Random "Suspension" Noise anyone?

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sandpiper74

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My Honda Clarity has been making a creaking sound. It was not tied directly to going over bumps -- so it did not appear to be suspension related and I thought it might be the bushings. Initially it would only show up if the temperature was less than 70 degrees F. I brought it to the dealer, but the temperature was > 70 degrees when they checked it out, and they could not replicate the issue. A couple of other symptoms:

1) I can replicate the issue periodically when I turn the steering wheel.
2) The car will creak randomly when the road sinks or rises, even small changes, but again not consistently with bumps.
3) The noise seems to go away or dampen after soaking rains
4) The noise feels like it's coming from under car, below the driver's seat. The dealer thought that my seat had a creaking issue, but I could rule that out because it didn't make the noise when I sat down, only when I was in motion.
5) I brought the Clarity to my local shop, and they indicated they thought the spring on the driver's side wheel was not being held in place and was trying to rotate, causing the noise. The shop also lubed the bushings.

Both the dealer and my local shop inspected the suspension and indicated that there are no obvious suspension issues and that the car was safe to drive. That said, the creaking is extremely obvious on such a quiet car and as a result has been driving me a little nuts.

Anyone else experience something similar?
 
Not with the Honda, but I did have a small rock wedged in the stabilizer arm on the rear axle of a 1972 Ford LTD many years ago. Drove me crazy and I didn't find it until I started removing the rear end (since I knew the sound was coming from there somewhere). Pain in the tail, since I had pretty much removed the rear end by the time I found the piece of gravel, but it was worth spending most of the day taking it apart and putting it back together to stop the insanity of hearing it every time I drove the car...
 
sandpiper74 said:
Anyone else experience something similar?
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I'm assuming from your description that you haven't been able cause the noise by aggressively exercising the suspension with your weight on each corner while stationary? It is much easier to find something like this if you can cause it when you're not moving...
 
Robert_Alabama said:
Not with the Honda, but I did have a small rock wedged in the stabilizer arm on the rear axle of a 1972 Ford LTD many years ago. Drove me crazy and I didn't find it until I started removing the rear end (since I knew the sound was coming from there somewhere). Pain in the tail, since I had pretty much removed the rear end by the time I found the piece of gravel, but it was worth spending most of the day taking it apart and putting it back together to stop the insanity of hearing it every time I drove the car...
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Thanks for the insight. Did you know it was a rock before you started pulling apart? This sounds like trying to find a needle in the haystack and pulling things apart until you found the culprit.
 
MrFixit said:
I'm assuming from your description that you haven't been able cause the noise by aggressively exercising the suspension with your weight on each corner while stationary? It is much easier to find something like this if you can cause it when you're not moving...
Click to expand...
I haven't been able to replicate it by pushing down on the car... I can sometimes replicate it by turning the steering wheel while the car is stationary -- and it's usually when the wheel is almost fully turned... generally to the right.
 
sandpiper74 said:
Thanks for the insight. Did you know it was a rock before you started pulling apart? This sounds like trying to find a needle in the haystack and pulling things apart until you found the culprit.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was my mother's car. Dad had decided to change out the rearend to try to fix it (we had bought another car for a spare 351 engine already, so it was at hand). Once we had pretty much replaced the rearend, we found the rock in the hanger/suspension arm. Pain in the rump and pretty much a full day of work, but at least it solved the problem.
 
sandpiper74 said:
I haven't been able to replicate it by pushing down on the car... I can sometimes replicate it by turning the steering wheel while the car is stationary -- and it's usually when the wheel is almost fully turned... generally to the right.
Click to expand...
Tie rod ends maybe?
 
I have this annoyance on my 2018. Started around 55,000 miles. Cannot make the noise when stationary or bouncing, it only happens on turns, mostly right turns. Sounds like crunching walnuts or a golf ball rolling around in the chassis. Suspect ball joint or tie rod, considering throwing in the towel and and pay the dealer to look at it.
 
scw2000 said:
I have this annoyance on my 2018. Started around 55,000 miles. Cannot make the noise when stationary or bouncing, it only happens on turns, mostly right turns. Sounds like crunching walnuts or a golf ball rolling around in the chassis. Suspect ball joint or tie rod, considering throwing in the towel and and pay the dealer to look at it.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the classic symptom of a bad wheel bearing.
 
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