Tire (or wheel) SOUND mystery

O

OunceOPrevention

Joined
Jan 3, 2016
Messages
6
Location
NJ
I have a 2020 Lexus NX with 81k miles, with the original 225/60R18 Michelin Primacy MXM4 100H tires. I rotate, check/set pressure, inspect regularly (that's probably why I was able to get so many miles). I still have about 6/32" left on them, but I'd like to get new tires soon/now.

Starting a few months ago, I noticed a 'thumping' sound coming from the front area (tires?), but did not pursue it. I believe the sound has gotten louder since.

The sound is related to tire rotation speed, and NOT engine RPMs. No difference when I apply the brakes. I didn't find any difference when driving straight and quickly turning the wheel left/right (at 50mph). No pulling of wheel/direction. The sound (thump) is accompanied by a very faint feeling in the steering wheel.

When the car is cool/cold, it is not as loud at first, but after driving a few miles it is a tad more pronounced. After warmup, you can also hear it slow down when I slow the car down from high speed (i.e. 50mph going down to 15/10 to slow to a stop at a highway exit).

The sound, to me, sounds similar to when you have a small bubble in one of your tires, since the 'thump' sounds like it's occurring at each rotation of the wheel(s). It also sounds like it's coming from my FRONT LEFT, however, I just did a front/back rotation and it still sounds like that's where it's coming from.

My buddy suggests I try rotating the front tires right/left to see if the sound changes.

Here are some possibilities I thought of:
  1. One/more tires are at EOL? Perhaps belt issues? Perhaps because I'm not a tire expert I cannot see a problem with a tire on the outside?
  2. Front end alignment required?
  3. Something misaligned in one/more of the (front) brakes? I changed the brakes about 10k (8 months) ago. Maybe something got moved/misaligned?
Any ideas? Thank you!
 
My intention is to replace the tires ASAP. I'll have to wait just a few days to see if COSTCO is able to get the SAME EXACT tire I have. If they cannot get the same ones, I'll have to order a similar model.

Anxious to see what the result is after I get the new tires.
 
Rotate front to back. If the noise stays up front you are probably looking at a wheel bearing at that mileage.
 
dbias said:
Rotate front to back. If the noise stays up front you are probably looking at a wheel bearing at that mileage.
Click to expand...
I just did the rotation (front to back) last weekend. I'm not certain whether the noise increased, but it was definitely there before the rotation, and is still there now.

I have a short audio clip, but apparently I cannot attach it to my posting !
 
OunceOPrevention said:
I just did the rotation (front to back) last weekend. I'm not certain whether the noise increased, but it was definitely there before the rotation, and is still there now.

I have a short audio clip, but apparently I cannot attach it to my posting !
Click to expand...
Most wheel bearings will be noticeable above 40 mph when first noticed and become noticeable at lower and lower speeds as they get worse. Jack it up and do a push pull at the top and bottom of the tire to see if there is any play. I found the front driver side wheel bearing was bad recently by carefully jacking up the car and putting a large screwdriver on the back of the steering knuckle as I spun the wheel and put the handle of the screwdriver against the front of my ear. Instantly obvious which one it was.
 
99% of the time that I am driving I either have the radio on, or I'm talking on the phone, or BOTH. So this sound has been there for many months, and I only started paying attention to it recently, because I had some quite time in the car.

Wasn't able to jack it up again to try to tilt the wheels and spin them, but I did take another step that is needed - I ordered the new tires, which should come in within a few days. When I have the tires done I will ask the tech to try tilting the wheels and examine the tires and see what he says. I'm very hopeful that the new tires will solve this problem. I'll post back afterwards. Thank you.
 
I had a big rolling road noise problems on my car which developped over a 2 year period and getting were.
I went through bearing check, rear diff oil check etc..
In the end a took a leap of faith and replaced my less than 1/2 worn rear hankook tyres. This solved the problem.
The tyres must have aged prematurely and gone wooden
 
OunceOPrevention said:
99% of the time that I am driving I either have the radio on, or I'm talking on the phone, or BOTH. So this sound has been there for many months, and I only started paying attention to it recently, because I had some quite time in the car.

Wasn't able to jack it up again to try to tilt the wheels and spin them, but I did take another step that is needed - I ordered the new tires, which should come in within a few days. When I have the tires done I will ask the tech to try tilting the wheels and examine the tires and see what he says. I'm very hopeful that the new tires will solve this problem. I'll post back afterwards. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Based on what you've told us so far, the problem is not tires. It's likely CV joints. or wheel bearing.
 
If I recall correctly, jack up the suspect wheel, grab the tire at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and try to wiggle the tire back and forth. There should be no movement. If there is movement then it's likely the wheel bearing.
 
Defective wheel bearings as generally easy to diagnose with a road test. They will often be quiet(er) in a straight line but make noise when loaded either to the inside or outside. Drive along a road and make a sharpish turn at speed to the left and right and see if you hear noise. Load the bearing left and right.
 
I'm buying new tires because these are nearing EOL. They had 55k mfr warranty, and I'm approaching 81k. I'd rather be safe than sorry as we're approaching the winter snowy months here in the northeast. There's no urgency with this issue, and since changing the tires is a step I was going to take anyway, I figured I'd rule it out ASAP (or, it MAY be the cause of the problem and resolve it). Pushing the life of an automobile to 300k/400k/500k is one thing, but pushing 55k rated/warrantied tires to 82k is a pushing it just a ad too far in my book.

Unfortunately I developed a little pain in my back over the last few days after working on my car, so I'm not going to be so quick to touch it right now.

When I get the tires replaced, I will ask the tech to:
a) provide me with some feedback, as best they could, on the condition of the old tires (inside, some irregularity I didn't notice when I rotated them last week, etc.),
b) provide me with some feedback on my wheel bearings (by rocking the wheel 12/6 o'clock and 9/3 o'clock).

I've tried a few road tests on my own:
a) driving straight at various speeds (50mph, 20 and 10) and then turning the wheel back and forth quickly, then slowly - no difference in sound or feel
b) deactivating the 'Lane Assist' feature to see if that has any impact - none
c) in driving lot, at appx. 10-15mpg, continuous turning in circle, trying both directions - no difference in sound or feel.

Car drives perfectly straight on the road, no pull or drag.
No sound or feel difference when applying brakes.

After replacing the tires, if I still have the sound/effect, I will jack it up (back will be healed by then) and try the aforementioned (if tire tech couldn't/wouldn't do it). Next step would be to go to shop for checkup.
 
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