I bought a 2009 Sonata a month ago with 17,800 miles on it. It still had the original factory tires on it, but whenever I stopped, the car would pull to the right. After having the alignment and tires checked by both my mechanic and our trusted tire store, they diagnosed the problem with the tires.

So, I put four brand new Cooper tires on the car, and it rides horribly now! I have constant neck pain whenever I drive the car, and I simply cannot stand the way it feels on the rode. I feel every little bump like I'm hitting a pothole! When I test drove the car with the original tires, it was fine, and I drove it for a solid week with no problems--until I changed the tires.

I've talked to the tire people, and they told me that the tires are actually one of the softer ones and even reduced the tire pressure to 30. It helped a bit, but it's still the worst ride I've ever had in a vehicle (and I drove a Chevy Cavalier for years!)

I'm desperate for a solution (if there even is one!). Otherwise, I'm going to have to trade in my month-old car and lose a ton of money. Any ideas?

 

So let me see, the car rode fine on the original tires (aside from the pull). You change the tires and now if rides rough. And you think this is the cars fault? The car didn't change, you changed the tires and the ride changed. I'd suggest changing the tires.

 

I have to agree with NovaResource. Clearly the issue is with the tires and not the car. It wouldn't make any sense to trade in the car because of a poor tire choice.

Go to a different tire shop and see what tire they suggest because it sounds like the one you used is not terribly competent. Maybe they sold you an old set of tires. Not used but aged. All tires have a date stamp on them which is four digits representing the week and year of manufacture. For example, a date stamp of '4405' would indicate the tire was manufactured in the 44th week of 2005. As rubber ages it gets harder so if they sold you tires that were a few years old they might cause a harsh ride never mind that the life of the tires will not be what it should be.

It would also be helpful to know the specific information about the old and new tires (brand/model/size/load & speed rating). I'm guessing the original tires were either Michelin or Hankook. If the car came with H-rated tires and the tire shop sold you a set of W-rated tires you would likely notice a difference in ride harshness.