I’ve had this mini van for about 4 years now. I noticed within the past 10 days that there was a sound, like a cross between buzzing and grinding, coming from the front end that would rise and fall in pitch and intensity with speed (not just revs, but forward motion). I guessed that it could be front wheel bearings (not a car guy, but used to service my 10 speed bikes and I remember the grinding sound that wheel bearings could make if – and this didn’t happen very often – I let them go a bit too long between cleaning and regreasing). Apparently I was right. I paid $617 to a local mechanic I trust, who said that both wheels needed bearing work, to fix the one he said was the worst between the two. He said there would still be some noise from the other one, but that fixing other one could wait a while without causing other problems (and I’m probably dumping this beast by next spring anyway). So I drive off, and the next time I’m on the freeway the same sound, or one a lot like it, returns. I haven’t had a chance to ask my mechanic about it, but I’m wondering: Was I getting it in stereo until he fixed one side, or did the one that was “less bad” actually cause most or all of that noise all along?
Yes, the bearing could be causing the noise you hear. So could the transmission’s oil pump. It is a Chrysler, I hear their trans pumps a lot.
Thanks for the quick response. I’ve heard that for a few years including the Model 2008 T and C, that their transmissions tended to have problems. I bought an extended warranty, and while it did prove worth the cost for a variety of other things that started going wrong with my mini van almost immediately after I bought it, the transmission has never broken down. It does shift roughly at times, especially if it downshifts at freeway speed while accelerating, and the whole vehicle tends to shudder if I try to back up a hill, but it hasn’t failed so far…
I’ll pass the information along to my mechanic.
– Dan