I'm getting a constant groan noise from the driver's side rear tire area. At first I thought it was a bad tire, so I had all 4 replaced. The issue is still there. I've let it go for a long time (~30,000 miles) and it hasn't gotten any worse, but it's still there and is annoying!! It's a lot more noticable at high speeds (expressway driving). For what it's worth, I have 60,000 miles on it.

Do these cars have hubs or are they bearings w/ races? I'm thinking it could be a bad hub. How can I verify what the noise is for sure?

 

Sounds like a bad bearing. They make a roaring noise that gets worse as speed increases. It can get better as you make turns toward the bad wheel (because the weight of the car shifts to the outside side of a turn, taking weight off of the bad one). You could jack up the wheel and spin it by hand, also try to wobble the wheel side to side, if it does that that's a sure confirmation of bearing trouble. Jack up the other side to compare.

If the bearing seems OK it could be wind noise from some piece of trim on or under the car.

 

Thank you for the quick reply!

I will jack it up tonight and take a look at it. Assuming it is the bearing, what's involved in replacing it? Is there a how-to link I could follow?

 

I jacked up the car and tried to rock the wheel right to left and top to bottom. Absolutely no play. I did it to the passenger side too and found the same to be true.

Any other tips? This is really annoying!!

 

Did the tire spin free? Was there any grinding noise? Did you feel any drag (brake problems)? It still sounds like the bearing. Since it hasn't changed in a while, I would suspect it was ran dry once (flood, boat launch, etc)and then relubed.

 

Yes, the tire spun very freely. No hang ups at all and was quiet. This is very puzzling...

I'm also going to rotate the tires. Perhaps I got a bad tire on that hub. Just a thought, but I really doubt I have another bad tire.