Hello everyone,

When driving above 40 MPH, the inside of my car gets really loud. It kind of sounds like a humming noise. The sounds softens as soon as I brake. I thought it was due to old tires, however I just got nice new ones and the noise remains. Has this happened to anyone else? What could the causes be?

I have a 2004 Maxima with almost 100k miles

Thanks,

K

 

sounds like wheel bearing(s) is toasted

 

^ agreed

 

Thanks for the quick reply. How do I confirm it's the problem? Im hesitant to take it to the dealer as they will surly tell me there are other things that need to be fixed

 

Check to see if the noise goes away when you are making long sweeping curves.

Let's say you're making a right hand sweeping turn. The inside front wheel
(right) should not make any noise if the bearing is bad because there is less pressure on that wheel. The same goes for the left if making a sweeping left turn.

This should tell you if a wheel bearing is bad as well as which one.

 

Thank you again. If it's not the wheel bearing, what other causes could it be?

 

Jack your car up one side at a time, secure on jack stands

Shake the wheels from Left to Right 3pm - 9pm ... if theres play , its tie rods

Shake the tires 12 o' clock - 6 o' clock , if theres play , its wheel bearings.

Spin the wheel in motion to hear or feel any viberations.

This will tell if you what needs to be replaced ,

Just for checks make sure the rotation of your tires are correct as well.

 

wheel bearing

 

Had the Right front go out on mine at 60K miles...lucky me, it was still under warranty..Wondering about the left front now...

 

I just recently had my rear wheel bearing go bad and it was a humming sound the dealer replaced it and it went away.

 

Definitely sounds like a wheel bearing going bad to me.

 

Dang, I have the same humming/vibration around 40MPH (not present above or below that speed).

However, I tried shaking the wheels back and forth when I replaced my struts and there was no play either way... any ideas?

 

Check your trunk for midgets.

 

Are the wheel bearings on the 04's pressed in or can they be replaced at home?

 

Nice to know!!

 

i'm sure the 04's are no different from the 05's. I purchased one from o'reilly's and had it pressed at carquest. the rest i did it in my garage.

 

I purchased my ryde @ 15K miles.. @ roughly 20-25K miles, I had my front RH wheel bearing replaced.. @ 30-45K miles, the front LH went bad but Nissan insisted that they replace both front LH and RH again.. Now, @ 50K miles.. My front RH neeeds to be replaced again.. I think Nissan has a problem with their wheel bearings..