Yeah, I have heard that sound too, but only on free wheeling tires, like the front tire on a rear wheel drive car. This Lexus sound was much different. If you are into cars, it was the same sound you get when a U joint is near going.

 

At least the wheel bearing dont fall apart like the Dodge trucks

 

How could they fall off? Are you serious?

 

My 330 has a droning from 70 to 80mph from the rear. (35k miles)
(Louder than the radio at normal volume)

Before 70mph OR after 80mph the car is quiet.

I am getting sensitive to it, and may hear it at 35.

Wheel bearings or M. Tires?

Thanks,
Chris

 

If it is tires, it should be much louder with the windows open.

If it were a more of a rumbling sound with vibration, I would suspect it was a failed U-joint.

Droning (windows closed) and small chassis vibration was what I had was what I had with the failed wheel bearing.

 

Not quite a droning sound. Not quite a grinding sound. Almost a mixture of both, at least on early bearing failures.

 

Hi,

I have a RX350 with 15000 miles. I took it in to the dealer today for what sounded like a wheel bearing on the left rear going out. The dealer said he believes it is tire wear causing the noise. (no noise from right rear, and it has the same wear) It makes the noise even at very low speeds in the neighborhood. I can hear it more clearly with the window up than down and more noticable at low speeds. I plan on putting the spare tire on and see if the problems goes away. If it is still there the dealer will get it for a second round. The original tires must be the worst I have ever owned to be wearing so quickly on the inside. The car had never hit curbs or had any damage, so Lexus should be taking all the complaints about tire wear more seriously. There must be an alignment problems from the factory. I swithed from Acura to Lexus and I'm starting to wonder if I made a mistake by not going with the MDX.

 

What is your question?

Seems like the dealer checked it out & told u the problem.

 

This was fixed by the dealer, and it was the rear wheel bearings ($1100)

 

I am getting sensitive to this noise coming from the back, too. Still need to figure out, how to tell and how to make sure it is the bearing. Somebody suggested to lift it and actually rotate and see if you can hear some noise...I should try this.

 

I have the same problem right now and I plan to take it back for the second time to the dealer. There is a loud noise even at low speeds coming from the left rear of the car. Seems less with the window down. Also the inside tread on the rear tires is wearing very badly. Seems like Lexus has a real problem. This car should be very quite inside and it's not.

 

If you can hear it at low speeds, it is probably not the wheel bearing (unless it is completely gone).

Is it worse going up hill? That might indicate a u-joint.

 

My dealer tried to tell me the same tire wear story on my RX400h with 45K miles. I had a bad right front bearing.

 

Are there preventative measures to be taken?

In the old days, as part of the oil change, the mechanic would "grease the joints". I can't remember if wheel bearings were also greased. I'm thinking that these days they are sealed.

Since my RX is out of warranty now, I'd like to know if there is something I can do in advance.

 

Wheel bearing need to be greased properly before installation. They have to be "loaded' with grease. Mine failed, almost certainly, due to the factory assembler NOT greasing it properly.

Now, the reality is that it would be nice to regrease the bearings every 20K or so...but it is sooooo much work (read $) to get them off of the car, if you were going to remove them you might as well replace them with new ones before reasssembly.

So, the best financial approach is to wait until they fail, and replace them by someone who knows how to do it.