Oscillating drone sound in my 2012 GT
4/11/15, 12:15 PM
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Oscillating drone sound in my 2012 GT
Hi everyone, first post here. Sorry if it's a super long one, but I'll be trying to include whatever details I can think of, so thank you if you make it all the way through. I'm having an issue with my car that is starting to drive me crazy and which Ford has been unable to correctly diagnose thus far, so I'm hoping maybe some other Mustang owners will have some insight. I think my drive shaft may be bad, please see if you agree. So far this has been a real mess.
Back in February I got back into the world of Mustang ownership and bought a 2012 GT with 16,000 miles. It looks nearly brand new, it is all stock, and I don't recall really noticing this issue while I was test driving it, but as I started driving it on a daily basis over past weeks I began to notice something was up. Whenever I'm driving over 40 or 45 mph, I start to hear what can be best described as an oscillating drone. A droning sound that rises in volume and then falls, rises and falls, quite repetitiously. It's not overwhelming but it is definitely there, and loud enough that it's become a nuisance after having to hear it for weeks now.
A few things I've noticed:
When going through a mild turn at speed, i.e. on a freeway overpass that curves, I notice the drone becomes more pronounced and for a brief time will usually stop oscillating and become a steady, flat drone
Shifting into neutral while at speed has no affect on the sound
Braking/accelerating has no affect on the sound, doesn't seem related to exhaust flow or anything
I first took the car to a Discount Tire and had the tires balanced & rotated. The dealership I bought the car from told me this had just been done at 15,900 miles, but according to the tire shop all of the wheels were out-of-balance and still had all the original factory balance weights, and had likely never been rotated or balanced since factory. They also noted that the tires had developed some cupping and uneven wear. After rotation & balance there was no change in the drone.
I then took the car to Ford and told them all of the above. They kept the car and called me later that day, saying they thought the problem was actually related to rusted brake rotors and glazed brake pads, and suggested I have them resurfaced. I took the car back to my dealership and they resurfaced the rotors and the pads for free, and there was no change in the drone.
I took the car back to Ford, went on a test drive with the shop foreman, and he could hear exactly what I've described and agreed it was some sort of issue. He said they would put it up on some type of lift that would allow them to run the car up to speed while off the ground, and hopefully isolate the noise. They called me later that day saying that it was, in fact, actually related to the uneven wear on the tires, and suggested I replace 2 tires.
I then went to back to Discount Tire, but a different location. They examined the tires and said that there really wasn't much cupping, but that all 4 tires had "wavy" wear patterns on them and extensive weather cracking. They said I should consider replacing all 4 and that it would likely correct this droning sound. At this point, I wanted to replace the cheap Pirelli's that came with this car anyways, so I went ahead and had them replace all 4 tires.
And the droning sound is still there. Perhaps even a slight bit higher in pitch now, can't really tell for sure. But it's still an oscillating, pulsing drone that is present (or at least most noticeable) whenever I'm cruising over 40mph or so.
Before I take it back to Ford, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? At this point the only thing I can think of is a bad drive shaft, perhaps?
I would appreciate any input, thank you in advance!!
Back in February I got back into the world of Mustang ownership and bought a 2012 GT with 16,000 miles. It looks nearly brand new, it is all stock, and I don't recall really noticing this issue while I was test driving it, but as I started driving it on a daily basis over past weeks I began to notice something was up. Whenever I'm driving over 40 or 45 mph, I start to hear what can be best described as an oscillating drone. A droning sound that rises in volume and then falls, rises and falls, quite repetitiously. It's not overwhelming but it is definitely there, and loud enough that it's become a nuisance after having to hear it for weeks now.
A few things I've noticed:
When going through a mild turn at speed, i.e. on a freeway overpass that curves, I notice the drone becomes more pronounced and for a brief time will usually stop oscillating and become a steady, flat drone
Shifting into neutral while at speed has no affect on the sound
Braking/accelerating has no affect on the sound, doesn't seem related to exhaust flow or anything
I first took the car to a Discount Tire and had the tires balanced & rotated. The dealership I bought the car from told me this had just been done at 15,900 miles, but according to the tire shop all of the wheels were out-of-balance and still had all the original factory balance weights, and had likely never been rotated or balanced since factory. They also noted that the tires had developed some cupping and uneven wear. After rotation & balance there was no change in the drone.
I then took the car to Ford and told them all of the above. They kept the car and called me later that day, saying they thought the problem was actually related to rusted brake rotors and glazed brake pads, and suggested I have them resurfaced. I took the car back to my dealership and they resurfaced the rotors and the pads for free, and there was no change in the drone.
I took the car back to Ford, went on a test drive with the shop foreman, and he could hear exactly what I've described and agreed it was some sort of issue. He said they would put it up on some type of lift that would allow them to run the car up to speed while off the ground, and hopefully isolate the noise. They called me later that day saying that it was, in fact, actually related to the uneven wear on the tires, and suggested I replace 2 tires.
I then went to back to Discount Tire, but a different location. They examined the tires and said that there really wasn't much cupping, but that all 4 tires had "wavy" wear patterns on them and extensive weather cracking. They said I should consider replacing all 4 and that it would likely correct this droning sound. At this point, I wanted to replace the cheap Pirelli's that came with this car anyways, so I went ahead and had them replace all 4 tires.
And the droning sound is still there. Perhaps even a slight bit higher in pitch now, can't really tell for sure. But it's still an oscillating, pulsing drone that is present (or at least most noticeable) whenever I'm cruising over 40mph or so.
