I cannot tell if side dependent since I’m always on the one side. 🙂 But it does groan and creak and squeal no matter which direction I’m turning. Sometimes I’m convinced it’s coming from the center of the car….like in front of console area. Whenever I had someone in the passenger seat while trying to “share” the noise with them it was always harder or impossible to hear so it seemed “weight dependent.” That was weird. And of course that made them think I was hearing things that weren’t there. Dealership claimed they checked all mounts and nothing seemed loose. Years ago I had an Isuzu mystery noise that turned out to be loose hood hinge. Some smart mechanic finally figured that one out for me. The problem wasn’t something under the hood, it WAS the hood! LOL! So I’ve grown suspicious of everything… loose seat? loose door? loose hinge? Loose anything? Car has never been wrecked. But I do live in WV with the nation’s WORST potholes so it could be almost anything LOOSE. Maddening! Thanks for your reply. You may be right, but I’ve run out of local mechanics to ask.