I picked up a 2003 Tiburon for my daughter and drove it home to SD from Sacramento last week. Only 32,000 miles and in very nice shape.

Problem: When I encountered patches of ice, especially on a bridge, the slightest raise in the ice under one wheel would send the car very noticeably sideways. I've experienced the usual slippage on ice before but never this sudden sidways skip or throw. I assumed it was the tires... but now I'm wondering if the Mussa front strut bar is a better explanation. That is, due to the front strut bar, the force exerted by the ice bump under the left wheel doesn't raise the wheel but instead is being passed on to the front of the car as a whole and there is a sudden shift to the right. Very frightening, especially when the ice continues for several feet and the car is thrown back and forth. Of course the interstate had been closed overnight and there were thousands of semis on the highway too, with one always immediately to the right when this happened.

Am I wrong in thinking the front strut bar may be the problem? Should they be taken off in winter when encountering snow and ice? Thanks for any suggestions here.

I don't think the strut bar is your problem. It can very well be the tires. Even with a strut bar, the wheel would still be raised when encountering bumps, in your case, bumps made of ice. I'd highly recommend you seek professional opinion about this though, since it is a safety issue.

I never noticed this with my 04 Tib but i had snow tires on all 4 wheels . My 99 Tib however was wild on black ice patches when it had the oem Michelins . I always thought it might have been the oversize rear spoiler causing the rear of the car to squirm on ice but it was probably a tire issue .

The strut bar is absolutely %100 not the problem with the car. Most new cars either come with front strut bars or offer them as a suspension up grade. They are for stability.Your issue sounds more like a problem with a ball joint or suspension bushing. Possibly even a strut if its completely blown out.Not to rule out a tire either.Those are low miles for suspension components, like bushings to be shot so I would say check the tire/struts first.
MFP, your spoiler definitely was not effecting your fwd on black ice....lol.I mean, do you even think a spoiler on a tiburon much less any other 14 sec car is really functional? No.Snow tires are key. There are some wicked ice/hard snow treads too.

This post has been edited by 25psitalon: Oct 27 2009, 10:14 PM

I agree totally!! especially since its your daughter car! But what I have experienced in the past, tires can be the main problem! To scary to chance though! Good Luck!

I would go with tires. I just changed out the Hankook stockers for a set of Continental Extreme Contact DSW tires and now my 08 SE V6 sticks like glue. It was really antsy in the wet before and would get twitchy in heavy rain which is common here in Atlanta. I have a strut bar on my car and that really helped keep things straight and flat. Check out the alignment and consider a better tire.

Good Luck
Ray