Petrol RAV4 68 Plate

[Maxi9]

I bought this car, used with 4000 miles on the clock about six months ago and am mainly happy with it. One problem I have noticed is high road noise, I have checked tyre pressures and all are ok as recommended. The car is factory fitted with "running boards" (side steps) ??, does anyone know if these amplify the road noise, and if so, can they easily be removed. Thank  You.

[philip42h]

I wouldn't have thought that the side steps made an appreciable difference to the level of road noise.

The RAV isn't 'quiet' - you shouldn't expect it to be ... what are you comparing it to?

And, most importantly, what tyres are you running? If you are on OEM Bridgestone Duelers there are quieter options ...

[Kos_ta]

As said RAV isn't a quietest car to start with, when I bought mine I was quite surprised with the road noise level during the test driving compare to KIA Sportage I tested at the same time...

Still bought RAV though LOL...

I cured the noise problem on mine by doing a few things:

1. Soundproofing the whole car, took me 3 days, 4mm vibro damp + 5mm closed cell soundproof on the floor/boot/rear wheelarches + 10mm foam on plastic wheelarches interior covers, 2mm vibro damp + 3mm closed cell soundproof on the doors + 10 mm foam on door cards, 2mm vibro damp + 3mm closed cell soundproof on the roof.

2. Installed aftermarket rear wheelarches liners with applied 4mm vibro damp on them + applied about half an inch thick layer of Dinitrol 479.

3. Replaced OEM Yokohama Geolandar with Michelin Latitude Sport 3.

As a result cabin noise in my car now similar to Merc E-Class which I'm quite happy with 🙂

[Maxi9]

Thanks for the replies. Yes on OEM Bridgestone's 18".  Comparing noise really to Merc e Class Saloon, and I thought that was noisy.

Will wait until tyres a bit older and try and source quieter tyres.. Will probably only keep it another 12 or 18 months anyway, I get bored with

cars very quickly and change often, I was tempted by the 5 year warranty with this car and thought I would keep it longer.

Oh Well, best intentions.

 

 

[philip42h]

You'll get around 50k miles out of a set of Bridgestones - the RAV is surprisingly gentle on its tyres - so waiting to wear them out may not quite have the result you'd hope for! 

The road noise from the Bridgestones is very dependent upon the road surface - they are very noisy on concrete and broken / coubik surfaces, noisy on your average UK road and whisper quiet (well, comparatively) on a French autoroute on a warm summer's day.

I run Michelin Cross Climates - a lot quieter on average and well suited to the RAV4 ... other good quality all season tyres are available ... 🙂

[enyajtrebor]

Hi, I’ve just changed to Michelin Cross Climates on my 2013 2.2 Icon. The difference tyre noise surprised me, so much nicer to drive as well as quieter on all surfaces