Noise under acceleration/cruising new Ex Sport

Just curious if anyone has noticed this.

I have a slight drone coming from what I believe is the front/middle of the vehicle under a few circumstances.

In auto 4WD mode, I notice it when accelerating between 45-50 mph. When in Sand mode, I notice it more during any acceleration, but its mostly noticeable from 40-50mph.

It is not a vibration that I can feel, but more of a low pitched drone.

I was leaning toward possibly driveshaft noise, especially since I notice it more during acceleration in sand mode and the torque is more evenly distributed. It doesn't make much sense though, because I don't notice it in auto mode below the speed listed above.

The car only has 900 miles on it, so I have not stepped on it hard from a stop, and have never really given the car more than 50% throttle.

Anything I can check on my own before taking it in to the dealer and having them tell me inevitably that they cannot hear the problem? My dealership isn't exactly the most receptive based on the fact that my alignment was off from the factory and they blamed torque steer....to which the local NTB had to fix on my dime after my dealer gave it a half hearted attempt and just move the wheel to compensate for the pull.

Thoughts?

Otherwise it has been a great car!

Aside from speed, do you notice it during specific RPMs?

Also, just because NTB was willing to take your money, doesn't mean it really needed an alignment. Most of the time it is the road.

What's NTB?

National Tire and Battery. Guy is a friend, he let me sit in the car when he did it to center the wheel and gave me the spec sheet. It was off.

It is not RPM dependent, I've bounced down a few gears and it doesn't change it.

Reverse double tap

Had the chance to drive the car home from work today and paid closer attention:

If the car is moving 47-48mph, the car is making the drone noise regardless of mode. I can be accelerating through that zone, decelerating, or cruising right at it. Noise is there. Foot can be on the gas, off the gas, brake, etc, doesn't matter.

If I am under moderate acceleration, I notice the noise begin at approximately 45mph and disappear right after I pass 48mph. Noticeable in normal mode, seems more prevalent in sand mode.

Those are the only circumstances when I can replicate the noise every time. Engine RPM does not impact the noise. Accessories being on or off does not impact the noise. Road surface/roadway did not impact the noise; I drive 20 miles one way to work, and hit a few different counties, highways, and a tollway.

Leads me to believe it has to be something that spins at the same rate at that speed under all circumstances, which would be driveshafts, wheels/tires. Its a faint noise, but its there.

Took it to the dealership today. They heard the noise, but the guy I rode with flat out said he didn't think they'd be able to do anything for it. Got an update call later today, they looked through the TSB's and saw that nothing was listed for this.

Said tomorrow they would pull another explorer off the lot that was similarly equipt and see if they could replicate the noise. Didn't seem very confidence inspiring.

Sad about this, because I traded in a Mustang and Acadia for this vehicle. Neither of which made any noise like this at a specific speed, and neither of which cost 46k.

If I end up with a noisy 46k vehicle, I'm going to be very upset. No other explorer (including the 5 interceptors I rotate through at work, with light bars, lights and lousy bare bones interiors) make as much noise as my Ex Sport. All of them are quiet as can be. Is it nit-picky? Yes, it may be. However for this money I would expect the most basic parts of the car (drivetrain, body) to be absolutely flawless. MFT issue? Yeah, I knew about those, ironically, that has been perfect. Humming at speed? Seems like a really stupid problem.

I'll post updates when I hopefully pick it up tomorrow. Praying its just an out of balance tire, and even more so, hoping that they figure something out.

Dealership stated they just took out another Ex Sport, and they heard the same noise at a very similar speed. They know its something in the driveline and believe it is related to the automatic 4wd system, but he said he didn't notice it as much on the other one, which is a used one with 20k miles on it.

They contacted higher, and stated they were told they had heard of this, but it wasn't a common enough issue to cause them to get a fix for it.

In short, he recommended not tearing up my explorer with 1k miles on it to try and track this down, and to continue to contact them to see if Ford some out with a fix if enough people complain about this.

Extremely disappointed. Not disappointed with the dealership, but with Ford as a whole. Problem has been heard, problem acknowledged, and Im going right now to pick up my noisy expensive SUV with no fix that makes more drivetrain noise than my 07 mustang.

I just bought a 2013 Explorer Sport with 13,000 miles. I hear a sustained "drone" or "groan" noise coming from the front end at times, too. I've noticed it varies as a gust of wind hits the front end. My suspicion was that it might be air rushing through the grill and causing the hood to be modulated, or air rushing past the hood lip gasket, or an air passageway under the hood is "whistling", much like blowing over the top of a soda or beer bottle can do.

Haven't spoken to the dealer about it yet, but will soon.

BTW, LOVE this vehicle. That V6 with the twins working away under the hood is quite impressive!

Best to all,

John

Marksman14 said:

Dealership stated they just took out another Ex Sport, and they heard the same noise at a very similar speed. They know its something in the driveline and believe it is related to the automatic 4wd system, but he said he didn't notice it as much on the other one, which is a used one with 20k miles on it. They contacted higher, and stated they were told they had heard of this, but it wasn't a common enough issue to cause them to get a fix for it. In short, he recommended not tearing up my explorer with 1k miles on it to try and track this down, and to continue to contact them to see if Ford some out with a fix if enough people complain about this. Extremely disappointed. Not disappointed with the dealership, but with Ford as a whole. Problem has been heard, problem acknowledged, and Im going right now to pick up my noisy expensive SUV with no fix that makes more drivetrain noise than my 07 mustang.

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Ask the Ford dealer to put the tires/rims from the other sport on yours for a test drive. See if the hum changes/goes away/increases. My bet is on the tires--esp if your Sport was out of align from factory.

Was the toe out? Your tires are probably feathered slightly causing tire hum at certain speeds. I've noticed my tires are starting to feather slightly which I know will cause noise in the future. Need to rotate again with 10k miles.

My 13 Sport does not do this; so I would look at differences-tires being the biggest culprit.

jschilberg said:

I just bought a 2013 Explorer Sport with 13,000 miles. I hear a sustained "drone" or "groan" noise coming from the front end at times, too. I've noticed it varies as a gust of wind hits the front end. My suspicion was that it might be air rushing through the grill and causing the hood to be modulated, or air rushing past the hood lip gasket, or an air passageway under the hood is "whistling", much like blowing over the top of a soda or beer bottle can do.

Haven't spoken to the dealer about it yet, but will soon.

BTW, LOVE this vehicle. That V6 with the twins working away under the hood is quite impressive!

Best to all,

John

Click to expand...

Hi John,

I'd get this in front of your dealership so they can diagnose. Once you've had your appointment, let us know how things went; I'll stick around this thread just in case you need any assistance.

Crystal