Tire issues

Magus`

So I've had this recurring tire issue. On the highway, around 65-70 my tire starts to make a thumping sound. It comes and goes with no real pattern. I had the tire checked and they saw no issue. I had the tires rotated and the sound moved with the tire so I'm 100% sure which one it is.

Any idea? Something easy to miss? Thanks in advance!

LostNinja

I would assume they did this while inspecting and rotating the tire, but it's balanced right? I've had the shaking thing happen at high speeds when my tires weren't balanced.

Magus`

I assume so! I may get a second opinion. The tire is fairly new, too.

DasUberEdward

Can you explain a bit more about the sound moving with the tire?

Magus`

Thumping sound, like you're rapidly hitting the world's smallest speed bumps. Only happens at high speeds, but not immediately and doesn't last the entire trip. Once in awhile it makes a really loud thumping sound like I physically hit something. Checked the tires at every stop and nothing ever caught in them.

Edit: As in it went from back passenger to front passenger side. That's how they rotated the wheels, so.

dispatch.o

Magus` wrote: »

Thumping sound, like you're rapidly hitting the world's smallest speed bumps. Only happens at high speeds, but not immediately and doesn't last the entire trip. Once in awhile it makes a really loud thumping sound like I physically hit something. Checked the tires at every stop and nothing ever caught in them.

Edit: As in it went from back passenger to front passenger side. That's how they rotated the wheels, so.

Has me wondering if when they set the tire on the rim they left a present inside the tire or rim.

Darkewolfe

Possible uneven wear on that specific tire from it having been out of balance?

spool32

dispatch.o wrote: »

Magus` wrote: »

Thumping sound, like you're rapidly hitting the world's smallest speed bumps. Only happens at high speeds, but not immediately and doesn't last the entire trip. Once in awhile it makes a really loud thumping sound like I physically hit something. Checked the tires at every stop and nothing ever caught in them.

Edit: As in it went from back passenger to front passenger side. That's how they rotated the wheels, so.

Has me wondering if when they set the tire on the rim they left a present inside the tire or rim.

highly suspect there is a tool inside your tire.

Either way if you know it follows the tire and it's within the warranty period, record the noise and take it back. Raise a damn ruckus if they don't replace it for free.

You could also take it to a tire repair place and ask them to take it off the rim for you. Then look inside, examine the rim, then ask them to put it back and see if the problem continues. Shouldn't cost you more than $20 for that.

E.Coyote

Wheel weight coming loose might do it as well.

143999

Agree with all the "loose somethingorother" above.

Once upon a time, I bought an old...Buick, I think...that had wheel locks on it, but one of the previous owners either got tired of them or lost the key or something, so they took the "outside" parts off but had to leave the "inside" parts on. This left loose pieces of metal on my wheels that made weird clanky noises. Drove me insane until I found the cause.

Magus`

You'd think they'd notice something like that when they rotated the tires. I'll see what I can find out.

BlazeFire

They wouldn't have taken the tire (rubber) off the wheel (metal) when rotating them. If something is inside the rubber, it could have been missed.

Jasconius

your wheel could be imbalanced. a wheel has to be weighted properly so that its circular motion is even and smooth. sometimes a weight can get thrown off

They come in different shapes and sizes, but some of them are simply glued on, and get thrown off.

You usually only notice at high speeds.

BouwsT

spool32 wrote: »

dispatch.o wrote: »

Magus` wrote: »

Thumping sound, like you're rapidly hitting the world's smallest speed bumps. Only happens at high speeds, but not immediately and doesn't last the entire trip. Once in awhile it makes a really loud thumping sound like I physically hit something. Checked the tires at every stop and nothing ever caught in them.

Edit: As in it went from back passenger to front passenger side. That's how they rotated the wheels, so.

Has me wondering if when they set the tire on the rim they left a present inside the tire or rim.

highly suspect there is a tool inside your tire.

Either way if you know it follows the tire and it's within the warranty period, record the noise and take it back. Raise a damn ruckus if they don't replace it for free.

You could also take it to a tire repair place and ask them to take it off the rim for you. Then look inside, examine the rim, then ask them to put it back and see if the problem continues. Shouldn't cost you more than $20 for that.

Throwing my hat in this camp. If it was a tire imbalance issue, it should be present at most speeds, but most importantly it should be happening all the time, not intermittently as OP states. Further, and imbalanced tire would not cause an audible "clunk" noise from the wheel/tire assembly.

Magus`

Jasconius wrote: »

your wheel could be imbalanced. a wheel has to be weighted properly so that its circular motion is even and smooth. sometimes a weight can get thrown off

They come in different shapes and sizes, but some of them are simply glued on, and get thrown off.

You usually only notice at high speeds.

I'll check this, among other things.

143999

I forgot to ask: Just a thumping sound, or anything accompanying it? Steering wheel shake? Noticeable movement in the affected tire? Pulling in either direction?

mRahmani

BouwsT wrote: »

spool32 wrote: »

dispatch.o wrote: »

Magus` wrote: »

Thumping sound, like you're rapidly hitting the world's smallest speed bumps. Only happens at high speeds, but not immediately and doesn't last the entire trip. Once in awhile it makes a really loud thumping sound like I physically hit something. Checked the tires at every stop and nothing ever caught in them.

Edit: As in it went from back passenger to front passenger side. That's how they rotated the wheels, so.

Has me wondering if when they set the tire on the rim they left a present inside the tire or rim.

highly suspect there is a tool inside your tire.

Either way if you know it follows the tire and it's within the warranty period, record the noise and take it back. Raise a damn ruckus if they don't replace it for free.

You could also take it to a tire repair place and ask them to take it off the rim for you. Then look inside, examine the rim, then ask them to put it back and see if the problem continues. Shouldn't cost you more than $20 for that.

Throwing my hat in this camp. If it was a tire imbalance issue, it should be present at most speeds, but most importantly it should be happening all the time, not intermittently as OP states. Further, and imbalanced tire would not cause an audible "clunk" noise from the wheel/tire assembly.

Another vote for "something inside the tire." I would get that checked out post-haste.

Figgy

This happens all the time up here if you drive in heavy snow--snow builds up along the inside of your rims and imbalances your tire. And only at high speeds. It sounds like a really fast thump sound.

It's almost absolutely just an imbalanced tire, likely from a weight falling off.

Magus`

Looks to be correct. The balance was off by 2.5 (whatevers) which is apparently "a lot". I haven't had a chance to road test it but I think that was probably the issue.

BouwsT

Well, if they re-balanced it and didn't feel something rolling around inside the tire, then ya sounds like they got it. I'm still perplexed as to why it was an intermittent vibration then, though.

All's well that ends well.

Oh, and tire weight is usually measured in ounces (oz). 2.5 oz would DEFINITELY cause a tire vibration, and would likely have made it worse when they rotated the tire to the front of the vehicle (vibration would have been felt in your seat, then up in the steering wheel after the rotation).

Darkewolfe

So, if the balance was off for a long time, your tire has probably deformed somewhat. If you've still got plenty of tread on it, it's probably not worth replacing, but you WILL continue to hear the sound even after it's rebalanced.

On my car this happened with basically new tires because I'm an idiot who needed to have my shocks replaced. Everything is balanced and functional now, but I still have road noise when driving because the tires are oddly shaped now.