If you’ve ever experienced road noise or cabin noise, you know how disruptive it can be when you’re trying to cover it up with the radio or talk with your passengers over the noise. Not only is this road noise a disturbance, but it can also be a sign that there’s something bigger going on with your car. But what is that bigger issue? It could be anything from misaligned tires, uneven wear on your tires, and bad or worn brakes to bearing issues to exhaust damage. Determine what your culprit might be by reading below!
Road noise is not a pleasant sound— whether it’s humming, growling, or squealing, it’s loud and persistent while your vehicle is in motion. So what causes these different types of noises?
A consistent humming or grinding noise while driving can be a sign of a few different problems:
A very common reason that your vehicle may have a humming or grinding noise is due to bad wheel bearings. Bearings go bad over time from driving on all kinds of roads and weather conditions. It’s important to get your bearings greased during maintenance to prevent excessive heat and buildup, which will also prevent the metal from distorting. Distortion can also happen if a vehicle hasn’t been in use for a while and the lubrication inside the bearings begins to dry out. You can avoid this by taking your vehicle on a short drive every so often.
At Wonderland, our professional mechanics can ensure that your bearing repair is done correctly and efficiently to get you back on the road.
When the squealing or grinding noise coming from the vehicle gets louder and higher pitched when you increase the speed of the vehicle, your wheel bearings are to blame. However, if the noise doesn’t get louder in volume or pitch, this could mean your wheels are misaligned or your tires under-inflated.
When your wheels are misaligned, more stress is put on your wheel bearings, resulting in their premature failure. This stress also causes one or all of your tires to scrub on the pavement, resulting in a squealing noise.
Are you hearing a humming or growling noise coming from the front end of your vehicle while driving? This could be a clear indication of damage to your exhaust or even exhaust failure. The exhaust can break or crack due to corrosion from high-stress conditions that over time corrode the exhaust system. Noises related to exhaust damage will become louder with acceleration and will only get worse if not repaired.
If you’ve ruled out that your cabin noise isn’t coming from bad wheel bearings, under-inflated tires, or misalignment, the noise might be related to the type of tires that are installed on your vehicle.
Some tires are noisier than others based on their design. All-terrain tires have open shoulders which slightly increase the noise on the highway. While you can try to pick quiet tires, inevitably, specific classes of tires will always be noisier than others.
Tire problems can also be a cause of road noise. Uneven tread, under-inflated tires, and even taking corners at high speeds can cause tire noise.
Cabin noise comes from a combination of the road’s terrain and texture, the wind, and the vehicle itself (exhaust system, wheel bearings, your tires, etc). It’s important to choose your tires wisely so it will help aid in how smooth and quiet your ride will be. When shopping for new tires, choose a narrow tire with soft rubber and a small tread design for a quiet ride.
You can prevent road noise by getting your exhaust/muffler checked and repaired at the first sign of a louder-than-usual drive, keeping up on tire-related maintenance so that your bearings can be inspected, keep up on your alignments, etc. However, some factors such as the condition of the road, wind, and other weather. If you do run across a problem with your tires, Wonderland offers repair services to get your vehicle back on the road.
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