Advertising This week, a post by a member of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 club on Facebook created a post saying the following about her tires: Hi all, just wanted to thank this forum for helping me figure out why my car was shaking. It felt like a tire was flat, but the tires were fine! Foam dislodged. We bought new foam-free tires. This Ioniq 5 owner is not alone. More and more posts about acoustic foam inserts in tires are now appearing as EVs add to the total vehicle population in America. The foam is very common in cars like Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y, and Hyundai/Kia/Genesis electric vehicles. The foam is also widely used in luxury cars as well. The reason is that these vehicles are very quiet. With lower powertrain noise, road noise generated by the tires becomes more noticeable. To help with that, manufacturers and tire retailers will often use an acoustic foam-filled tire. The foam works great. It definitely reduces road noise. However, it can sometimes cause problems. Let’s examine some comments from fellow Ioniq 5 owners who offered their experience and opinions under the original post: -M.W. - "That pesky foam is almost always the culprit. I wish Hyundai had never installed that type of tire on our cars." -J.T - I had the same foam on Hankook original on Hyundai -D.M. - "Had the same problem. Ended up taking the foam out." -A.M. - "The first time this happened to me, they replaced the actual tire. The second time it happened, I told them to remove the foam cause I was annoyed with it. Haven't had issues since, and inside the car sounds the same." -J.C. - "This happened to me. Shaking was terrible. The Hyundai service department did not have any idea. Took the car to Pep Boys, and they immediately told me what the problem was." -K.H. - "These foam tires are such a waste of time and cause more problems than the sound they barely reduce. We’ve never had the foam detach, but none of the garages near us will repair punctures in them." -A.B. - "I don’t know how tire dealers still act ignorant about this because it’s been happening for several years. I had to fight with them too, and then when they pulled it off the rim, they said, ‘Oh, you were right after all.’ All four of them were coming loose at 12,000 miles/ 12 months on a 2023-produced car." Another vehicle brand that has been experiencing a lot of acoustic foam tire issues is Tesla. We did a search to see what owners are saying and found many examples of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners suffering from this malady. Here are a few examples that we found helpful: Another vehicle brand that has been experiencing a lot of acoustic foam tire issues is Tesla. We did a search to see what owners are saying and found many examples of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners suffering from this malady. Here are a few examples that we found helpful: Morgan V. reports: With less than 15,000 miles on my 2025 Model 3 AWD, I had slight shaking at high speeds. Got a tire rotation and balance. Seemed to fix the issue. Now it is back with a vengeance. The car is basically undrivable over 50 mph. Shaking so badly that it makes my teeth chatter. I’m convinced a foam piece has come loose. Has anyone experienced this? Update: It was absolutely the foam. Discount Tire took all the tires off. The entire foam piece had come loose. They took it out, rebalanced, and the car is back to handling like new. Contacting Michelin on Monday about warranty coverage Andre K reported: Tesla uses tires that are specially made for Tesla with foam on the inside to reduce tire noise. The problem is that the foam sometimes delaminates from the tire, throwing off the balance. I removed the tire from the wheel and found that the foam was all bunched up inside, causing terrible vibration when driving. I had the foam removed from all four tires and did notice a very small increase in the tire noise level, but handling improved significantly. As you can see, many other owners have had the same problem. Many have had the foam removed. Another report on this subject comes from the tire installer I personally use, Boston Mobile Tire. Owner/operator Jay Condrick recently posted that he found acoustic foam to be the culprit on a supercar that was shaking. You can view Jay’s report on his TikTok page. Advertising On occasion, the foam will dislodge and become bunched up inside the tire. Tires fail for an endless list of reasons, and this is just one of them. Let us be clear - this is not an indictment of any single brand or of the foam insert in general. It usually works, and works well during the tire’s useful lifespan. However, it can cause issues that are difficult to identify. Let’s look at how to troubleshoot a car that is shaking and seems to have a tire issue. The first step is to remove all prior balancing weights and attempt to rebalance the tire. If the tire will not balance, the next step is always the same, regardless of whether the tire is of a design with acoustic foam - remove the tire from the rim and inspect the rim and tire. It’s at this step that acoustic foam issues can easily be uncovered. If the foam is disturbed or isn’t uniform, the problem is almost certainly the foam. So, what can be done about this? There are multiple solutions. First, if the tire is under its warranty period and you have dealer or tire retailer support, they may replace the tire at no cost, or at a pro-rated cost. If you own any aftermarket tire-related warranties, these may or may not apply. Second, if the tire is otherwise undamaged, newer than five years of age, wearing uniformly, and if the tread depth is still greater than 4/32-inch, the foam may be removed and the tire returned to service. We’ve seen reports that this was successful, and no meaningful noise was detected following its removal. Ask your tire professional for guidance if you opt to have the foam removed from the tire. The third choice is to replace the tire. You can replace the tire with one exactly like it, or you can opt to replace the tire with one that meets all of the proper specifications without foam. You need not use foam-filled tires at all four corners. You can mix and match. We did this on a 2018 Genesis G80 Ultimate luxury-performance vehicle that needed one new tire. The foam-filled tires were more expensive and had a longer delivery time, so we opted for two tires without the foam from the same manufacturer. They even had the same model name for the tire, just without foam. The car worked great, and we could not detect any added noise. Michelin, Hankook, Pirelli, and Continental, among other brands, all offer tires with acoustic foam. These are all highly respected brands that make very high-quality tires. The problem is not related to any single manufacturer, nor have we heard of it being a defect that relates to any specific car brand. Have you had issues with acoustic tire foam? If so, please tell us about it. Your experience may help a fellow motorist. Click the red Add New Comment link below and share your thoughts with us. John Goreham is a long-standing member of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools. Top of page image courtesy of Hyundai Ioniq 5 club member L.N.H. Screenshot of TikTok post courtesy of Jay Condrick of Boston Mobile Tire. PNCS graphic courtesy of Pirelli.