2018 CX-9 GT Road Noise

MattGoose

Member
:
CX-9
Hi,

New Mazda owner here :)

Very happy so far - still figuring some stuff out, but am concerned about tire/road noise. I'm coming from a 2011 Pilot that was very, very loud and chose the CX-9, in part, because it was reported to be very quiet. The Pilot was on Michelin MXV4 tires, which were quiet enough not be heard over the road noise :)

And it is - mostly. Took it on a rode trip to kick everything off and was surprised by how much tire/road noise there is on the highway.

It's much like regular tire hum, but much higher pitched. Occurs at highway speeds only, and I can hear it over the radio when driving alone. When driving with the radio off it's quite distracting.

I'm on the Duelers and the sound is intermittent - but only because it doesn't stop happening very often.

Any thoughts? I searched this forum, and others, and see no mention of it. Believe it or not, I'm actually hoping something it wrong so it can be fixed.

Are the Dueler's unidirectional? The tires my Pilot came with were, and the idiots had put them on backwards....

Help, and thank you in advance!
 
Road noise is mostly dependent upon your tires. This car also doesn't have the extent of sound deadening you would find in a luxury car either so that is the other factor.
 
Check the air pressure. We just picked up my wifes GT last week and I was surprised how noisy it was. The next day I checked the tire pressure and it was way high. Lowered them down to 34psi and quieted it down good.
 
Check the air pressure. We just picked up my wifes GT last week and I was surprised how noisy it was. The next day I checked the tire pressure and it was way high. Lowered them down to 34psi and quieted it down good.

Yeah, when I picked mine up, it was way too high as well. It's a common occurrence I've read. Definitely helped when I lowered them to what they're supposed to be at.
 
Speed (for resonance issues), tires, tire pressure, road surface, and with the CX-9, possibly trim level can determine noise levels. There have also been vehicles that had door sealing faults with more noise than the norm. Ones expectations can also vary quite a bit. Cars I found quiet enough to not notice personally, reviewers have knocked for noisy or hard ride. Generally the sportier the vehicle the more you give up in quietness and ride quality until you start spending a lot more. I have never expected vault like quietness out of any mainstream brand, or experienced it in those where it wasn't a soft sloppy driving mess with quiet but non-grippy tires. .
 
Which Dueler? Bridgestone makes several models, and I'm not sure which is OE on the CX-9.

You can look and see if the tires are unidirectional. There is always a marker on the sides, usually an arrow, often a stylized arrow.

Get the tires rotated. Note if the sound changes. You might have one bad tire.
 
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