Motormouth: Tire talk

Q: We have a 2019 Honda Accord Sport with a stick and it has 25,000 miles. We just had new Michelin all-weather tires put on the car. My wife said, "These tires are nice. The car drives much smoother now." I have heard people say that their new tires are much better than the old ones. Does the car drive smoother because of the new tires or because they are driving newly balanced tires? I think it is better to rotate the tires less often, but when you do, should you have the tires rebalanced?

C.W., Berlin, Connecticut

A: Regularly rotating tires ensures that they all wear at the same rate, but does not affect ride quality. It matters not whether the wheels were balanced last week or last year so long as they are balanced. It seems weird, but tires from different companies, or models from the same company, can have differing ride qualities. New tires certainly make a difference.

Q: I have a 2023 Ioniq 5 with a 12-volt issue: It keeps draining. The battery died first at the 10-month mark, and in the past two months it has died three more times. Jumping it gets it back on track, but after four or five days of the car sitting idle, the battery is totally discharged. The dealer has replaced the battery once, but the issue continues and he has found no electrical issues to repair. I've been told that original batteries from Hyundai are garbage and replacing it with a brand name battery will fix the problem. I've also been told to keep a portable battery pack in the frunk (front trunk), and to start the car every other day to keep the battery charged. I know this is an issue with other Ioniq drivers as I've seen their blogs.

E.F., Orland Park, Illinois

A: There is some evidence that the Bluelink system may be the culprit. Reportedly, the system may be getting too many requests (pings) from your smart phone or other device. Discuss this with the service manager, not the service writer behind the desk. Don’t leave your phone or other Bluetooth device in the vehicle.

Q: I can’t help but notice that almost all the wheels on cars have the equivalent of five spokes. Why five?

G.N., Glenview, Illinois

A: I have a hunch you are referring to lug nuts, not spokes. It boils down to simple physics. The star pattern provides even, reliable attachment for the wheels. Larger vehicles often have more. Some light trucks have six. Semis have 10. Some itty-bitty cars have only four.

Q: For an engine that does not require synthetic motor oil, I'm curious if there are any issues with a one-time use of synthetic oil and then switching back to regular oil. I brought my car in for an oil an change and they "assumed" I would want synthetic even though I never specified it.

B.J., Simsbury, Connecticut

A: There is no harm switching back and forth.

Q: Almost two years ago, I bought a 2014 Escape Titanium. About two months ago, backing out of the driveway, I noticed the backup camera view was upside-down. Nothing in my owner's manual told of this problem so I checked the internet, which has numerous reports of the problem in several Ford models. Their opinion was that the problem was related to the Microsoft Sync system. The recommendation was to reboot the system either through the settings or by disconnecting the battery and touching the two terminals together for 10 seconds to drain the system. I contacted my local Ford dealer who said they knew nothing about this camera problem, but for a couple hundred dollars they would diagnose the problem. Have you ever encountered or heard of this problem?

J.C., Hoffman Estates, Illinois

A: You got the right information. A glitch in the Sync system is usually at fault and rebooting the system usually clears it. Be advised the rebooting will erase all of your personal setting such as radio presets.