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Hyundai Sonata Front Suspension "Thunk"

491 messages,  Last post on Dec 12, 2012 at 10:08 AM

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What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Sedan

Messages Page 25 of 50

#235 of 491 Re: considering a 09 sonata gls [vinng] by mtnman1

Feb 15, 2009 (9:13 am)

Replying to: vinng (Feb 12, 2009 8:48 pm)
I ended up buying a loaded 2009 Fusion SEL V6 back in October after narrowing down my choice to a '09 Sonata Limited V6. The last thorough test drive of both made my choice very easy. The Fusion was very smooth with little noise over bumps. The Fusion had better leather which was like night and day as compared to the quality of the leather Ford had in the past on their mid size cars. The Sonata ride was terrible as far as suspension noise goes. Also it seems the leather was not improved from the leather in my 2003 Sonata LX. I returned to the Hyundai dealership and told them I was buying the Ford. Glad I did. Fusion is a great car. I was disappointed that the Hyundai rode that way because in many other ways it is a very good car. You can't beat the warranty. I did purchase an extended bumper to bumper warranty for the Fusion because I was able to get them to knock $250 off the price of it.

#236 of 491 Re: 2007 Hyundai Sonata Front Suspension "Thunk" [dncb] by drgnass

Feb 16, 2009 (11:50 am)

Replying to: dncb (Apr 12, 2007 11:12 am)
We own a 2006 Sonata and are hearing a rear thunk now. Any ideas? I was wondering maybe it is the rear shocks? It's not like we four wheel the car.
Along with that, our Airbag light stays on all the time and the ABS/ESC lights keeps coming on after driving for a few minutes. Awhile back we had to have the timing chain tensioner replaced after grinding noises at start up. The Dealer kept saying they did not hear anything and then they would say it was "normal" during the same conversation. After three attempts of trying to get it fixed and letting the dealership know that there was indeed a TSB for that problem, they finally heard the noise and fixed it.
Is there any TSB's for the ABS/ESC lights as well as the Airbag lights?

#237 of 491 09 sonata gls test drive disaster by steven39

Feb 16, 2009 (12:30 pm)

well folks, i finally decided to go take a test drive this morning in a 09 sonata gls auto at my local hyndai dealership here in south fla.i have narrowed down my choices of cars to purchase.i have already test driven 09 altima,malibu,mazda 6,and honda accord,.the sonata was to be the last car i would test drive before i made up my mind to which car i would be purchasing.i asked the salesman who was rideing with me on the test drive if the suspension issues have been fixed with the sonata's and he said absolutley.i then asked to take the car on some bumpy roads in or around the dealership and he said that he did not know of any and that i must stay around the dealership for insurance purposes.however,i noticed there was a railroad crossing a few blocks away from the dealership and decided i would go and see how the suspension would react to going over some railroad crossing.luckily there was a pretty bumpy road on the other side of the crossing.sure enough i couldn't believe it.i heard the suspension noise and the car felt like an old pickup truck going over these bumps.i turned to the salesmen and said this test drive is over for 2 reasons.#1 because of how bad the suspension was over the bumps and railroad tracks and #2 because the salesmen lied to me when he said that the suspension issues with the sonata have been fixed.he kept on insisting that the rough ride was due to the sporty suspension.i have had many sports cars in the past including,corvette,camaro,and firebirds that all rode better than this sonata.i urge anybody in the market for a new sonata to test drive the car over some rough roads before deciding on a purchase.if you don't you will regret it.

#238 of 491 Re: 2007 Hyundai Sonata Front Suspension "Thunk" [drgnass] by backy

Feb 16, 2009 (4:02 pm)

Replying to: drgnass (Feb 16, 2009 11:50 am)
You should take the car into the dealer ASAP on the ABS/ESC lights and airbag light. Either one could indicate a problem in those important safety systems.

#239 of 491 Re: 09 sonata gls test drive disaster [steven39] by lenstang

Feb 17, 2009 (5:34 am)

Replying to: steven39 (Feb 16, 2009 12:30 pm)
I'm happy that someone read these posts and avoided a bad car.
What did you end up with?

#240 of 491 response by steven39

Feb 17, 2009 (9:19 am)

well,now that iv'e test driven the cars that i was considering and happily can eliminate the sonata as a future purchase i think i will consider purchasing a mazda 6.the 6 is only about a grand more than the sonata gls that i test drove however,the mazda 6 had the best ride-handling ratio out of all the cars that i test drove although the malibu came in pretty close behind the mazda 6.

#241 of 491 Re: considering a 09 sonata gls [vinng] by superm

Feb 18, 2009 (2:45 pm)

Replying to: vinng (Feb 12, 2009 8:48 pm)
I'd considered one also, so rented one to see if the clunking I'd seen in a previous rental was the exception or the rule.
 
If anything the car I have now at 6k miles is worse- the clunking and rattling has gotten this car rattled off my list!

#242 of 491 SOLUTION by lenstang

Feb 19, 2009 (8:03 am)

Has anyone beeb able to have the "thunk" problem fixed yet?

#243 of 491 my personal experience by aqua33v6

Feb 19, 2009 (10:24 am)

I thought I'd chime in on the subject since I've driven quite a few 4th generation Sonatas, both rentals and test drives (15+ miles) at dealerships:
 
2006: 3 GLS models (1 rental), 1 LX model
2007: 1 GLS model, 2 SE models (1 rental)
2008: 1 GLS model (rental)
2009: 1 GLS model
 
I own a 2006 GLS V6.
 
On all types of road surfaces, none of the above Sonatas I drove had an uncomfortable ride nor excessive noise. The SE and LX models had lower-profile tires on 17" rims, which transmitted a little more noise/impact over expansion joints and potholes compared to the GLS models with 16" tires/rims.
 
Other vehicles I've driven extensively: 1989 Lincoln Continental, 1988 Lincoln Mark VII, 1991 Cadillac Sedan Deville, 1994 and 1996 Ford Thunderbirds, 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis, 1993 Buick Lesabre, 1999 Lexus GS300, 1999 Buick Park Avenue, 1996 Lincoln Town Car, 1994 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup (hard suspension), 1987 Dodge Ram D250 cargo van (hard suspension), 1991 Dodge Ram D250 pickup upgraded to 1-ton rear springs (extremely hard suspension), 2001 Hyundai Accent, 2006 Honda Accord EX, 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5, 2007 Toyota Camry LE.
 
To sum it up, I've driven vehicles with suspensions so soft that they seemed to float over any imperfections in the road. I've also driven vehicles with suspensions so rough that I could feel my brain rattle inside my skull while driving over just moderately rough pavement. The only modern midsize car I've experienced that has a "pillowy" ride is the Camry. The Altima and Accord both have a firmer ride. The Sonata's ride and handling seem to be somewhere in the middle - not super-soft and numb/disconnected like the Camry, but softer and not as nimble feeling as the Altima and Accord.
 
These, of course, are just my experiences and impressions - to be taken with a grain of salt just like everything else posted in these forums.

#244 of 491 Re: my personal experience [aqua33v6] by backy

Feb 19, 2009 (11:19 am)

Replying to: aqua33v6 (Feb 19, 2009 10:24 am)
Of the 20-odd 2006-9 Sonatas I've driven, only one had excessive noise from the suspension (it was a 2008 GLS with 25k miles on it). But extrapolating that to the (rough estimate) 500-600,000 Sonatas sold in the U.S. since early 2005, that could be 25-30,000 with a suspension noise problem. Of course, a sample size of 1 is not very meaningful statistically, but it shows that even if the problem is limited to a small percentage of cars, there are many owners who could have that problem.

Messages Page 25 of 50

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