I can't figure out this outside noise

I'd suspect a worn right front hub bearing. When you turn right, it removes load from the right front wheel, causing the noise to stop.

Steve:

Look at the thread I stated on 3/3 with the subject "Noisy Tires". At least that's what I thought the problem was. Hyundaitech also recommended that it might be a bearing and he was right. If your car has less than 100K on it, it's covered under the Powertrain warrantee.

Good luck.

The 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty only applies to the original owner of 1999 and newer model year Hyundais, and while it would cover the front hub bearing, it won't cover the rear.

Any of the hub bearings are covered by the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty regardless of ownership.

Thanks guys for your replies. I do have another question.......

About 3 months ago I had the front drive axles changed. Is the hub bearing part of the drive axles?

Thanks

In the "smart person's world" (whatever that is), the hub bearings probably should be changed with a new axle, since they have to come off to replace the axles.

But they are not "actually" a part of the axle. But it seems, sure as shootin', if you don't change them at that time, they will go bad, and often shortly thereafter.

No. The axles pass through the hubs, but the bearings don't contact them directly. The axles are generally very easy to replace, so it's unlikely that replacing them would damage the bearings. However, it IS pretty easy to mistake a bad bearing for a bad CV joint and vice-versa. If that's the reason they axles were replaced, they could have "fixed the wrong problem". It's also possible for noise from one to mask noise from the other, so I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that they screwed up unless the car sounded the same before and after the repair. It's possible that both were bad.

Bad CV joints typically make a clicking sound whereas bad hubs typically make either a grinding sound or a moan. Both are distinctly different from each other. Not many mechanics would mistakenly diagnose one or the other of these and replace the wrong part.

I'm curious why the front axles were changed. It would be quite uncommon to have to replace both. Was this accident related?

The bearings aren't even touched during an axle replacement. The bearings are between the hub and the steering knuckle and the hub/knuckle/bearing assembly is not disassembled during an axle replacement. The axle passes through the hub and is secured with a nut on the outside.

I've had to replace axles on cars due to worn/damaged CV joints (it's easier to replace the entire axle than to screw around with a joint). This commonly happens due to torn CV joint boots. The bearings were fine and never needed replacement.

While the two items can be related, they aren't necessarily so.

That depends on the nature of the CV joint failure. I've had them growl just like a worn bearing. Typically, the noise stops when you turn the steering wheel off center, but that can be true of a bad bearing, too. The difference is that the noise from a bearing will typically decrease when you turn in one direction, but not in the other (it may even get louder). CV joint noise typically decreases regardless of the direction you turn the wheel. CV joint noise will often stop when the car is coasting, but even that's not a given.

Again, that depends on the nature of the failure. When bearings get bad enough, there will be discernible play in them that makes the diagnosis easy.

I wondered the same thing.