Loud Road Noise when Driving

[user 5057]

Our 2015 FFE has what I consider an abnormal amount of noise when being driven. The noise gets louder and louder with increase in speed. I took it into the dealer for the 60k service and mentioned it to them but they did not give me any diagnosis and acted like it was not significant. I know this is not true as it is very loud. I think they didn't know enough about servicing FFEs to bother with analyzing it. I have looked at the tires and they look fine. They are Michelin Green X with lots of wear left on them and no abnormal tread wear so I have to assume the noise is coming from other components. I have seen some posts in the non-electric forums about noise from a wheel bearing, but those stated that the noise would quiet down around curves which shift the downward force away from the side which has the defective bearing. This noise remains constant no matter whether going straight or rounding curves. I am baffled at this point as to how to diagnose and fix this very annoying and potentially dangerous problem.

Here is a link to a video I made: https://youtu.be/IKaETw5BwK0

 

[Anti_Climax]

Do you "feel" that as a rumble through the body if the car?

It makes me think of "cogging" in the motor - they use feedback to time the pattern for energizing the coils inside the motor and if that is not working correctly the magnetic fields that should be constantly pushing and up "slipping" and it causes the whole drivetrain to rattle in the process.

If nothing else, having someone use a mechanics stethoscope on different parts of the interior as you drive should be able to at least narrow down where it is strongest. You might also try to work out the frequency vs speed as that can narrow it down too.

I'd also consider the transaxle that splits the motor output to both wheels - all the normal failures are possible there.

Edit: Toward the beginning where it was pretty loud, the primary that seems to be coming though seemed a little below the low E on a guitar tuning which puts it around 80Hz. Granted, between the mic, compression and playback I can't say if that is the fundamental frequency or a harmonic that captured particularly well.

If it is 80Hz at 40ish MPH, it's not far from being half the frequency of motor shaft rotation for that speed - so cogging could be a possibility.

You could also place the phone at different spots under the hood and have it record and see where it's the loudest.

 

[user 5057]

Hi Anti,

Thanks for the reply. There is no perceptible rumble or vibration inside the car, just the noise. I think the YouTube video accurately reflects the primary frequency of the noise as the car speeds up and slows down. The car has been this way for at least two years. It hasn't seemed to have gotten any better or worse. One other point is the car is still as quick, acceleration-wise, as it always was. I would think if there were some kind of fault in the motor's magnetic fields, the performance would also be degraded.

The idea of putting a phone or audio recorder under the hood seems like a good way to get additional data points. I also want to stand by the side of the road while my wife drives by at about 45 MPH and record the sound from external to the car; another data point.

I am really hoping someone else has had this problem and was able to get it diagnosed and resolved. It really degrades the driving experience in this vehicle. I also have a 2019 Chevy Volt and it is whisper quiet when running on battery and not much louder even when the gas engine kicks in. That's the way the FFE used to be when new. Much nicer to drive!

 

[Anti_Climax]

The cogging doesn't have to significantly impact output - pulses aren't missing, they are just mis-aligned from where they should be.

It's a problem I had on mine intermittently and I'm pretty sure a TCM update fixed it. Never drove it at speed when it happened so I can't really compare.

 

[Heima]

Just so that you can rule out tires, try swapping front to rear and see if the sound changes. Its relatively quick and cheap.
I had some Yokohamas on my Matrix that sounded exactly like bearing noise. Made the turn thing and the sound did change slightly, so I replaced the bearings.
Nope still there. Did a quick tire swap front to rear, and it was greatly diminished. Felt like an idiot.
Installed some Goodyear Viva tires and the road noise dropped to almost silent.
Learning from that, a friend's Prius had some noisy tires, so playing a hunch, I swapped front to rear.
Sound did not change. So I replaced the bearings. Yeah, they were shot and now nice and quiet.

 

[user 5057]

Thanks again to you both. TCM being Transmission Control Module? I assume this needs to be done at the dealer? If that's it, the dealer I took it to in Roseville California should have checked the version and done an update when I took it in for the 60k service. Perhaps they did not. I'll check into it. I'll also try the tire swap to see if it makes a difference.

Do you know if there is a way I can check the TCM version on the Sync display or using an OBD scanner?

 

[Anti_Climax]

Forscan may tell you, but the dealer can also tell you if there's any updates that need to be applied. And I do believe it's "Transmission Control Module" even if that's a bit of a misnomer for these.

