About 6 months ago I was told I needed my shocks.

SO_ADDICTED513

MEMBER
2006 MAZDA 3
110,000 MILES

About 6 months ago I was told I needed my shocks/struts replaced, one in front and one in back. Couldnt find anyone cheap enough to do it and didnt have the money until recently. So last month I started hearing a "wooing" sound when I was driving, was told that it was probably a bearing but not which one. So I saved the money and started asking around prices this week to get it repaired, but I was going away for the weekend, so I got an oil change/tire rotation yesterday before I left because I know I owned the car for a year and never rotated my tires and I thought it was probably a good idea. Well, after they rotated the tires the sound got A LOT worse. I looked up online what it could be and now im nervous it could be the axle, and im also nervous that the people who did the oil change (who wanted me to get my car fixed there) couldve done something wrong as well. Basically, now the sound is louder even when im driving slow, and especially while turning. Is this something more? Is it from the place? Is it because I rotated my tires? Please help! I am away from home this weekend and I dont want to get charged for anything not needed but need my car safe enough for work monday morning! Thank you!

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

As a guess, based on your description, it sounds like the wheels might be out of alignment and the tread has worn unevenly. Two things can happen to cause a different noise when rotating the tires. The uneven wear can affect how the tire sits on the road and how the sidewalls squirm as the tire rotates. That wear pattern can set up a humming noise that may go away as the wear evens out, or it can get worse. Also, if a wheel bearing is noisy already, a tire with uneven wear can place more of the car's weight on the inner or outer edge of the tread. That can cause the tire and wheel to want to tip in or out on top more than normal, and that can aggravate an already noisy wheel bearing.