2009 Civic Ex excessive road noise

Hi all: I have a 2009 Civic EX that I purchased new about 5 mos. ago. Love
the car, but it has one feature that concerns me a bit, which is that the
ride is excessively noisy at speeds above 35mph. It sounds, and sometimes
feels through the steering wheel, like the effects that are typically
experienced when driving over the metal grate surface of a draw bridge. It
is sometimes so loud that it becomes difficult to hear the radio. The noise
is muted considerably when driving over freshly applied smooth asphalt, and
when the pavement is wet, so I'm thinking the noise might be from the tires
on the pavement. I inquired at the dealership during the 5000 mi. service,
but it was raining heavily that day and they declined to test drive it.
I've read that road noise is loud in Civics, but what I've experienced seems
excessive. Would appreciate any advice re. how to determine whether road
noise described above is normal operating sound, or possibly symptomatic of
problem or potential problem that will need to be addressed. Thanks for
your replies!

On 1/23/2010 4:14 PM, PE wrote:
> Hi all: I have a 2009 Civic EX that I purchased new about 5 mos. ago. Love
> the car, but it has one feature that concerns me a bit, which is that the
> ride is excessively noisy at speeds above 35mph. It sounds, and sometimes
> feels through the steering wheel, like the effects that are typically
> experienced when driving over the metal grate surface of a draw bridge. It
> is sometimes so loud that it becomes difficult to hear the radio. The noise
> is muted considerably when driving over freshly applied smooth asphalt, and
> when the pavement is wet, so I'm thinking the noise might be from the tires
> on the pavement. I inquired at the dealership during the 5000 mi. service,
> but it was raining heavily that day and they declined to test drive it.
> I've read that road noise is loud in Civics, but what I've experienced seems
> excessive. Would appreciate any advice re. how to determine whether road
> noise described above is normal operating sound, or possibly symptomatic of
> problem or potential problem that will need to be addressed. Thanks for
> your replies!
>
>

Pray your tires wear out quickly and you have to replace them with
something better. What are they putting on 2009 Civic Ex's at the
factory these days? I hate factory Michelin's. Is that what you have?

dan

Each tire is a Bridgestone Turanza EL400. You think it could be the tires?
Why?
Thanks!

"dan" > wrote in message
. ..
> On 1/23/2010 4:14 PM, PE wrote:
>> Hi all: I have a 2009 Civic EX that I purchased new about 5 mos. ago.
>> Love
>> the car, but it has one feature that concerns me a bit, which is that the
>> ride is excessively noisy at speeds above 35mph. It sounds, and
>> sometimes
>> feels through the steering wheel, like the effects that are typically
>> experienced when driving over the metal grate surface of a draw bridge.
>> It
>> is sometimes so loud that it becomes difficult to hear the radio. The
>> noise
>> is muted considerably when driving over freshly applied smooth asphalt,
>> and
>> when the pavement is wet, so I'm thinking the noise might be from the
>> tires
>> on the pavement. I inquired at the dealership during the 5000 mi.
>> service,
>> but it was raining heavily that day and they declined to test drive it.
>> I've read that road noise is loud in Civics, but what I've experienced
>> seems
>> excessive. Would appreciate any advice re. how to determine whether road
>> noise described above is normal operating sound, or possibly symptomatic
>> of
>> problem or potential problem that will need to be addressed. Thanks for
>> your replies!
>>
>>
>
> Pray your tires wear out quickly and you have to replace them with
> something better. What are they putting on 2009 Civic Ex's at the factory
> these days? I hate factory Michelin's. Is that what you have?
>
> dan
>
>

> . ..
>> On 1/23/2010 4:14 PM, PE wrote:
>>> Hi all: I have a 2009 Civic EX that I purchased new about 5 mos. ago.
>>> Love
>>> the car, but it has one feature that concerns me a bit, which is that the
>>> ride is excessively noisy at speeds above 35mph. It sounds, and
>>> sometimes
>>> feels through the steering wheel, like the effects that are typically
>>> experienced when driving over the metal grate surface of a draw bridge.
>>> It
>>> is sometimes so loud that it becomes difficult to hear the radio. The
>>> noise
>>> is muted considerably when driving over freshly applied smooth asphalt,
>>> and
>>> when the pavement is wet, so I'm thinking the noise might be from the
>>> tires
>>> on the pavement. I inquired at the dealership during the 5000 mi.
>>> service,
>>> but it was raining heavily that day and they declined to test drive it.
>>> I've read that road noise is loud in Civics, but what I've experienced
>>> seems
>>> excessive. Would appreciate any advice re. how to determine whether road
>>> noise described above is normal operating sound, or possibly symptomatic
>>> of
>>> problem or potential problem that will need to be addressed. Thanks for
>>> your replies!
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Pray your tires wear out quickly and you have to replace them with
>> something better. What are they putting on 2009 Civic Ex's at the factory
>> these days? I hate factory Michelin's. Is that what you have?
>>
>> dan
>>
>>
>
>
On 1/23/2010 4:31 PM, PE wrote:
> Each tire is a Bridgestone Turanza EL400. You think it could be the
tires?
> Why?
> Thanks!

Factory tires can suck. They are made by the millions and are not
necessarily the best quality. I don't claim to know about the
"Bridgestone Turanza EL400's" personally, but I am providing a link:
http://www.tirerack.com/survey/Surve...ommentStatus=P

They appear to worsen over a short time. Get a good set of tires (look
at tirerack.com ratings) and enjoy your car.

dan

On 1/23/10 6:14 PM, in article , "PE"
> wrote:

> Hi all: I have a 2009 Civic EX that I purchased new about 5 mos. ago. Love
> the car, but it has one feature that concerns me a bit, which is that the
> ride is excessively noisy at speeds above 35mph. It sounds, and sometimes
> feels through the steering wheel, like the effects that are typically
> experienced when driving over the metal grate surface of a draw bridge. It
> is sometimes so loud that it becomes difficult to hear the radio. The noise
> is muted considerably when driving over freshly applied smooth asphalt, and
> when the pavement is wet, so I'm thinking the noise might be from the tires
> on the pavement. I inquired at the dealership during the 5000 mi. service,
> but it was raining heavily that day and they declined to test drive it.
> I've read that road noise is loud in Civics, but what I've experienced seems
> excessive. Would appreciate any advice re. how to determine whether road
> noise described above is normal operating sound, or possibly symptomatic of
> problem or potential problem that will need to be addressed. Thanks for
> your replies!
>
>

Hondas are known for excessive road noise. Check any car reviews, its
always listed as a negative. You can ameliorate it some with different
tires, but it will never go away.

E. Meyer > wrote:
> Hondas are known for excessive road noise. Check any car reviews, its
> always listed as a negative. You can ameliorate it some with different
> tires, but it will never go away.

I've only had my Honda for six and half years, but one day, I intend to put
some sort of material, like the old spray on "undercoating", on the
backside of the plastic drum-skins that are used for the front fender
liners.

I've had a few different sets of tires, and they don't seem to make much
difference.

It's reasonably quiet on decent roads, but worn down tar and gravel is much
worse than it needs to be.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5