2010 Hyundai Veracruz Cupped Tires and Rough Ride...Solution?
We bought our 2010 VC Ltd new in 01/11. Minor electrical problems cropped up pretty soon and dead battery problems plagued us the first 18 months. Finally got dealership to put in a new battery to take care of that, but then the past 18 months have been a rough, noisy ride that the dealer attributes to cupped tires. We have 44000 miles on the car and it has been this rough since probably 12000 miles. They decreased air pressure in the tires saying that would make the ride smoother,but a year later, the same service manager now says decreasing the pressure added to the cupping problem. The car has also developed a shimmy at 65 mph, which the service dept also attributes to the cupped tires, which, btw, have been rotated every 5000 miles since the car was purchased. So now their solution is that all will be taken care of if we buy a new set of tires. Of course, it's hard to believe that as we think the problem may be the suspension and not the tire wear. Would like to hear from someone who has experienced a similar situation and if new tires are the answer to the problems. And if so, what are the best tires for VC, not only for a smooth, comfortable ride, but also that won't cup in spite of regular rotations. Thanks for any help you can offer!
Comments
First, what I am about to write applies to ALL vehicles, no just Hyundai Veracruz's.
If the vehicle is out of alignment, the tires will develop irregular wear - what is incorrectly being called "cupped". (Technically, cupping wear is something else, but it's a common mistake.)
How long it takes to develop irregular wear depends on how bad the alignment is and how sensitive the tires are to misalignment.
So if all this is true in your case, then changing tires should fix the problem - temporarily. That is, the whole process starts over again. To prevent that from happening, you need to get an alignment.
No, it is not likely that the dealer will do one for free - even if you argue that the problem was there from the beginning, because vehicles can go out of alignment due to hitting potholes and the like - and certainly by 44K miles, the warranty on alignment is long gone.
And while some tires are less sensitive to misalignment than others, it's the alignment that is driving the irregular wear.
Thanks for your response. We got an alignment after the cupping was brought to our attention over a year ago. It changed nothing. Except now the shimmy has developed. I guess the main question is will a new set of tires give us the kind of ride a 35K car should have, what are the best tires for this model for a comfortable ride, and if the Michelins that came on it cupped after 12K, what are the odds that another set of tires is going to give us a smooth ride, even if we align them after 10K?
If you got an alignment, but didn't replace the tires, then any new wear pattern would be on top of what was already there. The new wear pattern usually won't erase the old one.
In other words, you can't fix irregular tire wear unless you replace the tires - but you can fix what started it in the first place.
So if the alignment truly fixed the wear issue - and the fact that it didn't get worse says it did - then replacing the tires should fix the issue.
Anybody out there have a suggestion for the best tires for a Veracruz Limited? We still have good tread on the original Michelins, but won't be buying Michelins for new tires because of the cupping issue and because the car has never had a luxury car ride as we expected. Would love to know there's a brand out there that someone has found made all the difference in the ride of their Veracruz. Thanks!
Maybe a few days late, but I like the Cooper Evolution tires. Good luck.