Hi guys, I own 2007 Outlander, 2.0 DI-D. Recently strange squeaky sound started coming from right wheel (not sure front or rear) when driving (not braking). Sound usually starts when turning right, but sometimes even when driving straight. It is not constant, it starts and disappears randomly, usually starts after 10-15 minutes of driving.
Brake pads, discs and handbrake pads were replaced few months ago, so I can rule them out,as sound started maybe 15 days ago. As you will hear, sound is definitely produced by wheel rotation. I went to local mechanic (authorized service is 300km away), he checked, all wheels spin freely when car is jacked, checked brake pads, everything seems fine... But, he couldn't reproduce the sound, as it starts randomly
Can maybe wheel bearing make this sound?

Recordings:
Vocaroo | Voice message
Louder: Vocaroo | Voice message

 

I'm thinking wheel bearing as well. once heated up, tolerances may be different than cold, producing a sound. weight of the vehicle would put tension on the hub than when the wheel is jacked up.

 

Is there some method to determine which one is bad? there is no way to be certain if sound is coming from rear or front wheel while driving, because it is very loud, and high frequency which makes it hard to determine.. my mechanic told me that usually bearing makes rumbling noise which is present at all time, even when car is jacked up
Also, I've forgot to mention, I have removed wear indicators from brake pads, because my first thought was that they are maybe loose,and that they can create that sound, so I can eliminate that as well

 

Can you hear it at low speed? If you can, nail down which wheel is squeaking by having someone walk or ride a bicycle next to the moving vehicle.

It is possible that there is a small stone lodged next to a brake pad -- usually between the pad and the caliper. Usually the squeak will be loud and obvious. If it's a small, hard thing, maybe, just maybe, you might get sound like what you've got, but I find it hard to believe that a tech would not notice something so obvious.

Did you have OEM Mit. pads installed or something aftermarket? If the latter, it is possible that it's just brake squeak from the pad touching the rotor slightly.

 

As I stated before, it is not constant at all, sometimes it happens,sometimes not, so it makes impossible to get help from somebody outside
no stones or any foreign objects, I had pads removed and reinstalled again to eliminate that possibility,and everything seems normal.
I have Brembo rear pads and SWAG front pads, but I think if a pad is touching rotor, the sound would be constantly present?

 

sounds like a bearing.

 

I've listened to your sound files and it does not sound like a wheel bearing to me. More like a rotating brake part rubbing against a stationary part. Although it's less likely, it may even be a vibrating/rubbing suspension component that is making the sound, but that's a long shot.

But first, did you have the tech listen to your sound file? If not, do that and see what he says. Maybe he'll know what the problem is instantly.

Whatever the problem is, unless you want to start off by replacing 4 wheel bearings, which would be a ridiculous way to proceed, you've got to determine which wheel is, or wheels are, squeaking.

Did you have the tech put the vehicle on the lift, up off the floor slightly, and then start the vehicle, put it in drive, run the speedo up to typical squeaking speed, and listen for the sound?

If the sound does not occur with the weight of the vehicle off the wheels, you might also bring the vehicle to a place that has one of these:
and drive the normally-loaded-down wheels at whatever speed (with or without rolling resistance) until the sound occurs and at least determine which wheel is the culprit. After that, concentrate the diagnostic effort on the suspect wheel only.

Something you can do quite simply after reading this is to drive the vehicle until you hear the sound and just barely touch the brake pedal to see if that has any effect on the sound. Then, to maybe isolate the sound to the rear wheels, when the sound occurs, while continuously depressing the emergency brake handle's button with your thumb, just lift the handle enough to slightly and quickly engage and disengage the rear brake shoes against their drums and see if doing either the brake pedal or emergency brake actions have any effect on the sound. Report back here what you notice.

Good luck.

 

thanks for the reply

My local mechanic listened to the sound, and he couldn't say what could be the problem (dealership is too far from me),but he eliminated any kind of suspension-related issue. There is absolutely no way to reproduce this sound when the car is jacked up, we tried for almost 30 minutes... the biggest headache is that I can't make anything to reproduce that sound when I want, it just appears randomly (but from experience so far, sound often starts after 10-15 minutes of driving(when it heats up?), and most often when turning right at the speed of 30-40 km/h).
touching the brake or pulling handbrake until brake shoes touch the rotor seems to stop the sound, but I believe it is because it slows down the wheel or maybe stabilise the bearing, because when the car is jacked up, all wheels spins freely (if it were pad issue, I believe that sound would be constant when spinning the wheel, or pad overheating would occur? and why it never starts before 10-15 minutes of driving?) If you still think it could be brake-related, what do you think can cause this?

 

Using the emergency brake by itself might isolate the squeak to either the front or rear. If the sound stops when you pull the emergency brake lever up enough to engage it slightly, it's the rear. If it doesn't, likely the sound is coming from the front.

You say that the tech also replaced emergency brake components. IMO, replacing and properly adjusting shoe/drum brakes is far more difficult than replacing pads or rotors on a disc brake system. AFAIK, the emergency brake handle on your Outlander operates two brake shoes that are invisibly located inside the drum-like central portion of each of the two rear brake rotors, not the pads in the calipers. This design is shown pretty well in the photo of an '06 rear brake system below. (But since I have never replaced the emergency rear shoes on our '10, I may be wrong on this.) If the sound is indeed coming from the rear wheel(s), it is quite possible that a shoe within a rear drum may be touching some part of the drum, causing the sound. Again, replacing those shoes properly and adjusting them properly is a bit of a job.

 

Here's a good video of the disassembly of the rear disk / drum brake system on an '09:
the removal of the rear rotor/drum starts at around 3:35 into the video.