I have a 2006 Ford Escape, as time went by I started to hear a rum rum noise coming from my front right tire. My husband took the car to the dealer where we purchased it from they siad it was because I did not get my tires rotated when I should have. They moved the tire from the frot to the back and the rum rum has now moved to the back on the same tire. They said it will go away the more I drive it. It has been 2 to 3 months since then, and the noise is still there. I drive 20 minutes twice a day on highway roads, Plus any other traveling I do. Are they handing me a line of crap, or do I just set thight and wait for the noise to go away? What else are my options? Very fustrating to pay so much for a new vehicle and have it sound like crap.
You need to tell us how many miles, in total, are on those tires–as well as how long it had been since the tires were rotated. If you had really delayed the specified rotation, it is possible that the wear on that tire is excessive and that the noise will not go away. There is also the possibility that the tire is defective, but I assume that the dealer would have tried to sell you a tire if that was the case.
I would suggest a visit to a reputable tire dealer for an examination of the tire. In the meantime, can you answer the questions that I posed in my first sentence?
We cannot guess how many miles you had before rotating, so you need to tell us.
One possibility - tire needs balancing. Another, the treads worn unevenly - you might be able to tell by running your hand along the treadd. Or have a tire dealer help you.
They’re handing you a line of crap IMHO. The noise won’t go away.
It’s likely from inconsistant wear. If the tires were scalloped, feathered, cupped, or otherwise incorrectly worn due to inaccurate alignment or balance, or perhaps even a defective tire, maybe even worn out suspension parts, that wear and the rum rum noise it’s causing will stay forever. It’ll move with the tire, just like yours did. Some would attribute this to not rotating the tires, however my personal belief is that the root cause is whatever inaccuracy caused the improper wear to begin with. While rotating tires had you done so may have covered it up, it isn’t IMHO the actual cause.
Confirmation can be had with a Road Force Balancing machine. It spins the wheel & tire while a simulated road force is applied via a rotating drum. It’s a good way to confirm tire defects. Bad wear can also be confirmed by looking at the tire and often by simple running your hand along the wear surface of the tire.
By the way, how many miles do the tires have on them? How many miles does the vehicle have on it? Was there any vibration in the steering wheel? Is there any vibration in the seat?
If you never rotated your tires in 2+ years of ownership, you did indeed cause the problem. You’re supposed to rotate your tires so they wear evenly. The reason you’re hearing tire noise now is because the tread is uneven.
You have two options:
- Buy new tires and rotate them periodically, such as every 10,000 miles; or
- Keep driving with the current tires and hope they wear the way you need them to. When that fails, see option 1.
Also, since only one tire appears to have worn unevenly, you may want to make sure your alignment isn’t off and that you keep your tires inflated properly. It’s unusual for a single tire to wear if there’s not another problem.
Another cause might be a bad shock, so check those too.
You indeed have a bad tire, and rotation won’t help a bit. Nor did failure to rotate cause the situation. Either your Ford has an alignment problem or the bad tire has some internal defect, such as tread separation.
This puts you on a cusp. Alignment is covered by Ford’s warranty, but the tire is warranteed separately by its manufacturer. My suggestion is to first go to Ford and insist they realign the front end under warranty. Indicate the bad tire as the reason you know there is misalignment. Next go to the tire manufacturer and claim tire defect under warranty. Cite your tire rotation history as the reason you know there is a defect.
Due to the weasel terms of all tire warranties you will not be given a brand new tire. At best you will be given a few dollars off on a replacement tire, which will be the only cure for the problem.
Sorry to tell you this, but alignment is not covered under any warranty. The OP is out of luck here, be it tire or alignment, the dealer is not responsible for remedying the situation for free.
“They moved the tire from the fro(n)t to the back and the rum rum has now moved to the back on the same tire.”
Some car manufacturers will do an alignment under warranty when the car is VERY new–such as a few weeks following purchase. On a 2006 vehicle, I don’t believe that any manufacturer would cover alignment under the warranty.
GM covered alignment up to 12,000 miles,any of the others better?
Subaru covers alignment up to 3yrs/36,000 miles if warranted by a problem.
Not rotating the tires is NOT the cause of the noise, something else is and the dealer is trying to avoid fixing it. If you rotate your tires frequently enough, the wear pattern will not develop and you will not get the noise, but you will still have the problem and the problem will cause prematurely worn out tires, but you wouldn’t know that.
If your Escape is a 4wd model, you do have to rotate frequently or it can damage the differentials. If its just rwd, you don’t really need to do a rotation ever. Most likely you need a good four wheel alignment to prevent the problem in the future.
As far as the noise going away, it might if the tires are fairly new and you have the patience. Even then, it will probably not disappear completely.