Sonata too fast???

A fellow at work bought a 200 Sonata V-6 for his wife. After about 7000
miles, she decided it was too fast for her and the traded it for a 4
cylinder Camry.

Her complaint, it seems, it that the throttle is too sensitive and it takes
off too fast. It does seem to me at times you need less pressure than
normal to accelerate, but not uncontrollable. Certainly not a reason for me
to buy less power

 

It sounds like someone needs to learn how to drive.

 

That may be true... but the throttle on my 2006 Sonata is way too
sensitive. I regret trading my Elantra GT for it now.

-B

 

Maybe, but the electronic throttle on the Sonata is WAY too sensitive
and the gain is too high, especially during initial travel. Certainly
not uncontrollable, but very annoying and something they should address
in future designs.

Matt

 

Hey Matt,
Do you have a stick shift or automatic? I don't notice the sensitive
throttle on my Sonata automatic.and my wife hasn't complained. AND BELIEVE
ME, she would complain!!!!! ) It might also just be on the V6. I have
the 4 cyl, but I think you do, also.

Tom

 

Speaking for Matt, he has the 4 cyl MT. I have the V6 AT and notice the
same thing, although I have become very used to it now. If I drive the
truck at work for more than a few hours in a given day, I notice it to the
max in the Sonata when I get in at the end of the day. Otherwise, I don't
really notice it much any more.

It would be nice if they would at least address it to some extent.

Eric

 

Yes, I have the stick and the 4 cylinder. I find the throttle to be
very touchy, especially when starting out, but even things like going
over a bump when going slow in first or second gear can cause the car to
lurch ahead from the slight movement of my foot from the bump. I've
never had another car like this in that regard. The car would be much
easier to drive if the throttle had a stiffer spring and took a little
more travel for the amount of throttle action.

I drove two automatic V-6s and it wasn't as noticeable, but it was
definitely still there. A number of test drivers have also commented on
this, often call it throttle "tip in" sensitivity.


Matt

 

Since my original post, I had the fellow at work drive my car this
afternoon. He said it was the same sensitivity as his former Sonata. He
would sometimes spin the wheels at a stop sign and his wife was afraid to
drive it once the snow starts to fall. I've only had a few instances where
I did accelerate faster than intended. Not unsafe or wheel spinning, but it
does take a very light touch compared to other cars/trucks I drive on a
regular basis. . I think it could be fine tuned a bit.

 

Reply to message from Matt Whiting <> (Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:
38:09) about "Re: Sonata too fast???":

MW> Maybe, but the electronic throttle on the Sonata is WAY too sensitive
MW> and the gain is too high, especially during initial travel.

When I took one for a test drive I was surprised at how it took off like a
bat out of hell. So I can understand the comments about it being sensitive.
However after about 15 seconds my foot adjusted and there was no problem.

Given its target demographic I think they would be well advised to make a
bit of an adjustment maybe in the next model year.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:30:41 -0600

=== Posted with Qusnetsoft NewsReader 3.3

 

Gotta agree with Matt and the others: the electronic throttle is WAY
too sensitive especially when the car is brand new. There is a pattern
of it taking off like a rocket and lurching as the driver tries to let
off on the gas. Looks real smooth.

I tried to quietly leave a subdivision one morning and practically did
a burnout up the drive way. Then it did it again in front of a cop,
who was not paying attention thankfully.

I have had to relearn how to deal with the gas pedal to compensate,
although the car seems to have calmed down some as I have put miles on
it. Maybe it's both of us getting adjusted to each other, but I still
have to be careful with it. She wants to run.

The throttle also needs to be recalibrated for the shift problem
between first and second gear.

First gear go go go

Shift (no engine power for FAR too long)

(dump truck runs over you while you sit there helpless)

Second gear engages.

The only solution I've found for that is to just floor the thing in
first and it powers through that shift point. This is not always
practical.

 

I find that to be a PITA first thing in the morning when still cold. I pull
out of my driveway and turn up a hill and it just sort of hangs for a few
seconds when it shifts. I've not tried to manually shift it to see if it is
any better.


Seems to be a long lag when going from drive to reverse also. Another minor
PITA when backing out of a parking space, or when backing into my driveway
when there is a car coming up behind me.

