Hey everyone, I am a new Mazda member. I bought a 2008 6spd hatch recently but my concern is when I am turning right above 20mph I hear a noise that sounds like it is coming from my front right tire. its higher pitched than my engine noise but not a squeal or anything like that. Its also not constant its almost oscillating.

I am pretty sure I have ruled out wheel bearing because i should hear it from the opposite tire if that was the case. I have read though that because of the electric steering of these cars they can be somewhat noisy? and was wondering if this is usual or i should be concerned. Thanks in advance.

 

Thinking off the top of my head, if its not clicking then its not the axle. If its a high pitch, its possibly strain on the power-steering pump. It could be going bad.... anything is possible there.

What the millage on the car? does it show signs of heavy wear and tear?

 

The car is in good shape only 31000 miles on it. Seems to be running very nicely besides this noise, super clean and doesn't seem to be any irregular wear on the tires. I did miss type it's a 5 speed not a 6 spd.

 

if it's just a whine, listen when you're at idle - the power steering is audible and you can see if it's the same noise.
Otherwise, can you describe the noise further?

 

Oscillating sound when turning- maybe the brake pads and/or rotors(warped), pads missing the backing plate(if equipped).

 

The more I hear it the more I feel it may be the tire? It kinda sounds like when you drive over concrete? The brake pads still have meat on them, I dunno is there away to tell if it is the rotor?

 

An alignment issue could scallop one tire, so when you turn there's more pressure on one tire which could make noise like that.
Or if part of the suspension is loose, so it's falling out of alignment during a turn only, causing the tire to make noise.

 

Check alignment and power steering. The PS tends to make a lot of noise when turning at low speeds.

 

I bought a used lancer way back when, it made a light grinding noise when turning, the alignment was not off though. However the steering wasn't as tight as it should have been. I talked to my buddy and used his alignment rack. My lower control arm was bent and the tire would just barely rub the inside wheel well. This did cause a brake pad noise as well like a hiss hiss hiss grind while turning. Im not saying this is the case with your hatch, but turn the wheel while the car is still and look to see if the tire hits anything. If not, i'd investigate further into brakes.