2009~2013: Mazda3 Bearing like noise when turning left only

[dbeck]

I bought a 2012 Mazda3 GT hatch with the 2.5 and 6MT and it was advertised as having a bad driver front wheel bearing. I concurred with this on the test drive as I’ve experienced that problem before, negotiated down, bought it, and replaced the wheel bearing. The noise persisted so I replaced the driver rear as well and no change. Recently the noise seems to be worse.

when I drive straight on at 40+ mph, there’s a constant, synchopated vibration type noise (like vvvVVVvvvVVVvvvVVV). When turning left it gets significantly worse and I can physically feel it in all the pedals and through the floor. When turning right, there is ZERO noise. I’ve checked for rub but I’m running stock wheels with the stock tire size. The clutch doesn’t slip. There’s no clunking from the suspension and no clicking type noises either. The brake pads have plenty of meat and the rotors are smooth. This happened on the 17” tires I bought the car with, the brand new snow tires I put on the 17” wheels, and the 18” speed3 wheels that came with it. My next thought is to replace the transmission fluid and if that doesn’t fix it, the axle. In my head I’m concerned I need a new clutch or, even worse, new diff bearings. Any ideas or suggestions of what this could be would be great! Thanks!

 

[Boland01]

Reaching for straws here but if you've replaced the wheel bearing how about the CV joint axle? You mentioned when you turned left it gets worse. A lot of times that can be traced back to the CV joint. First thing I would do is inspect the CV joint boots for cracks or leaking grease. If it turns out to be the culprit the replacement part is cheap and it is a do it yourself job if your so inclined.

When you pull the CV joint you may lose transmission fluid so you could knock off two job at once.

 

[dbeck]

Hey Boland thanks for the reply. I did inspect the boots when I replaced the driver wheel bearing and there’s no tears or leaks coming from either boot that I could see. Would the noise be completely gone when turning right if it was an axle? Axles are the same price as redline fluid so not too expensive and probably worth the effort.

 

[Boland01]

Usually, if a CV joint is bad -depending on the side you will get the noise when you turn one direction and not the other. I've replaced a couple of them on my son's Nissan Altima (one at 150K and the other side at 180K miles) and they weren't that hard to do. Plus they weren't very expensive at all.

 

[edmaz]

My personal experience is the bad wheel bearing is on the opposite side of the turn direction, so noise happening only on a left turn is a bad front right (passenger) side bearing.

 

[dbeck]

Update to this after I've been able to do some work. Looking for any advice or experience anyone has with this sort of issue.

I replaced the passenger side axle (up to the intermediate shaft), passenger side wheel bearing, trans fluid, and brakes (upon further inspection, it was pad slapped without doing anything to the rotors). I also needed to buy new tires and went from 225 to 215s (I have gen1 speed3 wheels). There has been no change in the noise. There is a lot of play in the intermediate shaft but I've read that that is normal. My next step is to try to replace the intermediate shaft bearing and see if that has any affect but I was trying to avoid that as I don't want to drain trans. My only hesitance with that bearing is that I'd think that turning left at 50 mph and driving straight at 80 mph should make the passenger side wheel go the ~same~ speed but I hardly hear the noise going straight at any speed (understand that road noise could drown it out but the noise when turning left is also felt through the pedals). In my original post I mentioned I hear the noise going 40+ and straight but I think that has more or less been minimized and drowned out. Perhaps all those rotating parts were worn out and therefore multiplying the effect of whatever is causing the vibration.

 

[theblooms]

Did you ever replace the other bearing?

Generally speaking, when it comes to suspension work (and I consider axles and bearings to be part of the suspension because they directly interface with the steering knuckles), do repairs in mirror images.

Whatever you do to one side, also do to the other.

 

[dbeck]

Did you ever replace the other bearing?

Generally speaking, when it comes to suspension work (and I consider axles and bearings to be part of the suspension because they directly interface with the steering knuckles), do repairs in mirror images.

Whatever you do to one side, also do to the other.

yes both sides have had the bearings (and hubs) and axles replaced. the only part that hasn't been touched is the bearing on the intermediate shaft from the diff to the passenger side axle

 

[concept]

We all know that hindsight is 20/20 but I've been through enough issues to know that it is often more economical to take a car to an excellent alignment shop that also does suspension work, to troubleshoot a problem such as this.
These guys have done so many fixes for so many customers that their chances of getting the issue solved quickly is often far better than that of the home mechanic. Saving lots of time and money is the result.

 

[dbeck]

We all know that hindsight is 20/20 but I've been through enough issues to know that it is often more economical to take a car to an excellent alignment shop that also does suspension work, to troubleshoot a problem such as this.
These guys have done so many fixes for so many customers that their chances of getting the issue solved quickly is often far better than that of the home mechanic. Saving lots of time and money is the result.

I agree, at this point that may be the best course of action. I've not found a shop I fully trust in my area and would've been pretty upset to pay someone to replace two bearings and two axles only for that not to be the issue. I'll research some small independent shops and see what I can find. Figured I'd check with the internet experience first though!

 

[concept]

Yes, but you may also want to look a bit outside your area. Yelp ratings aren't always 100% accurate but they are almost always better than just guessing or trying to find acquaintances who had similar issues that were solved by alignment shops. The nice thing about alignment shops is that any change in alignment due to a suspension part change is readily taken care of. The one I go to in San Diego offers very reasonable pricing, an added bonus.

 

[nspower]

Did you figure it out? I know it's been awhile.