By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I have a 2002 Elantra GL manual transmission. I noticed that when I'm in 3rd or 4th gear and have a constant speed, there is noise coming from the right side of the car.
It sounds like 2 pieces of plastic pieces vibrating together and it's very annoying. I haven't isolated the origin of the noise yet but it seems to be coming from the passenger side back door or B pillar.
Any idea what the source could be ? I've read about seat belt tensionner but how do I fix this ?
Thanks,
P.S. I have already tighten the screws of the door.
ElantraStan
Thanks
The Service Manager, who does have mechanical auto repair experience, feels that my vibration/shimmy is "Normal road transfer vibration for this make and model". He did hear my pad transfer noise to front rotors and has ordered rotors. They will replace the rotors as well as the pads for me. At least I will be able to personally break in my new rotors & pads. Any suggestion in this area would be appreciated.
I will report back after the pads & rotors are replaced. Perhaps new rotors will fix my problem as it has for some others.
As an aside - I found an interesting link related to bedding new rotors.
Back to the shimmy/vibration situation -
I am wondering if anyone has pursued the idea that the vibration may actually be caused by the motor? Perhaps the crank shaft pulley causing a vibration that peaks at about 70 mph?
I am realizing that my vibration is most noticeable when going up hill under acceleration. However, I feel it is not the angle of the vehicle or the weight shifted toward the rear. My feeling at present is that it is vibration transfer from the motor to the axles - either directly or through the chassis. Has anyone changed the front or rear roll stopper insulator? (I forget which one would be appropriate for forward load)
The service manager thinks that running the rotors up to speed on the lift without tires and wheels in place is not a good vibration isolation test. Has anyone else in the group tried this yet? It seems too much of a coincidence to me that the exact the same vibrations (frequency and speed range) can be felt (although not as strong) when on the lift with wheels off vehicle. My contention is that the vibration is transferred to the wheels through the drive train. The exact cause is, however, unknown at this point.
If I still have the same vibration after the rotors are replaced I will try speaking the contacting service managers at other dealers to see if they have stumbled onto something. I feel I have gone as far with my local service manager. I don't want to get on his ****list because he is otherwise a nice person and will no doubt help me in other areas if I have problems.
Hopefully this post sparks some other ideas or paths to try.
Best regards,
Paul
Jack
to backy: You're correct. Some of the items are poor design or quality rather than actual component failures. As for the mileage, I hear you, and I'm not freaking out about that untill the car is more broken-in.
Update: So far the front rotors have been replaced, and the tires balanced, but the car still vibrates/shimmys.
The throttle position sensor was replaced but the car still runs/ idles erratically. I'm still waiting for the throttle body that the dealer special ordered.
Several trim pieces were tightened but numerous squeaks still exist.
Everything else is status quo- except for the belts which are now squealing when the A/C compressor kicks on.
Jeff
Hope you get your items worked out.
ElantraStan
You trying to race some "2 Fast and Furious" Civics out there?
ElantraStan
It is on the driver side and only is noticeable occasionaly.
What should I do?
It drives me crazy.
You'll know this is causing the problem if you hold the mirror and the noise doesn't appear when you drive over bumps. Let go of the mirror over the same bumps and see if the noise comes back.
I thought it was coming from somewhere in the dash at first (like the glovebox). I also thought it had something to do with running the a/c in warmer weather because the noise almost blended in with the normal occasional a/c whine.
There is no sunglasses in holder.
It is weird. Some days its there and some days it is not. BUT when it is there. It is loud.
Sounds like my windshield is breaking off the frame.
i experience a similar noise form my '02 GT. it comes across as a loud "cracking" sound, and only on rare occasion. when it happens it only seems to make the noise once (not repeatedly, like a rattle). some people on this forum claim it's the way the windshield is seated and that re-seating it solved the problem. an alternative, i suspect, is that it's part of the molded plastic dashboard and it's reacting to stress when hitting a bump. for example, sometimes i can just sit in the car with the engine off, and press hard on different parts of the dashboard with my hands to make it happen. it also might happen because of expansion/contraction of the dash with temperature fluctuations. it is a very large piece of injection-molded plastic that is attached at many points along the interior of the car, with many smaller components attached to it, so it's not surprising for this to happen (although i agree it shouldn't happen, it doesn't surprise me). can you reproduce the noise by pressing hard on the dashboard at different places?
Rotate and balance tires.
forced balancing
remounting the tires.
alignment
switched out tires
"Loosened motor mounts and re centered engine by letting it idle and then re tightening motor mounts"
DID NOT FIX PROBLEM
I let my family drive around in this death trap for several thousand miles until the shimmy/ shake got extremely violent.
I took it to a place called JUST BRAKES. Their cure,
Changed all linings.
Rebuild right front caliper.
Turned rotor.
PROBLEM FIXED, $234.00 (Hundai wont reimburse me for that)
Other problem, rear brake making clunking sound.
Dealer cure,
Blow out build up of brake dust.
PROBLEM NOT FIXED. Dealer charged me $60.00 won't refund money.
Rattle in rear view, replaced mirror.
Engine warning light on some days, off some days, door seal sticking to inside of door jambs 3 doors out of four, speed sensor replaced twice.
Has anyone noticed how huge the drivers side blind spot is, i had to go out and buy one of those little round blind spot mirrors.
