Menu
What's new
By:
Advanced search...

Loud hum when driving 30+

D

doodalon

Members
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Location
SW
Car
Accord 2003
Hi guys,

New to these forums (also not an engineer/technician so not able to change/test myself with full understanding) but been having an issue with my 2003 2L Accord, I recently got the car from a friend who was looking to just offload it for no cost, so was happy to take it. Was advised by him to change the brake set, discs/pads all round, so did so. Though also mentioned was a hum noise when driving over 30ish, and the garage who changed brakes also mentioned he heard the hum over 30 and got louder the faster he went. He said it may be a wheel bearing issue and said he got it on the lift and did the standard wheel bearing test, but no issues that was noticable, all was normal in the spin test etc. So said if it gets worse to come back, but he didn't think there was any immediate need to change or check it out. Tyres are relatively new, still has quite a bit of life in them, I dont notice any bulges etc, though again, do not exactly have the trained eye to notice these things. I mention this as I read a few people changing their tyres and all seemed better when they thought they had wheel bearing issues.

Today I travelled on a dual carriage/motorway and went up to around 60/70, the hum was loud, as I was coming to a stop/crawl, I noticed a burning type smell coming from the vents. We were passing a 4 car pile up on the side of the motorway, so ***umed it was coming from them, but as I parked up once I got to my destination, I thought I'd have a smell around inside the tyres/brake disc area. Was quite sure I smelt the burning smell from the rear drivers side wheel. Gave off quite a warm heat too. I'm ***uming its not to do with the brakes, or calipers seizing as I'm sure the garage would pick up on it after changing the whole set ( I've used them for quite a while and always seemed to give a fair price..)

The hum noise was also present before I took it in for the brakes, as my friend told me about it.

Any ideas what would be the cause? Would this be a cause of wheel bearings needing replacement sooner than later? If so..

http://www.mister-auto.co.uk/en/wheel-bearing-kit/honda-accord-viii-cl-cm-2-0-155ch_v17126_g654.html

Would the SNR wheel bearing for the rear axle be the one I'm looking for? He quoted me around £180 for the rear, parts + labour, but I can get one of those SNR's for £50ish with the 30% coupon code on that site. I'm ***uming labour wouldn't amount up to £130 ?

Any help/suggestions as to what it might be would be great help!!

Thanks!
 
Is it a saloon or estate (brakes, bearings, suspension are different between saloon and estate) ?
 
A good indicator for a noisy wheel bearing is how the noise changes while cornering... it is often the case that cornering one way will practically silence the noise altogether. This is handy, as you can then work out which bearin needs changing!

Despite the efforts of your garage, it sounds like brakes to me (mostly because of the noticeable heat). Is the noise constant despite cornering? And, when the noise is very obvious, can you make it louder/quieter by dabbing the brake pedal? I have had a lot of brake binding issues on my tourer, mostly caused by the pad sliders sticking, but I have also had to change a sticking caliper.

Finally, tyres. My tourer does seem to transmit tyre noise into the cabin quite badly. If your front tyres are a different type to the rear, then try swapping fronts/rears to see if the noise changes.
 
freddofrog said:
Is it a saloon or estate (brakes, bearings, suspension are different between saloon and estate) ?
Click to expand...

Sorry, should have added, it's a saloon.


Jon_G said:
A good indicator for a noisy wheel bearing is how the noise changes while cornering... it is often the case that cornering one way will practically silence the noise altogether. This is handy, as you can then work out which bearin needs changing!

Despite the efforts of your garage, it sounds like brakes to me (mostly because of the noticeable heat). Is the noise constant despite cornering? And, when the noise is very obvious, can you make it louder/quieter by dabbing the brake pedal? I have had a lot of brake binding issues on my tourer, mostly caused by the pad sliders sticking, but I have also had to change a sticking caliper.

Finally, tyres. My tourer does seem to transmit tyre noise into the cabin quite badly. If your front tyres are a different type to the rear, then try swapping fronts/rears to see if the noise changes.
Click to expand...

all tyres around the car are the same bridgestone type. Is there a way of checking the brakes to see if it was sticking or checking the calipers as you mention without me taking it to the garage/attempting to pull it all apart myself? I didn't notice a difference while breaking nor cornering, though i wasn't really looking out for these signs while driving as i didn't realise, but will do so on my next test drive. regarding cornering, again havent really had the chance to test or notice, a lot of the roads where i live are tight corners so never really able to corner at speeds where the sound is already present.
 
You'll need to identify a decent stretch of road where you can drive at a reasonably constant speed through a number of opposite bends, while listening to the noise and noting any changes.

Identifying binding brakes without stripping down really comes down to feeling for excessive heat being generated (which you've already mentioned). Obviously brakes do get warm in use, but you're really looking to see if one side gets noticeably warmer than the other - this test is better if you can drive a few miles without using the brakes at all before checking the discs for warmth (I realise this may not be easy!).
 
Jon_G said:
You'll need to identify a decent stretch of road where you can drive at a reasonably constant speed through a number of opposite bends, while listening to the noise and noting any changes.

Identifying binding brakes without stripping down really comes down to feeling for excessive heat being generated (which you've already mentioned). Obviously brakes do get warm in use, but you're really looking to see if one side gets noticeably warmer than the other - this test is better if you can drive a few miles without using the brakes at all before checking the discs for warmth (I realise this may not be easy!).
Click to expand...

Put it back into the garage this morning so they could check to see if anything was wrong, they noticed that one of the rear passenger side pads had gone white along the top of it, presumably from extremely hot heat? They took them out and fitted brand new ones in and took it for a spin, all seemed better/similar temp across all wheels, none noticeably hotter. Though they have no idea as to why it happened to that one pad. They checked all brake components, callipers all sorts and found no issues, no seizing or binding of any sort.

Tested again for the bearing, said they did the spin test and felt the suspension to feel any physical roughness/judder but again nothing. He checked tyres all round and he said he's come across the tyre sound issue several times, but nothing is wrong with them at all for those type of tests. Only thing he suggested is to see if it gets worse at lower speeds then he can try identify if one of the sides has wheel bearing issues or not...

Hopefully the pad changing solves the burning smell/heat issue, but I'm still left with the noise issue :S
 
It's good to have ruled out the brake problem, as it is obviously the more serious issue. Wheel bearings often do hum/whine long before wear becomes obvious in a simple spin test (where the bearing is unloaded during the test). You need to do the 'driving round corners' trial as mentioned earlier and I'm a little surprised your garage didn't do this.
 
I had good year eagle f1's and they hummed like mad. Once changed all was fine
 
I had this problem on my tourer. Was convinced it was a bearing issue. Stuck new Falken tyres on the back and it's now smooth and silent.

The previous tyres were worn unevenly creating what was effctively a 50p shape, hence the noise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top