XG350 woes
 

To All:

I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic was
still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before and
has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring more
constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right. And
finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to the
right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original tire
are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape. I
asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So, I
thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second opinion -
same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
warranty.
--

Carl


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jackson: Carl & Karen
E-Mail: cajo20@comcast.net
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Re: XG350 woes
 

because parts wear out

Re: XG350 woes
 

because parts wear out

Re: XG350 woes
 

because parts wear out

Re: XG350 woes
 

Carl C. Jackson wrote:
> To All:
>
> I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic was
> still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
> Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
> perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
> all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before and
> has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
> notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring more
> constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
> abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
> ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
> wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right. And
> finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to the
> right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original tire
> are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
> Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
> took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
> room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
> right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape. I
> asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So, I
> thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second opinion -
> same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
> we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
> miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
> warranty.

Ball joints are extremely simple friction-based devices, packed with oil
and sealed with a rubber dust boot. Improper installation of the dust
boot at the factory, 'trash' in the lubricant they packed it with, or a
minor abrasion against the dust boot can compromise it

Either way - its under the factory warranty, have it replaced. It
should not require a re-alignment after the balljoint is reinstalled.
If there is any pulling after the part is installed rotate the tires.
The 'play' in the front end most likely has caused some abnormal tire wear.

JS

Re: XG350 woes
 

Carl C. Jackson wrote:
> To All:
>
> I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic was
> still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
> Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
> perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
> all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before and
> has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
> notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring more
> constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
> abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
> ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
> wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right. And
> finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to the
> right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original tire
> are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
> Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
> took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
> room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
> right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape. I
> asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So, I
> thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second opinion -
> same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
> we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
> miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
> warranty.

Ball joints are extremely simple friction-based devices, packed with oil
and sealed with a rubber dust boot. Improper installation of the dust
boot at the factory, 'trash' in the lubricant they packed it with, or a
minor abrasion against the dust boot can compromise it

Either way - its under the factory warranty, have it replaced. It
should not require a re-alignment after the balljoint is reinstalled.
If there is any pulling after the part is installed rotate the tires.
The 'play' in the front end most likely has caused some abnormal tire wear.

JS

Re: XG350 woes
 

Carl C. Jackson wrote:
> To All:
>
> I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic was
> still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
> Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
> perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
> all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before and
> has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
> notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring more
> constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
> abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
> ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
> wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right. And
> finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to the
> right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original tire
> are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
> Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
> took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
> room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
> right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape. I
> asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So, I
> thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second opinion -
> same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
> we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
> miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
> warranty.

Ball joints are extremely simple friction-based devices, packed with oil
and sealed with a rubber dust boot. Improper installation of the dust
boot at the factory, 'trash' in the lubricant they packed it with, or a
minor abrasion against the dust boot can compromise it

Either way - its under the factory warranty, have it replaced. It
should not require a re-alignment after the balljoint is reinstalled.
If there is any pulling after the part is installed rotate the tires.
The 'play' in the front end most likely has caused some abnormal tire wear.

JS

Re: XG350 woes
 

"Carl C. Jackson" <cajo20@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:M_-dne9_QZLtjBHZnZ2dnUVZ_umdnZ2d@comcast.com...
> To All:
>
> I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic
was
> still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
> Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
> perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
> all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before
and
> has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
> notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring
more
> constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
> abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
> ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
> wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right.
And
> finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to
the
> right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original
tire
> are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
> Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
> took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
> room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
> right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape.
I
> asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So,
I
> thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second
opinion -
> same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
> we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
> miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
> warranty.

Ball joints are a wear item. They wear. I don't know if they are covered
by warranty but it would be worth a check. 52,000 miles is quite a bit on
the low side but I don't know what kind of roads you drive on. Or... as the
first mechanic said, the failed ball joint could simply be a bad joint right
out of the box.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

Re: XG350 woes
 

"Carl C. Jackson" <cajo20@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:M_-dne9_QZLtjBHZnZ2dnUVZ_umdnZ2d@comcast.com...
> To All:
>
> I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic
was
> still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
> Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
> perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
> all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before
and
> has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
> notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring
more
> constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
> abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
> ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
> wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right.
And
> finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to
the
> right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original
tire
> are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
> Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
> took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
> room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
> right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape.
I
> asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So,
I
> thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second
opinion -
> same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
> we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
> miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
> warranty.

Ball joints are a wear item. They wear. I don't know if they are covered
by warranty but it would be worth a check. 52,000 miles is quite a bit on
the low side but I don't know what kind of roads you drive on. Or... as the
first mechanic said, the failed ball joint could simply be a bad joint right
out of the box.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

Re: XG350 woes
 

"Carl C. Jackson" <cajo20@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:M_-dne9_QZLtjBHZnZ2dnUVZ_umdnZ2d@comcast.com...
> To All:
>
> I have a 2004 XG350L with 52,000-mi. This car was purchased new (plastic
was
> still on the seats) in March 2004 from our local Hyundai dealer in Auburn,
> Washington just outside of Seattle. The car has been well cared for and
> perfectly maintained. Last week, I took it in to a local alignment shop -
> all they do is alignments and front-end work. The car has been in before
and
> has had no problems. Recently, within the last five or six months, I've
> notice a tendency for the car to drift around on the highway, requiring
more
> constant steering input to track straight. Whenever I hit any road
> abrasions, ripples or small bumps, the steering wants to track the bump or
> ripple away from a straight line - I can take my hands off the steering
> wheel at low speeds (35 mph - 45 mph) and watch it move left and right.
And
> finally, there has been a tendency for the steering to pull slightly to
the
> right. So, I thought it was time for a 4-wheel alignment. The original
tire
> are always properly inflated to the cold temperature - I use an AccuTire
> Digital Tire Gauge - and they are always rotated every 8,000 miles. When I
> took the car in for it's alignment, the technician came into the waiting
> room and said he could not perform the alignment because the lower
> right-front ball joint was going bad. The other three were in great shape.
I
> asked how that could be and he said that it could be a factory defect. So,
I
> thanked him for his time and took it to another shop for a second
opinion -
> same deal. Now, how can this happen? My wife and I are not hot rodders and
> we are very careful about how we drive. Most of the mileage is highway
> miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
> warranty.

Ball joints are a wear item. They wear. I don't know if they are covered
by warranty but it would be worth a check. 52,000 miles is quite a bit on
the low side but I don't know what kind of roads you drive on. Or... as the
first mechanic said, the failed ball joint could simply be a bad joint right
out of the box.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

Re: XG350 woes
 

Stuff happens. Take it to the dealer and tell them what the shops told
you. If it's bad, they should be willing to replace it under warranty.

Re: XG350 woes
 

Stuff happens. Take it to the dealer and tell them what the shops told
you. If it's bad, they should be willing to replace it under warranty.

Re: XG350 woes
 

Stuff happens. Take it to the dealer and tell them what the shops told
you. If it's bad, they should be willing to replace it under warranty.

Re: XG350 woes
 

On Sun, 11 Jun 2006 05:49:51 -0700, "Carl C. Jackson" <cajo20@comcast.net>
wrote:


>miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
>warranty.

A well aimed pot hole can take out a ball joint. My wife actually missed one
the other day, and I was thrilled.
--
Bob

Re: XG350 woes
 

On Sun, 11 Jun 2006 05:49:51 -0700, "Carl C. Jackson" <cajo20@comcast.net>
wrote:


>miles. Does anybody have any thoughts? The car is still under factory
>warranty.

A well aimed pot hole can take out a ball joint. My wife actually missed one
the other day, and I was thrilled.
--
Bob