Weird rumbling/helicopter like noise coming from car recently.

Danny17

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Hey everyone,

Recently I noticed that my car has been making a weird rumbling noise while I'm driving it. The sound kind of goes like this (imagine as if the car is accelerating)

booooom....boooom...boo0m boom boom boom boom.

Basically, like a helicopter like noise but subdued or quite. The noise is most noticeable at higher speeds at around 80-100KM/h. Also, the car does not feel unstable or imbalanced. Still feels pretty smooth, not pulling in any one direction, generally stable.

It's a 2016 civic EX 4dr with the stock Firestone tires. I plan on taking the car later to the dealership this week to have them check it out but thought I'd also post here in the meanwhile to see if anyone had any similar problems.
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_dc_

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Could be one of your tires. Does the rumbling sound increase in speed with your vehicle speed? Maybe a rock stuck in the tread or a nail or possibly a bubble in the tire. Could also be an alignment or balance issue. Have you recently hit a pothole or a curb at speed?
 
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Danny17

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Are your rear windows down or sunroof open when you hear this?
No, the noise is most noticeable when the windows are up and the sunroof is closed. With the windows down the noise is masked due to noise from other cars and wind.

Could be one of your tires. Does the rumbling sound increase in speed with your vehicle speed? Maybe a rock stuck in the tread or a nail or possibly a bubble in the tire. Could also be an alignment or balance issue. Have you recently hit a pothole or a curb at speed?
Well, the noise doesn't get louder with speed but it becomes faster or more repetitive if that makes sense. I actually live in a town that's considered to be one of the fastest developing towns in the country, lots of construction going on with lots of unfinished roads.
 

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No, the noise is most noticeable when the windows are up and the sunroof is closed. With the windows down the noise is masked due to noise from other cars and wind.



Well, the noise doesn't get louder with speed but it becomes faster or more repetitive if that makes sense. I actually live in a town that's considered to be one of the fastest developing towns in the country, lots of construction going on with lots of unfinished roads.
Check tires for deformities nails screw etc, if tires look good it can still be a few things, you could have a bent wheel although that's not as likely, another possible issue could be an axle however that sound would be higher frequency than what you describe. Keep us posted though.
 


_dc_

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No, the noise is most noticeable when the windows are up and the sunroof is closed. With the windows down the noise is masked due to noise from other cars and wind.



Well, the noise doesn't get louder with speed but it becomes faster or more repetitive if that makes sense. I actually live in a town that's considered to be one of the fastest developing towns in the country, lots of construction going on with lots of unfinished roads.
If the thumping gets faster as you drive faster, then it's likely related to the tire, wheels or axle. My guess would be a bubble/bulge in the tread or a balance issue. Is it the in the front or back of the car, left or right side?
 
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Danny17

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Check tires for deformities nails screw etc, if tires look good it can still be a few things, you could have a bent wheel although that's not as likely, another possible issue could be an axle however that sound would be higher frequency than what you describe. Keep us posted though.
If the thumping gets faster as you drive faster, then it's likely related to the tire, wheels or axle. My guess would be a bubble/bulge in the tread or a balance issue. Is it the in the front or back of the car, left or right side?
So I took the car today to the dealer and had them check it out. Before that though, I forgot one detail I should have mentioned in my original post. I took the car to a beach 2 1/2 hours north of my house and had full sized adults in the back, and the trunk also had quite a lot of weight due to it carry coolers, canopy, bags, etc. That's when I started to hear the noise originally, this was about 2 weeks ago.

Anyways I took the car today and had a tech drive it on the highway. Funny thing though was that the noise wasn't as prevalent as before like we could hear it somewhat but the tech said the car seemed to be fine to him and it's most likely due to road noise. Still, they took the car for inspection on a hoist. I was later informed that the tires needed to be rotated since they weren't done since 2 services ago but they also found the rear brake rotors were scored quite a bit especially the rear passenger rotor, and that they would need to replace them soon.

Here are some pics.
Rear Passenger Brake Rotor
Honda Civic 10th gen Weird rumbling/helicopter like noise coming from car recently. Rear passenger brake rotor


Rear Driver Brake Rotor
Honda Civic 10th gen Weird rumbling/helicopter like noise coming from car recently. Rear Driver Brake Rotor



The servicing associate said that they can still be used for a little while longer but he recommends I get them replaced during when I bring the car in for servicing next(around 2100KM left) and that it would cost $410+tax. I called another Honda dealership nearby and they said it would be $298 which includes parts and labor. So clearly these guys are trying to oversell me here and I'm probably not bringing it back to them.

