[ZR0 Cool]

I took a two hour road trip to the dealer where I had a reserved unit. During the test drive I was able to hit a mix of roads including traffic, curves, and interstate. The vehicle is really cool in person. The interior was quiet and comfortable. Overall the vehicle drives rather nice. However, at about 40 MPH I noticed a bit of vibration. The vibration wasn't very noticeable in the steering wheel, but I could definitely feel it in the seat of my pants. My wife didn't notice, and of course the salesperson didn't notice. My first thought was flat spotting on the tires. That's exactly what it felt like. At highway speeds everything was fine until 80 MPH when the vibration returned. Speeding up stopped it and slowing down also stopped it, but at 80 it was present. Maybe it was just something with that one vehicle but there's no way to compare so I passed. It was very similar to the vibration issue Subaru had with the 2010 Outback/Legacy redesign.

The only other issue I noticed was the poor color match (white) between the front bumper cover and the fenders. Although, that's a fairly common thing that most people never notice.

 

[Yardtruck+]

New models hide gremlins frequently.

 

[LittleBokey]

I took a two hour road trip to the dealer where I had a reserved unit. During the test drive I was able to hit a mix of roads including traffic, curves, and interstate. The vehicle is really cool in person. The interior was quiet and comfortable. Overall the vehicle drives rather nice. However, at about 40 MPH I noticed a bit of vibration. The vibration wasn't very noticeable in the steering wheel, but I could definitely feel it in the seat of my pants. My wife didn't notice, and of course the salesperson didn't notice. My first thought was flat spotting on the tires. That's exactly what it felt like. At highway speeds everything was fine until 80 MPH when the vibration returned. Speeding up stopped it and slowing down also stopped it, but at 80 it was present. Maybe it was just something with that one vehicle but there's no way to compare so I passed. It was very similar to the vibration issue Subaru had with the 2010 Outback/Legacy redesign.

The only other issue I noticed was the poor color match (white) between the front bumper cover and the fenders. Although, that's a fairly common thing that most people never notice.

Wow.. 4 hour round trip and you walked away? Why not have the dealer check the tire balence... which, in my experience, is almost alway the reason for vibrations @ various speeds.

 

[ToadVine]

If the vibration was felt at 40mph and 80mph, then it is definitely related to the drive train, and after the transmission -- so, yes, most likely the tires (expect horses, not zebras!)

 

[ZR0 Cool]

It really didn't feel like a balance issue but I could be wrong. At other speeds it was smooth as glass...like a new car should be. Regardless, the dealer didn't seem to care. The sales manager said, "it'll probably go away after you drive it some more." If the dealer didn't seem so sketch I may have bought it. I just got a really bad vibe from them.

 

[HSC4ME]

It really didn't feel like a balance issue but I could be wrong. At other speeds it was smooth as glass...like a new car should be. Regardless, the dealer didn't seem to care. The sales manager said, "it'll probably go away after you drive it some more." If the dealer didn't seem so sketch I may have bought it. I just got a really bad vibe from them.

I completely understand you walking away when something like this happens; even if it was only that specific car. Step back and regroup...

I had a BMW 630 that I bought used from the company I worked for when they retired it from their fleet. Got a great deal and knew the entire service history at our local BMW dealer. Drove it for a couple years, then decided to buy a Toyota Landcruiser. After the Cruiser was in my hands, I put the BMW 630 up for sale.

A guy came out to look at and drive it. He had the money and was willing to pay my price. On the test drive the frontend suddenly got a crazy wobble and the steering wheel was jerking back and forth. His eyes got the size of saucers and he asked "What was that?" I said I have no idea. It's never done that before (which was the truth). I'm sure he didn't believe me. Needless to say he didn't buy it and walked away.

The crazy thing is it never did it before or after that, and it took me almost 6 months to find another buyer at thousand less to get rid of it. I still don't know what caused that crazy wobble/vibration. I can only assume it was a worn out bushing on the suspension that somehow was in the wrong position at the worst possible time. Who knows?

On a brand new car, something like this has to make you step away. The dealer should immediately check for loose bolts, the tire pressures and alignments. It's possible the alignment wasn't done right from the factory or something wasn't tightened down. But again, who knows?

 

[tobidog]

Kia Telluride forums are full of this - only on the AWD models. Replacing the drive shaft and some assembly on the transfer case helps.

 

[LittleBokey]

Kia Telluride forums are full of this - only on the AWD models. Replacing the drive shaft and some assembly on the transfer case helps.

Wow.. thanks for sharing... there are quite a few post about it:

2020 Kia Telluride Problems Are Beginning to Surface

The 2020 Kia Telluride might be a risky investment. Owners are already reporting Kia Telluride problems despite having brand new SUVs.

www.motorbiscuit.com

.

Vibration

What did they do to fix your issue? I have a 2015 Genesis and had the same problem. They had to replace the entire center joint and rear half of driveshaft / knuckle, etc. planning on buying a telluride but dont want to deal with the same issue as on my genesis. Thanks in advance. Did you...

tellurideforum.org

 

[tobidog]

We don't have a Telluride, only a Kona and a Santa Fe Sport, both FWD only.
There is an entire industry dedicated to fixing vibration, mostly for Chevrolet. I think the Telluride is safe by now if you find one. Palisade was the same but to a lesser degree.
The only reason I want an AWD is for pulling out a boat on these slippery boat ramps, otherwise FWD is fine, we are in California.

