Leaf sounds like riding on mud tires

[dhanson865]

So watching / listening to the youtube clip it sounds exactly like what our Leaf sounds like with our Blizzack snow tires on. Once I put the summer tire back on it goes away. I can't image they are that noisy being non-snow tires, but at the same time the Leaf is so quiet with everything else the tires are much more noticeable. I haven't looked but if you look at tirerack.com they list the comparable "loudness" of each time. Maybe it is just a really loud tire?

I watched it and wasn't even sure what noise he was talking about. I heard the inverter/motor whine louder than the tires, I heard his voice clearly. I turned my speakers up and heard some sort of road noise but it was less noticeable than the whine.

I'm going to go with tires being the culprit.

No issue with the car itself. Just put better tires on it and it will sound quieter.

To some extent just driving it another 1,000 miles will likely quieten the existing tires by scrubbing tread off and changing the road noise.

I'll second the recommendation to pump the tires up to 40+ PSI. This car is heavy, if you are running around on low 30s PSI it might look OK but you'll be dragging more tread around.

 

[jsdugan]

The Nissan dealer let me know that I have a bad driver wheel bearing. I will post an update when I get it back to see if the problem is fixed.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Did the car make more noise when cornering than when going straight? This is a fairly rare failure, so it would help if we knew what to look (or listen) for in the way of symptoms.

 

[jsdugan]

Did the car make more noise when cornering than when going straight? This is a fairly rare failure, so it would help if we knew what to look (or listen) for in the way of symptoms.

No difference in sound when cornering. The sound seemed to be the most noticeable starting at about 35 mph, and then it sounded like riding on mud tires from 35 mph and faster. There is a chance that my efficiency will go up with smooth spinning bearings, right? :?:

 

[LeftieBiker]

Sure, range will probably be up .001, maybe .002%!

Was it a front bearing, or a rear one?

 

[jsdugan]

Sure, range will probably be up .001, maybe .002%!

Was it a front bearing, or a rear one?

Front

 

[LeftieBiker]

A front wheel bearing making no extra noise when cornering, huh? Maybe a defective or under-lubed bearing fails with different symptoms.

 

[DaveEV]

A front wheel bearing making no extra noise when cornering, huh? Maybe a defective or under-lubed bearing fails with different symptoms.

When the sealed bearing failed on my Prius, there was no noticeable difference in noise when going straight vs cornering. Things just got louder and louder as you went faster.

Lifting up the front wheels and putting the car in drive to let the wheels turn off the ground under no load quickly identified the failed bearing.

Sounds like the same thing happened here.

 

[otbiker]

A bad sealed roller bearing will not make additional noise when cornering like an old tapered bearing...
Good call from the dealer and the logical fault.

Now, let's see if that fixed it.

 

[3gleaf]

Mine is also noticeable sound when it is above 30+mph. I will bring my in tomorrow (Friday). Does anyone know if it is under warranty? My care is current 2.5 years but I drove about 49,000 miles already.

 

[jsdugan]

Mine is also noticeable sound when it is above 30+mph. I will bring my in tomorrow (Friday). Does anyone know if it is under warranty? My care is current 2.5 years but I drove about 49,000 miles already.

I was told that it should be fully covered under the powertrain warranty. (5yr / 60k?)

 

[LeftieBiker]

I' not sure sure about it being covered under the powertrain warranty, but it should be covered under the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty.

 

[jsdugan]

Got the Leaf back. Driver front wheel bearing was the problem - all quiet now. No cost to me because it was covered under factory powertrain warranty. It's nice to have a quiet Leaf like it should be!

 

[tomw]

I'm having the same problem. Took it to the dealer yesterday and they determined it's one of the bearings but they will replace both just in case. Scheduled to go in tomorrow.

 

[jsdugan]

Glad you took it in. I found out that the passenger side wheel bearing was replaced when it went through the CPO inspection, so both of my front have been replaced as well. Hopefully this doesn't ended up being too common for everyone!

 

[tomw]

Picked up the car earlier and the noise is gone. 2 new bearings were installed.