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Tires and steering

3K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  MRM 
#1 ·
My 2012 Azera has lousy steering. Has been to alignment
twice. A very slight improvement Car has only 26 k miles
Tires show very little wear Original factory Hankook 19"
Any thoughts about a better tire that may solve some of the problem.
 
#3 ·
Copy of align print reflecting before and after numbers ??

Tire brand ?

Clarify "lousy steering"......
 
#5 ·
And the align numbers as measured ??
 
#11 ·
Today i did a 50 mile trip averaging 80mph and the steering wheel was very firm. I believe this cars have adaptive steering wheel getting harder as speed increases. I didn't need to correct the steering at all in some straight parts. I guess they fixed it for the '15 model.
 
#15 ·
2012 Azeras made before April 3, 2012 were to receive a power steering update under Campaign TK7. If I recall correctly, this was to improve the feel of the steering. Check to see if your car was built before Aril 3, 2012 and, if so, if the update was applied.

There was another steering software change made for the 2014 model year and up, but that change has not been made available for the 2012-13 model years. That change was software only and was to improve steering feel and precision. I don't know why Hyundai hasn't made it available for the 2012-13 Azeras. Perhaps it is done in firmware and would require a changeout of the steering computer?

Before you try changing tires to improve steering feel, first check to be sure the tires are properly inflated. Over or under-inflation can affect steering feel. Check the tire pressures when the car has sat for at least 3 hours. Make sure they are set to the pressures listed on the driver door jamb label. DO NOT inflate to the PSI shown on the tire sidewall. That is the maximum pressure to be used during tire installation, not the running pressure. You'd be surprised how many cars are delivered with the tires over-inflated by the dealer. They do that to keep the tires from flat-spotting while the cars sits on the lot, but often neglect to set the tire pressure to the correct PSI upon delivery to the customer.

Alignment can make a big difference in steering feel. Just because the car was aligned doesn't mean it was done correctly. Alignment requires more precision than many mechanics are willing to adhere to or are capable of. I'd recommend finding a Hyundai dealer that has a Hunter Hawkeye alignment system. It is designed to minimize operator error and walks the mechanic through the process. Get the before and after readings and post them here. You want the readings to be the recommended setting, not merely within the range of tolerance. My 2014 Azera (which includes the improved steering software mentioned above) did have a slight wandering feel at highway speeds. An alignment to actual specs made a big difference even though the original readings were within the range of tolerance.
 
#19 ·
Well, I didn't want to resurrect an older thread, but I didn't want to start a new one since the situation is very similar to the original post.

Two weeks ago I took my Azera in for the standard oil change and inspection - I got told that the tires were starting to show some serious wear on the inner portion, on the front tires. The dealership also told me that the alignment was out and I should schedule it sometime in the near future and replace those front tires at the same time. That said, they said I've probably got another 5k in tread so it wasn't a "you need to do this right now" deal.

Two days ago, I'm driving doing some errands and hear a strange and terrifying noise coming from driver's side front tire. I park, get out, check the tire and the tire had started to shred along the inner seam/edge - what caused the noise is a strip of rubber that had started to separate from the tire spinning around inside the wheel well. Luckily I was on my way to Costco so I ordered a set of 4 new tires (of course, with our non-normal tire size, no one had a set of 4 tires without a special order).

Thing is, the alignment wasn't out last year when I had the tires rotated, and the tread was fine and even across the tire. The car has only 31k miles and the last rotation was done around 20k - so in 11k miles the alignment went way out and has now forced me to replace tires at the same time. The dealership does *not* have that system that Mr. V referenced in another thread some time ago (I couldn't remember the exact name), but they assured me that the two systems they do use will get the alignment into proper specs. So I will get the tires replaced and then get the alignment done right after.

Anyway, I'm just adding onto this thread and reminding people to have their tires and alignment checked on a regular basis. I actually picked up a rental car while waiting for the new tires to arrive at Costco as I am a little worried about trying to drive on tires that are already shredding off strips of rubber. By the way, the new tires are the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+.
 
#20 ·
Interesting... New 2017 Azera, and I notice myself "micro-correcting" the steering, mostly on freeways I think (I'll have to try to keep track of it). It's not something I ever had to do on my previous Chrysler 300C, so I just put it on my list of things for the dealer to check when I take it in for the first time (only about 1100 miles so far). I can take my hands of the wheel and it mostly goes straight. The steering is so much more sensitive than on my 300C I wonder if it's just me getting used to it or if there is something that needs correcting?
 
#21 ·
If I am sitting still with the car running and put slight pressure on the steering wheel, it will slightly move, stop, slightly move again, and so on. You can feel the pressure in the steering wheel when it holds on place, but don't feel it when it slightly moves, and so on.


Seems like I read there are some steering issues with the '12 models, mainly a computer issue. Like someone else said, I don't think any fixes have been issued for it. All I know is my car feels like an older FWD car in that is has a decent amount of torque steer in going around curves and doesn't seem to be the most stable system in the world. The steering is underwhelming.
 
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