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2006 Chrysler 300 Acceleration Noise

Tiny
KCSTILL
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 CHRYSLER 300
  • 5.7L
  • V8
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 84,000 MILES
I purchased a used 2006 Chrysler 300C AWD from an Acura dealer about 3 months ago. I had it looked over when I bought it and everything appeared fine. The car in general appeared to be in great shape considering that it was 10 years old and only had 84,000 miles on it. I do most of my driving in town and rarely drive for more than 30 minutes at a time.

About 2 weeks ago I took a trip out of town for the weekend. This was the first time that I had driven the car that for for that long (about 3 hours each direction). On the way back from this trip, about 20 miles from home I noticed that the car was making a light humming/rubbing noise when pushed on the gas. It would go away as soon as I let off the gas. I didn't think too much of it until the next day on my way to work. The noise started up about 15 minutes into my drive and just kept getting louder. I took it to Midas and they couldn't replicate the noise so told me there was nothing they could do, but the noise appeared on my way home from their shop. I went back the next day and got them to ride with me for a bit and the noise showed up. He said it appeared to be coming from the rear end of the car. We got back to the shop and he couldn't replicate the noise with the car on the rack, and even ran the car and gave it gas while on the rack and still no noise. He checked the differential fluid and said it was dark with metal shavings in it, so he suggested changing it. I agreed and he flushed and changed the fluid. On the way home the noise was gone, but this was only about a 10 minute drive. A few days later I went back to the shop because the noise had returned and was as loud as ever. He recommended a specialty shop in town that works on drive lines. I took the car to them and they couldn't replicate the noise on the road or on the rack and said that I must be imagining things, which I know for a fact that I am not.

So, to summarize, my car is making a humming/rubbing noise when I accelerate and the noise stops when I take my foot off of the gas. It seems to only happen when I am going straight or when I turn to the left. The noise seems to disappear when I turn to the right. The sound is not there when I'm in park/neutral and rev the engine and doesn't seem to change based on the rotation of the tires. I don't have a lot of money or time to get this fixed, but I'm afraid that something is horribly wrong with my car. Please advise! Thank you!
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Tuesday, July 7th, 2015 AT 5:55 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
Part of what you described could apply to a noisy front wheel bearing, but that will make noise all the time.

There is a tool you might be able to borrow or rent from an auto parts store that borrows them called the "Chassis Ear". It is a set of six microphones, a switch box, and headphones. You clip the microphones to suspect points, then drive around while listening with the headphones. You can move the microphones around to zero in on the source of the noise. Be aware that many mechanics have never seen or even heard of this tool. Suspension and alignment mechanics use it to find rattles, squeaks, and other noises.
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Tuesday, July 7th, 2015 AT 7:39 PM
Tiny
KCSTILL
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Okay, I'll look into this. If it sounds like it's coming from the suspension I may run it by a specialist here in town if I can't find this tool. Thank you! I'll update when I learn more.
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Wednesday, July 8th, 2015 AT 6:24 AM
Tiny
EGUZMAN
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Hi kcstill, did u find out what was causing the noise. I have a 2006 Chrysler 300 and was making same noise when I turned wheel slightly to the left and accelerating my car. Seems to come and go while riding on bumps, noise is worst in the summertime, I live in Chicago. Thanx, eguzman.
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Tuesday, September 13th, 2016 AT 2:00 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
Hi EGUZMAN. Sorry I didn't see your post earlier. You should start a new question. This site works differently, (better) than other forums. Here, once I reply to a post, we are the only two people in that conversation, unless you are researching similar cars. The question has gone "off the list" of viewable posts, so none of the other experts are going to see your addition or be able to respond to it. That does you a disservice.

After rereading the original post, I should have stressed more strongly my belief this is a wheel bearing issue. You're never going to hear it on a hoist in the normal manner. Besides the Chassis Ear I mentioned, there's two ways to identify a noisy bearing. One is to raise the suspect tire off the ground, shift the car into neutral, reach your hand over the top of the tire and wrap your fingertips lightly around one of the coils on the coil spring. With your other hand, rotate the tire in the forward direction, then feel for a vibration in the spring. If you can't tell if the sensation is normal or not, compare it to the other wheel.

The second way is to run the engine, in gear, on the hoist, then listen next to each bearing with a stethoscope. One might sound suspect, but then the noisy one be obviously louder.

Some things to be aware of include, ... First of all, noise travels a lot in car bodies, and it is almost impossible to distinguish whether a noisy front wheel bearing is on the left or right side. On older Chrysler products that used pressed-in bearings, the noise got louder or stayed the same when you turned slightly away from it, as in changing lanes, and it got real quiet when turning toward it. Turning slightly to the right, for example, shifted much of the car's weight off the right bearing, so if that was the bad one, it would get real quiet momentarily.

Your car uses a bolted-on bearing assembly that doesn't usually have that characteristic. When those get noisy, most of the time turning slightly doesn't change the sound, ... Most of the time. The good news with the older bearings is they were cheap, like 25 bucks, but you could not remove one without destroying it. Fortunately there was never a need to remove it except to replace it. Your bearing style is much more expensive, but it doesn't get destroyed by removing it. If you replace the wrong one, you can put the old one on the other side.
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Sunday, October 16th, 2016 AT 10:25 PM

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