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Hyundai Sonata Rear Thump
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I have a 2001 Volvo s40 with 113,000 miles that is quieter on bumps then my Sonata.
If your Sonata is quiet then I wonder what it could be. A full car with luggage drove quiet on the highway and on bumpy road. Empty cvar drives quiet on the highway too. Maybe the shocks are too stiff. I would buy a quality brand shock if I could get them just to try. Have not seen any listed for a 2007 yet.
I hope something comes up and the person who has a so called fix has some news I can pass on to my dealer. I like the rest of the car.
Ed G
As someone said, it's all in the streets. If the streets in your area are in good condition, you may go weeks or months without hearing it. Very rough or pot holed streets, and a driving between (approximately) 15-25mph really bring out the K-thunk noise. There are 2 rough streets and 3 or 4 RR tracks in my town that really make it sound off. Otherwise, the car is very quiet.
hit some bumps in the road. If you notice a sound like the
tires are bouncy or what people call a thumping noise that's it.
If so, tell the dealer you do not like the care for that reason. Something wrong with the car.
Let us all know what you find.
Is there a kit or are they just changing parts? What about as TSB?
ed g
You might be closer to the truth than you realize. Antisway bars are lateral torsion bars which work by resisting relative side-to-side wheel motion differences when the car encounters cornering forces. It's possible one or both rear antisway bar's ends were not properly tightened to their links at the factory which resulted in that characteristic "ping" you alluded to if one or both ends shift position slightly on their link(s) - something to bring up with your dealer's service department the next time you're in. This is more likely an annoyance, not a safety issue.
The thumping is gone. According to the service manager, the fit consisted of new
shock inserts. There were no bushing changes.
They have applied the kit to other cars in the lot as well.
The suspension is not the quietest, but it is a heck of a lot better. No noiser then
the $45,000 Lincoln Navigator I drove the other day. I am happy with the fix.
I noticed a note on the service sheet ( Refer TSB # 06-01-011 ) What ever that means.
I am sure you will notice a big change once it is installed.
Ed
Hey, better you than the car. As long as Hyundai's willing to take care of the matter on their nickel, why deny them the opportunity?
I too have noticed this K-THUNK problem on my 2006 Sonata LX purchased in June 2006, it now has 2378 miles on it. It’s the wife’s car which is used mostly to put me in debt by her shopping in the local area. This is the thanks I get for buying her a new car.
I’ve noticed this problem almost from the beginning and I was getting ready to do some trouble shooting like some of you have already done. Now I don’t have to.
I’ll probably just mosey on over to the dealer (armed with some of these posts) and discuss this issue and I’ll post back with my findings.
BTW, I too didn’t notice this when I did the pre-purchase test drive which was only about 4/5 miles with two adults in the back seat. When I test drove the standard V6 non LX model that I was originally considering for about 15 miles (nobody in the back seat), I didn’t encounter this problem. I was beginning to think it was due to the LX having a tighter suspension but I still didn’t like the noise and was going to investigate like I already said.
Thanks again to all and I’ll continue to be nosey since it seems to be beneficial.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Thanks for the welcome Pat.
Until now I've been hanging out over at the "Buying Tips: How DO I Get the Best Deal" and "Stories From the Sales Frontlines" forums here at Edmunds.
However, by coming here, this may prove to have been very beneficial.
There's no telling how many ways Edmunds can help car buyers and owners. Sooo, I'll just stick around till you guys start charging rent.
Thanks again,
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
The above is from post 139 in the forum,Hyundai Azera Front End Problem. I remember when I mentioned to one of the service manager that my new Sonata is great, except the suspension noise is somewhat loud. He told me that he owns a 4 cyl sonata with 16" wheels. He had occasion driving a 6 cyl Sonata demo with 17" wheels and found it was noiser than his 4 cyl Sonata. He attributed to the difference in the size of wheels. After seeing the above quote in that forum, I wondered if it is because of the design of the shocks rather than the wheels. I dug out the specs on the shock absorbers between the two from Hyundai service website, with the following results:
4 cyl weight 3266 lbs
front expansion 1060N
compression 680N
rear expansion 440N
compression 290N
6cyl weight 3458 lbs
front expansion 1640N
compression 840N
rear expansion 690N
compression 240N
These forces are all measured at a velocity of 0.3 m/s.
I had two observations, the 6 cyl shocks produce generally quite high a damping force compared to 4 cyl's, relative to the weight difference. On the other hand, I am also puzzled that the compression of the rear at 0.3 m/s is actually lower than that of the 4 cyl. That does not seem to be logical, but there may be an engineering rationale. Of course, these numbers are just snapshots at a point on the whole damping curves.
