At 30mph my wife’s 2006 BMW 325i starts to make a wom wom wom noise that comes from the front end. She purchased it about a month ago - so this is not a problem that developed (for us). The noise’s repetition increases with speed. My wife didn’t notice the noise, but it doesn’t seem right to me. This is the first car I’ve driven with All Wheel Drive, so I’m wondering if this is a common sound with AWD cars or is this a tire/alignment issue?
See what the dealer says. I might learn something. But I doubt it.
No, it is not an “AWD issue”–at least not something within the realm of how an AWD system should function or should sound. It could be a tire issue, but this is not an alignment issue.
Since I assume that this vehicle is still under warranty (at least the powertrain warranty should still be in effect), I would strongly suggest that you take it back to the dealer and have it diagnosed. It could be that you have a bad wheel bearing or two, or it could be a more involved issue with the transmission or the AWD mechanism. On a BMW, this is certainly not something that you want to have to pay for yourself!
I agree it should be returned to the dealer while it is still covered under the warranty. Make sure that you get some sort of paper work from the dealer describing the complaint and their response.
I agree it could be a tyre issue, but I would also say that the tyre issue could been caused by an alignment issue. Without more experience than I have I would have to guess it could be a drive train (AWD) issue as well. Are all the tyres the same and have the same wear?
AWD does not make any noise normally.
Its likely a tire problem or possibly related to a front axle.