I have a 2007 mk3 bought several months ago. Been taken on many a motorway journey since, and was fine through MOT (few advisories, nothing significant and tyres replaced since).
I normally drive with the radio on pretty loud hence why it’s hard to know whether it’s always been like this or not. But recently when I’ve been driving I’ve been convinced there is a problem with my car. It is noisy and uncomfortable on the motorway. It growls. I don’t think it’s the engine. I’m not even sure if there is a problem. I keep thinking ‘did it always sound and drive like this?’
I feel like I’m going mad as I’m convinced there is a problem whilst my dad keeps saying it’s just a noisy car and he notices nothing when he’s driven it. But I just cannot stand driving on the motorway in it lately, it feels… wrong somehow.
The brakes done recently, the tyres are new. The only thing it could be is wheel bearings apparently. But when jacked up they turn just fine.
Are all older soft top mk3s just noisy and feel a bit rubbish to drive on the motorway? Or should I take it into the garage?
You could check the hood drainage tubes, they have a baffle (a flap) at the lower end to prevent road noise entering the cabin. These flaps can become dislodged if the incorrect procedure of clearing the tubes isn’t followed.
Check for correct tyre pressures, you’ll probably feel that rather than hear it so much but worth putting correct pressures 29 psi.
Wheel bearing noise or even brake binding noise, do the wheel(s) get excessively hot?
Just to point out too what your dad says, they can sound noisy on motorways, if all’s well then just put the music up a little, I do.
I know when my front wheel bearings were gone it sounded terrible for me the driver,everything sounded like metal on metal and weirdly through transmission tunnel, but passenger’s couldn’t hear it.But it was obvious the bearings had gone when checked by the garage once replaced everything quietend down.
Does it have a nice fruity sporty exhaust instead of the normally quite restrained original?
It might help if you can determine whether it is road noise or engine/exhaust noise you are hearing.
The simple way to tell is to briefly depress the clutch pedal and allow the engine to drop to idle speed when next driving on the motorway.
If this makes a lot of difference to the noise then it is engine/exhaust noise you are hearing.
If it makes very little, then it is road noise and it is worth checking out the roof drains.
Another clue it is road noise is if the noise varies on different surfaces.
Mine is not the quietest of machines with the roof up.
With the roof down you expect all sorts of noises, but with the roof up, one would expect a certain amount of civility and tranquility.
I’d go as far as to say, that i find it more peaceful to drive with the roof down rather than up.
Mine is a soft top, so I’d expect some noise to travel through the hood.
There’s nothng at all in the way of sound deadening in the boot, or behind the seats, under the plastic hood cubby space.
When I say nothing, I mean absolutely nothing.
So any road noises, creaks, rattles or bumps are amplified through the bodywork, and up in to the roof space behind your head.
I don’t know if the PRHT is any quieter. ???
I placed carpet underfelt in the boot, behind the boot trim, inside the shock turrets, under the hood stowage area, It made it a little better, but by no means dignified.
I’ve still to try and semi plug the drain tubes, but as I drive in infrequently with the roof up, it’s not a priority for me.
I’ll do it one day.
I was wondering if the soft top might be any quieter!!
The roadster has no headlining of any sort and it’s rather like being inside a drum. As with your car its a toss-up whether to have the roof up or down at motorway speeds for more peace and at lower speeds the car is definitely more refined in roof down mode.
I have plugged the roof drains with foam but the difference was rather disappointing.
My mate has an Audi A3 cabriolet with soft top and he reckons its as quiet as a saloon with the roof up.
Luckily I have a 3 series Touring for long journeys.
Wife had a megane cabrio (soft top version) and that was much quieter than the mx5
You say the tyres are new, could it be tyre road noise?
Some tyres are definitely quieter than others, so it could well be that the new tyres are noisier than the previous ones.
Autoexpress rate tyres for noise as well as grip etc in their tests, so could be worth a look at their website.
Hi
As already mentioned, it could be road noise possibly coming up through the drain vents, I have a MK3 soft top and it’s quite noisey when the top is up, plus the rubber seal in the top of the windscreen squeaks with lid up.
At first I thought it was bearings, but I’ve now got used to it, if in doubt get it checked out but look at the easy and simple solutions first like plugging the drain holes under the car, you’ll need a long trombone brush ( MX5 parts ) to clean the holes out first.
Boz
Hi, I had the same issue with my 2007 NC and it turned out to be the offside front hub bearings were failing. My local garage changed the hub and the car was transformed back to the car I remembered. Ensure you purchase a genuine part to keep the ABS sensors balanced the first attempt my garage had with a pattern part was not compatible the ABS light was permanently on. I hope this info helps.
Cheers
Keith