I have a 05 Prius. Developed a low hum noise some time ago. It now is so loud can't hear the radio. Sounds like a heavy agressive truck tire rolling down the road. When turning the steering wheel from right to left quickly, noise level changes. Does this sound like a bad wheel bearing and if so what am I looking at for repair costs?
Without a doubt you have 1 or more bad wheel bearings. I recently had the same problem. I had a difficult time diagnosing my problem because usually you can tell a bad wheel bearing because the noise becomes louder in a turn because of the increased load on the bearing. Mine didn't do that - the noise was constant and VERY loud. I was worried that the planetary gear system was going bad. Now that the bearing was replaced, it sounds like a new Prius again. By the way, I have 150,000 miles on my 2005, and this is the third wheel bearing I have replaced. (But this is the only problem I've had with this car, so I'm not complaining.) The price my dealer charged was about $350 - money well spent because the noise was driving me crazy.
Wheel bearing. That repair is no different on a Prius than any other FWD car. Get it fixed b4 it ends up on the side of the road. Any repair shop can fix it.
Like everyone is saying, definitely a wheel bearing. You can probably find it cheaper than $400 if you avoid the dealer. I try to avoid the dealer.
