If we drive my wife's 2003 X-type in traffic where I'm having to apply the brakes frequently, we're getting a howl from what sounds like the left rear wheel. At first it only seems to be there when I apply the brakes, but if we continue long enough it becomes a fairly constant howl at speeds below 40 mph. Get back out on the highway and it goes away, and doesn't reoccur until I get back into a frequent braking situation. The last two weeks I haven't been able to make it happen for more than a second, but on a recent long trip it was troublesome enough to really get me worried. My first thought was a dragging rear brake, but it's also been suggested by a friend that it's a wheel bearing. Expert opinions??

 

the early x types had a problem with the rear brakes dragging ... just service them and the noise shud go away..but i have been seeing the calipers starting to seize up aswell replace pads if low..

 

Thanks! We'll start there and hope that's all it is.