Noises that are only heard when driving the vehicle can be very hard to diagnose in the shop. SureTrack community member tireshop70301 had a Nissan Altima in their shop that had a humming noise while driving that they couldn’t find while on the lift. They posed the question to the community, and with the help of fellow community member nate75 and others, they were able to find any easy way to resolve the issue.
The following Real Fix summarizes the interaction between them in the community that led to the solution.
Vehicle
2005 Nissan Altima Base 2.5L
Title
Humming noise, replaced wheel bearing.
Complaint
Customer complains of humming noise while driving.
Diagnostic Steps Performed/Parts Replaced
Test drove vehicle and checked for play in wheel bearings. Cannot confirm if a wheel bearing is causing the humming noise. Any test we can perform to pinpoint which bearing is bad?
Best Answer from Community Member nate75
Jack up the suspect wheel and hold the strut spring while turning the tire, The spring amplifies any roughness in the bearing and you can feel it.
Cause
Found bad wheel bearing by holding the strut on the suspect wheel while vehicle was lifted.
Correction
Replaced bad wheel bearing. Test drove vehicle and noise is gone.