We purchased a brand new 2013 Sonata just a couple of months ago (April 2013). We liked everything about the car except the steering.
Like many others we found it difficult to keep the car in the lane going straight. It was very easy to wander, and driving was feeling like a full-time job. We spoke to the service department at the dealer we purchased it from and they said that there was an adjustment that they could do. We took it in and they said they did the adjustment. However, whatever they did it didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference.
We saw comments on the Internet that some found an adjustment that made a difference and others just tried a number of different things. I called Hyundai Customer Relations and inquired about a steering adjustment. They said there is none. So I lodged a complaint with them stating that we are not satisfied with the steering. They suggested we take the car to another Hyundai service location.
We did take it to another service center and were very fortunate to get a wonderful service desk person, and she brought out their master technician for us to speak to. We described the problem and he said that it is a problem with the Sonatas that their steering is too sensitive, that it is because it has electronic steering instead of hydraulic steering. We told him that we had driven a 2012 Sonata before we purchased the 2013 and it didn't feel that way. He said that the 2012 had an adjustment, but he didn't think the 2013 did. But he decided to check anyway.
He brought out his service computer, and plugged it into a port near the steering wheel. He brought up the selection dealing with steering. There were two line items. The first line item was not what he wanted, but the second one was. In that second selection were four options for the steering: GLS, Hard, Soft, and Sport. We chose Soft. (It was set on GLS.) It actually took him less than five minutes to make the adjustment.
We immediately took it out for a test drive, and before we left the parking lot, my husband said that he could feel the difference already. It has been five days since then, and both of us feel that it is a tremendous improvement from what the steering was before. It is still not as soft as our 2000 Camry, but it is a very big improvement from how it was before. We can now feel comfortable driving the car, and we are looking forward to taking it out on a long drive over the holiday, without swerving back and forth on the road.
Apparently the first service center did nothing to change the factory setting, but we watched the technician at the second service center change the selection. We went back to him after the test drive and told him our thoughts. He said he would test it out himself later on another 2013 Sonata, as he also felt the steering is too sensitive for his liking.
TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE SONATA STEERING: See if you can get a tech to hook up his computer and make the adjustment for you.
TO HYUNDAI: Please send out a service bulletin to all your service techs informing them of this option. You will have many, many, MANY, more happy Sonata customers, and many less complaints. As to safety, customers need to feel that they can keep the car in the lane. Having a wandering car is certainly NOT safe.
Like many others we found it difficult to keep the car in the lane going straight. It was very easy to wander, and driving was feeling like a full-time job. We spoke to the service department at the dealer we purchased it from and they said that there was an adjustment that they could do. We took it in and they said they did the adjustment. However, whatever they did it didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference.
We saw comments on the Internet that some found an adjustment that made a difference and others just tried a number of different things. I called Hyundai Customer Relations and inquired about a steering adjustment. They said there is none. So I lodged a complaint with them stating that we are not satisfied with the steering. They suggested we take the car to another Hyundai service location.
We did take it to another service center and were very fortunate to get a wonderful service desk person, and she brought out their master technician for us to speak to. We described the problem and he said that it is a problem with the Sonatas that their steering is too sensitive, that it is because it has electronic steering instead of hydraulic steering. We told him that we had driven a 2012 Sonata before we purchased the 2013 and it didn't feel that way. He said that the 2012 had an adjustment, but he didn't think the 2013 did. But he decided to check anyway.
He brought out his service computer, and plugged it into a port near the steering wheel. He brought up the selection dealing with steering. There were two line items. The first line item was not what he wanted, but the second one was. In that second selection were four options for the steering: GLS, Hard, Soft, and Sport. We chose Soft. (It was set on GLS.) It actually took him less than five minutes to make the adjustment.
We immediately took it out for a test drive, and before we left the parking lot, my husband said that he could feel the difference already. It has been five days since then, and both of us feel that it is a tremendous improvement from what the steering was before. It is still not as soft as our 2000 Camry, but it is a very big improvement from how it was before. We can now feel comfortable driving the car, and we are looking forward to taking it out on a long drive over the holiday, without swerving back and forth on the road.
Apparently the first service center did nothing to change the factory setting, but we watched the technician at the second service center change the selection. We went back to him after the test drive and told him our thoughts. He said he would test it out himself later on another 2013 Sonata, as he also felt the steering is too sensitive for his liking.
TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE SONATA STEERING: See if you can get a tech to hook up his computer and make the adjustment for you.
TO HYUNDAI: Please send out a service bulletin to all your service techs informing them of this option. You will have many, many, MANY, more happy Sonata customers, and many less complaints. As to safety, customers need to feel that they can keep the car in the lane. Having a wandering car is certainly NOT safe.