 

Yes, I'm probably the same way. If I drive the Sonata exclusively, then
I get more used to it. However, if I drive my truck a couple of days
and then the Sonata, it is really noticeable again. IMO, a vehicle
shouldn't be so different from the norm that ir requires getting used to
again after a two day hiatus.

Probably the most annoying is the PIO (pilot induced oscillation for you
non-aviators) that occasionally happens. If I drive over a rolling
"washboard" series of bumps, occasionally the first bump causes my foot
to either depress or back off the accelerator a little causing either
deceleration or acceleration (which is quick given the high gain
throttle), which then coincides with the next bump in phase which makes
the next accelerate/decelerate event even more pronounced, etc. I've
had cases where I had to push in the clutch to stop this.

I think some pre driveline dynamics also comes into play here with the
stick shift. I've noticed several times now when descending a fairly
steep hill in first gear that if the engine is at 2-3,000 RPM holding
back on the hill and I hit a bump at all, the car will go into this
oscillation back and forth as the driveline winds up an then unwinds
against the engine. It'll get your head bobbing back and forth! Again,
sometimes it will damp out on its own, but there is a restaurant near my
house with such a driveway and I've had to depress the clutch on
occasion to stop the oscillation. I suspect the springs in the clutch
disk aren't stiff enough, but that is only a guess. It is also hard to
make a smooth first to second shift for what I suspect is the same
reason. Unless I get lucky and hit it just right, it either bogs down
which unloads the clutch disk springs and then you get a jerk when they
wind back or you get too much throttle and wind them up and get a jerk
when they unwind. The only way I can get consistently smooth 1-2 shifts
is to rev to at least 4000 rpm. The 2-3 and higher shifts are fairly
easy to make as the gearing is on your side then.

I agree. And this would be trivial to fix. Add a stiffer throttle
spring and reprogram the gain curve.


Matt

 

Was this an automatic? I didn't find the automatic all that bad, but
then I didn't drive one on slippery roads either. I suspect in snow it
would be interesting, even with the traction control.

Matt

 

Wow. I have the completely opposite complaint. My previous car was a Grand
Am GT, where you just have to look at the gas pedal to start the front
wheels spinning. When I went from that car to this one (V6 AT), I stepped
on the gas, and the car didn't hardly move.

Now that I've become accustomed to this one, whenever I go back to the
Grand Am, I consistently spin the tires on that car.

 

What year and engine in the Grand Am? I get them for rental cars often
and the throttle isn't even close to being as touchy as my Sonata.

Matt

 

If "drive-by-wire" is that much of a pain, I think I'll stick with cars
with mechanical throttle controls. ;-)

One would think that this should all be correctable with a simple
software change. I wonder what's taking Hyundai so long to deal with it?

 

That would be my preference, but the Sonata doesn't list a mechanical
throttle linkage as an option!

My thought as well. This should be trivial to fix.

Matt

 

2003 GT (V6)3.4L.
All the torque when you just barely tap on the pedal.As you push farther,
not much more power with that engine. I think it's only 185 ponies in it.

 

I've never had a GT version as a rental, but all have had the V-6
engine. I found the throttle on them fairly stiff, about the same as my
Chrysler minivans. The pickup off the line was good to be sure, but it
took a fair bit of throttle pressure to get that performance. The
Sonata on the other hand has almost no throttle feel at all. If I have
my normal New Balance sneakers on, I almost can't feel either the
throttle or the clutch. I have to drive barefoot to get any decent feel
of the throttle. Now my Chevy truck on the other hand is just the
opposite. Both throttle and clutch take a fair bit of pressure, but
then trucks are made to be driven with boots on and you need that
pressure for feedback. My minivan is in between the truck and the
Sonata with respect to throttle pressure. I don't know what the values
are in pouns, but I don't think the Sonata takes more than 2-3 lbs of
force to move the throttle. I'd guess my truck is 15-20 lbs and my
minivan probably 8-12, but these are just wild guess as I don't have any
easy way to measure the force required. It would be fun to know though.


Matt

 

I would like EVERYTHING manual except the transmission.

But, I think ESC requires an electronic throttle.

BTW, my throttle and shifting are fine. Not too sensitive, not too
numb. Or, maybe the last 2-3 vehicles I have owned have all had
similar throttles and I'm used to it.
-

Bob