What could cause a high-pitched front-end whine in my sedan, wheel bearing included?

[Riley55]

My 2016 sedan has started making a faint but constant high-pitched whine that seems to come from the front end whenever I'm driving. It gets a bit louder when I accelerate, but doesn't change when I turn the wheel. I'm worried it could be a wheel bearing, but I've never actually heard one fail before.

[Violet6]

I had a similar high pitched whine once. sounded like a belt slipping around a pulley. Replacing the serpentine belt fixed it.

[Isabella.M]

Could be the tensioner or idler pulley getting stiff. That can scream as the belt moves and the engine rpm changes.

[John56]

I checked the brakes and wheels and didn’t find anything obvious; sometimes a loose wheel cover or rotor tone can show up as a whine but it’s hard to pin down.

[VioletYB]

A buddy said some cars make a whining belt noise that isn’t related to steering at all, it just follows engine speed, and that drove me to look at the belt first.

[Oliver_S]

I drove a few days with a similar noise, hoping it would go away, and then had to pick a shop; the quote was belt and pulley work.

[Zachary_D]

Have you checked whether the noise shifts with engine temperature or after it warms up?