Premium Michelin Pilot 4 noise
 

So I got to pick up my car today and drove the 3.5 hours back home. Love everything about the car. Just a really great car. However, I have either screaming tire or bad bearing, brand new. I’m pretty sure it’s not a bearing because it does change magnitude of sound on pavement surfaces. But it also does not scream different pitches. It seems to just get louder, and it starts all the way down at 10-15 mph. I have had many, many cars, with many, many tires. I’ve pretty much seen it all and am a total tire snob. This one is me totally stumped. I’m going to rotate the front driver wheel/tire to the back and see if the noise goes with it. If not, I guess I have a bad bearing.

I have never had a single problem with a Michelin, but I have read before that tires made for new cars are sometimes not the same quality as the same tire bought at a tire shop. I have no proof of that, but this has me wondering.

Anyone been through this with this car, these tires, or a similar situation?

This isn’t all the tires. It’s just the front driver. I can literally move my head over where my wife was in the passenger seat and hardly hear it. She said definitely coming from front driver.

As far as road noise, yes, they are pretty noisy, but they don’t all howl and scream. Only one of mine, I think, does. Really strange, and annoying on a brand new car. I’m starting a new job on Monday and do not have time to deal with this BS.

That's kinda weird. Mine make no more noise than other tires i've tried (1st gen owner).

I don’t know how or why, but I think I have a defective tire. The dead giveaway is going from old to new pavement and the howl gets a bit quieter and then louder again. A bearing would not do that. But i have never had a noisy tire make noise all the way down to 10-15 mph. I may just switch to the all season Michelins that I want anyway.

There was a coarse (grindy) sound directly over both front wheels when I test drove a high trim BRZ. I put it down to the front aluminium fenders amplifying it - overall cabin noise was slightly quieter than my gen 1 on PS4 tyres, but that frequency over the fronts was unique.

Grooved concrete broken up interstate is the worse. Smooth asphalt the noise is almost normal. The complaints about the stereo system is tied to the road noise.

I hear the coarse sound from all of the tires, but I only hear a whining sound out of one.

I have not heard about that and can’t find anything. Are there threads here on the forum?

I’m going to try a set of the Michelin A/S 4 because they are available to be installed today and if I don’t like them next weekend I’ll try the Continentals.

Rotated the driver side and same sound. It’s a shame Toyota puts tires on that howl like that. It was so loud it made my ears ring and was impossible to talk in the car. Not right, and now I’m begging Michelin for a comp on a set of brand new tires.

Well the new tires did nothing. I have no dealer in town either.

I’d like to drive another one and see if it’s “normal”. If it is, I am sure I’ll end up trading it. I can’t stand the howling noise all the time. Maybe it’s a bearing, but I can’t imagine changing surfaces affecting it.

I'm sorry you are going through this.

Does it get louder with the window down? Does it change pitch when you go faster? Did you have your wife drive and you ride in the passenger side? Did you disconnect the sound generator?

By trading I hope you mean trading the tires for a different brand/model right? This isn't at all an issue for most people, so if the PS4 bother you, go to a different tire.

Premium Michelin Pilot 4 noise
 

I started with the PS4 and switched to the A/S 4 today and still same noise. It’s coming from the front. Total PITA, but I guess I’ll be spending several weekends in a row an hour away at the dealership trying to get it resolved.

It makes the noise down to 10 mph and under. Really weird. I hope it’s a bearing, but at this point mechanics don’t even have access to other cars to drive and compare. That’s my biggest concern right now. I think I’m going to use Michelin’s guarantee and just take the A/S off and try the Continentals. And now that I read the fine print, Michelin will only replace the tires with other Michelins and there aren’t any left. The Big O manager is in deep shite if he doesn’t just make this set of tires go away after telling me try them and we’ll do the Continentals if they don’t help. This isn’t looking good.