Buzzing Sound at Speed 4 hrs. From home

[doughboy17]

I have a buzzing sound at speed, which is not engine speed dependent or road surface dependent, but is speed dependent (louder buzzing the higher the speed). Any ideas what it could be?

I'm on a college visit with my son and 4 hours from home. Do I dare try to make it home or take it to the dealership here? Thanks for your recommendations.

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[adamchahl]

Could be a wheel bearing, just had one of mine go at 77k.

[doughboy17]

Thanks. I have 48K miles. Would that be detrimental to the car to drive on? Excuse my ignorance.

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[doughboy17]

Could be a wheel bearing, just had one of mine go at 77k.

Thanks. I have 48K miles. Would that be detrimental to the car to drive on? Excuse my ignorance.

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[LYKUNO]

You are probably good to get home with it. Once the bearing starts going, it will never get better, so will need to be replaced. To me, the sound is similar to what you hear when sitting in a jet aircraft in flight - like a whooshing but low level roar. It's annoying but never gets much louder than that, unless you drive it for weeks or longer before getting it fixed. If you notice any unusual slop/play in the steering, or weird handling, then it could be cause for concern. If the sound gets louder, you can check/inspect the wheel periodically while on your way home and ensure there is no overheating (e.g, smoke from the wheel area). Just stay observant, drive normally, and you should be just fine until you can get it serviced.

[adamchahl]

You are probably good to get home with it. Once the bearing starts going, it will never get better, so will need to be replaced. To me, the sound is similar to what you hear when sitting in a jet aircraft in flight - like a whooshing but low level roar. It's annoying but never gets much louder than that, unless you drive it for weeks or longer before getting it fixed. If you notice any unusual slop/play in the steering, or weird handling, then it could be cause for concern. If the sound gets louder, you can check/inspect the wheel periodically while on your way home and ensure there is no overheating (e.g, smoke from the wheel area). Just stay observant, drive normally, and you should be just fine until you can get it serviced.

Agreed, I drove mine for a couple weeks before my shop could fit it in. I wouldn't encourage 120mph on the way home, however...

[theweebabyseamus]

Buzzing sounds (no pun intended) like a tire issue to me. Bearings tend to hum.

[doughboy17]

Diagnosed by dealership as rear wheel bearing. They can fix it today! Hopefully make it home by tonight. Thanks to all!

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[seandon_792]

Glad to hear it’s all working out! Do you mind sharing what that’s running you, just curious for future reference for myself.


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[adamchahl]

Glad to hear it’s all working out! Do you mind sharing what that’s running you, just curious for future reference for myself.


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My shop did my front for $470cdn+tax.

[SDV325]

Thanks. I have 48K miles. Would that be detrimental to the car to drive on? Excuse my ignorance.

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For future knowledge, these bearings and hubs are built extremely well and even if the bearing fails it will not take the hub along with it (cause the exploding hubs you can see on a older GM truck for example) Just some comments from my friend who is a journeyman mechanic, seen many different designs over the years.

[doughboy17]

Glad to hear it’s all working out! Do you mind sharing what that’s running you, just curious for future reference for myself.


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Thanks. It was covered under warranty, hence the dealership, and my recollection is that parts and labor totaled shy of a $grand !

[doughboy17]

For future knowledge, these bearings and hubs are built extremely well and even if the bearing fails it will not take the hub along with it (cause the exploding hubs you can see on a older GM truck for example) Just some comments from my friend who is a journeyman mechanic, seen many different designs over the years.

Much appreciated! This is really good to know because I have never had a wheel bearing problem in any car I have owned. After the work was done, I asked the Service Writer whether it could have been driven the 240 miles home, he responded affirmatively and assuredly (same thing your friend said).

[Dobbler]

I had a front wheel bearing go bad at 12k miles. Replaced both because they couldn't discern which was causing the noise, but I know what a bad wheel bearing sounds like and replacing them fixed the sound.