Your dealer will be correct, they all do this and it's due to the fact that there is no balance shaft belt. I honestly did not notice it until the fine folks on here pointed it out but I usually only notice it if I'm on edge and/or in a bad mood, otherwise the music and my thoughts cancel it out 95% of the time.

Sorry if this is a repeat but there are 205 PAGES of topics to look through............

There is an easier way than going page-to-page. Try the search function next time. ^_^

 

There is an easier way than going page-to-page. Try the search function next time. ^_^

I have often wished for the ability to search ONLY one sub-forum on these vBulletins systems and am pleasantly surprised to find that you can do that here, by going to "Advanced Search".

A search of only the Elantra forum of the proper year yielded only 9 threads to look at. Good show. Might want to advertise/promote that feature a bit more.

I'm pretty sure that a forum wide search would have produced a mountain of hits to sort through.

 

I usually only notice it when I'm in the vehicle alone with no music on...which isn't too often. Do any cars in this segment actually come with a balance shaft belt?

 

I have experienced the infamous rough idle in the Elantra as well. I think every possible description has been used to describe it and many theories as to the cause. I have never commented because it's all been said and on my car I don't find it an annoyance but more of a peculiarity. It's completely unpredictable. On my car, it's what I might call a shimmy and I think for a lot of people it wouldn't even register but I have always been very attuned to sounds and vibrations. This particular sensation seems like a transient harmonic imbalance of the engine. Those that have pulled harmonic balancers off flywheels before will have an advantage here. There is so much real-time adjusting going on with these engines it wouldn't be unrealistic for things to get out of balance during certain phases. I will admit, the first time it occurred, it got my attention but I had already read about it on this forum so it was like "so this is what they are talking about" At this point I am not concerned about it because on my car it's just not strong enough to cause me any concern or discomfort. It would be nice to know exactly what is going on and even better, not have it at all but I don't think it is indicative of a mechanical problem but more of a harmless design/engineering flaw.

 

I used to get the occasional shake at times but odd as it seems, ever since I modded my intake it didn't happen since. So far it's been about 6 months or so. I won't even say that it fixed it but strangely it went away. Just a note though, it's a homemade mod with a couple purchased items.

 

Is it shaking in neutral as well as in drive? Could it be a normal function of a auto trans in gear that is being held back with the brake? My Accent with a manual trans is absolutely butter smooth. I look down at the tach sometimes to see if it's still running, I've never had a car idle as smoothly as this car does. cheers.

 

Is it shaking in neutral as well as in drive?

Yes, sometimes just sitting there in neutral, sometimes air on, sometimes air off......sometimes idles smooth for a few seconds and then starts to shake. Sometimes goes for hours smooth as silk. MOST unnerving.

It really feels like one cyllinder is mis-firing.......but that should set a code, right ???

I will be discussing it with the dealer soon.

 

Can't say I've ever experienced the rough idle. I have had that jet turbine whine during start up though which has gone away.

 

My wife's Elantra shakes at idle as well...so did her previous car (Mazda 3). My Sonata doesn't though.

 

Just to chime in, I didn't drive a Sonata, but I did drive a 2012 model year Optima for about a year with the exact same engine as the Sonata - no rough idle in that either. Might be limited to their smaller displacement engines. I wonder if any Accent owners have the rough idle, though their engines have direct injection.

 

All modern engines suffer from this to a degree, light weight castings, minimum mass flywheels, high compression ratios. There is a lot of harmonic activity going on. If you want smooth drive a 60's or 70's cast iron engine with heavy flywheel and low compression ratios. On of my family rides is a 1960 British made Morris. 1.5Ltr All cast iron 4 cyl. about 7:1 Compression and it takes two people to lift the flywheel comfortably. It idles like a clock.

 

All modern engines suffer from this to a degree,

Valid points all.......but some seem to have figured it out better than others......and many of the points you make would NOT vary from one minute to the next.

Over the past 2 years, I have test driven a LOT of cars, mostly 4 bangers and NONE shook like my Elantra does; not a one. If you have a cup of water in the cup holder, it makes waves. Honestly.
(OK, they are tiny but waves nonetheless.)

Then, as if by magic, the next time you stop at a light.....only a tiny vibration like most all 4's have.

