andysinnh

My wife's '18 RLX SH doesn't get driven a lot - we have only 11k miles after having it for over 2 years now. Mostly local driving and periodic short highway trips. This weekend we had the need to take a 4 hour round trip from NH to RI, and took the RLX instead of the MDX we usually take. It was the first longer-distance trip we've used the RLX for. It performed flawlessly, got 34.8 MPG fr the round trip, and was VERY comfortable to drive. Only "oddity" was a very faint "chirping" sound from the front that would periodically appear after drivng for a while on the highway. It's definitely wheel speed related - doesn't change with engine RPM's. Also doesn't change when braking or when cornering. Not noticible at lower speeds, and doesn't always do it on the highway. Road surface quality doesn't seem to change it. I'm thinking that this very faint sound might be one of the bearings, but hard to diagnose at this point. Anyway, was curious as to whether anyone has experienced this sort of thing (on the RLX or another vehicle), and whether I'm headed in the right direction. In a normal car you might not hear this, but in the RLX it's so darned quiet, you hear this sort of thing pretty easily. :-)

thx - andy

mrgold35

I haven't noticed the chirping sound on our 18 RLX with +17,000 miles. We usually have the radio on at background noise levels on the hwy with ACC set to 80 mph. That might be drowning out any chirping sounds.

psheu

Do you have the cruise control on and hands on the wheel? Our RLX got the smart cruise control so if you have your hands off the steering wheel for long period of time, it'll throw out some warning.

andysinnh

Nah- cruise was off at that point. Definitely not a warning or "wake up" sort of thing. Mechanical sounding is the best way to describe it.

Limelight

I picked up a different car last summer and the RLX got kicked out of the garage and into the driveway. With COVID, it doesn’t get driven too often now.

Ever since, I too hear a noise which comes and goes and I describe it as a bearing or some rubbing too. It’s a metal rubbing sound and sounds like it’s coming from the wheels, which I’ve noticed is more predominant after it rains - like something rusts over and then works itself out after driving for awhile. It’s very noticeable with the windows cracked and driving at lower speeds - like when I pass a parked car and the sound bounces off of it for example.

Don’t like it but haven’t bothered getting it checked out as it seems to correct itself the more I drive it. I have a 2015 Sport Hybrid.

rlx015

Does the chirping faint sound increase with the speed increase? If so, it is likely air getting into some area where it creates this faint noise - maybe check out all seals around the hood door, etc.?

andysinnh

It could be - but it sounded to rhythmic to be something air related. I'm going to pull both front tires this weekend and see if I can figure something out that's obvious. At this point, if I can't find something I can point to specifically, I may need to see if it changes or gets worse. Otherwise we keep using it :-)

jpadilla

Did you find anything? Mine making similar noise, dealer not able to figure it out. It sounds like the brake pad indicator but plenty of meat left on the pads. Used to only happen on left turns but now starting to also happen when driving straight. You can't hear it much with the windows rolled up, but roll them down and it is super loud, almost embarrasing.

andysinnh

Nope. We haven't driven much on the highway since then, and at lower urban/rural speeds (including 50mph stretches), the noise is not apparent. What's interesting is that in talking with my wife, we both heard it but from different directions inside the car - which tells me it could be something centralized vs in one of the tires. I'm wondering if maybe it's related to just the sound of the central electric motor or something similar (?). Not sure - but until it becomes more apparent (and I can't track it down myself) the dealer will not be able to diagnose anything.

If you find something, let me know! :-)

mrgold35

You might have to turn off the A/C, heated/ventilated seats, info-tainment, and Acurawatch the next time you hear it. Might even have the power distribution monitor up on the navi screen to see if the sound happens with EV component engagement.

jpadilla

I think I finally resolved my issue. The front brake pad "guides" (metal clips mounted on caliper that the pads snap into) where off center. I centered them and noise went away. I guess it was enough to rub on the rotor when turning the wheel. No more embarrassing squeak with looks of "fix your sh!t".