New here and not sure if this is the correct location to post this.

My daughter has a 2009 xB with approx. 55K.

Recently there has been a "thumping" noise coming from the driver side rear wheel area. This noise starts around 10 mph and continues. As the car speeds up, so does the noise. Braking doesn't affect the noise other than it slowing with the car. Tires have been rotated and noise did not change.

I've searched the internet for possible causes and found everything from a possible loose rear sway bar mount to a defective rear wheel speed sensor.

I'm hoping someone might have had the same (or similar) issue and might offer a solution.

Thanks in advance.

 

Something stuck in tread? Not sure if a wheel hub would cause a "thump", just tossing out ideas. Tried spinning tire while on jack stands to see if you can recreate noise?

 

Checked tires and rotated them. While up on a jack stand all I could hear was the brake shoes against the drums. Tried rocking the tire/wheel to see if wheel bearing was out, but it seemed OK.

 

Is it a very consistent thump? Or does it seems to be random over 10mph?

 

It is a very consistent thump that becomes faster as the car accelerates. Braking has no affect on it.

 

Well, consistanly getting faster and slower as the car goes faster and slower means it's something to do with anything that spins or turns on the wheel, or something stationary that a spinning part is hitting. A thump sounds makes me think that something is hitting. Since jack stands didn't work, get on an open neighborhood road, have your daughter drive the car, and you walk/jog with the car with your head down by the wheel to see if you can hear it better. But since the jack stands didn't work, that seems like it would need to have pressure applied to it, which makes me think of the suspension, but I can't think of what it would be. Keep us posted.

 

Ever find out what was causing this?

 

Do you have a hydraulic jack?
If so you can jack the rear suspension up by placing the jack head in the center pocket of the rear spring carrier. This will keep the suspension height correct when you do a manual spin of the rear tire.
It might just show something that doesn't show when jacking it on the frame ridge.

While spinning the tire, have a look at the surface of the tire as it spins, it should not have any dips or lumps

Not likely to be the rear shock, but you can check this easily by popping the rear hatch open and pressing down and letting go of that side. It should return to normal ride height without re-bound

 

Ever get this one solved?

I have an 08 xB with 113,000 miles, and this same problem just cropped up for me.

Thanks

 

Check the wheel bearings.