[Andrea22]

I am new to this so please bear with me. I have had my Bmax a year now, but recently noticed a rumbling noise coming from somewhere at the front of the car. It happens mostly when you are poodling along at the lower speed in each gear e.g when the engine seems to be working harder causing a vibration, but also when driving over roads which are rough concrete roads rather than tar Mac. Doesn't happen if you are increasing speed in each gear and changing up fairly quickly. Also you don't hear anything at high speed. Anyone experience anything similar? Been to fords today they've had it up on a ramp looked at bearings, shock absorbers etc and can't find anything wrong. All they could say was the front left tyre was getting low and conntinentals are known for being noisy when getting low and could it be that?? Thank you

 

[cianpars]

Difficult to say without hearing it. Ford are right about the tyre, but you would not hear much from it.

What year is you B Max? Manual or auto? How many miles on the clock Any other symptoms?

 

[Hywel S Wales]

Could be simply a small stone stuck in the tread of one of your tyres !

Happened to me once.

 

[cianpars]

Could be simply a small stone stuck in the tread of one of your tyres !

Happened to me once.

Yep happened to me more than once.

 

[Andrea22]

It's a 62 plate. Diesel done 30,000 miles

 

[Andrea22]

Sorry it's manual and no, no other symptoms.

 

[cianpars]

Is it coming from one side or the middle? If from one side, could be wheel,brake or cv joint, if from the centre, you could be looking at engine, gearbox, clutch or possibly alternator. Very difficult to be specific as noises are so difficult to describe. Does anyone know whether it is possible to upload a sound recording?

 

[Andrea22]

Hi all. I took it to a Ford garage so if there was something slightly wrong I'm are they would have done the work. They said they have it a good looking over and doesnt appear to be anything mechanical that they can see.

 

[cianpars]

Best thing to do is to take them out for a drive and when the noise starts, ask them whther this is normal. Alternatively, do you have any friends who are mechanically minded that you can take for a ride?

 

[Lollysmum]

I've had a similar experience. I have a 13 reg 1.6 titanium diesel with 30k on clock. I had a mechanic friend take a look and he said it was prob my two front good year tyres that were worn. He could see no other issues. Since I've replaced it's better, but still can hear the noise slightly. I've also noticed my mpg has reduced quite a bit since I've replaced the tyres which is a bit weird to 39/40 mpg. Will have to keep an eye on that.

 

[hallii]

I am inclined to be a bit of a petrol head, as a retired engineer (not cars) I tend to be listening for any noises. My previous car ( A Ford Mondeo) had what I thought was a failing wheel bearing, the whine at low speed was exactly like it would sound. My local Ford mechanic simply swapped front tyres to the back and back tyres to the front, the noise went.
Modern tyres can be noisy when worn, I don't know why though.
I also suspect that once our ears get "tuned in" to a noise we can hear it above anything else.
My policy nowadays is to ignore any noise I hear (or think I hear) until something obvious rears it's head.
My recent rattle from the rear was cured when I tidied the boot, strange that!
Geoff

 

[lsantas]

might be engine or gearbox mounts.. or maybe if you changed battery or air filter might not be firmly closed.

 

[EASYDOZIT]

I am new to this so please bear with me. I have had my Bmax a year now, but recently noticed a rumbling noise coming from somewhere at the front of the car. It happens mostly when you are poodling along at the lower speed in each gear e.g when the engine seems to be working harder causing a vibration, but also when driving over roads which are rough concrete roads rather than tar Mac. Doesn't happen if you are increasing speed in each gear and changing up fairly quickly. Also you don't hear anything at high speed. Anyone experience anything similar? Been to fords today they've had it up on a ramp looked at bearings, shock absorbers etc and can't find anything wrong. All they could say was the front left tyre was getting low and conntinentals are known for being noisy when getting low and could it be that?? Thank you

Hi Andrea22,

I know this is an old post but the symptoms you describe sound just like the problem I am currently experiencing on my 2012 1ltr EcoBoost Titanium B-Max.
I have looked at quite a few reports of noise problems on the B-Max but could find none that were described just like the ones you mentioned.
My fault sounds identical to what you described except for the fact that I cannot tell where underneath the sound is coming from.
I took my car into a Ford dealer and they replaced the left-hand lower control arm that was slightly loose, but they said that there was nothing else that they could find, unfortunately the problem is still there.
I have tried several things like door runners and latches, rear seat catches, loose number plates, etc; even though the noise appears to be coming from underneath.
Therefore I was wondering if you managed to get your problem fixed and if so what it was that was causing the trouble.

Thank you hopefully,
EASYDOZIT