Another wheel bearing thread

[SooperD]

Hi all.

New Mk5 GTI owner here. Had the car around 2 weeks and ever since its had a droning noise that comes in at around 30-35mph and increases with speed. After trawling the various forums and websites (and from previous car experience) I put this down to the wheel bearings. It sound as though it was the front so took it to Gwent VW to get it all checked out. Was told it was a wheel bearing and out of peace of mind had both replaced today costing me just over £300 in total. One of the bearings came apart when he took it off which he showed me. Basically fubar'd. The other had play too. But when he did a test drive the noise was still there so he thought it was maybe road noise from the tyres so switched the fronts for a set of Audi A3 alloys with a different tyre. He seems to think the noise is caused by the tyres (Very cheap and ive never heard of the make before, but all 4 tyres were brand new when the car was purchased). Ive just driven it home and the noise doesnt seem to be different to how it was at all..

Is there any other possible reason other than the tyres, that im getting this noise? Those of you who have had this problem, how loud was the horrible whirring/droning noise and were you experiencing this at the same speed?

Ive got to take it back there tomorrow as I still have the Audi wheels on the front to test out and decide about the noise so any info or direction on where to go would be appreciated.

P.S. I got finance seperatly from the actual place I bought the car. Then chose this car from a company called trade price vehicles in Bristol. Because the guy from the finance company came down to sort the finance details and payment etc with the seller I have no reciept or anything stating what warranty etc I have with the car. Where do I stand? I want to try and recoup some of the money I have paid out or at least get the tyres changed without paying any more out. I have never bought a car this way before. Always been private and paid cash.

Thanks all :)

[brady88]

If the camber is out on the rears the tyres wear on the inside and cause the noise. Pretty common!
Try getting four wheel laser tracking and camber done ;)

[SooperD]

Thanks for the speedy reply Brady :) .. There's a tyre place near Gwent VW so will let them know tomorrow and get the tracking looked at.. Worth doing anyway I suppose with the new wheel bearings right?

Keep the info coming.. The more ideas the better as I really want this solved..

Thanks..

[JagGTi]

Have you checked rear tyres for uneven wear as this is quite common and can cause a droning sound similar to what you described.

[brady88]

Have you checked rear tyres for uneven wear as this is quite common and can cause a droning sound similar to what you described.

I'm 99% sure that's what it will be ;)

[OSB]

Sorry if I misread your original thread, but have you still got the cheapo tyres on?
Some are notorious for creating a drone similar to wheel bearing noise.
Check out tyre reviews/tests online. You could be surprised. Grip, especially wet grip is often not good on cheapo tyres. There is a reason they are cheap! I'm not condemning all cheapos but I made a mistake with them once.

As above, get tracking/camber checked on 4 wheel laser machine.

[SooperD]

Again thanks to all who have posted.. The tyres were brand new on the car from the dealer about 2-3 weeks ago. So im hopeful that it is what we all suspect and the reason I had very little noise at all when I first bought the car (More miles the tyres have done, the more "Saw toothed" the rears have become causing the noise to get louder over the last few weeks)

Yes the cheapo tyres are still on the rear. I have to go back to Gwent VW tomorrow and will try a different set of wheels with "Decent" tyres on the rear to see if this solves my problem. Will also be getting it 4 wheel aligned afterwards to make sure everything is where it should be :)

Will report back tomorrow and let you and others know the outcome. Fingers, toes n eyes crossed :) .

[SooperD]

Well, we swapped the rear tyres for the Audi alloys and put my original front tyres back on the front (Left the original rears off the car) and Voila.. The noise had gone completely!

So now the problem is narrowed down to the tyres.

Dilemma is do I;

A. Get new tyres and possibly after a few 100 miles have the same issue again (will this happen?)
B. Get the rears checked for balancing and see if the alloys are all square and ok
C. Get it 4 wheel aligned and hope the noise goes away after the tyres even their self out
D. Get used to the noise until the tyres wear themselves out

B. Is probably going to be the first thing to do either way as the fronts need balancing anyway i think (vibration at speeds of 70+)

Just spent near £500 the last week having the wheel bearings done and had the DV replaced today. So am running out of funds quickly and 2 new tyres Im looking over £120 for something decent.

And on a final note to anyone who hasnt had their car remapped.. DO IT! .. I had the 6 hour free APR trial from the guys at Gwent VW and I thought it was quick, but with a new DV today, Oh my goodness!! What an animal the car is now. Blows my old 1.3 turbo Starlet out of the water!.

Hopefully anyone else who has this same droning noise can take some tips from the thread and avoid expensive bills repairing wheel bearings etc. Try swapping the wheels first :).

Appreciate your help and a final nudge in the direction of the above would be awesome.

Cheers.
D

[Tortaruga]

I'd go with D. No point throwing away a perfectly good set of tyres until they're worn out, even if they're cheapo tyres.

[OSB]

Buy new tyres. Expensive but worth it. I had to and don't regret it. I have GY AS2s now and the wear rate is...... almost non existent! after 3.5k I can still see the mould line down the centre of all 4 tyres. I'll try and post a oic tomorrow. NO noise. Smooth ride. Great grip.
Sometimes you have to bite the bullet! A 'pita' but it makes the car!

[SooperD]

Cheers both.. You had the droning noise problem too OSB? Those tyres do sound like a quality set tho.. must have been a pretty penny? What kind of tread pattern is on them? I ask that as Im thinkin this may also play a part on the noise (could be just talking sh1t tho :) )

[Ramsay]

I have this same droning noise and thought it was a bearing as well, I was surprised when it passed its mot without any advisories.  My steering wheel is slightly out of alignment so guessing that its the rears causing thin( well fingers crossed) will get it aligned and post if this solves the annoying sound :)

[phil bert]

same here got the same problem on mine , was also told that it could be a wheel bearing but I had car for mot last week and it passed with flying colours
did have 4 new tires 2 weeks prier to that and the tracking was never done right so gave up with them so after mot I asked them to check has they have 4 wheel alienment there and my backend out  the fronts are ok but then again that's not true seeing has the back not right lol , hoping to have 2 new control arm fitted to get this sorted has there rusted up tight , 

[SooperD]

Any updates on your problems guys? Has anything you have done remedied the noise ? Mine is still there and its really starting to annoy me now. Im looking to get the tracking etc checked next payday and also get all 4 wheels re-balanced as i get a bit of steering wheel judder at around 70-75 on the Motorway.