Q: Car making a thumping sound/vibration as I'm driving

asked by on February 14, 2018

I have a 2004 Saturn Ion with a manual transmission. I recently had my break line fail as I was driving. As a result I had to press hard on the break petal and use the e-break just to come to a skidding stop. I have since fixed the break line but now as I am driving I can hear and feel a thumping that speeds up an and slows down as I go faster and slower. It's almost feels like there is a flat spot on one of the tires. I don't see anything like that on the tires and I know it has nothing to do with the transmission as the noise and vibration still happens when I'm in neutral. It also seems to become more pronounced when I am turning right and traveling at higher speeds.
My car has a manual transmission.

There are a number of things that may cause this kind of thumping sound that may be consistent with speeding up and slowing down, but it sounds like you may have a wheel bearing that might be failing. A wheel bearing will usually fail due to pitting or small damage on the surface of the rollers or the bearing race. Both the surface of the rollers and the race is precision machined to tight tolerances and highly polished to allow the rollers to pass easily over the race with the addition of bearing grease for lubrication and cooling. Over time the bearing will wear slightly, allowing microscopic pieces of metal into the grease. Bearing noise can sound a lot like a brake pad dragging or grinding. It can also sound like whirring, whining or humming depending on how much sound deadening material your vehicle has in it. Bearing noise will always be dependent on vehicle speed meaning as you speed up or slow down the noise should change frequency or loudness. Cornering may affect the noise from a damaged front wheel bearing and is usually more pronounced as you make turns. I would suggest having a professional from Your Mechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.

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