My Mazda 626 makes alot of noise. I can hardly hear the radio without blasting it. My mechanic (Firestone) says it’s normal for that car. I have had a wheel bearing replace 2 years ago and the tires (Firestone FR) are relatively new and the allignment is good. Does anyone have any ideas or do I simply have to live with it. I also have a 1995 Ford Taurus (for sale) and a 2005 Hyundai Sonata and neither make anywhere near the noise that the Mazda does. Thanks
Where does the noise seem to come from? Is it only there while driving? Does the noise decrease when you’re rolling but with the car in neutral?
and:
Can you afford an high power audio amp to drown the noise out?
Are you the original owner of this car, or did you buy it as a used car?
That question is relevant, because when someone says that the car is making a lot of noise, it is important to know if the car was quiet as a new car, but is now noisy.
That being said, the three main causes of NEW noise in cars are…wheel bearings, tires, and the exhaust system. If you had one wheel bearing replaced on this mystery-vintage Mazda 2 years ago, it is entirely possible that another bearing is now ready for replacement.
It is also possible that those Firestone tires are just plain noisy. Some tire models are much noisier than others, and tires do tend to become more noisy as they age. As little as 10k miles can cause some tires to start making a lot of noise.
I really think that you should NOT be taking your car to a chain operation, like Firestone, Midas, Meineke, Monro, Pep Boys, Sears, or AAMCO. An independent mechanic with a good reputation is more likely to be able to nail down the cause of this noise in your car.
One thing to do is to look up your tires on Tire Rack’s web site and see if the reviews say that they’re noisy tires or not.
I agree with VDCdriver that it would be better if you went to a real mechanic.
Noise can be very subjective. I like to have my vehicle windows up and enjoy the CD/radio. My wife like the windows down and no CD/radio. I think a real mechanic can find the problem for you. It just may be the tires as others have suggested.