First Snow Fall... Santa Fe V6 didnt do so well...

[JRunner]

First snow storm of the season here in New England and also the first time out in the snow in the new Santa Fe (V6 with 18" Wheels \ Bridgestones). Almost couldn't get out of my driveway. Had to take traction control off and use the 4xlock button and use 2nd gear. I never had to do this with the 05 Highlander (4 cyl AWD) we traded in. Only about 4-5 inches of that heavy wet snow. In normal mode (traction control on, 4xlock off, and Drive) all we did was sit there and spin, mostly the fronts. Almost seemed like the rear wasn't doing anything. Driveway is apprx 400 ft sloped about 20 degrees going up to the street.

So what gives?

The tires?

Traction Control too sensitive?

I am really depressed on how bad this thing did this morning trying to get out of the house.

Thanks in advance...

[canderson]

Your OEM Bridgestone Dueler 684II tires are NOT particularly capable winter tires (or good for too much else, for that matter - pretty average even on dry pavement), and you'll find all kinds of knocks against them here in that regard. Recommend that you consider some decent snows on steel wheels if you're in the snow belt, and set aside your nice 18" rims until Spring.

That said, I'd have someone outside watching .. your rears should have been spinning, too, and it should NOT have been a better situation turning off the ESC.

[Stef71]

Tires. Since you are in a region with snow, get 4 decent winter tires (on seperate rims preferably - avoids unnecessary unmounting/mounting twice a year)) and you'll never look back.

Only have FWD with 4cyl myself with winter tires and never got stuck in 2 winters.

Check out this Youtube video. 2 identical AWD BMWs. One on winter tires, one not. Look at the difference when they try to take off...

You Tube

You Tube

This video is pretty good too. Don't need snow to benefit from snow tires in colder temperatures

You Tube

You Tube

One last one (One of my favorite to debunk the false sense of security that AWD can create). Yep, AWD can benefit from winter tires too!

You Tube

You Tube

[pare_john]

Agreed it was the fault of your tires. Get winters

[Voivod]

Originally Posted by Stef71

Check out this Youtube video.

Reminds me of my old Firebird. Got caught out in a freak early snow storm (like Connecticut got yesterday) before I had switched to snow tires. Took me over an hour to go the two miles to my house. At a couple intersections the light when turned green I sat there and spun until it turned red again. This did not make those people behind me happy campers.

[MikDee]

Hey JRunner,
Don't get discouraged! I had the same thing happen to my 2010 Tucson AWD with the (just as crappy stock Kumho Solus tires). It really irks me that Hyundai, or Kia, makes a decent AWD vehicle, then puts the worst winter rated tires on it, just to save few bucks!

Do they really want people to mistakenly blame their vehicle just because of the crappy tires? What were they thinking?

At least my previous Santa fe, & 2005 Tucson, had better winter rated tires on them stock,,, So, of course I assumed all was okay on my newest model,,, Not!

If not winter tires get yourself some top (winter) rated all weathers tires. I'm going with Cooper CS-4 Touring which are reasonable, & decent all around. I don't know if they make them in your size though?

[SantaFeFan]

Most all season tires are NOT good in snow... In your location, I would buy separate wheels and snow tires. Easy to switch them before and after Winter.

I have a 2011 SF Limited V6 front wheel drive and in Wisconsin, I do not have any problems going through snow with my Bridgestones. I have heard so many people with the all wheel drive version with traction issues. Crazy...

[JRunner]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

For one not wanting the hassle of having to switch out tires every winter \ spring, is there a recommendation for a tire that fits the stock 18" Limited rims while being the best winter all season tire?

[JRunner]

Originally Posted by MikDee

It really irks me that Hyundai, or Kia, makes a decent AWD vehicle, then puts the worst winter rated tires on it, just to save few bucks!

Do they really want people to mistakenly blame their vehicle just because of the crappy tires? What were they thinking?

Agreed... really doesn't do them any good to have a bad rap on an AWD vehicle just because of their tire choice. The AWD's should get a very decent or above avg tire for the type of drivetrain.

Very frustrating as a new owner who spent all this money on the vehicle and find out during a storm that they have crappy tires and now has to go out and buy new tires.

[MikDee]

IMO, These tires are probably the "Best Bang for the Buck!" In your size. They do have the same traction ratings as the CS-4 touring, with a 70k mile warrantee. Plus, they have white lettering, and I bet they are very reasonable. I've done previous web searches on these, and found a lot of good reviews (happy customers!).

Otherwise, only the Yokohama Paradas at the tirerack sound good, & reasonable to me.

Good Luck, Mike