Specifically a current generation Elantra.

My wife took her car in to get looked at today because we've both noticed it feels unstable on the road whenever you pass over the slightest bump. A bit of raised/buckled asphalt, a manhole, etc. basically it feels like the car sways (to the sides) when you pass such a bump. It's somewhat unnerving.

I'm not expecting the car to be as tight nor rigid as my BMW nor Acura Integra GSR were, but the ppl at the dealership basically told her that they checked the suspension and alignment and everything was to spec. They claimed it was all nice and tight and it was probably just us feeling the differences of a light vehicle. I'm not so sure about that as I've driven some pretty small/light cars pretty hard, like Toyota Yaris, Tercel, various Honda Civics, Seat Ibiza, Opel Astra, etc. The Seat and Opel on some pretty windy and bumpy roads too.

I'm probably going to have a friend take the car into his shop to get it checked out, but I was just curious if there were any other owners here who might relate their experience.

I don't have an Elantra, but I did have a very problematic Saab convertible for a couple years. It was bought second-hand and had a clean Carfax, but the suspension felt terribly wrong. It was almost dangerous feeling the way it would "float" down the road. It almost felt like the body was sitting on a waterbed.

Some dismissed it as just being the consequences of being a convertible, but I've driven plenty of similar cars that felt nothing like this. I probably put $2500 into the car over 2 years to correct the issue. With every fix, it got slightly better, but it never felt right.

The final solution was to trade it into a dealer. They actually gave me only $1000 less than what I bought it for. So, I didn't get hit too bad. Now it's someone else's problem... hopefully the dealer's.

Is this Elantra new to you?

Do you have a way to test drive another example to compare?

Ask if you can "test drive" another one and see if it's the same?

(Edit: Beaten)

That or rent one.

Yeah, I was planning to test drive another one. I've test driven 2 others but didn't notice the issue - of course I didn't notice it on this one on the day I tested it either. It's a 2011 model and still has warranty for another 50000 KM or for nearly another 4 years. So I'd like to get the issue taken care of at no cost to us.

You know, I had a Scirocco that did some strange things. I had damaged the car in a way that popped some of the spot welds around the front right wheel well.

No visible damage at all. But on a hunch I had somebody else bounce the fender, while I laid a hand over various seams/joints in the sheet metal. I found one that breathed open and closed. I could feel it but it wasn't easy to get a sight on it.