Ok, I know a lot of you know a lot more about cars (and just physics in general) so I thought I'd ask here since my google-foo has resulting in nothing all that simple to understand.
My wife's 2006 Hyundai Tuscon has this frustrating problem of being very difficult to handle on bumpy. Specifically, it feels like the back end is swaying, as if it were a rear-wheel-drive car trying to make a tight turn on an icy road. I doesn't ACTUALLY sway that much, but it feels like you have about the same amount of control for that split second. At first we really noticed it the most on slippery roads and thought it was the tires which we replaced to little avail. Then we realized that its anytime one of the real wheels hits a bump; even if its just a crack in the pavement or a manhole cover, it feels like you just hit a curb. Wet, snowy or otherwise slippery roads just applify the effect. The whole car jerks out from under you.
So I'm thinking it has something to do with the suspension. But I have no idea what. for the record, the specs on the car say it has "multi-link rear suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs." My understanding is that the stabilizer bar helps to stiffen the opposite side of the vehicle to help prevent rollovers and that a downside of that is a bumpier ride. I don't really know what multi-link means.
Anyone want to educate me on how suspension feature work and/or if it sounds like thats the root of my problem? The next question is, is this behavior normal for our car or is there something wrong with it?
