2011 Sonata SE Snow Performance (Questions)

[S_Dot]

I recently bought a 2011 Sonata SE. I'm having major issues in the snow.

1) I need to almost press the gas pedal all the way in heavy snow or up a hill to get the car in motion, is this normal? I was pulling into a BK today i couldnt get into the parking lot, the snlope was so low but I coulndt mount it with the gas pedal pushed all the way down. The car gets stuck in snow too easily.
2) Brakes vibrate in heavy snow (anit-lock brakes?) Its a visible vibration with a noise
3) Traction control is all over the place, I've tried to drive with it off not much difference, the snow isn't that high but the car is swerving all over the place. Seems to be swerving towards the left (only in snow)

The car has ~30k miles on it, a complete service check was done at 29k before I purchased it, is all this normal behaviour? I want to go the dealership but I don't know what they should check.

I've made a thread previously about my 225/45/R18 Hankook tires, is this the problem?

[sbr711]

In a GROSS sense of being,, you driving in snow with dry summer sport tires.. buy you a set of steel Sonata wheels and mount up some proper winter tires for relative conditions (16" YF Sonata wheels and tires)... when April or May roll around, put your "dry" tires back on.

[Mikemu]

Get an SUV.

[Fox Mulder]

It does say this in your owners manual-

Summer tires
HYUNDAI specifies summer tires on
some models to provide superior
performance on dry roads. Summer
tire performance is substantially
reduced in snow and ice. Summer
tires do not have the tire traction rating
M+S (Mud and Snow) on the tire
side wall. if you plan to operate your
vehicle in snowy or icy conditions.
HYUNDAI recommends the use of
snow tires or all season tires on all
four wheels.

Dealers are very remiss with regard to warning buyers about this when cars are equipped with summer tires (they probably don't want to hurt sales and don't really care enough about safety).

You can buy a set of used 16" wheels with or without tires for winter use, or go to Tire Rack for a complete wheel and tire package ready to bolt on. Either way don't forget about the TPMS sensors, you'll need a second set for those wheels unless you don't care about staring at the TPMS light all winter.

[sbr711]

Originally Posted by Mikemu

Get an SUV equipped with 4 snow tires for driving in snow smoothly.

Fixed it for you

[redum1]

Originally Posted by S_Dot

I recently bought a 2011 Sonata SE. I'm having major issues in the snow.

1) I need to almost press the gas pedal all the way in heavy snow or up a hill to get the car in motion, is this normal? I was pulling into a BK today i couldnt get into the parking lot, the snlope was so low but I coulndt mount it with the gas pedal pushed all the way down. The car gets stuck in snow too easily.
2) Brakes vibrate in heavy snow (anit-lock brakes?) Its a visible vibration with a noise
3) Traction control is all over the place, I've tried to drive with it off not much difference, the snow isn't that high but the car is swerving all over the place. Seems to be swerving towards the left (only in snow)

The car has ~30k miles on it, a complete service check was done at 29k before I purchased it, is all this normal behaviour? I want to go the dealership but I don't know what they should check.

I've made a thread previously about my 225/45/R18 Hankook tires, is this the problem?

Why are you trying to go W.O.T in the snow??
the anti-lock will kick in if you trying to stop like it's dry outside.

the key is you have to keep the tire moving so they do what there design to do in the snow (if you have all-season) it throws the snow out the thread for a clean bite. If you stop the spin you just like packing snow at that point.

a other thing about the 2.4 is has unequal length axles where the drive side is shorter then the passenger side so power will go to the closest side and that's to the left. most of the time.

the key is take off slowly, and press the brake slowly don't jump on them. and if you are going up a hill keep moving don't floor it but get speed before the hill enough to take you up and over and when going down a hill i down shift then use the brakes once im in 2nd or 1st gear.

[ryster]

Another thing to think about is starting out in 2nd gear...I do that frequently and it really helps get going in the snow.

[Mikemu]

Originally Posted by sbr711

Fixed it for you

My last SUV never had snow tires and I went through deep snow with no problems at all. But I know what you mean. I've been tempted to get winter tires for the Sonata but hate to spend the bread if we have a mild winter like last. Of course, this winter is looking like there will be no shortage of snow. Several inches today again. Oh well.

[Dave-S]

Hankook's own advertising for the Optimo tires say they are only good in "light snow". In fact many other brands say the same things if you read their advertising. There was a time when all season tires meant just that but most of today's all season tires are a joke when it comes time to drive them in the snow. I had many FWD cars in my lifetime with "All Weather" tires that were just fine in the snow and I lived in an area that regularly got in excess of 100 inches of snow a year. But today you really have to hunt for an all-weather tire that will perform properly in the snow. The best place to find out how a tire performs is to read reader comments on various tire web sites. They will tell you which ones suck and which ones get the job done. If I still had to contend with winter driving (I live in South Carolina now) I would have taken my car to a tire shop right after driving it off the showroom floor and swapped the Opti-Crap tires for a different brand that does better in the snow. In the long run it is still cheaper (in my opinion) to have an all-weather tire that doesn't need to be swapped out every fall and put back on every spring.

[redum1]

sonata must go sideways