Droning noise from front of car

[jaykyu]

Hi all,

 

I have a 2012 Octavia Hatch with 125,000 miles on it. Had it since new.

 

It's developed a droning noise from the front between 60 and 80 mph. Quite loud.

 

My immediate thought is the wheel bearing but could it be anything else before I commit to an expensive repair?

 

Just FYI I had the wheels swapped front to back to rule out a tyre issue and the rearmost front suspension bushes have recently been replaced. It was droning before then,

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

John

[TheClient]

Points to wheel bearing. Maybe ask a garage to diagnose, before replacement,  if unsure. Do you notice a difference in sound loading left to right side. Mild swerves, bends etc... 

[jaykyu]

It’s only really been motorway driving so no. The garage has been unable to diagnose so far but I might try somewhere else. 

[stevenc]

I had exactly the same problem - droning at motorway speeds.  Checked all the usual suspects - wheel bearings, driveshafts, tyres etc but found nothing wrong.

 

I just happened to read somewhere about the condition of front brake disc rotors and it possibly causing the problem.  Mine were very rusty so I cleaned off as much of the loose rust of as possible.  I then took car out and did some heavy braking from speed (where safe to do so) to further clean up the rotor surface - problem sorted, no more droning.

[Grobbo]

I had the same problem too, it turned out to be a very slightly buckled front wheel

[jaykyu]

18 hours ago, Grobbo said:

I had the same problem too, it turned out to be a very slightly buckled front wheel

 

So I swapped the wheels so that rules out that option but thank you.

[jaykyu]

22 hours ago, stevenc said:

I had exactly the same problem - droning at motorway speeds.  Checked all the usual suspects - wheel bearings, driveshafts, tyres etc but found nothing wrong.

 

I just happened to read somewhere about the condition of front brake disc rotors and it possibly causing the problem.  Mine were very rusty so I cleaned off as much of the loose rust of as possible.  I then took car out and did some heavy braking from speed (where safe to do so) to further clean up the rotor surface - problem sorted, no more droning.

 

Yes indeed. The thing is that it initially started droning between 30 and 40 and then again between 60 and 70. If it was a bearing you'd expect it to get progressively worse as the car goes faster. It kind of suggests some kind of vibration. I no longer hear the noise between 30 and 40.

 

The brakes were changed only in January so unlikely to be that but I will take a look. I can also try braking at speed and seeing if the noise goes away under braking.

[FatblokeVRS]

Check for feathering on the inside edges of the tyres. There was an issue several years back with alignment settings that caused the rear tyres to scrub causing droning. We had this on our VRS. Skoda put out new geometry settings and we haven't had an issue since. I know you said the front but worth checking.

Edited 15 October, 2023 by FatblokeVRS

[jaykyu]

Just an update on this. The speed at which this droning is happening continues to change which is really pointing it against being a wheel bearing.

 

But today I realised that if I depress the clutch pedal whilst this droning is happening, the noise subsides, only to return when I bring the clutch back up.

 

So I'm thinking this may be the throw out bearing which, until today, I'd never heard of.

[brown_d9]

On 15/10/2023 at 23:17, jaykyu said:

Just an update on this. The speed at which this droning is happening continues to change which is really pointing it against being a wheel bearing.

 

But today I realised that if I depress the clutch pedal whilst this droning is happening, the noise subsides, only to return when I bring the clutch back up.

 

So I'm thinking this may be the throw out bearing which, until today, I'd never heard of.

 

Shame... that's a bit more of a fiddly job than a wheel bearing!

[Guest]

@jaykyu

It won't be the clutch thrust bearing as it's only loaded when you depress the clutch pedal.

 

Signs point towards a gearbox/diff on the way out.

[J.R.]

Very often a failing release bearing will rattle and drone when not loaded and be silent when the clutch depressed, often there will be a pre-load spring or the same achieved by the hydraulics to prevent noise once the bearing has loosened up.

[jaykyu]

Ok thanks for the suggestions. 
 

The noise now only seems to happen between 60 and 65 mph. 
 

It’s very odd and worried this could take a while to diagnose. Also a bit concerned about safety since I don’t know what it is. 

[Guest]

It's only speculation via a forum, have a professional diagnose and fix it if it bothers you so much.

[ah29]

I had this a while ago, it would come and go. Had the wheels rebalanced as one of the weights had fallen of and that fixed it. So might be that?

[jong123]

Possibly input shaft.

That'll cost you.🙁

[Stonekeeper]

On 10/10/2023 at 15:44, Grobbo said:

I had the same problem too, it turned out to be a very slightly buckled front wheel

 

 

I have had similar when it turned out to be a mis-shapen tyre.

[jaykyu]

On 19/10/2023 at 00:42, MicMac said:

It's only speculation via a forum, have a professional diagnose and fix it if it bothers you so much.

 
I have tried but they couldn’t “recreate” the issue. 

[jaykyu]

On 21/10/2023 at 11:01, Stonekeeper said:

 

 

I have had similar when it turned out to be a mis-shapen tyre.

I had the garage take it out for an extended drive this week. They are a bit baffled but it is looking increasingly like it might be tyre related since it’s related to speed rather than anything else. 
 

They don’t think it’s clutch related. 

[jaykyu]

On 19/10/2023 at 14:58, ah29 said:

I had this a while ago, it would come and go. Had the wheels rebalanced as one of the weights had fallen of and that fixed it. So might be that?

This is a good idea. It might be worth checking the wheel balance. 

[MikeTheThinker]

4 hours ago, jaykyu said:

This is a good idea. It might be worth checking the wheel balance. 

Are you getting any vibration through the steering wheel?

[jaykyu]

On 19/11/2023 at 14:16, MikeTheThinker said:

Are you getting any vibration through the steering wheel?

I am sometimes, yes. Although it’s not always consistent. 

[MikeTheThinker]

On 26/11/2023 at 19:25, jaykyu said:

I am sometimes, yes. Although it’s not always consistent. 

If your wheels are out of balance you will feel some vibration via the steering wheel.  The degree and type of vibration will vary depending on road speed, road surface, how warm your tyres are etc.  You should be able to isolate the conditions where vibration is sensed and it should be repeatable (i.e. similar road surfaces, road speed, weather conditions etc.)

Whilst such checks are not definitive they can help identify repeatable conditions so you can describe the problem to an appropriate engineer.

[mac11irl]

if it is a wheel bearing your previous post saying it was there at 30 to 40 and again 60-70 does tally. the reason its worst at those speeds is that the drone resonates at those frequencies thus making it louder. 

it changing speeds can be due to further wear changing that resonance point, but it will alway be harmonic - 30 and 60 and 120 (if you got there ), 45 and 90, etc.

[jaykyu]

7 hours ago, mac11irl said:

if it is a wheel bearing your previous post saying it was there at 30 to 40 and again 60-70 does tally. the reason its worst at those speeds is that the drone resonates at those frequencies thus making it louder. 

it changing speeds can be due to further wear changing that resonance point, but it will alway be harmonic - 30 and 60 and 120 (if you got there ), 45 and 90, etc.

Yes I had picked up on this actually. Something resonating.