KIA Rondo Handling, Tires, Suspension

bassrockman

You can fix your rondo easily. for the Rear; EZ Arm 67410 SPC from; www.iapdirect.com ( 1 arm per side) You may need to elongate the toe adjustment hole. They supply instructions. as for the front; Drivewire 877.221.9770 Camber Bolt # AC45K18036 (1 bolt per side) Do NOT take to KIA dealer. They will rip you off. It's easy if you are mechanical inclined at all. If not: Get a friend to help you or a trusted mechanic. Your Rondo will handle much better when the whole tire makes contact with the road surface,......

boydew

I have a 2009 rondo and had it in for alignment twice in 4-6 months. I have told them several times after that the car seems to pull to the right at times but not all the time. Now my tires are worn out, actually worn in the center of the tire. Tires are Michilen 225/50r/17 which are rated for 80,000 km. I was told this at about 54,000 and all km are highway miles. All good roads. I have had lots of cars over the years maybe 20-25 and have never seen new tires wearing out before at least 10,000 or less ratings on them. I know that the service has not been that great at the dealership but you would think that they would have checked the tires each time I brought the car in for maintenance checks and told me about them. I guess when it takes two hours to do an oil change I should have checked my reports each time.

e_net_rider

Tires worn out at middle is usually because of over-inflation. That is also hard on struts and other components.

boydew

I know that over-inflation causes the problem but I only put air in one tire back in september of 2011 and that was only about 3psi. The other tires were fine. What I don`t understand is how can a dealership do a oil change and check your tires and brakes and whatever and not put air in the tires. I guess they don`t check for that. I had the car in twice since last september and the last time was january 2012 and they told me I needed new tires before they could do a wheel aligment(which I asked for) not realizing the tires were gone. When I got home I checked the tires and only one was near the 32psi-one on drivers side and the rest were out by 5-9psi. I guess they don`t check if not asked too.

9394

mine only has 16" tires, i keep them at 38-39psi and i have no problem after 40k.

i remember when i took delivery of the car, the dealer set the tires to 40psi even though the label on the door frame recommends 36.

tire pressure should be checked more often then the times you visit your dealer.

you said the car pulls to side sometimes, do you mean when you accelerate (hard), mine does the same and i think that's normal for front wheel drive, isn't it. my last mini van was even more noticeable because it was a V6.

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luvmarondo

I'm so glad I bought my little Rondo new in 09. Love almost everything about it. Except the crappy tires. I never got good traction in rain, snow, or ice. I'm not asking for miracles, just to be able to stop when appropriate and to move forward, even uphill in inclement weather. I had a cheap Chevy Cavalier before this with a lot of crappy elements to it, but it had at least adequate traction. I've been nervous every winter with my Rondo, been unable to scale the slight uphill angle of the street in front of my house in winter (had to slide back to the bottom and go a different way), and had huge problems getting up the incline of my driveway in ice and snow, even when its been shoveled. The tires always looked like cheap, wussy little things to me when I bought it new. The dealer seemed to indicate that those were the only tires I could use with a Rondo when I asked, but I have seen other websites indicating otherwise. I have been told now that I'm at 58,000 miles or so, that all 4 tires are completely shot, bald, caput. I'm about to buy 4 tires, and I want better ones, that actually GRIP THE ROAD, and I want to hear any recommendations anyone has for better tires.
Thanks

tsm280z

Go to tirerack.com They have a huge selection. The Continental Contact is a good tire.

e_net_rider

The door placard may not have the best pressure, but it is a good starting point. As stated earlier, tires worn out in the center indicate overpressure compared to even wear. Likely not the reason for premature wear out, but possibly a contributing factor.
There are a wide array of suspension designs and cost likely influences some of them. I found the suspension in the 90's Olds Aurora to be unique and exceptional in many ways yet it seems no one else is using that.
BTW, that vehicle had absolutely zero torque steer. One of the factors contributing to torque steer is totally ignored in the design of this vehicle. Unequal length drive shafts.
What works best for tire pressure can vary a pound or two by tire model. Face it, this vehicle is a cheap vehicle, but designed with a lot of quality for the buck. A time when "you get what you pay for" qualifies.
I can not speak for your driving conditions but when replacement was necessary we put Michelin on. The vehicle almost never sees snow. The Michelin are superior to the Hankook in the following ways. Much quieter and smoother ride under any conditions such as road surface changes and variants by seasonal temperature. Stopping, especially wet, seems improved. Not throughly tested since we don't push it to find out how quickly tires will let loose. Something no one should be routinely doing. Maybe like testing brakes when they get wet, when it is safe to do so.
All tires change with wear and age as to how well they will perform a needed task. Firestone/Bridgestone claims they have overcome the aging issue with Uni-T technology, like using two different types of rubber for the tread. But I've found those tires poor in many other ways from day one or low mileage that the necessary age was never reached.
We have a small safety net these days, if it is enforced, in that tires are not to be sold as new one year past manufacturer date (it is on the sidewall). Even a tire just sitting in storage ages. The last I checked, Michelin warranty expires after five years which is now the recommended age limit for any tire. You might be able to push the envelope a little if you have special circumstances such as living in Alaska where low temperatures might slow the aging process. But then you'd likely not buy the usual tire anyway.
What I've found is Michelins perform quite well over their lifespan. Almost as good as new until worn most of the way and have not shown hardening until five or six years (we're not usually or always high mileage drivers) What I have learned is that some tires degrade significantly with as little a 2/32" wear. Savannah GA gets plenty of rain and not uncommon to find pockets of standing water. Hydroplane is a major concern unless you are able to always stay off the road when it rains.
Most tires have 10/32" rubber new and considered worn out at 2/32". If you frequently encounter less than ideal road it is likely not a good idea to run on that small amount of tread. Water being a primary concern, it is very important that the tires have a method of letting that water out from under the tread. Wide sidewall sipes are very good at that but also allow faster tread wear. Many manufacturers counter that by not having that side sipe the full depth of tread, but only half-way. That is, when that side sipe channel gets fully closed off you have only used 5/32" of rubber. Factoring in the dry road government standard of wornout, 2/32", that allows only 3/32" of wear before wet road performance declines rapidly. Remember that the manufacturer's brags are for new tires. And there is no way of holding them accountable if you have a hydroplane accident with half the tread left. This is a case of you, the owner, becoming responsible for your own safety. This is just one example of things to consider when buying. And it is a very important safety issue relative to automobiles. "If the tires don't work, do brakes really matter?"
I understand budgetary constraints but going cheap on tires is one of the last things you should do. Insurance might make your vehicle situation OK, but no amount of money can totally undue your body damage (personal injury).

