PE

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!

Brian Smith

On 1/23/2010 8:08 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!

The noise you're hearing may well be the tires on the car. What reason
did this dealership give you for not taking your car on a test drive on
a rainy day? Are they fair-weather mechanics?

PE

They said the splashing noises made by the tires on the wet pavement would
mask the road noise I was complaining about and to come back for a test
drive when the pavement was dry, which I'm about to do. I know what you're
thinking but I've dealt with lots of dealers in the past and I did not get
the feeling (yet!) that they were trying to kick the can down the road or
look the other way (although I expect that IS what will happen if I ask them
to replace the OEM tires with a set that doesn't sing).

"Brian Smith" <Halifax@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote in message
news:hjga7v$jm1$1@news.datemas.de...
> On 1/23/2010 8:08 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!
>
> The noise you're hearing may well be the tires on the car. What reason did
> this dealership give you for not taking your car on a test drive on a
> rainy day? Are they fair-weather mechanics?
>

J.L.Hemmer

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:08:49 -0800, "PE" <ple@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>
>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!
>

FWIW: My wife has a 2008 EX Civic. It actually seems a bit quieter
than my '01 Accord. Nothing unusual about the road noise

NoMoreRGS

Your description of the noise makes me think it's coming from steel
belted radials. They often make a whining noise on concrete pavement
especially at highway speeds (much less on asphalt). Usually
progressively worse starting around 40mph.

Check out the civic forums as it would most likely be brought up
there. Here are a few:
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/index.php
http://www.honda-tech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=79
http://www.hondacivicforum.com/forum/


On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:21:59 -0800, "PE" <ple@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>They said the splashing noises made by the tires on the wet pavement would
>mask the road noise I was complaining about and to come back for a test
>drive when the pavement was dry, which I'm about to do. I know what you're
>thinking but I've dealt with lots of dealers in the past and I did not get
>the feeling (yet!) that they were trying to kick the can down the road or
>look the other way (although I expect that IS what will happen if I ask them
>to replace the OEM tires with a set that doesn't sing).
>
>"Brian Smith" <Halifax@NovaScotia.Canada> wrote in message
>news:hjga7v$jm1$1@news.datemas.de...
>> On 1/23/2010 8:08 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!
>>
>> The noise you're hearing may well be the tires on the car. What reason did
>> this dealership give you for not taking your car on a test drive on a
>> rainy day? Are they fair-weather mechanics?
>>
>

ACAR

On Jan 23, 7:08 pm, "PE" <p...@ix.netcom.com> 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.
snip

test drive another Civic and compare noise levels

if yours is noisier go to an auto parts store, buy a $2 tire tread
depth gauge and measure the tread depth across all 4 of your tires.
see

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=148

if you find uneven wear have a chat with the dealer.