Tire Noise/Wear

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Kiggulak

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2016
Messages
12
So I'm previously a volt owner and used to the electric vehicle quietness and road noise from tires in all electric mode. When driving my FFE I hear an increasingly load sound from the rear tires as I increase my speed. Bouncing between D and L has no impact on the sound so I don't think its related to regen. I've had the vehicle for a little over a year and am embarrassed to have thought this was normal for the FFE just not as well sound isolated with the hatch in the back. However yesterday I got a flat tire on my passenger rear tire and noticed that I've worn through the radials on the inboard side of both my rear tires. Does the FFE with increased battery weight that does not shift with fuel load naturally ride different or is this my Certified Used Focus coming with an alignment problem that used up my tires while I thought the sound was normal.
 
Kiggulak said:
So I'm previously a volt owner and used to the electric vehicle quietness and road noise from tires in all electric mode. When driving my FFE I hear an increasingly load sound from the rear tires as I increase my speed. Bouncing between D and L has no impact on the sound so I don't think its related to regen. I've had the vehicle for a little over a year and am embarrassed to have thought this was normal for the FFE just not as well sound isolated with the hatch in the back. However yesterday I got a flat tire on my passenger rear tire and noticed that I've worn through the radials on the inboard side of both my rear tires. Does the FFE with increased battery weight that does not shift with fuel load naturally ride different or is this my Certified Used Focus coming with an alignment problem that used up my tires while I thought the sound was normal.
Sounds to me like an alignment problem or manufacturing one (perhaps they accidentally put the ICE springs on your rears instead of the FFE ones and its riding lower).
 
Kiggulak said:
Is the rear tire sound thing normal or a symptom?
A symptom. You're the first on here with this sort of issue thus I'm suspecting that it is an anomaly.

My FFE was exceedingly quiet with no tire noise at all.
 
I've had my car for 5 years now and the tire wear on this car has been the most even than any car I've owned. Although the front tires wear faster than any other car I've owned, the inbound and outbound sides on the front and rear tires are even...such that the tires are flat across the top.

Take it in for an alignment. Hopefully it is adjustable.
 
Its in for the alignment, door latch recall, two new rear tires (DOT date shows 4612 so their originals), cabin filter change, tire rotation so the newest tires are on front. Good news is the door latch recall gets me a loaner until they figure it all out, hopefully before the end of the holiday weekend.
 
davideos said:
I've had my car for 5 years now and the tire wear on this car has been the most even than any car I've owned. Although the front tires wear faster than any other car I've owned, the inbound and outbound sides on the front and rear tires are even...such that the tires are flat across the top.

Take it in for an alignment. Hopefully it is adjustable.

I think that's from the sheer torque of the electric motor. I find pretty much every morning when I take off out of my driveway and the wheels are turned I spin the inside tire. :lol: Or any time it has rained and I start from a stop I spin the tires on the white road paint.
 
The local dealership says tire rotation every 6K miles I bought the car used with 26K miles and now have 39K miles. I took it in for service twice. Once for the LTE modem upgrade and once for a dying 12V battery due to SSN and relay clicks. Neither time did the dealer "recommend" tire rotation despite meeting the 6K miles each time. So what dealers recommend versus what Ford recommends may vary. I like that the dealer doesn't push unneeded services on me but not offering needed/recommended services is equally concerning. South Florida is not know to be battery or tire friendly.
 
Kiggulak said:
The local dealership says tire rotation every 6K miles I bought the car used with 26K miles and now have 39K miles. I took it in for service twice. Once for the LTE modem upgrade and once for a dying 12V battery due to SSN and relay clicks. Neither time did the dealer "recommend" tire rotation despite meeting the 6K miles each time. So what dealers recommend versus what Ford recommends may vary. I like that the dealer doesn't push unneeded services on me but not offering needed/recommended services is equally concerning. South Florida is not know to be battery or tire friendly.
Look in the owner's manual: 10,000 miles or annually.
Page 319: http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/Catalog/owner_information/2017-Ford-Focus-Electric-Owners-Manual-version-1_EN-US_10_2016.pdf

Dealers want you in more frequently to make $$. Both our cars have oil life sensor in them and yet the dealer still puts the oil change sticky on the window (when I had the FFE they stuck one on as well! LOL). My C-Max didn't require an oil change until about 20,000 miles given that its driven on electricity about 65% of the time.
 
So got my car back the other day. It was worn bushings on the control arms which lead to the wear and tire noise. New control arms and new tires through the extended warranty since the bushings caused the issue. Now my FFE is a whole new driving experience. I feel like I got a new car back from the dealer, rather the way it should have been from when I bought the car.
 
My car is going in for the new control arms under warranty soon too. My tires are not worn but the front end is making all sorts of noise. the parts are in and Im just waiting for an appointment date. Next week most likely.
 
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