Even if you drive a refugee from a junk yard, you should have the best tires you can find.

rondo_2012ex

I'm a new Rondo owner - (Quebec) but notice that this thread has been quiet for 18 months so perhaps I'm too late to get help ;-( I come from a background of engineering, DIY mechanics, sport cars (raced for 12 years) but then into Japanese cars for quality, comfort and control and now, as a retiree, I need good, safe transportation with some space at a cost I could handle. I owned a KIA Optima (Magentis) for 5 years and it was a terrific car for low noise, comfort and ride, but I now need a hatchback to let me see my small sailboat, when backing up to launch! Having a good past experience with KIA, the Rondo appealed to me physically .... but after just 2 weeks with it, I need advice to help me over my bitter disappointment with the noisy ride and the lousy radio ... (despite buying the EX that claims a radio upgrade over the LX). The radio will not hold ANY station when the signal drops off even a little and auto-switches to the closest one ... 99% with loud music I do not enjoy. The dealer says 'they all do that' ... but I'm not sure. But this thread is for suspension .. so perhaps some kind soul can help me improve that to a tolerable level. I find the ride not supple at all .. but hard, noisy and frankly, quite bone-shaking. I drove a 2014 loaner from the dealer the other day and while it was still hard, it was not noisy. My Rondo only has 37000 km (23K mls) on it and it has passed the KIA inspection as being in excellent shape .. but they really have no way to check bushings unless they are really worn. They just seem too hard and I even suspect the suspension design is poor - but little one can do about that. (Equally small Nissan's and Mazda's ride much better and even the small 4WD Suzuki).
So I was wondering if anyone knew of alternative springs and shocks? In the past, I'd found that going to softer springs with harder shocks would often solve ride issues. The old Renault R8 Gordini's were like this .. wonderful suspension for both handling and ride - so it CAN be done.
The other thing I noticed is that the car has fairly high tire pressures specified and the summer tires on this car are perhaps adding to the hard ride issue .. they are Hankook Optimo H418.
So that's my story and hopefully, someone will still drop by this thread, as Rondo suspension issues are seemingly still around ;-)
Thanks guys

miarfeus

I purchased my Rondo late last spring and immediately noticed how bad the handling was in snow. Yes, the tires were in need of replacement but it almost put me in the ditch twice at low speeds. I live in far northern WI along Lake Superior and have to disagree with all the comments around how crucial snow tires are. I've been driving through winters up here for close to 20 years and have always made it through just fine with all-season tires. Yes, snow tires help a lot but in no way are a necessity. Driving according to conditions goes a long way. That said, sadly we've already received one of our first tastes of snow this year and I can already tell the Rondo (with a new set of well-rated all-seasons) just does not feel sure-footed at all on this stuff. I had to drive 60 miles this morning through a small amount of snow/sleet (1/2 inch maybe) and many times the car just had an uneasy feeling as if it were about to fish-tail. I've never experienced a car that feels like this. Could the camber really be to blame? Has anyone put the money into adding the aftermarket camber adjustments? If so, what were the results? Rondo_2012ex, I have also noticed crummy radio reception...even after replacing the stereo unit which makes me point a finger at the antenna/antenna cable. Maybe a cheap in-line signal amplifier would help? Thanks to anyone out there who may still be monitoring this thread and cares to comment.

Mr_Shiftright

If the camber adjustment were way off, it does make a certain amount of sense that you wouldn't be getting a full contact patch from your tires---after all, the only thing holding you to the road is that little patch of rubber contacting the road. So if camber is say, way too positive, I could see that affecting handling. Most cars need some negative camber.

Also toe in, toe out and tire pressures are important.