Mother came to me complaining about this humming noise that sings to her prominently when she goes uphill after a cold start. Sometimes however it appears when the engine is hot. The sound appears to be coming from the front passenger side.

She went to the dealer about it awhile ago, but they came up empty. Now the sound is getting more and more operatic.

I pulled the car up on ramps and crawled under. Nothing significant looked out of place, other than a rusted out bracket for the sway bar.

I'm placing bets on it being the wheel bearing. The car is under warranty so it's off to the Saab dealership for work, but I would prefer the techs knowing exactly where to look instead of describing a symptom and playing doctor.

Any other things I should look for? I don't feel comfortable looking at other cars, but things kinda look the same so I'm hoping the same principles can kind of apply.

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

While driving at a steady speed, turn the steering wheel left and right. If the noise comes and goes that's probably a wheel bearing. You can determine which wheel it is because the noise gets louder when the wheel is loaded, but I always replace them in pairs.

http://saabnet.com/ is the best Saab forum I have found yet. Use it all the time to diagnose issues with the wife's 9-5.

Good luck!

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)