 

Another member once speculated (in one of the many other threads on this subject... we never tire of this one do we? ) that the smart alternator must account for the random, intermittent nature of this issue.

The theory is this: Normally the alternator tries to charge the battery when driving or decelerating, but occasionally a charge is needed when stopped in traffic. That puts an increased load on the engine, which is why you sometimes get the heavy shaking but not usually.

Makes sense to me.

 

the smart alternator must account for the random, intermittent nature of this issue.

I should have known that there would be a "smart" computer trying to screw with me in the equation somewhere.

That IS an interesting comment though, as I drove it through town this evening, after dark, with the headlights ON but the AC off.....and it was smooth as silk.

With a little patience, I might be able to isolate the conditions that causes it........and they still won't be able to do anything to fix it......but it might make me feel a little better knowing that I'm not crazy.....or at least not alone.

 

After 2 years and driving probably 100's of different elantras I can tell you that some just shake more than others and its normal. Even tho all these cars are massed produced on the conveyor belt and should be identical they're not.

You get into one start it up it feels super smooth. One min later you get into another one and it feels a bit rough. The most surprising one is sometimes you get into one and it feels like it has 20 extra horsepower then normal and sum feel like they're missing a cylinder...

I feel sorry for those people that test drove one of these good feeling enlantras liked it and decided to buy one but not the same one they drove because they wanted it in a different colour or with sum different option. Then on delivery day they get in to drive home and its not the same car they went to buy a week ago..

 

The most surprising one is sometimes you get into one and it feels like it has 20 extra horsepower then normal and sum feel like they're missing a cylinder...

Funny you brought that up:

I think my Elantra has exceptional acceleration and it will run up from 60 to 80+ mph on the highway pretty darn quick so any trouble passing is not even a thought. When I see comments about the Elantra being slow or sluggish and having to plan ahead to pass at interstate highway speeds it's like they are talking about another car model because those kinds of comments sure don't apply to what I am driving.

 

HyundaiUSA Celebration of the Delivery of the First Veloster RE:MIX Edition

Its the Harlem Shake

And the AC has nothing to do with the rough idle, it happens both on and off

 

After my Santa Fe with its 276 horsepower V6 and cat-on-PCP like acceleration, everything feels slow. If that thing hadn't been such a pile, I'd still be driving it. My favorite thing to do was mess with people who'd try to cut me off at a merge by running up the ending lane. I'd toy with them, only giving it a little bit of throttle and stay neck-and-neck until about 50 feet before their lane ended. Then I dump the accelerator and watch their jaws drop. Dammit that thing could move!

 

Haha, every day, more and more, I swear you're like my long lost evil twin brother, lol. I, er, enjoy doing a similar thing, except it's when I'm going uphill on Johnson Creek Blvd. over the 205 overpass toward Stevens Rd. I'll be in the right lane, preparing to make a right turn on Stevens, but sometimes people in the left lane will try and speed up and cut me off, right before the turn. So I stay with them, then kick myself out of Eco mode, and I just FLY up that hill. Once a guy in a Kia Forte was absolutely flooring it to pass me (you could hear his little engine screaming) and he finally had to settle for second place right before the turn. I did this also the other day with a Lexus IS wagon on Foster Rd. We were neck and neck, then I bumped myself out of Eco and just took off. I think it hurts to be beaten by an ugly EV.

Just don't put me in some endurance race, for I'd run out of juice and have to get towed!

Now, some days I just don't care about getting ahead, and others, I just feel like people are asking for it. Call me moody, unpredictable, whatever...if the shoe fits, I'll wear it.

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I have the shake in my 2013 Elantra GT just like the OP describes it, or at least used to have it, because it hasn't happened recently. It happened several times when I had fewer miles on the car. On one occasion the passenger asked if there was an earthquake (I'm in California).
I haven't experienced the shake recently, the car has 8K miles now. It may have broken-in, or maybe just a coincidence - time will tell. It's way too intermittent to take her for service.
I also experience some "chugging" of the tachometer in idle, but no perceivable engine roughness or hesitation. Other people have the idle rpm chugging too. That could be the "intelligent" alternator.

