[slick]

Gday fellow i30 enthusiasts

One of my 2 i30s has developed a problem that's annoying me a lot atm. I've searched and found old threads discussing this (locked ones I couldn't post to). I have a steering clicking noise that has been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks. It's noticeable at slow speeds or stationary when turning the wheel lots. It's like there's a looseness or slight play in steering. It's more noticeable now that I've moved house and I have to maneuver into a very tight parking spot. I've tried flex steer Normal and Comfort (I normally like the weight of Sports). These settings don't make much of a difference to the noise...

So my questions are:

Is this common? Is it just annoying or is it a safety thing if it gets worse? Easy fix? Is it something only Hyundai dealers will know how to resolve? Does it cost a lot of money - budget is a little tight due to lockdown cashflow problems... My mechanic is great but he's not a Hyundai specialist.

I've mentioned it to my mechanic over the phone and he wasn't too sure. I don't want to drive there at the moment due to the Sydney lockdown (on the other side of town pretty much). I have another car so I don't need to drive this one every day at the moment.

Any helpful advice on this appreciated

Is there a sticky of common problems like this somewhere and I missed it? I recall reading about a plastic component inside the steering column that needs replacing after a while and also steering rack full replacement (mostly for FD generation cars). Hopefully, I can resolve this and move on to more exciting things to ask about like has anyone with a GD i30 wagon used the i30 SR 17" wheels? I have original 16" wheels on my wagon and 17" SR wheels on my hatch and I've been thinking of swapping them.

[The Gonz]

Hi, slick. There's the famous $5 star grommet that gets replaced with $250 of labour getting the steering column at least down if not out. The grommet is the link between the power steering motor and the steering column. The problem is more often described as a clunk when the grommet disintegrates, leaving the metal from the motor and column to mesh too loosely. There are lots of Youtube bits on the problem and solution.

[slick]

Cheers for that. That sounds exactly like what I'm dealing with....  Sounds like a design fault they should be replacing for free even out of warranty

I've had a quick look and found some videos but it doesnt look like the sort of repair I would be comfortable to perform myself. Would my Sydney-based Hyundai dealer likely to charge me $250 + parts for this fix?

I'm not very happy with my local dealer after an attempted tyre replacement due to nail in sidewall ended up being repaired by the tyre shop across the road because it wasnt on the sidewall. They've also tried very hard to upsell me extras that were not needed (tyre rotation for example that I did myself prior to taking the car into service)

[slick]

Did they change the design after 2012? I've noticed the part on eBay fits FD i30 and GDi30 (up to before 2013). Mine is an August 2012 GD model

Found it for $5.5 for 2 of them 2x Flexible Coupler Steering Column 563152K000FFF For Hyundai Elantra Kia Optima | eBay

but I'm not very confident - thinking of buying the part just in case - it will take weeks to come from China atm

[eye30]

Don't quote me but I'm sure they did a recall on this.

[The Gonz]

Don't quote me but I'm sure they did a recall on this.

I'm quoting you 
They may have in the UK but I haven't seen it happen here.

[slick]

is that little black star shaped grommet thing definetly for GD as well as FD?

I've ordered one but it says for "Hyundai I30 FD 2007 - 2012" - I have a GD from 2012
if it was the same part for all GD's it would be till 2015 or so

I will attempt this myself after ringing around and being asked $400 from mechanic who didnt seem confident about this repair - I didnt end up even chatting to my local dealer because I'm afraid they will come up with some undeeded repair they will want me to pay for

[The Gonz]

I can only speak for the FD, I can't provide any assurance that this specifically applies to the GD except for some comments I've seen from time to time. Can any GD owners verify?

[slick]

http://australiancar.reviews/_pdfs/Technical-Service-Bulletin-14-ST-002-1.pdf according to this service bulletin GD up to 2014 seems to be affected... but it's not AUS specific

[slick]

UPDATE: this problem is not fully resolved 

So, I've purchased the star gromet and had a go at replacing it myself with a neighbour who's previously done this on an older FD i30 he used to own. I was super excited about attempting this with someone with more experience but we soon found out that FD decoupler replacement is easier than my i30 (early GD). After cutting my fingers a few times we almost had it but couldn't quite get to the final nut of the power steering motor. In the process, we managed to accidentally remove the steering wheel slightly and thought it was reinserted in the exact same spot (we thought wrong  ). The steering wheel is slightly out of whack and it seems like I'm steering very slightly to the left when looking at the steering wheel even though I'm driving straight...

Anyway frustrated after a couple of hours I put it all back together and decided I needed to take it to someone who's done this before. First independent mechanic quoted $150/h x 4hrs. Local Hyundai leader said standard repair fee for this is $495 these days and finally, a second independent mechanic said $300 should cover it. Opted with the last mechanic who said he's done a few and booked it in. Collected the car earlier today only to be told the steering wheel was not fully resolved because they needed an electronic wheel alignment (something any major tyre shop should have). I double checked if they took the wheel out again to attempt to align it and they said yes. It seems to have deteriorated slightly to be honest 

Went to Jax Tyres who were too busy to help today and Bob Jane who said it's a Hyundai calibration issue and their wheel alignment won't help.

I have to drive all day tomorrow and I'm quite annoyed I will have to hold steering wheel slightly pointing to the side. An older mechanic I spoke to said it's a fiddly 2 person job to get that alignment right but I'm not sure if he's taking about FD or GD or either.

Any advice on how to best resolve my issue?
TL DR
Happy with steering decoupler replacement as steering wheel clunk is completely gone now but unhappy that the steering wheel is not perfectly straight when driving straight ahead.

[The Gonz]

That's odd. I've had the wheel off, put it on slightly off alignment, noted the difference, then just pulled it off again and corrected it. No calibration issue on my FD. Not sure I'd be happy with a GD if it gets that hard.

[slick]

Yeah the mechanic who replaced coupler said FD was way easier. Another mechanic confirmed and neighbour who helped with my first attempt also agreed.  I'm tempted to have another go to save some $ but I could be making it worse. And I'm confused about a tyre shop saying they can help but too busy vs the other tyre shop saying Hyundai calibration needed

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