I just noticed my 2001 Passat started making a loud humming noise. The sound seems like it's coming from the transmission, although I've noticed that the noise is proportional to the car's speed, rather than its acceleration. Another thing I noticed is that the RPMs remain slightly higher when driving. Usually RPMs remained at 1500 while cruising, now up to 2500. Also, MPGs have decreased dramatically while accelerating: Before never lower than 10MPG, now at 6MPG.

I haven't had time to look into it myself for lack of time, therefore if anyone has had any experience with this problem, I'd appreciate your help.

2001 Passat, 1.8T, 64,000mi, 93octane only, always use synthetic oil, serviced regularly.

Thanks,
-Brian

UPDATE:

I was driving today and noticed that the noise became louder as I veered left. Now I'm almost definite that it's the bearings in my front, passenger side wheel that needs replacing.