Humming noise at high speed

[Kieranm9091]

Hi,

My partner has a 1.5l Yaris 2018 plate (non hybrid) and when driving at High speed, you can really hear a humming noise and it can get extremely loud to the point where sensitive ears would likely be harmed by it…..not ideal.

I have a video attached which you can hear it loud and as she decelerates a bit, it get slightly quieter. We know it’s not rev related.

any ideas? 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hybrid or non-hybrid?

[Kieranm9091]

Just now, FROSTYBALLS said:

Hybrid or non-hybrid?

Apologies. It is non-hybrid

[bathtub tom]

I'd suggest either tyre noise (what's fitted?) or wheel bearing.

[Stevie J]

That sounds like a wheel bearing failing depending on how many miles it has done. Could have been damaged by a large pothole, water ingress into the bearing or just a defective bearing - not unheard of. Although it could be as simple as under inflated tyres, although if that was the case your warning light for low tyre pressure should be on on the dash. Check each rear tyre though just in case - should be about 32 - 36 PSI. 

If you want to have a go at checking the wheel bearings yourself, put the car in 4th gear, importantly - chock both the front wheels with something heavy (ie, a brick)  to stop them rolling, take the handbrake off, jack up each rear wheel in turn, turn the wheel and listen for any roughness in the bearing when the wheel spins. Put a hand at the top and bottom of the wheel and try to rock it up and down and in and out, to see if there is any play in the bearing. If there is, there should be a metallic knocking sound on moving the wheel in and out up and down.

If it was me, I would take it up to somewhere like Kwik Fit, tell them the car is droning loudly from the rear at speed, and have them look at it. Replacing a rear wheel bearing probably wont be cheap as its likely the hub itself which contains the bearing will have to be changed.

 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Stevie J said:

If it was me, I would take it up to somewhere like Kwik Fit, tell them the car is droning loudly from the rear at speed, and have them look at it.

I wouldn't. They will end up advising new brakes are needed, all round. New front struts because they are leaking (after spraying with WD40, yes that happened to me some years ago) and possibly a new exhaust.

Went for a new back silencer and was told both front struts were leaking. Car had passed MoT that morning with only the exhaust advisory. Very rapid backtrack and I went elsewhere. They had been sprayed with WD40 or similar.

One branch had fitted a complete new exhaust to an Audi, at a diffenent location, and had cut away and "modified" some bodywork to accomodate the exhaust.

Of course, there are probably more reputable branches.

I experienced a similar humming sound, left rear, thought for ages it was some funky bassline from the radio. Next MoT, failed bearing at 30k miles.

New, good quality, aftermarket, hub assemblies(if it's the rear)are not that expensive and not too labour intensive to change. Depends on how "stuck" from corrosion. If it actually is a noisy bearing.

 

[AdamA95]

Did you find out what the issue was? Also, what kind of mileage has your car done?

My Yaris has been making a similar noise. I took it to the dealer yesterday who informed me both rear wheel bearings have failed and need to be replaced. It's coming to ~£1000 for parts and labor to replace them. 

[TonyHSD]

Does sound like bad bearings altogether needs to be checked with wheels off the ground. Sometimes a bad tyres can sound exactly the same.
For the dealer quote see if you have warranty manufacturer or relax and if bearings are covered then ask for warranty replacement if not covered you can try independent garage or mechanic to inspect and replace if really necessary. Aftermarket parts for bearings best are SKF if not available then Blueprint. eBay , Amazon or carparts4less are good places to buy. 
What usually kills car bearings is driving through deep water, hitting kerbs or sharp potholes, unnecessarily high speed cornering, overloading the car. 
Good luck

[Parts-King]

A genuine rear hub/bearing is about £300, you can buy aftermarket versions for £100 or less, as mentioned, stick with a known brand like SKF or Blueprint etc

[DerekHa]

10 hours ago, AdamA95 said:

Did you find out what the issue was? Also, what kind of mileage has your car done?

My Yaris has been making a similar noise. I took it to the dealer yesterday who informed me both rear wheel bearings have failed and need to be replaced. It's coming to ~£1000 for parts and labor to replace them. 

Hi there Adam,

£1000 for a dealer to change two rear wheel bearings is outlandish! I imagine a lot of £1000 estimate is for labour as they're assuming the bearings will be siezed/corroded into the rear hub carrier assembley. There are bearings for your vehicle on eBay from around £35 - £300 for genuine Toyota, go for a decent brand like Parts King says. On a 6 year old vehicle they shouldn't be to difficult to replace as shouldn't be very corroded and I would say a DIY job if your ok with spanners.

The rear bearings on eBay look very similar to those fitted on the early Mk1 Aygo/C1 and 107. I changed one sometime back and posted on here the problems I had doing it which were entirely down to fairly high miles on a 2006 car and the amount of corrosion that had formed on the back of the bearing over the years, stopping it being extracted. Found a novel way of breaking down the corrision/rust down and finally getting the thing out. Good clean up of the hub carrier and fitting was fairly straight forward. It cost me a lot of time which wasn't an issue about £35 ish for the bearing and another £20 on WD40 and trying to fashion a makeshift hub puller/pusher which failed for me.

