I just had brake work done on my car. When I drive it there is a hum seeming to come from the tires, not all the time though. I went two days with no noise then yesterday it was there but only when I drove over 60. Any ideas what could be causing this?
More than likely, the tires were rotated when the wheels were taken off in order to do the brake work. As tire treads wear, they frequently become more noisy, and when the location of a tire is changed, the pitch of the noise can change–sometimes dramatically. It is very likely that you will just have to endure the increased tire noise until it is time for new tires.
However, it would be a good idea to verify the condition of the wheel bearings. It is possible that the bearings were not lubed properly when the wheels were pulled for the brake work, so it is very important to have the mechanic who did the brake work verify that he did indeed lube the bearings when he did the work. Wheel bearings are a major safety issue, so this possibility is something that you should not ignore.
The wheel bearings on my 2000 Blazer went bad after new tires were installed. An indication of failing wheel bearing is a change in the level/pitch of the humming changes when the steering wheel is turned off-center (i.e. changing lanes).
Ed B.
I agree with @VDC. When was the last time you had the tires rotated prior to the brake work ? The intermittent nature of the noise could be the different surfaces you travel on. If the tires are still within the wear bars and don’t vibrate at higher speeds, the tire problem can be lived with. Lack of frequent tire rotation on fwd cars car produce very different wear patterns which can produce noise when rotated much later.
Wheel bearing maintenance should be done with the brake work. If the mechanic was complete, it should be noted. So like VDC suggests, check that was done as well. If not, I would rotate tires back to where they were and see if that indicated tire problem.