Hello,
I have a 1999 Honda Accord (4 Cylinder, 180,000 miles). After a recent blizzard here in Wisconsin I am hearing a “whirring” sound coming from the front end of my car. I begin to hear it at about 10mph and it gets progressively louder and begins to sound like a jet at cruising altitude. The car overall sounds louder on the road. I checked for the possibility of snow/ice packed around the wheels or underneath the car but don’t see any.
Any ideas? A wheel bearing possibly?
A wheel bearing is a possibility. But you mentioned acceleration. Is it only while you are accelerating? Or does it remain when you coast? Does the sound change at all when you turn?
No, it isn’t only while I am accelerating, the sound remains when coasting and through deceleration as well. However, turning doesn’t seem to affect the sound at all, stays the same. I mentioned acceleration because that is when the sound begins to manifest itself.
Hope that helps a bit. Thank you much…
You should certainly have your wheel bearings checked out regardless. Find your best local front end/alignment shop and have them give everything a once over.
Start simple, check the tension and condition of the belts. See if you can isolate the noise to say a tensioner or bad belt.
Thank you all for the help! I brought it in to my local mechanic and it ended up being the right front wheel bearing. No more whirring sound!
Well, since having the right front wheel bearing replaced about 6 months (6x miles) ago, I’m beginning to hear a couple of distinct sounds from the front right side of the vehicle again. When turning right at slow speeds i notice a “whoo, whoo, whoo” sound which goes away once the car straightens out. Also, at times , when applying the breaks at aproximately 40mph or more to slow down at a stoplight, I hear a clicking/ticking sound coming from the same side. However, I have only been able to hear this when it echoes off of a retaining wall / large curb etc along side of me as i’m driving. Anyone think this could be a bearing or something else?
Thanks!
It sounds (no pun intended) like you have a failing CV joint, and at 180k miles, that would not be surprising. If it turns out to be a failing CV joint, I would suggest having them replaced on both drive axles, rather than just the one that is currently presenting a problem.