Tires squeal when turning: What should I do?

Each sound will have its message to alert the car owner about the incident.

Running a car is always the dream of many car owners because it still shows us a sense of security when driving them. So when your vehicle shows signs of abnormal noise, it means that your car is no longer safe and is a reminder to have it serviced promptly.

Each sound will have its message to alert the car owner about the incident. Therefore, you should keep an eye on your car carefully to avoid unfortunate accidents. The most common sound that drivers always catch sight of and complain about is the tires squeal when turning. If you have also experienced the same thing, let’s have a closer look at this situation, the cause, and the solution to fix them.

What should I do if my tires keep squealing when turning
Each sound will have its message to alert the car owner about the incident.

Tires squeal, a symptom to take care of your car

The casing is the only part of the vehicle that is in contact with the road and dramatically affects the control of the car, and the wheel is the part that has more movement than the steering axis. The front-wheel primarily will emit more noise than the rear wheel.

The purpose of the designer is to create a different type of front-wheel audio for the driver to identify quickly. Different patterned tires will have different noise levels. So the same car, but one tire is louder than the other.

Squealing tires are the most caught sight of when you are braking hard, cornering or accelerating. This is quite a common issue when driving a car. However, when it becomes more severe and problematic, you will hear this sound even when you are turning very slowly and gently.

On the other hand, not all situations when you hear tires squeal is a severe problem. For example, the stickier surface can be a challenge for you to fit on some newly painted areas without hearing a squeaky shoe-like sound of the tires. In this case, because you have to perform tight-radius turns there at low speeds, it is not a big deal.

Why do my tires squeal when turning?

Generally, the causes of the squealing tires are quite variable to list out. It is related to even other elements of the cars, so here we will just provide the most common causes of this situation.

Lack of air pressure

The tire pressure is briefly understood as air pressure compressed inside a tire. This pressure dramatically affects the operating characteristics of the tires. The contact surface is evenly spread, thereby helping to ensure safety while driving. Besides, a set of adequately pumped tires provides direct benefits to users, such as optimal smoothness, stable cornering, the shortest braking distance, and fuel economy.

Image result for tires squeal when turning
Under – inflation is one of the most common factors causes terrible noise when turning.

The lack of air pressure will cause your tires to be more flat, vulnerable to damages and accidents. Also, the traction capabilities of your car will be worse and cannot be as good as the new one. As a result, when you turn, your vehicle does not have enough resistance to the physical forces within the tire, so it tries to find the right amount of road contact. Because of the item’s short form, the rubber will slide and make some terrible sounds.

The air pressure is also affected by weather and climate. That means the air pressure in hot weather will increase due to the expansion of the air. In contrast, when in cold weather, the air inside shrinks, therefore the pressure is reduced. Also, due to a leak when one of the tires loses more strength than others, the under-inflation can be caused. Remember that every tire will lose pressure day by day, so check them regularly.

The fluency of these checks is up to your type of car or tires, the road you drive, and also how you drive as well. However, making sure your tires are correctly inflated, you can prolong their lifespan, reduce accidents and risks, as well as prevent uneven wear.

To make it easier to imagine, tires that lack more than 20% of the standard pressure can shorten their lifespan by up to 30%.

Regular And Uneven Tread Wear

Tires are the parts in direct contact with the road surface, affected by many types of forces causing the tire surface to wear quickly over time. However, tire wear is not always worn out, and uneven tire wear is one of the most severe problems. Worn tires wherever you are shown some discrepancies in the tires themselves or parts directly connected to the tires such as the steering system, etc.

If the tire is worn unevenly detected and checked in time, it will lead to severe consequences, the more deeply worn the wear, the more likely the tire tearing and explosion.

Besides, tire tread provides you with enough traction, and the lack of it is the main reason why your car squeals when turning. Tires are regarded as bald and dangerous at 2/32″ tread depth. But, traction loss should be noticed at 5/32″. As your tires reach 4-3/32″, you should search for a new set because these current tires are no longer safe and quiet.

