Well, I don’t think that you have any argument with that dealership!
Struts, tie rods, and alignment are not covered by any Powertrain Warranty that I have ever heard of, so–based on what you are reporting to us–it sounds like the dealership has been much more accommodating than they are required to be.
Based on the symptoms presented, I’d be inclined to think wheel bearings…except it’s pretty hard to imagine the dealer didn’t catch it.
Concur w/MJG, faulty wheel bearings should be considered as a likely guess, the OP’s description above is a classic wheel bearing symptom.
For what it’s worth, both front wheel bearings have been replaced on my wife’s 2012 Malibu. One at 30,000ish miles, and the other shortly thereafter (before 40,000.) both replaced under factory warranty, but both a bit premature by my reasoning.
Well, I certainly hope you get satisfaction.
I can’t help but say, when I first read the title of the post, I thought- that pretty much describes almost every used vehicle I’ve ever bought!
Bought used car and had unexpected problems
Thank you all for your help. Just for a quick update:
About two weeks ago I took the car to the dealership and they suspected the wheel bearings were bad, so they replaced the front driver side bearing. I’ve driven the car about 1,000 miles since then and can say that the noise is only about 80% gone. Before replacing the bearing, the noise kicked in at 40mph and was a loud overall noise and I couldn’t pinpoint it to one side of the car. Now, the noise fades in (although quieter) at 55mph and fades out at 60mph and sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side. I would go to the dealer again but I have moved about 600 miles away and don’t have time to drive back and deal with them again.
It seems like the other wheel bearing needs to be replaced. If taken to a mechanic, what is a reasonable amount to pay for parts and labor to replace the bearing? Any general recommendations on where to go- a Chevy dealership or elsewhere? Thanks
You don’t need a dealer for a wheel bearing. This is where you use you computer and look at online recommendation sites for where ever you are now.
It might even be best to spend the money for someone to look at it and really tell you what is needed. Most places will waive that fee if they get to do the work.
This site has a mechanics file also.
The cost may vary somewhat depending on where you live, but I would suggest that you budget ~$500 for this job at an independent mechanic’s shop. There is absolutely no reason to go to a dealer for that type of repair, and it would almost surely be more expensive at a dealership.
Incidentally, if it turns out that both front wheel bearings are bad, I would suspect that the car may have been sitting in high water at some point in the past. I hope that this is not the case, because it can lead to all sorts of electrical/electronic problems, but two bad bearings could well be an indicator of having been in a flood situation.
I will go so far as to say that any decent shop will use a set of mechanics ears to verify it is a bearing and which one(s) before they start changing out parts…
Around here, I have a really good tire store that also does this kind of work. Some time back, they changed a bad bearing in my Camry and didn’t even charge me any extra when they ran into trouble pressing out the old one.
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Glad you got most of the noise gone with the wheel bearing fix OP. Likely you are right, the remaining noise is from one of the other wheel bearings on the fritz. More often than not the shop will recommend to replace them in left/right pairs, rather than one wheel at a time. Wheel bearings are a normally wearing part, so this is just normal routine maintenance you’d have to do from time to time w/any car.
I agree, but with a car that is–at the most–5 years old, and that has racked up only 77k miles, the wheel bearings shouldn’t be ready for replacement unless they were defective in the first place, or (as I suggested earlier), the car was sitting in high water for awhile.
I had to have a left front wheel bearing replaced at 65000 miles in a 2003 Toyota 4RUNNER that we have owned since it was new. The truck never sat in water and has.never been used off-road. The bearing just got noisy. Things happen. The bearing may have been defective from the beginning.
I had to replace both front wheel bearings in my Rabbit at 80K. The ones in my Corolla are still ok at 200K.
Took the car to the shop (found a new one that is supposed to have a good reputation) and they lifted the car up and took it for a test drive. They said the wheel bearings were fine, but did notice the noise while on the road. They then lifted it and used a stethoscope and didn’t hear any noises and then did a rotation. After, they took me on a test drive and I pointed out the noise and they said it is just tire noise and that it’s safe to drive and nothing needs to be done, and that two of the tires (Goodyear Eagle LS2) are lower-end and have a tendency to be loud. They didn’t charge a penny for all this and said to let them if the noise gets worse.
I suppose I’ll trust their judgment. Although it’s difficult to since all the shops I’ve brought it to have had their own say as to what’s causing the noise, and it seems through this discussion that the signs point to the bearing. When I took the dealer mechanic for a test drive he immediately said it was a wheel bearing problem, and the noise now is exactly the same although only between 55-60mph. I’ll keep driving around and see if the problem gets worse. Thanks all.
The financing problem was solved?
Yes, after 1+ month the financing check arrived from Penfed about a week and a half ago. Gave it to the dealer the day after.
Or you live where I live… in the land of potholes that hide in puddles at night just to see how much damage they can do. 
I wonder if they could put on a different set of wheels for a test drive? Ask, they might have some spare wheels that would fit just sitting around. That would prove whether the noise is from the tires or not. I have had tires that make a noise similar to bad wheel bearings, but those were mud/snow tires for my truck. Are your current tires snow tires with a very aggressive tread?
I’m sorry, but those guys are morons
You don’t use a stethoscope to diagnose wheel bearings with the car on the lift
You use chassis ears while you drive the car, because the wheel bearings should be under a normal load
It is quite possible the noise is in fact the tires. But that doesn’t change the fact that these guys don’t know the proper way to diagnose noisey wheel bearings
At least you didn’t get charged . . . it would be ridiculous to pay for a blatantly incompetent diagnosis
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They are just normal/stock tires. That is a creative idea George- it seems like it could help isolate the noise- but unfortunately the shop said they don’t have any tires on hand. Will definitely keep the idea in mind for the future.
I am very reluctant to bring the car to another mechanic, however if anything gets worse, e.g., steering worsens, louder noise, etc., I may reconsider it.