 

I used to do that at freeway on-ramps with an unmarked Dodge Sprinter at one of my previous jobs. People saw it was a big van and assumed it would lumber up the on-ramp at 30 MPH but with all that torque on tap (243 pound feet) and virtually no weight over the rear wheels, that thing was lively so imagine their disbelief when this giant high-roof refrigerator white box would just up and vanish. I also used to blow off Honda Civics at green lights just for fun and to watch the drivers stare in disbelief.

 

You guys are evil! I love it! Always fun when I'm driving in the fast lane about 10 mph over the limit and some jackass wants to pass on the right. I have a vehicle with a gap of about 4 car lengths ahead of me. I have several vehicles behind me. "Mr. Right Lane Passer" wants the spot in front of me and I know it! Guess who speeds up as he approaches to pass and closes the gap, as does the cars behind me. Now he's stuck in the slow lane and winds up losing more and more car lengths! LMAO "Justice!!!" :devil:

 

I hear you Rich -- that exact thing just happened to me yesterday. Why people think that getting just one car-length closer to their destination is worth the bad karma of being an aggressive dingleberry is beyond me.

 

Moderator, can we, please keep this thread on topic about the engine shake?

 

Sure. My engine does not shake. There.

 

My 2012 E Ltd also shakes a little at idle with the AC on, has to be warmed up for about 10 minutes. Ac off, no shake. It'not bad, just noticable to me and irksome. Dealers are 25 miles north or 25 miles south, not enough to worry about right now.

JIm

 

Haha, I LOVE it, Andrew! Honestly, I was not trying to be sarcastic. But, Don is right: this topic is tired.

I was being facetious because my car doesn't really have an engine. Has an electric motor.

As I said before, my Elantra had some initial shaking, but it settled down. To the OP: give it time.


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To the OP: give it time.

Thank you !!

And to those who are suggesting "do the search", please also mention doing an "advanced search" in ONLY the appropriate sub-forum. Otherwise the amount of hits is about as overwhelming as the thousands of threads are.

 

You're right, you have to perform the search once you're in the MD Elantra subforum, not on the entire Hyundai Forums website, otherwise you'll yield too many results!

I hate rough idle just as much as you do. My Nissan Stanza that I had for 4 years had some pretty rough idles at times. Bad distributor cap and whatnot. My Accord also had some shakiness. Pretty normal for a car that old, but still not fun. Part of the reason was after the rough idle, it wouldn't even start if I turned it off and tried to turn it back on.

So, when my Elantra was shaking like that, I got a bit scared bc of what I'd been through. Like I said, though, it did work itself out after a while. If it continues after you've put some miles on it, though, no harm in getting it checked out.

 

You're right, you have to perform the search once you're in the MD Elantra subforum, not on the entire Hyundai Forums website, otherwise you'll yield too many results!

Actually, I don't think that will work to limit the hits.

I believe that you have to click on Search first, then "Advanced Search" and then choose a single sub-forum. Otherwise it looks at EVERYTHING regardless of where you start out.

 

If I click on the 'Search this Forum' on the MD main page just below the page count, I only get hits in the MD forum.

 

Not if you use the link I provided (the main page for the Elantra MD), and click the correct search button.

DOH. Yet another search button.

Same effect, no doubt, as using the main search feature (advanced) and selecting the proper fourm.

More than one way to skin a cat.

 

Hi My New 2013 Elantra Limited sometimes idle incorrectly. It doesn't matter if the A/C is on or not, otherwise it's super smooth in drive with the brake on. I want to take it in, but I think it will run smooth and they'll just think I am nuts.

I think, the computer controls the engine functions so it could be related to attached items like MAP or ERG valve that getting or sending incorrect signals. I think this puppy is hard to chase down and service will need to attached some computer to monitor it when the spike happens to see what device is setting or giving incorrect signals.
Well at least that's my take on it. Its electrical in nature, not the engine I believe. If it was the engine, I think it would be a constant occurrence.
Jack

 

My rough idle has been noticeable this summer to the point that my wife noticed from the passenger seat. This seems to be normal with many small new cars due to fuel efficiency. Wish there was an easy fix.

 

Mine does it as well, mainly in park with the car running with AC full blast. Didn't bother me much.

 

My Elantra idles smooth as slick with AC on or not. My 15 year old Sentra started idling rough. Gave it an Italian tune up(run it hard to redline through the gears and give it a good hard run) and it cleaned it out. Then went ahead and put some fuel injector cleaner in it and all was well.