 

[user 5057]

Took it in to the dealer this AM. Will post here with the outcome.

 

[scottt]

Differential recall??

Power train: Driveline: Differential unit
Recall date
2016-06-27
Recall no.
16V479000
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Ford Focus Electric vehicles manufactured August 20, 2015, through April 13, 2016. The transmission's differential pinion gear shaft may overheat and fracture.
Recall consequence
A fractured pinion shaft could cause a loss of motive power and loss of the transmission park function, increasing the risk of a crash.
Recall action
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission differential assembly, free of charge. The recall began on March 24, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S28.

 

[user 5057]

Dealer has had the car for 3 full days now with no update (Auburn Ford, Auburn, California). Thank you, Scott for the recall information. I hope that's it!

I'm the original owner but didn't get any notification from Ford about it.

Will update tomorrow when I call them and ask WTF is the status!

 

[user 5057]

Dealer has now had the car since January 19th. I got an update a couple weeks ago. The problem is the transmission which needs to be replaced. $12,000 job! I was told it is covered under the power train warranty, thank goodness! Still waiting for the job to be completed. Going to call tomorrow and ask for an updated status. Delay is probably due to supply chain issues as we have all been dealing with since the China-caused pandemic.

 

[2017focusev]

My 2017 Focus EV (I've owned since new now has 62k miles) recently started making a whirring noise coming from the front on drivers side. It goes up and down with vehicle speed. It's very noticeable from dead stop to about 15 mph then fades away. It's been getting worse the last few days. But, I noticed driving at speed with the window down I could hear the high pitched noise. I think it's definitely something in the drive train. Fortunately the Focus EV has an 8-year, 100,000 mile drive train warranty. I'll take it to Ford to see what they come up with. The only maintenance performed so far is a recent 12V battery replacement and tires at 28k. It's been a great maintenance free vehicle. ...and when something like this comes up this is when a new user (me) appears on forums. My symptom does not sound like your video. Mine is higher frequency and hardly noticeable at driving speeds. . Mine is more like a ticking sound very noticeable at less than 10mph. I also confirmed there are no recalls on my Focus EV.

 

[triangles]

Sounds like you are describing a bad CV joint.

 

[2017focusev]

Not the CV joints. Got a closer look at it and the noise is inside the gearbox. Sounds like a bad bearing. The noise is a lot worse now (like a clothes dryer tumbling rocks) so I've parked it until it goes to the dealer soon. It should be covered under the 100k drivetrain warranty.

 

[user 5057]

Still waiting on mine. No update other than still waiting on parts. Been over 4 weeks now.... :roll:

 

[Anti_Climax]

I'd bet it's a part unique to our models and not kept on hand :/

 

[user 5057]

Here we are at the end of June, 2022 and my car is still at the Ford Dealer Service Dept; been there since January 19th, 2022. Supply chain issues (thanks to CCP/covid) delayed arrival of the first replacement motor assembly until mid-May. Once the unit arrived, the technician couldn't get the unit to accept the programming settings, so they ordered another unit, which arrived in early June. That one had the same issue. So... my car sits at the dealer waiting for some expert from Ford corporate to resolve the issue. This stage of the ordeal has been going on for over a month with no movement. I have suggested to the service manager that it may be that the new unit has different firmware and the settings extracted from the original TCM do not match up with the newer firmware and they may need to manually configure the settings and then upload them using programming software that is compatible with the new motor assembly firmware. Why else would two new units both not work??? :roll:

I am also working on a case with the BBB Auto Line arbitration program to pursue getting the car fixed or bought back so we can move on. After 5 months, I am losing faith this will ever be resolved. My first choice would be to get my Focus back on the road, but failing that, and if I am successful at the buy-back, I think I will buy a used Chevy Volt. Been very happy with our 2019 Volt Premier.

 

[Anti_Climax]

If it does look like you're going to try a buyback, find out what it is worth to them. If they buy it back they are not going to finish the job and resell it, it's going to get junked or shipped overseas. And with how rare they will be getting, you may be able to get as much or more from a private buyer.

 

[user 5057]

True, but the car has to be working in order to sell to a private party. Right now, at 5+ months, it is still dead in the water at the dealer and there is no sign anything is moving forward on the repair. Very frustrating.

 

[Anti_Climax]

It really doesn't, though that would certainly mean more potential buyers for it.

Just saying they have value in parts if only for their rarity and depending on the offer, you may be able to get as much or more from others.