2012 KIA Sorento suspension issue?? (causing tire

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Before we get carried away, let me say we absolutely love this thing! It is incredibly powerful, handles great, awesome options, the AWD works great in the snow, and the 6spd transmission work great.

Now then:
2012, KIA Sorento, 3.5L, 6spd, AWD, 18” alloy's, 235/60R18”, 100k mi.

The issue is I have excessive front tire wear, discovered due to hydroplaning. I believe I need a sway bar endlink (noisy over train tracks) to start with, but this seems excessive for this much wear in roughly 8k mi as the tires were rotated roughly 8k mi ago. The tires were put on new 2/16 and driven roughly 19k mi since then, having been rotated once. Something has it out of alignment, yet I have no pulling, shaking, shimmy NOTHING in terms of symptoms.... Other than tire wear and as a result it will hydroplane at any speed above 50mph.

The wear is even on both front tires, on the outsides and insides of the tire.
We did figure out that the tires are a UHP summer tire (dealership choice as we bought the KIA), they are Hankook.
Interestingly enough the Hankook Dyna-pro ATM is the best tire I have ever ran on any SUV or truck, my current Jeep has the ATM's on it for the last 60k mi and they are just now a bit over %50 worn.

I am aware of the common failure points (maintenance/wear points) in general on most vehicles that create this sort of issue. However I am looking for the KIA guru feedback, I'm looking for any info on common KIA specific suspension issues that others have dealt with or heard about... We have not yet lifted the vehicle and inspected everything (free time is priceless in my world), just looking for any feedback unique to the vehicle prior to moving forward. Whatever it is will be a warranty repair, but I need to understand what, why and where before we take it in. If we figure out it is just as simple as bad alignment (due to road conditions) then I will do the endlinks myself.

What say you guys???
 
I have used Hankooks on a couple of vehicles, both different models of tyre and in very different vehicles.

I found the OE spec Hankooks on our 2014 Picanto to wear quite quickly (on the front), with a tiny bit of extra weat on the edges, alignment is spot on amd checked once or twice a year.

The other application was on my 2012 Jaguar 3.0 Tdv6 XJL and they wore very evenly and lasted longer than the tyres on the Picanto.

Now have Goodyears on the Picanto and they appear to be holding up better than the OE Hankooks.

It could be that your particular application is hard on the front tyres.

Ine intersting point is that we have had a couple of Mk3 Clios over the years, a 2006 5door 1.5dci and currently a 2007 1.4 16v 5door.

Both those Clios wore front tyres unevenly.

Both Clios and the Picanto have electric power steering which is very light at parking speeds.

Is that impacting on the tyre wear?
 
So what tires are these again? Hankook Dynapro ATM's are not UHP summer tires.

Even wear on both the outside and inside sounds like too-low pressures being run.
 
A friend of mine has mentioned this in one way or another, that certain vehicles are just harder on tires in different ways. He feels it has to do with OE alignment specs and believes that some manufactures spec alignment fully loaded (with passengers) while others do not compensate for load weight (of passengers). Based on feedback in other areas, I think there is something to that theory.

Originally Posted By: bigjl
I have used Hankooks on a couple of vehicles, both different models of tyre and in very different vehicles.

I found the OE spec Hankooks on our 2014 Picanto to wear quite quickly (on the front), with a tiny bit of extra weat on the edges, alignment is spot on amd checked once or twice a year.

The other application was on my 2012 Jaguar 3.0 Tdv6 XJL and they wore very evenly and lasted longer than the tyres on the Picanto.

Now have Goodyears on the Picanto and they appear to be holding up better than the OE Hankooks.

It could be that your particular application is hard on the front tyres.

Ine intersting point is that we have had a couple of Mk3 Clios over the years, a 2006 5door 1.5dci and currently a 2007 1.4 16v 5door.

Both those Clios wore front tyres unevenly.

Both Clios and the Picanto have electric power steering which is very light at parking speeds.

Is that impacting on the tyre wear?
 
Originally Posted By: wsar10
A friend of mine has mentioned this in one way or another, that certain vehicles are just harder on tires in different ways. He feels it has to do with OE alignment specs and believes that some manufactures spec alignment fully loaded (with passengers) while others do not compensate for load weight (of passengers). Based on feedback in other areas, I think there is something to that theory.


I think there may be something to that. To quote sbr711, the Tech who is on target with posts at Hyundai Forums:

Quote:
Align numbers as measured please.... "In-Spec" = the wheels still attached to chassis in Hyundai World


You need someone that understands optimal alignment for tire longevity vs "In-Spec". I am not the person, but question OEM recommendations.
 
Check for worn ball joint(s).

Had one go out at 60,000 mi on my Sorento. Made noise similar noise.

Dealer price $290 for replacing one.
 
My wife has a 2011 Sorento with a bunch of miles on it.

I replaced both lower control arms at 109K miles, the ball joints were shot and noisy.

For the sway bar links, a thin (like 1/8" wide) 17mm open end wrench is handy. There's a couple of flats on the link mounting face that you have to hold to unscrew the nuts. You probably could use an old school 11/16" tappet wrench. I picked up an interesting antique tappet wrench at the local thrift store for $0.50, they actually had a selection of them.
 
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