I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I picked up a 2005 Toyota Corolla S automatic with almost 92,000 miles yesterday. The car will be my daughter's school car. The car is in good shape and was purchased from the original owner. All maintenance paperwork was included and the owner was good about regular maintenance, including replacement of the recalled ECM and manifold gasket that's been mentioned in other threads as issues related to this generation.

We've never owned a Corolla or a small car before, so I'm not sure if the road noise I'm hearing is characteristic of the car (or a smaller/lighter car) or an issue with the tires that are on it, or something else. The car is very loud once I hit 40 to 45mph or higher. It appears the noise is coming from the front end and it just sounds like I'm driving on rough unpaved road--I guess that's the best way I can describe it. The previous owner installed the current tires on at 63,000 miles. They are Goodyear Viva 2 from Walmart. I've done some research on these tires and many comments have not been favorable.

Anyone have any insight on the noise I'm hearing? Tires, suspension, just the way the car is? Otherwise the car runs good, no shaking, strong engine. Just this annoyance. I wish I could install different tires on the car to see if this is the problem.

Thanks to anyone that may be able to shed some light for me.

Its just the natue of the beast. These cars have mcpherson struts up front and no independent rear suspension and do tend to ride a little ruff at times. Your goodyear tires aren't helping none either. I changed to Hankook H727 optimo's and it made a diffrence in ride quality. For your piece of mind next time you do tire rotation have them check your wheel bearings.

 

Thanks for the reply. I drove it again today and the noise sounds similar to when a washing machine is in the spin cycle, like a humming/whirling sound. Yes, I will definitely have it checked out just to make certain and I may also test drive a similar Corolla at my local dealer for comparison. Hopefully, it's nothing major!

 

I would get it checked out. It could be bad wheel bearings or bad tires, more likely bad tires.

Double check all of the fluid levels (power steering, engine oil, ATF) in case something is low. Likely unrelated but I have to throw it in there because most people don't bother to.

 

Yeah, I made an appointment with a wheel alignment shop that I've been going to for some time to look at it next week. Perhaps it's the tires. I've read on-line that some folks have had issues with internal belt separation on these. Who knows if this is the problem or not. As for the fluids, everything checked out okay, just had to add some windshield fluid. Filters look good as well, including the A/C cabin filter. I'm going to change the serpentine belt tomorrow as it's showing some cracking. Just bought the Gates Micro-V that was touted as being a good one in another thread.

 

How often do you rotate them?

 

BowtieFan: We just bought an 05 S for our daughter as well and I had the same first impression - Pretty Noisy. Like you, I've never owned a small car so it just might come with the territory but am curious to see what you find out! We have Goodyear tires too! Our car was one owner, 61K miles. My hubby checked it out and he thought it was quieter than other corollas he test drove.

I set up an appt for the ECM which wasn't done. I didn't find anything about the gasket you mentioned on toyota.com recall. Should I be looking somewhere else?

Also, we are getting a double image/glare from the headlights in the rear window. It seems to double at every defroster line. Do you have this? Thought maybe it was the tint but I called a company today and they said probably not, it's probably just the angle/design that's causing the issue.

Seems to me like there is a bit of a whining sound that I hear until we hit about 30mph so would appear that its transmission noise but accelerating is pretty smooth so we don't think there is a transmission issue.

Thanks all! Glad for this forum!

 

BowtieFan: We just bought an 05 S for our daughter as well and I had the same first impression - Pretty Noisy. Like you, I've never owned a small car so it just might come with the territory but am curious to see what you find out! We have Goodyear tires too! Our car was one owner, 61K miles. My hubby checked it out and he thought it was quieter than other corollas he test drove.

I set up an appt for the ECM which wasn't done. I didn't find anything about the gasket you mentioned on toyota.com recall. Should I be looking somewhere else?

Also, we are getting a double image/glare from the headlights in the rear window. It seems to double at every defroster line. Do you have this? Thought maybe it was the tint but I called a company today and they said probably not, it's probably just the angle/design that's causing the issue.

Seems to me like there is a bit of a whining sound that I hear until we hit about 30mph so would appear that its transmission noise but accelerating is pretty smooth so we don't think there is a transmission issue.

Thanks all! Glad for this forum!

Congrats on your new Corolla! Hope it works out well for your daughter. The previous owner indicated that he changed the gasket based on a code he received after the check engine light came on. Check out the following thread for good info on problems with the 9th generation Corolla, particularly post #6 that talks about the gasket problem/code.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...08/424233-official-looking-buy-2003-2008-corolla-what-look-common-problems.html

I haven't notice any glare with headlights coming through the rear window. I really haven't driven it much at night as of yet as we've only had it a few days. I'll let you know if I experience this problem as well.

I also replaced the serpentine belt today--the old one was pretty cracked and was chirping. The chirping is now gone, so I'm hopeful it will remain that way. You may want to check yours as well as that may be contributing to the whining noise you're hearing.

 

Does the noise change when turning either way at 40+ mph? You can also check for front wheel bearing free-play with front end jacked up.

 

No, there is no change when I turn the wheel left or right. I really don't think it's the wheel bearings, but it might be. I did take off the two front tires tonight and noticed the one on the driver's side has some issues. It appears to have some wear on the inner tread, with some minor bulging, so I suspect this could be one of the factors. Also, I drove on the highway today and noticed the steering wheel was shaking a little bit at 70.

Not sure how the tires were treated and how many times they were rotated. The car was aligned about a year ago, with no issues.

 

Do the front wheels appear to have excessive negative camber, when looked at from in front of car? /======\
You could maybe at least jack up the front and check for any free-play and/or rough rotation, and lift strut bellows (boots) to look for any leaking.

 

Invader, I'm going to a wheel specialist on Wed. and I'll have them check it out. Thanks for the info.

 

Invader, I'm going to a wheel specialist on Wed. and I'll have them check it out. Thanks for the info.

Ying ou haven't posted in awhile so we don't know how you made out. I want to give you a word of warning here...i chased my rough riding 05 corolla with 2 sets of goodyear tires and wheel bearing checks at 50K miles some 4 years ago. After all that money still no significant change or improvement. Just change tires again at 100K with hankook 727's. Out of all the things i did this made the beast ride better. Its still no caddy or lincoln but at least i can ride more than 100 miles without stopping to pee because my kidneys are being pumbled.

 

Well, I had the car looked at by a wheel specialist yesterday. Everything looks great. Car is in alignment, wheel bearings are good, shocks/struts all check out. Turns out the driver's front tire was bad, probably defective from the start. I had the receipt from Walmart and they ended up replacing the defective tire with the same Goodyear Viva 2. All is well now and the car runs and sounds good. Still a little loud for my liking, but as mentioned here, I guess that's just the nature of the beast with a smaller car. Extreme One, I probably will replace the tires all-around next year and will check out the Hankooks. I have a friend that has a '05 Pontiac GTO with Hankooks and he swears by them! Anyway, just glad it was nothing major!!

 

Still a little loud for my liking, but as mentioned here, I guess that's just the nature of the beast with a smaller car.

Not true. The Corolla is quite respectable at highway speeds with the right tires. Much better than most similar small cars such as the Civic.

Yokohama Avid tires work very well on my 05. Quiet, low rolling resistance & great handling. Run about 40 psi & have averaged 39.9 MPG over the last 34 tanks. Running average is 41.2.