Hey. Sorry this is SO long......Ok. got my coolant issue pinned down. Now I have a freaking tire noise that is just annoying. I bought a new set of Falkens 2 years ago, only have 3K miles on them now in 2 years. No problem with them, great tires, good ride, wearing nice and even! A miracle!
I go to Tires Plus every few months for rotation/balance. And front end alignment, I bought the 'road hazard warranty', when I bought the set of tires there, so its 'free' to do now.
Anyway. I had them rotated/balanced 2 months ago, at Tires Plus, and for like the last month or so, I have noticed, I THINK, the front drivers side tire, is making like a low 'humming' noise, (like when you go over a bridge that has a metal middle), the part that goes up. Kind of that sound. The alignment is perfect, it doesn't shake, the tires are wearing perfectly, (a miracle on this car!) 3rd set in 33K miles!
So Tires Plus told me yesterday that I need new tires!!! I flipped out! I told this dolt, that 'I bought them here 2 years ago, maybe 2K miles ago, it's 3K miles, WOW!. They WERE quite till I had the rotation/balance done two months ago THERE, and you want me to buy a new set of tires?!!!' What about the 50K mile warranty on the tires? I have the rotation and balance done like every 4 months, front end alignment done 2 times a year, no flats, I dont go racing on them, I drive like an old woman to TRY and get 19MPG! He agrees with me, and says that the tires are in fine shape, but the amount of tire wear is at the point that road noise is starting to come into the cabin. I told him I know the road noise, I like it. I like a 'Mercedes hard ride', (hey they have a nice firm ride on nice hard Michelins,) but have learned to keep THESE tires at the low soft pressure they insist on, for the warranty to stay good. But I dont mind road noise, I am use to it. The car doesn't have tons of sound insulation...but I dont need new tires!
So he is saying it is just the way the car is, and the type of tires, and I said these are not cheap Chinese ones, I bought them when I HAD money, and yOU told me it was this set, or Primewells...at the time I was putting a new set on. That was my choice. These are 'high performance' tires, I know. Not 'touring tires', like I wanted. But this noise is just annoying. IF it were some mechanical problem, i would think they would say , 'you need wheel bearings, or CV joints, or whatever'...but he didnt bring up any mechanical problem. He said the ties are wearing evenly and there is no problem with them, it is just the car, and the compound the tires are made out of. That THIS car rides quiet to a certain point of tire wear, and then it will make this humming noise. Then he tries to sell me a set of Firestones at half off, because I pitched a fit, that at 3K miles and 2 years, I dont need new tires!!!, so it was $325 out the door with the full road hazard warranty, the lifetime alignment all the extras included. So..what the hell is going on?
Anyone else have this issue? I have gone through 3 sets of cheap tires, the originals, a WalMart set, for under $250, and when I could afford a GOOD set, I bought these. Like I said, they had 2 sets of tires that fit the car. These and the Primewells, and those are just to cheap,and Chinese!
So...I can believe that the car is making this noise, at this point in time, with these tires, just because it is the car and the tire combo. There is nothing wrong with the tires, if I want to put up with listening to the noise i'm ok, not going to get a blow out or anything. I've tried to listen to ' tire Humming' on You Tube' , and those noises are WAY louder and different than mine. And those are all wheel bearings that are worn out.
That cant be the problem. Can it? I had the rear ones repacked/replaced over a year ago, but for the front to start to make this noise right after they did the rotation and balance, (I just kept putting it off, till I could go get it looked at), and this front tire didn't/doesn't have ANY of those tire weights on them. The guy insists that the tire is so well balanced it doesn't need any weights to balance it. THATS why i went there, thinking they forgot to put weights on it to balance it.
But it doesnt shake or vibrate. So...any ideas? Could it just be that Aveos make this noise with most any tire, except like 'touring tires' or top line Michelins or Firestones? , and at a certain amount of tire wear is gone. And that any 'high performance' tire will cause this sound, eventually. OR what else could it be??? Thanks guys.