Strange howling noise from front of car. Belt problem?

[InfinitiMe]

Started about 10 days ago. At 30mph is when you begin to hear it. At 60mph if you've got your foot on the gas it's almost louder than the engine, and if you let off the gas and cruise it continues on.

The sound itself is a constant but there's also a flickering on top of the sound the frequency of which changes depending on car speed. When you slow down the flickering frequency slow downs, when you speed up it speeds up.

Very hard to describe it exactly but it's like a medium pitch howling and obvious as hell. Loudest at about 58-65mph.

When you hit 70 it suddenly gets quiet, and then starts increasing in volume again as you increase speed towards 80 and higher.

I had the 30k mile service down about a month ago

From the driver's seat the source is definitely in front and sounds quite close by.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

[szh]

No idea, but your thought about a loose belt seems reasonable to look at. Does shifting the gear to a lower value at the same speed cause the pitch of the sound to change?

Some other possibilities (that are complete SWAG's):

1. Front caliper sticking.2. Wheel bearing problem.3. Something stuck in the wheel "spokes".

Z

[InfinitiMe]

Thanks for the response. i played around with it and shifting makes no difference. it seems exclusively dependent on speed.

Also, it seems at certain speeds i can feel the "flickering" as tiny vibrations in the gas pedal.

I'm no mechanic and don't even have the tools to jack my car up so I guess I will need to go to the dealer. This sound is not pleasant to listen to.

[szh]

Agreed - trip to dealer needed.

Please do let us know what it turns out to be.

Z

[jd1966]

Mine just started doing the same thing yesterday...I thought it could be tire related???Please update as you learn more.

I have a 2006 M35x with about 27,000 miles.

[leftlane1]

Sounds like a wheel bearing to me. Usually easy to diagnose at the dealer and a pretty quick/easy fix.

[akhan]

I was just checking to see if you had figured out the problem with the howling. What did the dealer say? Please let us know when you get chance.Thanks.

[infinitiandbeyond]

Did you run over a cat?

[InfinitiMe]

lol

I haven't taken it in yet (waiting for new wheels to get everything done at the same time).

i will def. update this thread when once i get it back

[szh]

i will def. update this thread when once i get it back

Thanks! That would be good.

Z

[EcstaSPT]

Maybe a vacuum line came off or has a hole in it.

[InfinitiMe]

Maybe a vacuum line came off or has a hole in it.

And that wouldn't trip off any of the dash lights?