2015 Van. 102K miles. When driving slow, there is a whomp, whomp noise. At speed it is quite a bit quieter, but there is still a slight noise and a wobble (very small) in the steering wheel. It is a bit worse turning left than right at highway speeds (like when going around a bend on the highway.) Making those gentile turns at highway speeds, the vibration in the steering wheel is noticeable. About 5000 miles ago, I had a mechanic and the Kia dealer look at it. The Kia dealer aligned the front. Neither mechanic thought there was anything wrong with it. It is a bit worse now than then. Is it possible that the tire(s) are bad? The tires are worn, but still have 10K or so miles left. Would it be worth replacing the tire? Or is it more likely I have a wheel bearing out or other suspension issue. (No clicking noises, so it it not the CV joints. There is also no apparent visual problems with the front suspension.)
Any time that I have had a whomp-whomp noise, it always turned out to be the tires that were at fault. This is a potential safety issue, so my advice would be to replace the tires a.s.a.p.
I am baffled as to why the dealer did not swap tires front to back to see if the thump-thump followed. That is basic Tires 101.
I’d do that. Or just go get a set of 4 new tires.
Thanks, that was my intuition as well. Thank you again.
Go to a decent tire shop. You likely have a bulge or tread separation. Happens to the best of us.
That noise usually indicates a belt separation in a tire.
Tester
I had that problem on my Corolla, thinking it was a bearing problem, but tread inspections showed tires needed replacing soon, so did that first. Totally resolved.
Just an FYI: Tires with irregular wear can cause a whomp-whomp noise, too!
And a second vote for swapping tires front to rear.