It might not be a good experience if you just start your treadmill running routine but start hearing it squeaking.
This can largely affect your exercise mood and also at the same, you might be afraid that something is wrong with the treadmill.
You do not want to get injured if the treadmill suddenly collapses.
There are so many components that might cause this issue:
- Lack of lubrication
- Worn-out parts
- Dirty or dusty parts
- Uneven surface
- Loose screws
- Exceeded Weight Limit (Check Your Treadmill Weight Limit Here)
- Others
This happened a few times and what I do to fix this issue in real situations.
Related:
- NordicTrack Treadmill Makes Noise When Incline and Decline
- How To Fix NordicTrack Treadmill Fan Issue
- Unsteady speed and speed buttons issue on NordicTrack treadmill
- Troubleshoot NordicTrack Treadmill Console Problem
Fix NordicTrack Treadmill Squeaking Issue
1) Lack of lubrication
I believe this is the main reason for the squeaking sound.
The belt won’t be able to run smoothly if there is too much friction between the belt and the running deck, and it gets hot in short time.
Besides, you might even notice that the belt will slow down or stop when you step on it due to high friction.
You should lubricate the belt of your treadmill regularly.
Also, I would suggest you to lubricate the folding bar to avoid issue that prevent the treadmill not able to unfold smoothly.
Normally I will use a lubricant that is dedicated for treadmill, and I always try to avoid oil that is not designed for treadmill.
This could help to avoid treadmill belt slipping and sticking issue.
You can easily find the lubricant that is good for treadmill on Amazon,
By simply put the lubricant under the running belt, and let the machine runs at low speed for minutes.
This will spread the lubricant evenly.
Normally this will remove most of the weird sounds, including squeaking.
If this does not work, try the next solutions below.
2) Loose screw
This is easiest to fix if the main reason of squeaking is due to loosening screws, nuts and bots.
The NordicTrack treadmill uses many screws to hold the machine and its covers tight.
The first thing you can do is tighten all screws.
From the front motor cover screws, side cover screws, bottom screws that hold the running deck, etc.
3) Not receiving weight
When the treadmill squeak, it happens without someone running on it or when someone is running on it?
This is important as weight can make a huge difference.
If you are not running on it, but simply let the treadmill to “dry run” without weight, there is high chance that the machine will produce some weird sounds.
However, when you are running on it, the sound will normally disappear as it starts receiving weight and all the loosen parts are being kept intact by your weight.
4) Dirty and dusty parts
You might be wondering how dirty or dusty treadmill parts will produce that squeaking sound.
The idea is when the dusts accumulate, it will in contact with all other parts of the machine.
At the same time, the debris and dusts will produce some friction and make the parts of the treadmill to rub against each other.
This process will result in a squeaking sound or making other weird sounds.
Normally it is not easy to discover this issue as many will think that dirty or dusty parts won’t affect how the treadmill operates.
To fix this issue, simply clean the entire treadmill, junction, connectors, belt, etc.
5) Uneven surface and debris under belt
Yes, it is common sense that if the running deck is placed on an uneven surface, it will not be able to work properly.
Also make sure there is no other thing underneath the treadmill.
By simply folding up the running deck as in the image below, you would be able to check if there is anything under the treadmill.
You may also use the “incline” function to lift the treadmill and see if the treadmill is on an even surface.
Related: What to do if the treadmill unable to incline
Is your treadmill makes noise when incline and decline?
You might want to check my video below to remove the noise.
If there is any debris trapped under the treadmill or belt, it will eventually cause an uneven surface.
In addition, it will cause the treadmill belt to start curl up and speed up the wear out process.
6) Belt Tension
This is properly one of the most important parts of the treadmill but always being overlooked.
Improper tension can indeed cause squeaking, no matter insufficient or over-tightened running belt.
When the belt is rolling, it can slide to the side with less tension.
This creates uneven friction between the running deck and the belt, thus creating weird sounds.
Similarly, if the belt is overtightened, it puts a high strain on the belt.
In some cases, it will even make the treadmill motor to work for a while but stop suddenly.
The motor will now need to work harder to move the belt, create noise or even cause overheating issue.
Make sure the tension of the belt is adjusted appropriately.
However, it is difficult to determine what is the best tension of your treadmill, what you should do is trial and error.
Sometimes this issue might cause the treadmill to beep non-stop too.
How to adjust tension of the belt on NordicTrack treadmill?
First, you would need HEX key as below
Insert the suitable HEX key to the “hole” at the bottom part of the treadmill.
Try to adjust the tension of the belt, this is normally done as below.
Do not forget to adjust for another side of the running belt too.
After that, let the treadmill to run for a few minutes at low speed.
Monitor if the belt slide to any side.
Normally, it will slide to the side with less tension.
If this happens, slightly increase the tension of that side so that the belt can be aligned properly, ideally in the middle of the running deck.
Sometimes you will find that it is too tight to adjust, and I normally will use plier too to adjust it.
If you prefer to remove the side covers so that you can see it clearly, you can do that too.
I sometimes will remove the side covers so that I can adjust it to an optimum level.
Please take note there are screws holding the side covers to the deck, make sure to loosen the screws first.
This is what the HEX screw looks like, now you can adjust the tension of the belt freely.
7) Wear and tear
The treadmill belt worn out easily, and degraded over time.
This can affect its performance and lead to issues like squeaking.
In my case, I can easily see that the belt starts to fray.
This is normally due to friction between the belt and deck.
Also, at the bottom.
It is actually costly to replace the whole running belt.
What I did was use fire to burn out all the worn at the edge.
8) Belt stretching and folding
It is actually quite uncommon to see the belt folding.
This happens when the tension of the belt is too low and the belt has room to fold.
Make sure to tighten the belt so that the tension can prevent the treadmill belt from folded over.
9) Uneven friction and loose pulley
When the friction between the motor belt/pulley and the front roller is too high and uneven, it might cause the squeaking too.
Please do not apply any lubricant on the motor belt as friction is needed to keep the belt rolling.
You can check if there is anything trapped between the motor belt that might cause the treadmill to squeak.
To do this, first you would need to remove the motor hood of the NordicTrack treadmill as shown in the video below:
If the pulley is loosened, please adjust the position of the front roller to increase the tension between them.
10) Noise from motor brushes
If you notice the squeaking is not from the main body or deck of the treadmill, but from the motor instead.
This can be due to the aging motor brushes.
You might want to check which year your NordicTrack treadmill was manufactured.
When the motor brushes worn out or having problems, they might generate noise.
In this case, unless you are a professional electrician specialised in motor, there less unlikely you can DIY to fix it.
The ideal solution is to replace the motor with a new one.
11) Misaligned treadmill absorber
Most models of NordicTrack treadmill have the “shock absorber” as below to reduce noise.
Sometimes it can get misaligned and not able to absorb the shock when we are running.
In this case, it will start making weird noises.
Just align the absorber back to its position and tighten the bolt and screw will do the job.
12) Too much weight on the treadmill?
As usual, each treadmill model has a maximum weight it can support.
Please check the manual and the weight limit of the treadmill you have.
It is common for the treadmill components to start making noise if too much strain on top of it.
Conclusion
I have listed the most common reasons for the NordicTrack Treadmill to squeak, and if you still having problem, please consider contacting NordicTrack support.
