I have a mk 1 Octy 1.6 petrol that I bought second hand imported to ireland fom Singapore two years ago! In the past couple of weeks the drivers side is making some noise. It was intermittent at first but has becoming more and more frequently heard over the past weeks. It is only heard when the car is moving and only with the window down. It sounds like a cricket chirping. It doesn't change volume or pitch on acceleration and stops completely when brakes are applied. It also stops when the wheel is turned left, but I'm sot so sure if turning right has an impact on the noise. It's hard to pin down where exactly the noise is coming from as it's only when the car is moving that it can be heard. In neutral it's easier to hear as engine noise is reduced. When passing a wall or other reflective surface it's much easier to hear. I had the car serviced the other day and brake pads are fine. But I had difficulties explaining the problem to the (french) mechanic. If he understood me correctly, he suggested that stones could be responsible (?)

I'm living in France the past year and have been driving in the Alps. Over the summer we took her for a spin from Paris thru Luxembourg, Germany, Czech, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The car was heavily loaded most of the time (including bikes and bike-rack) and climbed several alpine passes with switchbacks etc. She now has 105,000KM on the clock.

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Any ideas on the problem would be appreciated, cheers

Kevin

Wheel bearing? Or maybe a stone trapped under the disc shield, like the Frenchman mentioned.

Thanks for the input Bodge, I found an American Mechanic today and he took her for a spin and then jacked her up to check for play. It is indeed a worn "roulement".