Why is my car making a wierd humming noise at 17mph and then it goes away?
Asked by gg100 Aug 13, 2012 at 09:17 PM about the 2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8 S
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
My car is driving just fine at all velocities except for when it reaches around 16-17mph where it makes a rather loud humming noise (not really any added vibrations), but it completely goes away after 20mph. My tiers still have a bit of thread left on them, my brakes check out just fine, the only thing I noticed is that one of the tiers did not have a weight for balancing. Any advice on quick DIY checks I can perform before I have to pay for a 100-point inspection and end up changing the engine because a mechanic told me to do so?
Thanks in advance!
5 Answers
The_Legend answered 12 years ago
where does the humming seem to come from? could be any number of things cauing this... have you checked to make sure its not your passenger hinting to speed up lol only joking.
I would be interested if the transmission changes gears during that speed range. Good idea w/ the wheel weight, but I'd rule it out since it's only at that small mph band. Plus at 55+mph if the wheel was missing a weight/out of balance, you would have a bad shimmy in the steering wheel. Engine possibly, but I doubt it since it's only at one speed interval. I would say transmission or drivetrain (driveshaft, axle gear).
Thanks for the replies. I can't pinpoint a certain location of the vibration since the whole cabin seems to reverberate equally, but the noise has died down over the last three days?!?!? I will try to manually shift gears between 1-2-D going at 17mph like you suggested Jason... drive faster like The_Legend suggests lol... and also check the belts to see if one might be loose or worn out as a mechanic said.
jessicamccourt answered 12 years ago
At 16 mph the doors lock automatically on my 2011, and when I first got it I was confused as to what the noise is....
i have the same thing, how have you resolved the problem? it can be quite loud and very embarrassing, im thinking something important isn't getting oil/grease in the right place and because the noise is so central (maybe driveshaft)
