I have a 2006 accord LX with4cyl &AT. The car has 80,000 miles and has been maintained by me.
About 2 weeks ago the car has developed a noise that I can only describe as a low frequency humming coming from the front end. The noise is speed related and starts being heard at about 25 mph. The noise seems to be the loudest at about 45 mph but can be heard at all speeds up to 80mph. The noise does not seem to be tireorengine noise. The noise is there whether the engine is on or off and whether in gear or in neutral.
Upon inspection:
The drivers side axle seems to have a little thrust play, maybe about 1/32 or so. It is just enough to notice when you try and move the axle. The thing that bothers me aboutthis is that the passenger axle does not have the same thrust play.
When I lift the car and spin the wheels I hear a light "clicking" where the axle meets the case (green arrow in pix). I believe this is fairly normal as I have heard it on othere cars of mine.
Thebearing at the transmission has some "play" when moved up & down but I believe this is normal.
Trans fluid is changed every 10,000 with Honda fluid and oil/filter is changed every 5,000 with Mobil 1. Power steering fluid has been changed twice as well as other regular maintenance items taken care of.
Any Ideas whould be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Mark

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I dont like any real noticable play in the axle, noises are difficult to diagnose, a tire rotation is in order to see if the noise changes, have you tried to drive on different road surfaces?

 

Seems like a CV joint. No?

 

#1- Tires are rotated every 10,000 miles. Yes it makes the noise on all surfaces.

#2- I don't think it is a CV joint. The Cv makes a louder and harsher sounding clicking sound. Not sure but I have heard that the CVs in the Accords are pretty good as long as the boot is in good condition.

 

Wheel bearing?

Usually a bad wheel bearing will get louder & softer as you steer; while it's 'tone' is related to the car's speed. But I've had one go bad that barely changed with steering.

The way to verify that would be to remove the brake shoes so you can spin the bearing without anyinterference bythe brakes.

 

Did you check the wheel bearings?

 

good call on the bearings .... I didn't think of them. Sounds are difficult to diagnose over a forum.


Please add a signature with the car info.

 

Jim:
The sound does not get louder if I turn the wheels. I will pull the wheels and brakes off tonight to see if there is any play or noise from the bearing.

I can add car info in sig if it helps but it is in the body of the post.

 

Understood and that's why there are people in this thread, but when it gets to the second page it becomes a PITA to have to check back to find it. Also, it just makes life easier for everyone. You only have to type it once and we don't have to search for the info.

EDIT: Thank you!!!

 

I added the Sig. What you are saying makes a lot of sense. I never really thought about it.


I just rotated the tires and the noise is the same. I just checked again, the sound remains the same when driving when turning.

THX for the ideas. Do Hondas usually have Wheel Bearing issues this early in their life?