Most testers didn't recommend the latest Santa Fe with the 2.5 turbo without going with AWD, they all said the engine overpowers the chassis, only on the FWD models. I imagine the S Cruz would be the same.

 

[NoelPR]

We don't have a Telluride, only a Kona and a Santa Fe Sport, both FWD only.
There is an entire industry dedicated to fixing vibration, mostly for Chevrolet. I think the Telluride is safe by now if you find one. Palisade was the same but to a lesser degree.
The only reason I want an AWD is for pulling out a boat on these slippery boat ramps, otherwise FWD is fine, we are in California.

Most testers didn't recommend the latest Santa Fe with the 2.5 turbo without going with AWD, they all said the engine overpowers the chassis, only on the FWD models. I imagine the S Cruz would be the same.

300tq to the wheels at low RPM is no joke.
Especially on nonsticky tires. AWD should be standard, not optional.

 

[LittleBokey]

300tq to the wheels at low RPM is no joke.
Especially on nonsticky tires. AWD should be standard, not optional.

I have to chuckle here... too much torque for FWD only. Never thought I would hear that a Hyundai engine is actally overpowering the drive train... I can see that with the twin turbo v6 .. but the 2.5L T??? Gives me hope..

 

[Walking Black Bear]

I have to chuckle here... too much torque for FWD only.

That was a common complaint with the Sonata N reviews ... no LSD, shredding the single drive wheel.

 

[FFEMT6]

Kia Telluride forums are full of this - only on the AWD models. Replacing the drive shaft and some assembly on the transfer case helps.

The Hyundai Palisade (Telluride platform twin) also, and it was an early recall on H-trac models. The vibration was actually felt in the pedals though if I remember right. I do believe they were able to resolve it though.

 

[FFEMT6]

We don't have a Telluride, only a Kona and a Santa Fe Sport, both FWD only.
There is an entire industry dedicated to fixing vibration, mostly for Chevrolet. I think the Telluride is safe by now if you find one. Palisade was the same but to a lesser degree.
The only reason I want an AWD is for pulling out a boat on these slippery boat ramps, otherwise FWD is fine, we are in California.

Most testers didn't recommend the latest Santa Fe with the 2.5 turbo without going with AWD, they all said the engine overpowers the chassis, only on the FWD models. I imagine the S Cruz would be the same.

We also have a fwd Palisade and despite the 291hp V6, I have no issue with torque steer, but I also don't go hammering the throttle into corners either. I honestly think a fwd SC, even with the 2.5T would be fine, as long as you drove it responsibly. Besides, with the decreased weight, it might actually even be quicker when passing on the highway. Will probably be slightly cheaper and fuel efficient too. Guess we will find out soon anyway.

 

[FFEMT6]

That was a common complaint with the Sonata N reviews ... no LSD, shredding the single drive wheel.

True, but as long as it was driven reasonably, they also said it handled very well, with good subjective numbers backing that up. The platform twin Kia K5 GT as well. Would an LSD make them better? Of course it would.

 

[NoelPR]

True, but as long as it was driven reasonably, they also said it handled very well, with good subjective numbers backing that up. The platform twin Kia K5 GT as well. Would an LSD make them better? Of course it would.

It will make it a bit better but once the road isn't clean or dry. You will wish to have AWD anyway.
It really feels good and confident when you don't need to worry about traction. Is even safer in some scenarios when you are merging on highspeed lanes and the road conditions aren't in your favor.

Those twins could be perfect but once I saw the reviews on how bad traction is and knowing that none will be offered in AWD, I went to another vehicle.

 

[SantaCruzFan]

I definitely want AWD in my SC, but not with the vibrations that the OP reports. Hopefully Hyundai will sort this out before too long. This problem along with missing bolts, engines shutting down and instruments failing make me almost happy that I can't find any for sale in my area yet. I have a 10 year old Toyota which never has issues and I do not want to spend a bunch of money for a new vehicle which will need dealer repairs, even if it is as cool as a SC.

 

[JMII]

No vehicle is going to be prefect. The questions is are these early bugs true design defects or just simple manufacturing slip ups. The second one is easily correctable... the first one not so much.

Don't forget forums tend to be the first place people go to post about problems so it misrepresents the number of defects per vehicle.

 

[SantaCruzFan]

Totally agree - only people with a problem bother to post and so that is not a representable sample. It might be an indication of early production startup issues on a new model though. The driveline shudder would really bother me and the fact that the same complaints have surfaced about other Hyundai AWD applications is a concern. But assuming they sorted it out in the Telluride you have to hope that they will do the same in the SC.

So I think they are primarily startup manufacturing issues, with the possible exception of the AWD problems. Making a new thing (factory) that makes something as complex as a car is really tough, particularly when first starting it up - I have been in that war myself. I think Hyundai is more than capable of sorting this out soon. But even if there are a very few initial production issues I bet the vast majority of SCs are perfect.

 

[ZR0 Cool]

FWIW, I still intend to buy a Santa Cruz. I'll just be going over any unit with extra scrutiny. Dealing with any issues during a world-wide parts shortage is something I would like to avoid as much as possible.