Hey there--

I am a new owner of a 1998 honda accord ex coupe. When I start getting the car up to high speed (60 mph), it sounds like I am taking off in a jet. I have heard that it may be the michelin 195 65 r15 tires that came with the car. Is this the case or is the car going to sound like this forever? I took it in to the shop thinking that it was the muffler, but that was fine. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot.

 

Like a jet eh? Well it could be the tires, and if they are the original tires that came with the car, that means they are like 7-8 years old and should be replaced anyway. But I doubt they are making much noise, that's usually more common with high performance wider tires.

But the sound you are describing could be a wheel bearing. The noise increases as speed increases, is independant of motor speed. From my experience with other cars, if you are on a somewhat curvy road, as you go around bends, it'll get louder when you load up that side, and quieter when you load up the other side, ie, it'll be louder if the bad bearing is on the right side and you are turning left, etc. Does your car do that?

 

It may have gotten quieter when I was on a curve to the left. It gets quieter when I reach about 65 mph and then louder when I get down below 55 and then pretty quiet at about 35 mph. Any thought? Love to hear them. Thanks.

 

Did you test drive any other Accords? If so, did the problem seem to be universal with the other cars, or just this one? Or did it just develop? The classic description of the wheel bearing is a humming that gets progressively louder with speed. But at 65, etc, the wind noise may be washing out the humming.

 

Yeah I would imagine wheel bearing.