My 2002 Buick LeSabre developed a droning/humming noise from the left front related to the motion of the car and not the engine. Also, the check tire pressure warning comes on but tire pressures are ok. My husband replaced the left wheel bearings and the noise was still there. Ditto, the CV axle. Yesterday I noticed the right front tire has a bald spot around the outer edge. Any ideas?
Have the wheel alignment checked. A worn tire, such as you describe, can make a droning/humming noise.
Any unusual tire wear is suspect, and abnormally worn tires can make all sorts of unusual noises.
You can also rotate the tires front-to-back to see if the noise location changes. If so, you know that you have a bad tire.
kerri, does the noise get louder when you turn? If it’s louder when you turn left, it could be a right side wheel bearing.
It is louder somewhat when I turn left. This is a later development. When I ride in the passenger seat the same noise comes from the right side. Now I am thinking it’s the right wheel bearings too. How likely is this? Is there some way to know for sure? Is there something else it could be?
If it’s louder when you veer left, it’s the right side since veering left pitches additional weight and force to the outside wheel. Narrowing down this problem can be difficult to an untrained ear. If you have unusual wear on a tire, you either have an extremely bad wheel bearing which should absolutely not be driven on, or additional steering/suspension problems which need to be corrected.