If your not a DIYer then a good local mechanic should be lots cheaper than the stealers!

[Kieranm9091]

13 hours ago, AdamA95 said:

Did you find out what the issue was? Also, what kind of mileage has your car done?

My Yaris has been making a similar noise. I took it to the dealer yesterday who informed me both rear wheel bearings have failed and need to be replaced. It's coming to ~£1000 for parts and labor to replace them. 

Hi Adam and everyone,

 

Thanks all for your feedback on my post, it was indeed wheel bearings as suspected. In fact, both rear wheel bearings were well and truly busted. So have had them both replaced at a reliable local garage, I did not bother going to Toyota.

 

We paid £280 for both bearings to be replaced.

 

The car had done about 50,000 miles, ready for many more :)

[Stevie J]

Thats a really good outcome, saved a fortune over going to the stealers - I would only them for warranty work, everything else, go to a reputable garage. I have used Kwik Fit most over the years, some may say they are to be avoided, but the branch I use in Newcastle under Lyme has always been great, they do the MOT and any work needed. If my hubs needed doing, I would probably just use Kwik Fit.

It is not very good though for rear bearings to fail at just 50K miles, in fact I'd say that was really poor. I have had company vans in the past and done 150K miles in them over their lives and never once needed rear bearings doing. To fail at 50K is quite frankly appalling for a Toyota. Mine has done 30K miles, and I hope I am not going to be faced with this issue in the next 20K miles. Every Yaris I have owned has been great in terms of reliability, and the only things they have needed are the usual items such as tyres, exhaust back boxes, batteries, bulbs, Wiper Blades. I've never had many other problems other than the odd corrosion related issue but my Yaris's up to my current one have both been over 10 years old, so some corrosion is to be expected, but to have wheel bearings fail on both sides at just 50K miles, on a car that is only 5 years old is damn unlucky. Toyota quoting a grand to do them is what I would have expected - they charge the earth for labour rates.

Glad you got it all sorted though.

[Rosgoe]

On 6/27/2023 at 10:29 AM, olonas said:

I wouldn't. They will end up advising new brakes are needed, all round. New front struts because they are leaking (after spraying with WD40, yes that happened to me some years ago) and possibly a new exhaust.

 

 

That used to be the case many years ago I think there was even a feature on watchdog about kiwk fit oiling up the shock absorbers saying they were shot but I don’t think they are like that now can’t fault my local kwik fit.

[Stevie J]

Every Kwik Fit garage is different, they all carry the Kwik Fit name, but a lot depends on the management of that particular branch. I've used the same Kwik Fit branch for must be 20 odd years with various different vehicles including company vans when I used to drive them, and that branch has always had the same management, - they have only advised what really needed doing, been fair on MOT fail items, and been reasonable on price. I'm not saying all Kwik Fit branches are as good as this, indeed, some may not be, but if you use one and have bad service, then you dont return there again and you leave a negative review for them on the likes of Google Reviews or TrustPilot so others are warned. Companies know these days that they can get bad publicity on social media, so doing bad work is not in their best interests. Dissatisfied customers can spread the word - fast.

 

[Kieranm9091]

If I had gone to the Kwik fit near me, the car would have been in for over two days at the rate they work. Took them 3 hours to fit two tyres before now 😂

 

50k is poor for wheel bearings, but these things happen, could have been multiple factor and the car has had two owners previously so we don’t know how they have treated the car either.

[Stevie J]

Yeah, that is correct and always the biggest downside of buying a used car, and the older the used car, the more risky it is, as indeed, it could have gone through multiple different owners, all of whom could have absolutely ragged the nuts out of the car every day, smashing through potholes and generally not looking after it.

I had my fill of buying crappy old high miler knackers off eBay in the past and ended up with never ending visits to the garage and the wallet getting hammered. After 2011, I started having my mother's old low mileage Yaris's after she had had newer ones, and she is now on her 4th Yaris since 2004. I have had 3 of these as she upgraded to a newer one, so if you can get a car from family or has a history that you know, it can be a better buy. Generally, the more owners a car has had, the more risk there is that things have been neglected, as one person buys a used car, finds its got problems, ignores them till they get worse, then sells it on, so the next buyer then inherits all the problems, and sells the car on again, so if you look at a used car, and its had 5 or more owners in quick succession, then I'd be hearing alarm bells ringing. I'd be avoiding second hand car auctions as well - they go there for a reason normally, the seller wants shot of them quickly for what they can get for them - most cars from auctions usually need work doing on them, are ex rentals, cat S, Cat N  or have chequered pasts.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Yeah, it amazes me how many car ads focus on the standard features which may or may not all work, the opening hours and such other irrelevancies, which are readily available on the net.

And completely ignoring the important bit about the type of owner , and how it was treated, and serviced previously.

Of course this is not an issue for most dealers,who are only interested in profit, not selling good cars.

But is of interest to buyers who expect a reasonable degree of due diligence when paying the dealer premium and profit.

If you are lucky enough to buy from the owner, and they are honest, there is a good chance of getting a good buy.

A deal like this has to be looked for though, they don't fall into the lap.