2016 Honda Civic Whirring/Screeching Noise

Question

On the passenger rear side of my 2016 Honda Civic, there is a screeching & whirring Noise that comes and goes at random speeds. It never makes a sound at a full stop. Applying the brakes augments and dampens the sound while the brakes are applied. Wiggling the steering wheel while driving also slightly augments the sound. It tends to happen more at freeway speed, but then sometimes it goes quiet at freeway speed and sometimes it makes a sound at 10mph. It never stays on an entire drive. It's making sound 50% of the time I'm driving. It has become more frequent since it started 10 days ago.

Here is a video of the problem

Answer 1

In addition to checking your wheel bearing(s) I'd recommend you check your brake rotors for warping. If you have a run-out gauge, use that. If not, it's still easy to check run-out. Simply remove your tire/wheel assembly, take a piece of stiff wire (like a coat hanger) long enough that you can attach it to a firm, fixed point on the chassis like the caliper bracket or other hard-point, then bend the wire 90 degrees just at the outer edge of your brake rotor so that the tip of the wire barely touches the rotor. Mark this point with a magic marker or grease pencil.

Then CAREFULLY and SLOWLY start rotating the disk rotor observing either how far away the rotor moves away from the tip of the wire or else engaged the wire more and pushes it back. If either situation emerges, you've got a warped rotor that needs to be replaced. Obviously this procedure should be done on both sides.

Also, since the vehicle is off the ground at this point and you can rotate the axles, carefully inspect the CV joint boots (i.e. accordion looking bellows) for rips, tears leaking grease or signs of water and dirt intrusion inside the CV joint. If this is the case, then replacing your CV joints is your best resolution.

Answer 2

It sure sounds as though your passenger-side wheel bearing is shot. Get it checked and if it's bad, replace both side as they tend to wear out together.