2007 Corolla - Grinding Noise At Certain Speeds

#1
Have Corolla 2007. A few months ago started hearing noise when going from 40-45mph, hear it consistently, almost like grinding but it is not too loud. Recently it seems to happen at other speeds - 0 to 10mph, somemwhere in 20s. Service advisor on a test drive from one dealer could not hear it. At another dealer after a couple of visits, technician acknowledged presence of noise. However, he stated this is normal. I can hear it consitently but know exactly when / how to be alert for this noise. It may be happening only on gear changes, am worried transmission might be going bad. Car has 51K miles only.
Anyone observed anything similar ? Any advice ? Thanks.
 
#2
Unusual noises are not, "normal". This seems to be the catch-all phrase that dealership service personnel use when they are unable to diagnose the problem. When the car is test driven to check for the noise, make sure to go with the person test driving the car so you can point the noise out.

The noise could be coming from a wheel bearing that is wearing out. To help pinpoint the noise, when you hear it, shift the transmission into neutral and coast to see if there is any difference with the noise at all. If the noise goes away, we've narrowed it down to a driveline noise, i.e. transmission or engine. If the noise continues with the car in neutral, then it's most likely not the transmission or engine.
 
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