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It started a few weeks ago and has progressively gotten a bit worse. Very rhythmic and it is tied to speed. Sounds like a thwump. First thought was something was stuck in a tire, I've checked all the tires and they are fine. Next I thought a CV (drivetrain) axle, but the boots are just fine and there is no extra play in the axles themselves. I put the car in drive while suspended, and there is a very noticeable sound that can be heard much more distinctively on the drivers side than the passenger side. Sorry, no video of the sound. Maybe I can get one a bit later.

Are your rims out of balance?

my car was making a rhythmic, low grumbling noise too. It ended up being my passenger strut, and it was blown. Dunno if that's whats wrong with your car but just throwing it out there!

As stated already could be you lost a wheel weight throwing the tire balance off. Or a belt has slipped in the tire throwing off the balance. Rotate the tires see if the sound change from one side to the other

If it makes the sound when you run it with the tire jacked up off the ground I'd be inclined to think its not the tire. Does the sound change when you turn the wheel all the way from one stop to the other? The only time I had a rhythmic thwump related to speed was whem I lost a couple of the fasteners on one of the plastic air shields under the engine bay, and it was flappiung in the wind,

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I appreciate it. After I posted this the sound went away for the rest of the day, but on my drive to the office this morning it was noticeable again.Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »As stated already could be you lost a wheel weight throwing the tire balance off. Or a belt has slipped in the tire throwing off the balance. Rotate the tires see if the sound change from one side to the otherRims are fine. I had the car in drive while suspended. Did it both with the wheels on and off. The sound is easier to hear with the wheels off.Quote, originally posted by joatmon »If it makes the sound when you run it with the tire jacked up off the ground I'd be inclined to think its not the tire. Does the sound change when you turn the wheel all the way from one stop to the other? The only time I had a rhythmic thwump related to speed was whem I lost a couple of the fasteners on one of the plastic air shields under the engine bay, and it was flappiung in the wind, I haven't tried it with the steering wheel turned to both extremes. I thought it could be one of the plastic air shields too, but if that were the case the sound wouldn't be made at all when suspended in my garage.

If that is not the cause, may be due to a bad wheel bearing

As I was leaving my office this evening, I got on the freeway in a construction zone, the lanes shifted over the rumble strip and I hear a weird sound like air releasing. First thought was a flat tire, but then the sound change to a nasty screeching, metallic grinding noise. I stopped as soon as I could to take a look. Nothing was out of place, the tires were still fine. Started driving again and the screeching sound was gone. Didn't return the whole hour drive home, but the thwump sound I've been talking about was much louder. Any ideas?

possibly power steering fluid low? neighbor's suburban did that once. does it go with the speed or rpm's? maybe something in the trans-axle. the differential is on the drivers side pretty much under the pedals.

Quote, originally posted by bassplayaz06 »possibly power steering fluid low? neighbor's suburban did that once. does it go with the speed or rpm's? maybe something in the trans-axle. the differential is on the drivers side pretty much under the pedals.Power steering fluid? Um...no. The sound is directly related to speed not rpms.

ok, can you pinpoint if it's coming from the wheel or within the car? possibly the ABS thing in the drivers side front wheel.

After looking at it again today, the sound is not coming from the bearing but much closer to the center of the car.

bad axle? any of the cv joint boots torn?

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »bad axle? any of the cv joint boots torn?CV boots are all just fine. I'm leaning towards a bad axle, but there isn't anything conclusive yet.

transmission? does it shift fine?

i was thinking along the lines of "Goodfellas" but we don't have trunks...

Quote, originally posted by bassplayaz06 »transmission? does it shift fine?Transmission is as normal as it always has been.

Time to revisit this. I pulled the CV axle out yesterday and the problem is not with the CV axle. Although the transmission shifts just fine, I'm now leaning to a bearing problem in the transmission.

It might be time to pay a shop a diagnostic fee.

I am suspecting your tire have a flat spot? How old are the tires?Why not try putting card board on your parking spot and see any changes tomorrow?In what speed they have the noise?Does it call shaking on steering/chair/ no shake at all?Does the noise happen before you did some changes with the tires/suspension/rotors/pads?Does all lug nuts tight/torque correctly?tire pressure set correctly?

Quote, originally posted by cq358 »I am suspecting your tire have a flat spot? How old are the tires?Why not try putting card board on your parking spot and see any changes tomorrow?In what speed they have the noise?Does it call shaking on steering/chair/ no shake at all?Does the noise happen before you did some changes with the tires/suspension/rotors/pads?Does all lug nuts tight/torque correctly?tire pressure set correctly?I've had the tires for just over 1 year and they have about 25,000 miles on them. The tires are fine.I'm confused as to what the cardboard will do.The noise is at all speeds.The noise started about 3 weeks after I changed pads, rotors, oil, oil filter, and rotated the tires.I always torque the lug nuts to the proper specs. I never over tighten them.I check the pressure in the tires weekly.

Quote, originally posted by cq358 »I am suspecting your tire have a flat spot? How old are the tires?he has run the car with the front end on jackstands and still gets the sound, so a tire flat spot is not a likely cause.motmraffe, have you tried running it jacked up with the tires and brakes off?I still vote to taking it in somewhere, for me it would time to ask a pro

Since the noise is tied to speed, are you sure it's coming from the drivetrain? Could there be a piece of plastic that's loose and is flopping around in the wind? Or perhaps one of your windows isn't sealed properly? (try driving around on the highway with one window cracked an inch and a half then open another window a bit after a minute or so)

bearings in the transaxle would cause this. my sisters car had this problem and it's coming back.

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »he has run the car with the front end on jackstands and still gets the sound, so a tire flat spot is not a likely cause.motmraffe, have you tried running it jacked up with the tires and brakes off?I still vote to taking it in somewhere, for me it would time to ask a proQuote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Since the noise is tied to speed, are you sure it's coming from the drivetrain? Could there be a piece of plastic that's loose and is flopping around in the wind? Or perhaps one of your windows isn't sealed properly? (try driving around on the highway with one window cracked an inch and a half then open another window a bit after a minute or so)I did run the car with the wheels off but not the brakes and the noise is definitely coming from the drive train.

I am wondering is it the rust at the hub that is contacting the rotors... may be I am wrong..

Quote, originally posted by cq358 »I am wondering is it the rust at the hub that is contacting the rotors... may be I am wrong..I know that it isn't the rotors.