Before I take it back to Ford, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? At this point the only thing I can think of is a bad drive shaft, perhaps?
I would appreciate any input, thank you in advance!!
4/11/15, 03:16 PM
#3
Mach 1 Member
My rear end made the same sound before I had the ring and pinon gear done on it my 2010.
See below my story, it had to be done twice.
https://themustangsource.com/forums/...dealer-531567/
Ford made it right in the end.
See below my story, it had to be done twice.
https://themustangsource.com/forums/...dealer-531567/
Ford made it right in the end.
4/13/15, 06:44 PM
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4/15/15, 11:01 AM
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Deysha,
I dropped the Mustang off at Don Chalmer's Ford here in Albuquerque yesterday and they spent the day with it, and they found some noise coming from one of the front wheel bearings. They replaced that bearing under warranty, but unfortunately they could still hear the droning noise when they test drove the car. At this point, they believe all my wheel bearings are fine, and they said they don't believe any noise is coming from the differential.
They're working on the car again today, I will let you know what we find out!
4/16/15, 06:50 AM
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Deysha,
I dropped the Mustang off at Don Chalmer's Ford here in Albuquerque yesterday and they spent the day with it, and they found some noise coming from one of the front wheel bearings. They replaced that bearing under warranty, but unfortunately they could still hear the droning noise when they test drove the car. At this point, they believe all my wheel bearings are fine, and they said they don't believe any noise is coming from the differential.
They're working on the car again today, I will let you know what we find out!
I dropped the Mustang off at Don Chalmer's Ford here in Albuquerque yesterday and they spent the day with it, and they found some noise coming from one of the front wheel bearings. They replaced that bearing under warranty, but unfortunately they could still hear the droning noise when they test drove the car. At this point, they believe all my wheel bearings are fine, and they said they don't believe any noise is coming from the differential.
They're working on the car again today, I will let you know what we find out!
Deysha
4/16/15, 06:22 PM
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PROBLEM SOLVED!
It turned out to be bad bearings in both front wheel hubs. Ford fixed it all under warranty and I picked the car up this afternoon, and all droning noises are gone!
If anyone is interested now or in the future, here are the notes from the repair:
Performed road test, verified customer concern. Found two noises on vehicle. First noise from left front of vehicle. Removed brake assembly. Found left front hub bearing with water intrusion causing bearing failure. Replaced hub bearing, reinstalled, test drove, found noise from right front. Road test several times to determine source of noise/vibration. Removed rear driveshaft, inspected three CV joints, re-shimmed driveshaft angle, clean pinion flange. Noise still there. Rotate shaft 180-degrees. Still no change. Removed brake assembly, replaced front right wheel hub bearing... had excessive wear. Reassembled, road test, all noise is gone.
Thanks for your interest and suggestions, everyone!
It turned out to be bad bearings in both front wheel hubs. Ford fixed it all under warranty and I picked the car up this afternoon, and all droning noises are gone!
If anyone is interested now or in the future, here are the notes from the repair:
Performed road test, verified customer concern. Found two noises on vehicle. First noise from left front of vehicle. Removed brake assembly. Found left front hub bearing with water intrusion causing bearing failure. Replaced hub bearing, reinstalled, test drove, found noise from right front. Road test several times to determine source of noise/vibration. Removed rear driveshaft, inspected three CV joints, re-shimmed driveshaft angle, clean pinion flange. Noise still there. Rotate shaft 180-degrees. Still no change. Removed brake assembly, replaced front right wheel hub bearing... had excessive wear. Reassembled, road test, all noise is gone.
Thanks for your interest and suggestions, everyone!
4/16/15, 08:37 PM
#12
PROBLEM SOLVED!
It turned out to be bad bearings in both front wheel hubs. Ford fixed it all under warranty and I picked the car up this afternoon, and all droning noises are gone!
If anyone is interested now or in the future, here are the notes from the repair:
Performed road test, verified customer concern. Found two noises on vehicle. First noise from left front of vehicle. Removed brake assembly. Found left front hub bearing with water intrusion causing bearing failure. Replaced hub bearing, reinstalled, test drove, found noise from right front. Road test several times to determine source of noise/vibration. Removed rear driveshaft, inspected three CV joints, re-shimmed driveshaft angle, clean pinion flange. Noise still there. Rotate shaft 180-degrees. Still no change. Removed brake assembly, replaced front right wheel hub bearing... had excessive wear. Reassembled, road test, all noise is gone.
Thanks for your interest and suggestions, everyone!
It turned out to be bad bearings in both front wheel hubs. Ford fixed it all under warranty and I picked the car up this afternoon, and all droning noises are gone!
If anyone is interested now or in the future, here are the notes from the repair:
Performed road test, verified customer concern. Found two noises on vehicle. First noise from left front of vehicle. Removed brake assembly. Found left front hub bearing with water intrusion causing bearing failure. Replaced hub bearing, reinstalled, test drove, found noise from right front. Road test several times to determine source of noise/vibration. Removed rear driveshaft, inspected three CV joints, re-shimmed driveshaft angle, clean pinion flange. Noise still there. Rotate shaft 180-degrees. Still no change. Removed brake assembly, replaced front right wheel hub bearing... had excessive wear. Reassembled, road test, all noise is gone.
Thanks for your interest and suggestions, everyone!
5/2/15, 03:37 PM
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That's amazing I got on the site tonight to post check the wheel bearings as I mentioned your issue to a guy at work that is into cars and his first comment was a bad wheel bearing. Anyway that's great you got it all sorted out nothing better then having an annoying problem found.
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