2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Including Hyundai, Audi, BMW, Mistubishi or any other car.
jtellis
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:00 pm

2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by jtellis » Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:03 pm

Sorry for the long post, but this is a little complicated and I want to give all the facts. My son drives a 2005 Hyundai Elantra with about 92,000 miles. Three weeks ago I had an new set of tires put on and an alignment done. My son picked it up and I didn't drive it until today, where I discovered it was pulling to the right. I took it back in (to Pepboys). They put it on the rack, then showed me that the right front tire had chunks missing and that all four tires were feathered and worn on the outside edges. They said it was due to aggressive driving, which I really doubt knowing my son but couldn't argue with it. They sold me two new front tires at a very discounted price and did another alignment.

When I picked it up I noticed that it was riding very rough, like the suspension was now much stiffer. (It wasn't pulling to the right now, though.) I took it right back to them, but they said they had not done anything that would cause it to ride rough. They suggested that one of more of the struts might be stuck, but didn't offer to fix it.

I did a little testing and discovered the following: When I push down on the right front finder, to compress the suspension, it hardly moves, and when I stop pushing the car doesn't come right back up but slowly comes up. The left front moves as expected (moves down some then springs right back up). The rear suspension responds oddly as well, but not as bad as the right front.

What can be causing this? Could they accidently done something that I can fix?

I'm concerned about my son driving this car. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

User avatar
carriedi
Posts: 2573
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by carriedi » Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:08 pm

if you push down on a corner of your vehicle it should go down then bounce back up and then back to it's original position. All four corners should be about the same. It's like a circle. push down, bounce back up the settle back down. If it is hard to push down on one corner you may have a bent strut. raise the car up and look at the shaft of the strut. It should look smooth and shiny (you know all chrome). See if there is a worn spot in the shaft. (it won't look as shiny, it will be where the shaft has bent and now rubs on the seal and inner tube of the strut). Feather edging of the tires is a sign of severe toe in of toe out wear. Did you get a copy of the alignment results? Does it have a before and after results? something you can compare between the first alignment and the second alignment. Look to see what they did to align your car the first time and what you came in with the second time.
Browse "SIMILAR TOPICS" At The Bottom Of This Page.

jtellis
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:00 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by jtellis » Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:16 pm

Thank you for the response. I'll will certainly get the right front wheel off in the morning and take a look at the strut shaft.

I did get alignment results both times. The last time the only thing that was changed was the toe on both rear wheels, and that was only slightly. All the other settings were within tolerance and unchanged during the second alignment.

The odd thing is that it was riding fairly smoothly when I took it in, only pulling to the right. When I got it back it wasn't pulling to the right but it rides very rough. It actually reminds me of the ride of the cut pickup trucks we used to make back in the 70s and 80s that didn't have any shocks at all. The axles were mounted directly to the frame with no dampers. That's why I tried to check the struts.

Thanks again.

User avatar
carriedi
Posts: 2573
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by carriedi » Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:12 am

it is very strange that it wasn't driving rough when you took it in but was after you took it out. Alignment and tires won't affect the car like that. All alignment does is point your tires. The angles that are adjustable will not cause your struts not to bounce normally. there is nothing in a normal alignment that would cause your ride roughness to change. If anything, with new tires, aired up correctly, and alignment, your ride should be quieter and smoother. did you get an SAI and Included angle readings on your alignment specs? How do the sides compare left to right? (variance) You said that the rear toe was different slightly. how much was it different? the tolerance is very small.

The description from what you said sounds like a bad front strut. I don't know why it happened so suddenly. you don't say much about what the rear is doing. but it does sound like you have a bad front strut. (of course this is all without me being able to check and verify using my own senses as to what is happening)
Browse "SIMILAR TOPICS" At The Bottom Of This Page.

frankw3
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 8:53 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by frankw3 » Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:03 pm

I have a 07 Hyundai Elantra with 275,500 miles on it. today I noticed it started to shift hard and when I checked the fluid there were bubbles on the stick and the fluid seemed watery. Fluid and filter were changed about 20,000 miles ago. Any ideas?

User avatar
carriedi
Posts: 2573
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by carriedi » Tue Jun 16, 2015 11:28 pm

you should probably take your car to a trans shop and have them look at your fluid. Ask them what they think the bubbles could be from. Ask them if it's possible that it could be engine coolant.
Browse "SIMILAR TOPICS" At The Bottom Of This Page.

helpme38
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:48 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by helpme38 » Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:08 pm

I have done all these things is this normal for this car to ride very rough like it has no springs as I get very little response when I check the new struts,springs and A frames I have replaced to solve this problem?

User avatar
butchkaz
Site Admin
Posts: 173
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:13 pm

Re: 2005 Hyundai Elantra suddenly riding very rough

Unread post by butchkaz » Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:59 am

Springs and struts are the only thing that can cause your car to ride rough. That is unless you have those extremely low profile tires. They will make your car ride like a tank.
Be Sure To Check The Related Topics below For More Help.

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post