Road noise from wheels

I have an '09 GT with 27k miles, 5 speed. Stock besides CBE.

 

There has been a very annoying whirring noise coming from the wheels. It increases with speed, and am trying to diagnose it.

 

Subaru checked it out and found nothing. They did a full inspection, including checking all wheel bearings and found nothing wrong.

 

I'm thinking it may be my stock tires, the RE92s. They have plenty of tread left but are literally cracking. Would this cause road noise?

 

Thanks in advance

does it sound like its coming from the speakers? cause i kinda get a little whinning noise and it sounds like a bad ground or something.

get rid of your tires ASAP. cracking is dry rot and dry rotted tires will blow out

does it sound like its coming from the speakers? cause i kinda get a little whinning noise and it sounds like a bad ground or something.

 

Nope, definitely coming from outside the car. Sounds like part of the drive train.

 

Stoplightassassin,

 

Hmmm, that's weird how the dealership didn't mention anything like that, you'd think they'd try to find a problem wrong so they could get money. I will have to take it to a tire shop and see what they can do. I have been meaning to get rid of these RE92s. Everybody says that they are the worst all season tire.

Hmmm, that's weird how the dealership didn't mention anything like that, you'd think they'd try to find a problem wrong so they could get money. I will have to take it to a tire shop and see what they can do. I have been meaning to get rid of these RE92s. Everybody says that they are the worst all season tire.

 

They may have missed it. They might've just taken your car for a test drive and chalked it up to tire noise. Cracking sidewalls is no joke. If the sidewalls are cracking the tread is probably pretty beat up too and ready to come off.

 

Getting rid of the RE92s is really the first upgrade any LGT owner should do. Get a set of RE960AS or Conti DWS if you're gonna stay with all seasons.

i got nexan 5000's. i only bought them cause when i bought my car the previous owner had just put on 2 brand new nexan 5000s in the back so i matched the front with those. They're fine in the snow. Well California snow. i wasn't buried much more than a fist deep in snow and slush all over the roads up in big bear ski resort and got out and drove around completely fine. as far as a performance summer tire i don't know. I haven't done any sporty driving cause my driving record is less than pleasant and I'm trying to get that gone lol. 1 more yr

I'm experiencing the same thing with my 05. bringing it in this weekend, but curious what you found, if anything. was it the tires?

does the sound ever change depending on what road surface your driving on?

 

Right now i'm giving my tires credit for all of the road noise i hear. they are the re92's almost down to the wear bar. I hate driving in the rain with the current tires.

well, there's no change based on road surface nor is it engine noise (in neutral it sounds the same), Nor is it brakes (no sound change when engaging them).

 

I think it's bearings. I'm running Conti DWS with only 10kmiles at the most. the sound is lounder when tracking straight...turning the wheels noticably reduces the noise.

 

if this turns out to be bearings, would it be covered under warranty? I've got about 57k miles on the Leggy.

There has been a very annoying whirring noise coming from the wheels. It increases with speed, and am trying to diagnose it.

 

Subaru checked it out and found nothing. They did a full inspection, including checking all wheel bearings and found nothing wrong.

 

If it's a high-pitched "jet engine" sound that increases with speed, I'd definitely say it's the wheel bearings.

All dealerships are not created equal: I'd say take it to a different one for another opinion, if possible.

 

I had one dealership absolutely refuse to do a warranty replacement on a $50 wheel bearing at like 9k miles because of my aftermarket springs. A couple years later I had some service done at a different dealership, and when I picked up the car they told me, "btw, we noticed that 2 of your wheel bearings were bad, so we went ahead and replaced them under warranty."

I'm having the same problem. They checked it out last month saying it was the tires because I also complained of the steering wheel vibration so they rotated & balanced the tires. But the noise is still there. Sounds worse for me when it's wet out and doesn't change noise regardless of road surface. I'm going in tomorrow to get it checked out again so I'll post what they find.

make sure its documented that you brought it in before 60k for the noise. Otherwise SOA will give you the finger and say your SOL.

So they checked out the noise and then the blamed it on the tires saying the noise is excessive because of the design I KNOW it's not the tires because the noise is bad slowing down even to 5 MPH. I highly doubt the tires would make that loud of a noise at 5 MPH. If it was the tires I would assume the noise would change depending on the road condition, and it doesn't! I also noticed that every time I put the rear defroster on the radio turns to static a WELL documented problem and the service manager says "It costs $90 to diagnose it, did you want it diagnosed?" I refused because I KNOW whats wrong with it, there's a break in the rear defroster grid and it causes the interference, but they still want to charge me $90? Sorry to vent but I had to let it out:lol:

stop going to the stealership noobie

 

they won't even think about trying to attempt to consider possibly looking at your car until you cough up some money. go to a local reputable shop if you want results.

It's my only option until I find a good indy shop! I've owned a couple of cars and never went to the dealer.

it might be the seal on the wheel bearing. Happened to my car a few months back. Small rubber fins run directional on the seal.On the drivers side the fins run in the wrong direction causing a rubber against metal squealing noise. Dealership ran a small feller gauge through the hub cutting off the fins. Instantly no noise. Mechanic said he has fixed over hundred cars with this issue.

its the tires....the shitty continental all seasons.....i purchased my 08 leggy with 24,000 mile on it and it was making that sound. i thought this sounds cool....like the boxer engine/powertrain/exhaust.....welll....now im at 30,000 miles and the sound is basically unbearable.im bringing it in on thursday.it dosent fluxuate with the rpms or with different road types, just with the wheel speed.

actually my car has stock yokohamas all weather

mine got louder when i slowed down. put new tires on and still made the noise. took it to dealership before a 1000 mile road trip and they fixed it in under an hour.most all weather tires are noisy

MIne turned out to be a bad Front DS bearing.

Well they won't look at it again because they think it's the tires. So in order to change their mind I will have to buy new tires:mad: I would take it to an indy shop but this dealer had a "warranty" for 30 days and since I complained before then, they'll fix it for free. I wish I could record the sound and post it but it's too hard because of wind noise. It's at its worse when I slow down to 5mph, I can even feel the vibration in the brake pedal.

see if anyone local will swap wheels and tires with you?

It's got to be your wheel bearings! I have Kumho Ecsta ASX tires on and we all know they are not the quietest tires. I gave a friend of mine a ride one day and he noticed the noise coming from the rear wheels. I told him it was my tires, but i took it to the dealer anyway. The dealer found the rear bearings to be the problem and fixed it under warranty. If your dealer won't fix it, just try taking it to another one like someone suggested. BTW, I got my tires from tirerack.com about 2yrs ago, $60 each, 225/45/17. Could not pass up that price, maybe they were running a special.

The wheel bearings warranty is only for the rear, they won't cover the front. Mine is vibrating the gas pedal with a whop whop whop, and i know its not my tires because I have a new set of Falken Ziexes. I also hear a small rattle when going over bumpy surfaces. Got a handyman that worked as a mechanic for years thats gonna fix for me for less than $100...including new brakes lol yippee!

It wound up being the rear hub bearing.still under warranty. I still hate the stock Yokohama all weather...the where so crappy in the snow. I kinda miss the sound know, I can see myself going for an exhaust in the near future .......any ideas......I.gotta.say I.have had bad dealer experiences .....and I have good ones....grand prix I hicksville ny is defiantly a great place. I put 6000 miles on my renowned legacy and the brake light came on. They changed out my front pads and motors for free.