Whistling Noise

[Tay]

Hi all,

Well 2012 seems to be the year for weird noises on my car!

I started to notice this one about two months ago and it seems to be getting more consistent and noticeable.

It is a very high pitched whistle, almost like a dog whistle or old style kettle coming to the boil. Very faint but clearly 'there'.

It is speed related. On the motorway I have tried putting the car in neutral, applying the brakes and changing gear but the noise remains consistent and unchanged whatever I do.

I have jacked up all four wheels and checked for play in the bearings and also spun each wheel to make sure nothing is catching and I can find anything obvious.

I have also checked all door/window seals and they are all in good shape.

Any ideas what this could be? I'm inclined to think it is a wheel bearing, just starting to go bad but I’m not used to them creating this sort of high pitched sound.

It’s driving me nuts now!

Thanks

[mwilson]

Sounds like you are on the right lines with either air or bearings. My Yaris bearings certainly made a high squeel when they were going but that was more noticeable at lower speeds and inaudible at high speed. Another option is wind going through the wing mirrors, have either of these been broken or cracked? You could try putting masking tape over them (not the actual mirror bit) to see if that affects the sound.

[Tay]

Hi there,

I have tried the wing mirrors too actually, well i have tried folding them in for a few minutes and it didnt make any difference, but then they havent been damaged anyway.

Got to be a wheel bearing hasnt it? Just such an unusual noise for them to make in my experience.

I guess i'll have to wait for it to get worse, as I dont think its possible to pin it down to one wheel at the moment and I dont want to just chuck money at it.

How long did yours go one for making that noise until it was bad enough to get fixed?

[mwilson]

My clutch was going too, so I just traded the car in and got my Avensis, we were looking to get a bigger car anyway for family reasons, so rather than spending a massive amount on a car we were getting rid of anyway, we just got rid of it. It had been going on for months though, maybe even a year but I wouldn't recomend leaving it that long for your own safety.

[Tay]

Yes that makes sense, I bought an Avensis for similar reasons I suspect (kids everywhere).

Been a great family motor, but things do seem to be going wrong all over the place now, already spent £400 on it this year and now this too.

Thing is, I would get it done but have no idea if it is the bearings and if it is, which wheel it is! I dont want to just spend more money guessing at it..

Sometimes I wish things would just break. At least then you can get it fixed!