Question About Noise While Driving

[03MuranoMama]

I figured I could at least give it a try in the event this is something that is a regular issue with the Murano. Back in July we started noticing a "rotation noise" as my husband has described it to me. It is constant and is like a "whomp, whomp, whomp" every 12 o'clock; no matter if you're going 20 mph or 70 mph it's still there. There is no change in steering and it doesn't affect turning or anything of that nature. It's simply the whomping sound while driving down the road.

I took the car in last week for a balance and rotation hoping that might correct it, but it did nothing. Assuming if there was any tire problem it could have been caught while they were taking care of the tires, are there any thoughts as to what else we could be looking at? We bought the vehicle at CarMax a year ago and are taking it in for a diagnosis today after pondering all options. However, since we do have a warranty it's probably better to just spend the money there than pay someone else, just saves time.

I also had a guy from another forum (not Murano) tell me maybe bad wheel bearing? And when I called another shop today the guy told me it sounded like it could be a wheel bearing issue or transmission problem. I know virtually nothing about vehicles, but wouldn't a transmission problem affect the actual transmission function as well? Like I said, the sound is the only issue and there is no other problem as far as the operation of the vehicle. Just wanted to see what kind of thoughts I could get because there is a chance my husband could fix the problem himself if it weren't anything too major. Thanks!

[Pilgrim]

If it were tire related it would change speed or pitch when you speed up and slow down.

Rotation noise that appears around 20 MPH and stays steady or just gets louder could indeed be a front hub. The bearing is part of the hub and they are replaced as a unit. Aftermarket hubs are much less expensive then Nissan ones, and just as good.

[Eric L.]

If you took it to the original shop with a complaint of the "whomping" noise, and they did a rotation and balance, how did they let you out of the shop with the car still making the same noise? They could have very easily checked the hubs by checking for freeplay at the wheels with the car up in the air.

It could very well be a worn out front wheel hub. If it is transmission related, it should change in pitch with the engine speed. However, this does not rule out transmission or transfer case issues. I would check the CVT fluid level before taking it into a shop (engine warmed up, in park, push the little tab to remove the CVT dipstick, wipe clean, reinsert backwards so the tab doesn't lock, check level). Make sure any shop working on your transmission knows to use Nissan NS2 fluid. The front transfer is tricky to get to - the fill hole is in a tight space. Best to let a shop handle that.

[azrcks]

I could almost bet it is either the lower control arms or the upper strut mounts, these go out like clock work on Muranos. Both issues will give you the same noise. If it were the bearings, you will get a droning constant noise that increases with speed.