[ricksaturn]

We took delivery of a new Spectra 5 yesterday. During the test drive we drove a different car and never took it above 70 mph. Our silver unit was delivered yesterday and when driving it home noted a vibration. Took the car back to dealer and they test drove 5 other units and found same vibration. They are going to address issue with KIA but they believe the tires are the problem. Anyone have this problem?

 

[Pinchy]

Can you describe the vibration a little more? It almost sounds like a wheel/tire problem, possibly alignment....

 

[WhiteWidow]

I have run into the same problem and I informed my dealership right away, i also notised that it was pulling to the left. I am hoping it is a allignment prob but we will see. do you have a A/T or manual.

 

[loco5]

I dont have the issue...

BUT, it was discussed around here recently that with a vehicle sitting for an extended length of time (i.e. container ship floating across the Pacific to be offloaded onto trains for ditribution across the US), the tires develop a flat spot that becomes evident at a resonant frequency. In the Spec5's case, that resonant frequency appears to be ~70MPH. A sort of alignment of stars with the suspension, tires/pressure etc.

It makes sense to me, especially with the UBERsoft Goodyear RS-A that come OEM. they only have a 220 UTQC treadwear rating and cople that with the 50 series and lack of substantial sidewall, that would transduce the resonant frequency at a higher rate.

My thoughts... drive the car and the flat spotting should diminish with time and wear of the tires.
If it doesnt get better after a couple weeks, or for piece of mind have the tires balanced.

Does the vibration diminish at higher speed? Something like it develops ~ 62-65 hits the peak ~70 and goes away ~75???

Good luck!

 

[Doohickie]

You may find this interesting:

First of all, check the tire pressure; cars are often shipped with extremely high tire pressure to avoid getting a flat spot on the tire. Then get the wheels balanced. If the problem persists, you may have a Radial Force Variation (RFV) problem. You can see what Hyundai tells their dealers about wheel shimmy here. Click on "NVH", then ''Tire/Wheel NVH". They know RFV is a problem and tell their dealers how to fix it using a Hunter balancing machine. Considering that Hyundai now owns Kia, perhaps the Kia dealer has access to this information.

Anyway, you may want to print this out and take it to your dealer. Have them balance the tires on the Hunter machine as mentioned at the link I provided. Let us know what they say; I'm considering buying a Spec5 myself.

On one test drive, I felt the same vibration at 70 mph. It was very minor, but clearly there.

 

[spectra5USA]

i have also had the same vibration problem, has anybody been able to get this problem resolved?

 

[Doohickie]

I know of several Hyundai Elantra people that have had the problem, some of which got them solved under warranty. Look at hyundai-forums.com and edmunds.com, search for "shimmy".