New vibe (2 of them) - owner! and a question on noise

[danjoyce]

I recently had to replace my daughter's car due to an accident and drove a 2003 vibe (1.8l with air, cruise, etc) and loved it! I really liked the roominess and feel of the car so I bought it. In addition, I was thinking about replacing my 1998 Chrysler Grand Caravan (210,000 miles) with something newer and smaller since my wife and I will be 'empty nesters' of 4 kids this fall so you guessed it, I found a really nice 2009 1.8l Vibe with air, cruise, etc and bought it too! Again, I really like the car and plan to keep it for a long time. The one question I have though -- for both cars, is that they seem pretty loud above about 40 mph. I've had 2 mechanics check and they say all wheel bearings are good and I must be getting road or tire noise. Can anyone give me your thoughts/comments on seemingly excessive road or tire noise with the Vibes and any advice on steps to take to lessen the noise? Again, I love both cars and really, this is the only minor issue I have with them. Thanks for any help you can give.

[canadave]

Welcome! Wow, 2 Vibes. Twice as much fun. Now that you have two, which do you prefer?

As for your noise question, the Search field at top right should yield a number of satisfactory answers for you. It seems to be a fairly common complaint.

Post some pics in the Garage forum when you get a chance!

[04shadowvibe]

Welcome to the club, 2 Vibes here currently and we had 2 others pass through our ownership over the years. All of ours have been 03-07 but I noticed they can be noisy cars. What tires are on them currently? Our 07 had a strange noise and thump around 40mph and it was a combination of 2 different tire tread patterns and a broken belt in one of the tires. We replaced the tires and the noise is gone. We have noticed that some tire treads are louder than others and some pavement materials make a difference too. Were currently running Goodyear Triple Treads on both our vibes and they aren't too noisy.

[Salsa Guy]

Welcome!

One the noise check to make sure the tires aren't over inflated. Also check the tread to make sure it isn't cupped. On both sets of tires I had on the car the closer they got to the end of tread life the noisier they got.

Good Luck!

[trb]

Welcome from another two Vibe family! The Vibes are more noisy than most cars, but like was said, the tires do have a lot to do with it. But I usually just turn up the radio! My son's Vibe is on it's second and a half set of tires, and they are pretty quite, Bridgestone Potenzas. When I bought my 2010 GT it had 3 different tires of 2 different sizes on it and it was noisy. Lots of droning road noise that went away with a new set of tires, also Bridgestone Potenzas. I just had to replace two of them since the tread wear indicators were down to the limit and I bought Hankook Ventus tires since they were the cheapest 18" tires I could find. So far they are doing well also.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! I too am a member of a 2 Vibe family (2 2009 Vibe GTs - see my signature picture below)! It's always great to see a family with multiple Vibes as I think it is a true testament to just how great these little vehicles are! Definitely post some pictures of both your Vibes when you get a chance!

[WhgVibe]

Yes this is a common complaint. I have 2010 base Vibe and I avoid taking it on long trips when Im going to be driving on the highway. After 2 hrs I cant stand the noise any more. I replaced the tires and that helped a little but Im sorry to say they are just noisy cars. I recently bought my daughter a 2003 Checy Malibu and its so much more quite and smoother riding then my Vibe. Love the Vibe otherwise.

[creekhed1]

Tires make all the diff

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe from yet another TWO Vibe family Nobody here has suggested the best solution yet ............. Get a better radio & turn up the volume

But seriously, start with the tires and then if motivated & have some time & $$$, start insulating the interior. Try to not let it bother you too much. Enjoy the rides

[kostby]

Welcome to the GenVibe family. Twice!

In addition to tires (aggressive tread patterns are the worst, and most tires become noisier as they wear), another thing that can make lots of noise that varies with speed are the abundant plastic panels under-the-front-bumper secured with plastic 'rivets'.

The ones on my '03 were probably NEVER all secured properly from the day I bought the car (used) in 2004.
Then I had a minor off-road excursion one winter into a snow bank that popped a few more of the fasteners out, and it was a symphony of vibrations at highway speeds.
Once I replaced all the plastic rivets (with aluminum pop-rivets, because I'm never going to remove them), the difference was noticeable.

[kc6yot]

Three of them, agree with everyone else tires first. One easy test, in an empty parking lot roll the windows down, turn off the A/C and radio, in reverse make hard left and right circles. If you hear any clicking or scrubbing noise, might want to check the trans axles for the clicking or brake pads for a scrubbing noise. Most Vibes have road noise but so do almost all other small cars.