Intermittent hum at 85-90

[Kindred]

All right, I took a trip to Phoenix last weekend to see my sister, but on the way there I noticed a loud, intermittent humming sound coming from the front passenger fenderwell when I would get the car over 85mph. It became louder and more constant as I approached 90+ mph. I had my stereo blaring, and could still hear it over my "massive" 300 watt amp. I dropped down to 75 for the rest of the trip with no problems. Now, my question is if it's the CV joint wearing out or the wheel bearing? I haven't taken it back on the highway since to see if it makes the noise with the wheel turned in certain directions. Frankly, I'm afraid to. The outer CV boot is torn on that side, so I'm leaning toward axle, but there I have no problems with turning the steering wheel and it is not yet clicking while turning. Is there any way of narrowing the problem down short of taking it back on the freeway?

George

[snag]

Wow, I dont think my festiveys go that fast. My two cents are that if your cv boot is torn replace that axel first cause its gonna go bad within the next couple of months anyhow. But the low hum you described probably is a bearing, Is there any vibration in the front when the sound happens.
Good luck

[Kindred]

There is no vibration or noticable shifting of the car to the left/right. Just an occasional hum.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

Hum may be wind noise

I've noticed a similar hum when cruising at speeds above 75mph in the deserts of AZ and UT, and it seems to be related to wind speed and direction. I think it's some piece of the vehicle body that starts oscillating at its resonant frequency when excited by high airspeed over it. I find that if I slow down a bit the noise abruptly stops, and then --- usually -- does not occur again as I speed up. I've tried (while stopped, of course) to figure out what part was vibrating, but there's nothing obvious. I'm thinking it might even be something in the ventilation system. I don't think KIA spent much of its R&D budget on wind tunnel testing of these cars!

[Kindred]

Oh wow, this is an old post. Turned out the issue was air getting in through the window seal. Something about the way the air was entering the vehicle made it sound like the howling of a bearing. Giving the window a little extra elbow when cranking it up solved the problem.

[radical]

My 95 Aspire did that.....It was the wipers making a buzzing noise from wind. Try turning on the wipers and see if the noise goes away. I bought the better type Anco blades...problem solved.

Radical

[Dragon888]

I noticed mine has a humming sound when you ease off on the accelerator from 100 kph, then the humming stops when you step on the gas again. Is there any problem with my axle or wheel bearings?

[radical]

I noticed mine has a humming sound when you ease off on the accelerator from 100 kph, then the humming stops when you step on the gas again. Is there any problem with my axle or wheel bearings?

I doubt it would be axles or bearings. Have a mechanic listen to it...

Radical