I changed my plugs and oil at about 29,000 miles and the plug tips were just about fried away, worst i've ever seen in nearly 20 years of backyard mechanics. This vehicle is of very poor design, materials, and I think they are an extreme safety hazard and should be taken off the roads. I will never buy another Hyundai, this is my second one, nor will I buy from any dealer that Has Hyundai on their marquee or one that puts their dealer logo on a Hyundai. I am especially torqued about the fact that they charge my wife 60.00 to blow out brake dust. What a great warranty. I understand that a car is a car and they will have their problems, but Hyundai and my dealer have got to be the rudest folks I have ever dealt with and I am very sorry that I even considered a Hyundai when I knew that Kia was just across town. DUMMY DUMMY DUMMY
I would like to know if their might be any person or persons who are trying a class action lawsuit against this manufacturer. They sell junk and then won't even honor their own warranty, isn't that illegal? Aren't their laws??? Doesn't Hyundai care ??? I have heard that they don't make much money on these cars. I say they do just by the sheer volume they sell and the fact that they don't have to put out much on the warranty end, because they don't honor the warranty, not because they make a good car and the warranty doesn't get used.
I won't even take this thing to a dealer service dept because they treat you like crap and don't fix your car. Hyundai and their dealers can all go take a leap.
Re the sticking door seals--have you tried waxing the door jambs and using a silicone spray like Armorall on the door seals? I've done that for many years on all my cars and it seems to keep away the stickies.
IMHO, if you want to drive a real "piece of junk", go drive over to your Kia dealer and drive a Spectra. Much more crude a car than the Elantra. The next-gen Spectra and Elantra will share the same platform.
Regarding the idea that the engine may have something to do with the vibration; this is only slightly possible. A more probable situation would be that the car is picking up a sympathetic vibration from the normal road vibration. Aside from the vibration, the car has been fine, fun to drive and reliable. I expected these good things, and I really believed that the vibration was curable. Since there are lots of inexpensive, reliable cars to choose from, I will likely not purchase another Hyundai.
Geez boatman, do I sense a tad of frustration here? Understandable..I've been through some b.s. also...But I really think my dealer..Healey Bros. of Beacon, N.Y. tried their damnedest to fix it. Wish I could just take it to a brake shop and have it fixed..
I really do love this little car..if only I didn't have to go over 60..Oh well...The ball is in Hyundai's court now..Let's see how they back up their cars. I'll keep you informed..It's been about a month or so now since the Hyundai rep went for a ride with me and acknowledged what he termed a 1/4 inch shimmy.Later dudes
Jack
As far as the door seals go, i have also always used the armorall and wax on door jambs of all my cars and never had them stick like these things. My car has been worked on about 17 times in the first year. Even the regional mechanic came in to do the final repair attempt in accordance with the lemon law. They didn't fix it either, and this is why I ended up in a brake repair shop. I am in going into arbitration in early dec. I'll let you know what happens.
When I decided to buy my Elantra I took my decision based on the driving experience of my father and step-father. They both drive Elantras at they are still satisfied, even after more that 50 000 miles.
As for me, I bough a 2002 Elantra GL which is available in Canada only. It is similar to the GLS but without the power options (windows, door locks, ...)
I'm very satisfied of my Elantra and did not experience any shimmy yet. I had a vibration once on the highway during a snowstorm and it turned out the front wheels were full of snow. It happened only once and after I removed the snow from the wheels, it just disappeared.
The only problem I had with this car so far, was a check engine warning light that turned out to be a malfunctionnning catalyst. Went to the dealer and they changed it under warranty. Cost: 0$.
I suggest you check with another dealer, as you might have better service. As for the shimmy, it might be caused by many things. Hence, very difficult to identify the source.
Has anyone had any experience with Mirak Hyundai service? I need to bring my '02 GT in for it's first round of warranty issues and would like to try them out since they're the closest to where i live. Any other recommendations? How good is Clay Hyundai?
Thanks!
It's a shame that you've got all that trouble on your Elantra. As far as I can tell, when I compare to the 3 other Elantra owners I know, you seem to be the only one having this problem.
I don't want to sound like I mean you're problem doesn't exist. It's just that the other owners I know haven't experienced these problems, even after 50 000 miles or more.
Do a search on this topic, I remember other people complaining about shimmy. Try to see what was the solution that worked for them and talk about it to your dealer next time you go there. It might resolve the problem. At least I wish it will.
Also, have you asked the dealer to replace the sticky weatherseals?
Its sound like we both have the same problem.
It seems to be the windshield.
I will take your advice.
Thank you so much for the advice.
I 'll let you know of my findings.
Any other tips that you can give on any other issues I would greatly appreciate.
Thanks
First, the driver's seat makes a creaky noise here and there when I make right turns. It will not creak on left turns. Strange, eh? I've been able to fix this by spraying some WD-40 into the seat belt buckle in the past, but the WD-40 isn't working so well this time.
The next issue is a little weird -- there is a small snapping noise that comes from the driver side front door once in a while when I start to apply the brakes. I hope it's just a piece of trim that needs to have something applied on it (to get rid of the "stickies" as an earlier post pointed out). If I roll the window down even just a fraction of an inch, this noise goes away. So, I'm crossing my fingers that it's not something inside the door but instead something related to the trim...
Speaking of weird noises, the passenger side front door used to creak a little on cold mornings. Pulling the door handle would help cure it for a day or two. I played around with the door this summer (spraying WD-40 here and there, tightening this and that, etc), and now the noise isn't there like it was last winter.
So, you win some, you lose some.
Is it me, or does this car need a lot of WD-40 to keep weird noises down to a minimum? ; )
BTW, my dealer was completely useless when I took my car in about the wind noise. I even printed up the TSB for them to look at. They said they can't do anything about it because they can't drive it over 55. I plan on taking it to another dealer and driving it for them. Hopefully I'll get the rattle and the whistling taken care of then.
Alternately, if the noise is really noticeable, you could take a friend along with a tape recorder or video camera and record the noise, and play the tape for the dealer.
Jim