Can you put this in plain English so we can all understand?
Ah, c'mon - it's as simple as pronouncing gbxk86a's online handle... Seriously, I believe the numbers relate to the compression/rebound energy the dampers are required to control depending on engine choice (the V6 engine being the heavier of the two). Ironically Hyundai appears to have chosen a rear damper with a stiffer compression setting for the I4 model than that used for the V6 models*. File this surprising engineering rationale under, "Go Figure".
*Perhaps Hyundai's product planners' way of "punishing" '07 GLS owners for being cheapskates?
Now if YOU could only learn how to do "an internet search." LMAO!!
The 17" wheels being more noisy than the 16" is a FACT that has nothing to do with the K-Thunk suspension noise. It's the nature of the low profile tires. They are stiffer, noisier -- but have better grip of the road in high speed, especially when cornering. I personnaly hate them.
Agreed on the 17" wheels. They look nice, but looks are a much lower priority than comfort and noise. Besides, I like 6 spoke wheels better than 5 spoke anyway.
Changing the tires may provide a smoother ride but that is all I would expect.
This is also a follow up to my initial post 88, on this subject.
Very interesting situation, please bear with me on this.
I finally decided to take my wife’s 06’ Sonata LX in for the K-thump problem. So, I emptied out the trunk and took it for a test drive. Guess what? I couldn’t hear the K-thump unless I tried to hit some real bumps. Let me point out that I live in the Pittsburgh area and although the weather here for the last few days has been in the 60’s (which is very warm for this time of the year) and while this is not cold it is colder than the 80’s when I have noticed the problem. I’m trying to reason, that since the oil in the struts is more viscous at 60F vs. 80F this may be preventing the struts from bottoming-out. Since I didn’t want to challenge my tires and rims anymore, I just decided to take it to the dealer anyway. I showed the dealer some of these posts, specifically post 73 by ‘ed_g’, about kit # 55305-3K251-DQQH and TSB# 06-01-011 and asked if this was valid information?
One Service Advisor (don’t you love that title?) over heard my discussion with the Service Advisor I was talking with and said there is a recall for the 07’s but it didn’t apply to the 06’s. Meanwhile, my Service Advisor looks up the TSB and said it didn’t apply to the K-thump issue but it did apply to an engine/transmission computer adjustment. The kit # he didn’t see in his computer but he did say the suffix letters “DQQH” were not valid because Hyundai doesn’t use this numbering scheme. So, they said let’s take it for a test drive. I said fine but I don’t think you're going to find anything because I couldn’t. Off we go and of course, NO THUMPING. I couldn’t argue because I didn’t hear anything either. They said if the problem comes back, bring it in again and again I couldn’t ague with this. So I go home because there is no FIX for this problem. Let me also point out that the dealer I took it to, was not the dealer that I bought it from and I know it makes no difference what dealer you take warranty work to. However, I did buy my 05’ XG-350 from this guy so it’s not like I’m a total stranger to them.
It gets even better. I just called the dealer where I bought the 06’ Sonata LX (other side of town about 20 miles away vs. 4) and asked if there was a ‘fix’ for such a problem and he said there sure is but for an 06’ it’s on an as needed basis. So, I tell him the story about the weather and he pretty much agrees with me. He says bring it in and we’ll go for a ride. Since I don’t feel it’s worth the trip, I’ll just wait till it acts up again.
During our conversation he says he just got off the phone from ordering the kit for an 06’, further proof that there is a fix. I wanted him to confirm the kit # but it seemed he was very busy (I could hear people in the background calling his name a couple times) so he said don’t worry, the car has a 5 year warranty that applies to things like this and again said bring it in whenever I want it checked.
It’s nice to know that I bought from one dealer that knows what’s going on.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Don
That's true for 2007 but not 2006. Sixteen inch alloy wheels were standard equipment on GLS V6 (same as 2007 SE except for the wheels).
He was keenly aware of both and stated that all I have to do is say that I'm having the problem and, without question or hesitation, they will take care of both. His final words were that when you schedule your next oil change, we'll pop the new rear shocks on for you...takes less than 30 minutes. The chain tensioner will require me to leave the vehicle there for a day. Not noisy enough to warrant having it done now but maybe later.
WOW!!! The service I have received from my dealer has been incredible.
I do believe, at the end of the day, that the dealership can make it or break it and maybe I just got lucky but customer service and satisfaction is certainly their #1 priority.