I've been hearing some very strange and unnerving noises from my car recently... It was very occasional at first but now seems to be happening more often.

I've noticed that when things are heated up after city driving for 20-30 min, when I hit the brakes i'll sometimes hear a Whah Whah Whaaah type sound... It only lasts 2-3 seconds. SOmetimes it will also do this when i accelerate from a stop.

The other noise which is really freaking me out is a very loud almost buzzing sound....kinda a cross between a buzz and a grinding noise. It usually makes the noise when i make a really fast and sharp turn. It also seems to happen after i start hearing the brake related noises.


Any idea what this could be? I did have problems at one point w/ a rear caliper sticking, and i'm wondering if my rear calipers are working at all...the car takes a lot longer to stop now than it did a few months ago, and when i brake really hard, there's a lot of vibration in the steering wheel...warped rotors possibly, but i put brand new slotted rotors on the car only 2 years ago. I'm gonna pull it apart and prolly just change out the pads/rotors and see if that improved the whah whah noise...

I have no idea what the noise while turning could be...I recenly replaced my Power steering rack, so that should be good...

If you guys have any ideas let me know...I'm supposed to take the car fully loaded up w/ camping gear and 4 ppl down to Bonnaroo (800 mile trip) on Wednesday, and definitley don't want something to brake on the trip... would really put a damper on the weekend.

 

noise during turning, check cv outer boots for cracks/lost grease. is there a certain speed which you are going in turns that it makes that sound, or during every turn? if its above like 30mph, maybe wheel bearing starting to go.

maybe brakes? they are not my specialty.

clean looking car though =)

 

Do you hear any roaring noise when driving?

Might be a wheel bearing.

 

I checked out the pads and rotors and they are mostly OK... the strange thing is that my pass side rear brake has one pad that is worn significantly more than the other pad. I believe the outboard pad is thinner by about 2-3x more than the inboard pad. I was wondering if i might have a sticking piston on that one side. Other than that, the brakes look fine.


The buzzing/grinding noise happens only when turning from what i've heard, and it's not on every turn...pretty infrequent noise. It has happened both at slow and fast turning speeds...mostly when i turn the wheel very quickly. My outer tie rods look fine, and the CV boot isn't torn or leaking grease. I replaced the steering rack maybe 4-5 months ago, and it's got plenty of fluid in it, so guessing that's not the cause.

The other strange thing is that i didn't notice any of these noises until i changed my front spring seats and swaybar end links last week. i kinda doubt that has anything to do w/ it, but maybe it does...

I don't really hear a roaring noise while driving...is there a quick/easy way to check to see if it is the wheel bearing?

 

The noise is pretty much the only way unless you remove the bearing and feel it.

 

Could it possibly be the Power steering pump starting to go bad... a buddy of mine said the buzz noise could be caused by cavitation in the pump.

 

Possibly is the fluid close to being low?

 

So i bailed on taking the car down to TN last week...the buzz noise happened again the night before the trip.

And the strange thing was it did that buzz while i was going straight....was stopped at a light, hit the gas, and it buzzed almost as soon as it moved forward...again only lasted 2-3 sec then didn't happen again. so before i thought it was only happening while turning, but it's also while going straight... maybe acceleration related?

i'm still clueless as to what it may be.

Fluid level is fine...i've been keepin an eye on that ever since changing the PS rack to make sure i didn't have any leaks and it's been holding steady.

 

HMMM not sure would have to see the car and hear the noise for me to help anymore.

SORRY!!