manager. He basically said that I didn't believe his guy when they
told me that this vibration was normal and what did I want him to do. I
told him that I thought he would know and that I was NOT satisfied with the
car in it's present state. A long silence and then I pulled out the TSB #
01-50-008 that outlines the steps for vibration problems and specifically I
asked for the 3rd option, Tire RFV (Radial Force Variation) test. This
test spins the tire on the car with pressure applied to the tread and
measures for tread shift or out of round tires. It is an expensive piece of
equipment that the dealership did not have but he said he would find someone
who had it and run the test. Finally got a call the next day that my car was
fixed!. They found two tires that on the car that were 'perfect' and two
not as perfect. Ironically it was the rear two that they replaced and it
FIXED the problem. So after a lot of arm wrestling with the Service dept
they finally fixed it and I learned that if it is a problem they have not
seen or have a TSB on they are not very open to looking for fixes for new
problems. I drove the car for a few miles on the highway and it is now
smooth as silk and I'm in love again!....

Hold the dealerships feet to the fire, put your foot on their neck but don't
give up. Make sure you tell them you are not satisfied with the car the way
it is and you are unhappy. They would have you believe these problems are
in your head or 'normal'. Don't go for it!

 

Good for you ! What state are you in and what dealer

 

I had exactly the same problem with some new Goodyear tires on my Toyata
pickup. I took them about 6 weeks to figure out that the damn tires weren't
round.

 

My dealer is in Mass, Tom Chevrolet/Hyundai.

I actually spoke too soon. I just finished a 500 mile trip and while the
vibration is improved it's still there. My wife mentioned it unprompted
while we were driving. I guess I wanted it to be better so badly I willed
myself into thinking it was. It starts a mild vib at about 40 mph and at
higher mph it gets a bit worse. I think maybe the front tires are the real
culprits. Looks like I'm going back to do battle. This will be my 4th trip
for this same problem so we are getting into Lemon Law territory....

 

Well the saga continues. I've gone to a local tire dealership and am having
them diagnose my light vibration issue. I test drove it with a mechanic and
the desk guy and both agreed there was a slight vibration. They rebalanced
the tires and did a RFV test which puts pressure on the tire while it is
being balanced to simulate a load and see if there are any dead spots on the
tires. They found 3 of the 4 tires out of balance and after I test drove it
I'm still feeliing a slight vibration. So back it goes for another try.
I've read that one person had his fixed by replacing ty rod bushings with
the 'correct' size and another had it fixed by alignment even though that
isn't indicated by the symptoms.

More to follow....