2011 Ford Focus Road Noise

If you have four-year old tires with 41,000 miles on it, perhaps it's time to change them, even if the tread looks fine. Mind you, you might have something else. I have even seen manufacturing defects cause bearing failures at such a young age.

If you rotate the tires, does the sound change or move?

--scott

Put it in neutral, and run the engine rpm up through the range where you hear the noise on the road. If you hear it then, it's going to be something to do with the belt or the belt driven accessories, or possibly the exhaust. If you hear it only while the car is moving, run your hands over the circumference of the tires, and across the entire width. It will be obvious if the tires are scalloped. You should also be able to see this by looking at both the inside and outside edges of the tires. If they are, the noise might get a little better when they are moved, but the only cure is to replace them.

The "cycling" part of the description makes me think it's the serpentine belt or exhaust, but I suppose a really bad tire noise could set up a vibration in the car.

Thanks for the reply, Scott. I've been rotating them at each oil change in the "X" style IAW my owner's manual. The tires currently on the vehicle that were installed at the Ford assembly plant are Hankook "Optimo", H725 P195/60R15, tread-wear grade 620. I'm not due for another oil change just yet so I can't answer your question (I really don't want to rotate them by myself). Sincerely,

Check the wheel bearings. One of them could be going bad. Maybe could be a cv joint. Maybe it's your ears or the weather. I'm not joking, some days my cars just seem noisier then other days. It can also be the roads you are driving on. Noise caused by different road texture can vary significantly, as much as 10 decibels. A change of 3 decibels is easily noticeable.