But can someone with more mechanical knowledge explain to me how scored brake rotors could have been causing the noise for a car traveling at a constant velocity which is when the noise is more noticeable? Also is this something I should get replaced ASAP or get them changed during when it needs servicing next? The car has 45000KM on it and I wasn't expecting to get these part replaced this early, but I guess shit happens.

Appreciate the help.
 

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Looks like you had a rock stuck there for a bit.
And too me they dont look bad I have seen way worse that I never changed out till I started to see cracks
 

ez12a

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a low rumbling noise that gets worse under braking is toe wear on the tires (kind of a low WAH WAH WAH WAH noise, rhythmic pulsing noise). Feel the inside edge of the tires in the rear of the car (or the fronts if you had them rotated). If it has uneven wear like a saw blade, where the leading edge of the tire block is higher than the trailing edge, that is toe wear.

Toe gets all out of whack when you have a lot of weight in the back (or when you lower the car without an alignment). Combined with not having the tires rotated for 10k+ miles (2 service intervals), you've ended up with unevenly worn tires. It's important to rotate your tires every time you get your oil changed to avoid this problem, which is inherent to FWD alignment.

My old integra had this problem. A lot of pulsing tire noise due to uneven wear on the inner edge of my tires.

the brake scoring is another issue, probably unrelated to your tire noise.
 


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Danny17

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a low rumbling noise that gets worse under braking is toe wear on the tires (kind of a low WAH WAH WAH WAH noise, rhythmic pulsing noise). Feel the inside edge of the tires in the rear of the car (or the fronts if you had them rotated). If it has uneven wear like a saw blade, where the leading edge of the tire block is higher than the trailing edge, that is toe wear.

Toe gets all out of whack when you have a lot of weight in the back (or when you lower the car without an alignment). Combined with not having the tires rotated for 10k+ miles (2 service intervals), you've ended up with unevenly worn tires. It's important to rotate your tires every time you get your oil changed to avoid this problem, which is inherent to FWD alignment.

My old integra had this problem. A lot of pulsing tire noise due to uneven wear on the inner edge of my tires.

the brake scoring is another issue, probably unrelated to your tire noise.
Thanks for your input, I think the toe wear might actually be the reason for the noise. Because since rotating the tires a few days ago the noise is louder and I can feel it now in the steering. The noise gets louder and the rumbling feeling get worse with acceleration and high speeds. When braking the noise is still there but then goes away at speeds less than 20KM/h so I was a little confused as to how the brake rotors could solely be responsible for all that noise.

So what solution do you propose there? Should I just get all the tires replaced asap? I was never really a fan of these Firestone tires anyways.
 

ez12a

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Since you've rotated the tires to the front, you can now feel the wear through the wheel and the noise is in front instead of the back.

I dont know if there's a way to resolve this other than getting new tires. I dont know how normal the practice is of "shaving" tires (like for racing) to correct uneven wear.

Safest and most cost effective bet is to just get another pair to replace the noisy ones or set of 4 tires.
 
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Danny17

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Since you've rotated the tires to the front, you can now feel the wear through the wheel and the noise is in front instead of the back.

I dont know if there's a way to resolve this other than getting new tires. I dont know how normal the practice is of "shaving" tires (like for racing) to correct uneven wear.

Safest and most cost effective bet is to just get another pair to replace the noisy ones or set of 4 tires.
Do you have any recommendations on a good set? I want something that reduces as much noise as possible and provides a smooth ride. I was on tire rack the other day, and saw some continental pure contact, I heard they're pretty good.
 

ez12a

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Do you have any recommendations on a good set? I want something that reduces as much noise as possible and provides a smooth ride. I was on tire rack the other day, and saw some continental pure contact, I heard they're pretty good.
I've had positive experiences with Continental DWS/06 and their cheaper cousin General AS-05. I'd recommend them both for a long lasting, all season tire.
 
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Danny17

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I've had positive experiences with Continental DWS/06 and their cheaper cousin General AS-05. I'd recommend them both for a long lasting, all season tire.
Thanks for the help, appreciate it.
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