I have a 2007 2LT 2.4L Fall Special Edition with a little under 53000 miles. About a year ago I replaced the original tires with a set of Falkens. Almost immediately I noticed what I thought was tire noise. At highway speeds it sounded like I was riding in an old truck with knobby tires! I recently got a new set of Cragar 600B wheels, so I decided to ditch the Falkens and mounted a set of Firestone Firehawks on the new wheels. This, I assumed, would solve my "noise" problem. Well, no such luck. When driving in a straight line I don't notice it so much, but when the wheel is turned to go around a bend it really rumbles. Any ideas or has anyone else experienced this sort of thing? Or did I just get two sets of noisy tires?

 

wheel bearing?

 

You almost certainly have a bad wheel bearing. If your car is under 5 yrs old it is covered by the powertrain warranty.

 

Sounds like a bad wheel hub assembly. Since the bearing is sealed into the hub. When turning see if you hear it more. Usually when turning you will hear the growl on whatever the outside hub is, due to the more pressure being put on that hub. i have replaced these on my grand prix, when you remove them you can usually feel the vibration when turning the hub

 

That's kind of what I figured, bearings. I'll have to check on that 5-year powertrain warranty.

 

Thank goodness you got rid of the crappy Falcons....

 

Check the plastic rocker panels for tightness. The jack points are very close and if the tire jockey does not care enough, the lift can break the attachment points. That makes for an ungodly vibration noise when the rocker gets wind born against the fender, sounds exactly the same as a bad wheel bearing. Check just under the GM Chiclets, or where the used to be.

Also make sure to check the rear bearings as well.

 

If you would like to provide me with the VIN of your HHR, I would be happy to research the warranty information. Please, feel free to send me this information via private message.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

 

I had this exact problem not too long ago. Started hearing the noise going around right corners/curves at highway speeds only. I was almost certain it was coming from the passenger side, but remembered when turning all the weight goes to the opposite side. When we hoisted the car, the tire didn't wobble like you would normally find with a bad wheel bearing, however, when we took the wheel off and turned the wheel hub by hand, you could feel the grinding and catching of the bearings. Replaced the hub assembly ($100 for me) and all the noise was gone.

Another Note: Someone mentioned to me my noise could've been the vertical lower control arm bushings. I replaced both sides and it didn't help the noise since it was the wheel bearing, but I'm glad I did replace them because they were shot! After doing that, my front end felt much tighter than before. Check out those bushings while you're down there working. May want to replace them as well. Each bushing is like $14 :-)

 

Well, I'm 5 months out of my powertrain warranty. Darn!

I called a local mom-n-pop place that worked on a car I used to have. He quoted me $300-325 to replace the bearings. Does that sound right for this job? I wasn't sure if it was a job I could do at home or not. I've done brakes, shocks, and stuff like that.