Tire Noise

[Chala95]

I am hearing a noise on my 2001 Chyrsler 300M like a tire rotatating in the rear when i am at high speeds. It almost sounds like the tire is wobbling. I feel nothing i just hear a faint noise that i never heard before. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[jdmccright]

First check the tire pressures. Make sure they are correct and even between left and right sides. Retest if they are out of spec.

Also inspect the tire tread to see if it is worn unevenly. Over/under-inflation can cause abnormal wear in the middle/outside edges, respectively. If it is cupped, that indicates a worn shock absorber/strut.

If they look okay, swap the rear tires left to right and see if the noise locations changes to the other side too or stops. If so it is the tire, if not it's coming from the hub or brake assembly.

Hope this helps!

[Chala95]

Originally Posted by jdmccright

First check the tire pressures. Make sure they are correct and even between left and right sides. Retest if they are out of spec.

Also inspect the tire tread to see if it is worn unevenly. Over/under-inflation can cause abnormal wear in the middle/outside edges, respectively. If it is cupped, that indicates a worn shock absorber/strut.

If they look okay, swap the rear tires left to right and see if the noise locations changes to the other side too or stops. If so it is the tire, if not it's coming from the hub or brake assembly.

Hope this helps!

Jdmccright, first thanks for responding, when you say "cupped" what exactly do you mean?

[jdmccright]

If you look at the tread, you will see circular or oval spots that are more worn than the surrounding tread.

[shorod]

When checking tire pressures, make sure you are setting them per the car's specs, not what's on the tire sidewall. There should be a sticker somewhere identifying the front and rear cold tire pressures. It may be in the driver's door jamb, it may be in a rear door jamb, it may be on a sticker inside the fuel filler door. Of course you can always check the owner's manual as well. Some cars call for different pressures front to rear. When the tires were rotated, assuming they were properly inflated to begin with, they may need to be adjusted now. Even if it's not the source of the sound, it's good maintenance practice anyway.

If whomever didn't properly torque the wheels when rotating them that could cause a noise but such a noise would often be less noticeable than the pulsating steering wheel and/or brake pedal when applying the brakes from highway speeds.

-Rod

[Chala95]

Originally Posted by jdmccright

If you look at the tread, you will see circular or oval spots that are more worn than the surrounding tread.

Jdmccright's thanks a lot :-))

Originally Posted by shorod

When checking tire pressures, make sure you are setting them per the car's specs, not what's on the tire sidewall. *There should be a sticker somewhere identifying the front and rear cold tire pressures. *It may be in the driver's door jamb, it may be in a rear door jamb, it may be on a sticker inside the fuel filler door. *Of course you can always check the owner's manual as well. *Some cars call for different pressures front to rear. *When the tires were rotated, assuming they were properly inflated to begin with, they may need to be adjusted now. *Even if it's not the source of the sound, it's good maintenance practice anyway. *
*
If whomever didn't properly torque the wheels when rotating them that could cause a noise but such a noise would often be less noticeable than the pulsating steering wheel and/or brake pedal when applying the brakes from highway speeds.

*
-Rod

Rod the tires are at 30 psi all around as per specs. I just bought the car used a month ago, not sure they have ever have been rotated. Now just to make sure when you say rotated do *you mean balancing? Or rotating involves switching front tires to back and visa versa?

[PressKean]

Hmm. From my experience, this somewhat tells me that they're just balancing problems. Try going to a mechanic and get your on-wheel balancing done and see if the problem's solved Just my 2 cents.

[Chala95]

Originally Posted by PressKean

Hmm. From my experience, this somewhat tells me that they're just balancing problems. Try going to a mechanic and get your on-wheel balancing done and see if the problem's solved Just my 2 cents.

Thanks PressKean two other friends suggested balancing as well. Since visual inspection went ok, and tire pressure is ok I think I will try that first and report back, thanks again.