Wheel Misalignment

The camber and toe settings of wheel alignment are in charge of the position of the wheels towards the ground and one another. If one of these is no longer in the right place, the tires will wear unevenly and touch the road with stronger forces. This means your tires will start to have noisy and annoying sounds, including squealing when turning.

If your tire is heavily inclined, the inner tire will be more worn out. It is possible to adjust the camber slightly tilted inwards to maintain a stable and balanced state for the car. But due to the suspension and steering stability, it is also possible to keep the tire upright.

The most common reason for the wrong alignment of the camber settings is the fluency when you hit a significant road curb or a pothole. Many parts of the car’s suspension system also have problems if the steering wheel often goes through potholes. Gaining gravity to the point of impact and then passing it to the elastic parts can cause them to have a small problem that is loose, curved, warped, or heavier can be broken.

The solution to this situation

So, all those causes need complete solutions to it, to prevent unfortunate accidents and risks. Let’s have a closer look at how we can solve this problematic sound when turning.

Regular Check Air Pressure

Car tire pressure information recommended by the manufacturer usually appears in the vehicle manual or on the decal/door sill. This figure is generally expressed in PSI, KPa, or Bar and is often the maximum allowable pressure level. Actual tire pressure needs to be compensated for by the weight of the load/passenger. Usually, reducing the recommended pressure level by 10 – 15% will be a reasonable pressure level.

It should be noted that the tire pressure the manufacturer recommends is the pressure when the tire is cold – when the car has stopped for a long time, the tire surface is not hot.

Each vehicle has a different recommended pressure, so the user should rely on the parameters provided by the manufacturer to perform the tire inflator. Regularly, long-time vehicle users often use their eyesight to assess the pressure level. But that is hardly accurate. Because the trend of automobile tires is getting thinner, it is challenging for the naked eye to determine automobile tire pressure.

For safety, check tire pressure every refueling time or every 30 days. Or when the temperature changes suddenly, you should also check the tire pressure to adjust to suit the reality.

Besides, even in the absence of moving vehicles and new tires, the pressure drop is about 0.7 PSI/month. So in the case of not using the car for too long, we should also check and increase/decrease tire pressure accordingly.

To make sure the air pressure in tires is properly inflated, you can use TPMS. Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) is responsible for monitoring the air pressure inside tires. If the tire pressure drops 25% or less, the system will activate the indicator light to let you know if you need to pump the tire.

You should find a safe place to stop and check the tires. Maybe one tire has punctured, and the pressure drops or one tire has a lower pressure than the other. The TPMS indicator light can only tell you the tire pressure is small, so it’s essential to stop checking all the tires.

Driving Habits Control

The squealing tires may be the consequence of your driving habits when you do not care about your car while driving. Some drivers do not notice their vehicles and have no intention of changing the way they operate. So, if it’s possible, try to avoid these things while driving:

Ignore warning lights

The warning lights on the dashboard are not natural but light up; indeed, the car has something unusual, but many drivers think it is normal.

Do not change the tire

Many people believe that cars with four tires are flat, safe, not easy to fall, like a motorbike, so it does not improve the quality of the tire. With worn-out tires, it is easy to risk vehicles such as tire explosion, loss of grip on slippery roads. Therefore, drivers should pay attention to check the tires regularly to ensure the best quality.

Hard braking

Hard braking will cause the same sound when the rubber scrub-off, but vice versa. The tires cease rotating quickly, but they will continue sliding on the road for a while. This may cause severe uneven wear like we have informed you above, which will be the main factor to cause the squeal. Rapid braking will cause heat accumulation and may cause the steel brake discs to bend and wear out the brake pads material.

Regular Tire Maintenance Routine

Vehicle owners need to have maintenance methods to refresh the tires to help the car operate in the best way. Experts said that to ensure their safety when using a car, car owners should check the tire every two months. You can also do this at home with some notices: Check the status of your tire regularly, Check the tread depth, Dynamic balance, Check wheel alignment, Check valve system, etc.


So, in conclusion, the sound of tires squealing when turning is not something uncommon and challenging to understand your car. By taking more care of your tires, you will know what the cause and the answer to your question is, why do my tires squeal when turning, will be found. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask us.

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