Within the last 1000 miles my 2001 S40 has developed a loud growling noise that's coming from the drivers side front end.

Before taking a little roadtrip this past weekend. I checked all my fluids everything checked out. My tires are fairly new and have plenty of tread left on them. Before hitting the road I decided to replace both ignition coils, and all my spark pluggs because of a 'misfire cylinder 3' code that kept appearing. Since then the check engine light has not come back on.

The noise sounds very much like loud tire rubbing noise.
The noise is loudest when going up hill, or accelerating.
The noise goes away when I put the car in neutral and coast.
The noise doesn't appear when I rev the engine while in park or nuetral.
The noise doesn't really change when I turn left or when I turn right.
No signs of grease/oil leaking.
No signs of uneven tire wear.
No steering wheel vibration.
No steering wheel pull to either side.

Any advice on what this could be? I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

 

"growling" noise usually is wheel bearing. If you put the car up on lift/stands and turn each wheel (helper is good) with your ear down near the center of each wheel... likely hear it coming from driver's front wheel.

 

Thanks for the reply Gdog! I put the front end up on jacks today and could not find where the noise was originating from...! It seems louder inside the car then outside of the car!! The growls get louder right before the sequential shift to the next gear. I checked the wheel bearings like you had suggested and everything checked out. I've been doing some more reading on some older forums and my only idea now is maybe its the driveshaft carrier bearing...? Does anyone have any advice on how to trouble shoot that? Is it obvious and visible without removing anything? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

My 2005 S40 is just short of 120K, so no big surprise that I'm starting to hear the same funky noises - sort of a hum kicking in once I reach 40 mph+/-...Starting to do my homework on replacement of the hub assembly...I'd take a whack at it but, according to the Haynes manual, a big disincentive is a "special" Volvo tool #9997090 to remove/reinstall bearing assembly into hub carrier which I think runs around $150+ (Just bought #9997301 for $95 (tool + shipping) from the dealer to remove MT fluid filler plug....Swedespeed has a great thread on that subject about using a 24mm "low profile" socket..bought that for $8, didn't work in tight space, shaved it down more than 1/2", still didn't work around the suspension...Final solution? Ended up buying the Volvo tool. Thank God for a recent 20% off promo from the High Mileage club! But I digress....) I see what look like decent aftermarket parts, and my great mechanic in Kingston, NJ would probably just charge labor and put it in, but is that special tool r-e-a-l-l-y necessary? (Hey, he may not have it)... Any comments / suggestions / experiences (co$t$) for this operation, or aftermarket parts experience, please give a shout.

 

In my experience this noise is being made by the axle.Its more apparent in a long right turn doing 60-70Mph mostly under load but it does it in straight as well later on.I went trough 3 of them on each side.The driver side does this sound like described while the passenger side does wobble the front upon acceleration when its worn.

 

I am very disappointed to say that i switched out the front left cv axle today and that did not fix the problem... I thought that that would fix the problem because I had found this post http://www.justanswer.com/volvo/2d9p...ise-front.html that explained my problem to a T! Unfortunately the person that made the post never gave an update if it fixed the problem... So I foolishly hoped that the poster had solved the problem he was having by the last suggested remedy... Well turns out i was mistaken. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

My experience with growling was the front wheel bearing gone bad. It got louder the more I drove it. You could also put your hand on the wheel after driving and feel the heat from the bearing.

 

when you accelerate engines RPMS get high and cause noise. try use oil to avoid it.

 

Has your problem been solved?? I have the same problem and need advice please...

 

Growling is usually a bad wheel bearing. It will get louder and louder over time.

For a test, drive the car for a good distance, 5 miles, something like that. Pull over and place your hand on the noisy wheel. Does the center section feel warm? This won't work as well if you are in stop and go traffic because your brakes will also heat up. Works best if you have a nice section without stops.

 

I *just* noticed this rumbling/growling noise yesterday. I was driving on a long trip in the mountains and suddenly this noise started up. I thought a tumbleweed or something had gotten stuck on my front left (driver's side) tire, or the wheel arch lining had come loose, but nope. Nothing visible. It seemed to get worse with speed, but it was never as loud as you described--pretty subtle, but I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong if I could.
I tapped around in the engine bay looking for something loose and found nothing, but drove it again and didn't hear it. I thought it was the cold up in the mountains (it was 27 degrees) making the car act strangely.
If it comes back, I'll be sure to check out these suggestions here.