2011 Ford Focus Road Noise

Hello, all. I purchased the above vehicle new, currently have about
41,000 miles on it, and it's been running fine. One thing I've noticed
over the last few months is an apparent increase in road noise. Cold
tire pressures are at 32 lbs and there's no apparent damage to any of
the tires. I'm hearing what sounds like an out-of-round or out-balance
something. Instead of a continuous smooth whirr you get that cycling
kind of sound at rate that increases with increasing speed when on the
road. By the time you are going 55 mph or above it's not noticeable
except for the road noise. Definitely not a grinding noise. The
check-engine indicator is dark. Anyone experience anything similar?
Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,
--
J. B. Wood e-mail:

J.B. Wood > wrote:
>Hello, all. I purchased the above vehicle new, currently have about
>41,000 miles on it, and it's been running fine. One thing I've noticed
>over the last few months is an apparent increase in road noise. Cold
>tire pressures are at 32 lbs and there's no apparent damage to any of
>the tires. I'm hearing what sounds like an out-of-round or out-balance
>something. Instead of a continuous smooth whirr you get that cycling
>kind of sound at rate that increases with increasing speed when on the
>road. By the time you are going 55 mph or above it's not noticeable
>except for the road noise. Definitely not a grinding noise. The
>check-engine indicator is dark. Anyone experience anything similar?
>Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,

If you have four-year old tires with 41,000 miles on it, perhaps it's time
to change them, even if the tread looks fine. Mind you, you might have
something else. I have even seen manufacturing defects cause bearing failures
at such a young age.

If you rotate the tires, does the sound change or move?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 15:00:55 -0400, "J.B. Wood"
> wrote:

>Hello, all. I purchased the above vehicle new, currently have about
>41,000 miles on it, and it's been running fine. One thing I've noticed
>over the last few months is an apparent increase in road noise. Cold
>tire pressures are at 32 lbs and there's no apparent damage to any of
>the tires. I'm hearing what sounds like an out-of-round or out-balance
>something. Instead of a continuous smooth whirr you get that cycling
>kind of sound at rate that increases with increasing speed when on the
>road. By the time you are going 55 mph or above it's not noticeable
>except for the road noise. Definitely not a grinding noise. The
>check-engine indicator is dark. Anyone experience anything similar?
>Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,

Put it in neutral, and run the engine rpm up through the range where
you hear the noise on the road. If you hear it then, it's going to be
something to do with the belt or the belt driven accessories, or
possibly the exhaust. If you hear it only while the car is moving, run
your hands over the circumference of the tires, and across the entire
width. It will be obvious if the tires are scalloped. You should also
be able to see this by looking at both the inside and outside edges of
the tires. If they are, the noise might get a little better when they
are moved, but the only cure is to replace them.

The "cycling" part of the description makes me think it's the
serpentine belt or exhaust, but I suppose a really bad tire noise
could set up a vibration in the car.

On 10/27/2015 03:04 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> J.B. Wood > wrote:
>> Hello, all. I purchased the above vehicle new, currently have about
>> 41,000 miles on it, and it's been running fine. One thing I've noticed
>> over the last few months is an apparent increase in road noise. Cold
>> tire pressures are at 32 lbs and there's no apparent damage to any of
>> the tires. I'm hearing what sounds like an out-of-round or out-balance
>> something. Instead of a continuous smooth whirr you get that cycling
>> kind of sound at rate that increases with increasing speed when on the
>> road. By the time you are going 55 mph or above it's not noticeable
>> except for the road noise. Definitely not a grinding noise. The
>> check-engine indicator is dark. Anyone experience anything similar?
>> Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,
>
> If you have four-year old tires with 41,000 miles on it, perhaps it's time
> to change them, even if the tread looks fine. Mind you, you might have
> something else. I have even seen manufacturing defects cause bearing failures
> at such a young age.
>
> If you rotate the tires, does the sound change or move?
> --scott
>

Thanks for the reply, Scott. I've been rotating them at each oil change
in the "X" style IAW my owner's manual. The tires currently on the
vehicle that were installed at the Ford assembly plant are Hankook
"Optimo", H725 P195/60R15, tread-wear grade 620. I'm not due for
another oil change just yet so I can't answer your question (I really
don't want to rotate them by myself). Sincerely,
--
J. B. Wood e-mail:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2015 15:00:55 -0400, "J.B. Wood"
> wrote:

>Hello, all. I purchased the above vehicle new, currently have about
>41,000 miles on it, and it's been running fine. One thing I've noticed
>over the last few months is an apparent increase in road noise. Cold
>tire pressures are at 32 lbs and there's no apparent damage to any of
>the tires. I'm hearing what sounds like an out-of-round or out-balance
>something. Instead of a continuous smooth whirr you get that cycling
>kind of sound at rate that increases with increasing speed when on the
>road. By the time you are going 55 mph or above it's not noticeable
>except for the road noise. Definitely not a grinding noise. The
>check-engine indicator is dark. Anyone experience anything similar?
>Thanks for your time and comment. Sincerely,


Check the wheel bearings. One of them could be going bad. Maybe
could be a cv joint. Maybe it's your ears or the weather. I'm not
joking, some days my cars just seem noisier then other days. It can
also be the roads you are driving on. Noise caused by different road
texture can vary significantly, as much as 10 decibels. A change of 3
decibels is easily noticeable.