Stock Suspension Noises
Stock Suspension Noises
I've got a 2001 LX coupe that's got about 99,400 miles on the odo. It's making two different noises coming from the stock suspension, front and back. A few years ago I had the all-too-common rear suspension squeak that got fixed when I insisted that it must be the control arm bushings (per that Civic TSB). So I know through that experience that taking the car to the dealer and just saying what's happening is pretty much useless without some sort of direction to go in (they always either can't hear it or don't have a clue where to even begin looking).
The front is making this noise somewhere between a groan and a crunch when the suspension articulates slowly over a bump, particularly when you're turning. For example, it does it when you take a left-hand turn, slightly loading the right-front suspension, and then the right-front encounters a sharp bump. It really does it when you have to turn into something like a driveway that slopes up to a peak then down on the other side (putting a lot of compression on either one of the front struts. The weird parts are that a) it did it even when it had like 40,000 miles on the odo; and b) it only does it when the ambient temperature is low (say, less than 55 degrees). I never notice it in the summer, and it does seem a whole lot worse on a really cold day than just on a sorta-cold day (to us Southerners, cold is like less than 40 degrees).
The rear-right suspension has just recently started making this hollow-sounding thwack at low or high speeds, really only when the right-rear wheel comes down off a sharp bump. The left-rear suspension isn't doing it. I know it's nothing in the trunk because I took everything out of there the other day (including that particle board floor thing), tightened down the spare, and it still made the noise.
I had an alignment done at about 90,000 miles, and I have been really, really obsessively careful with this car since it was new. We have pretty good roads down here (central GA) and I always make a point to dodge pot holes, big divots in the road, and slow down to a crawl for speed bumps and unavoidable big holes in the road. My Civic still handles pretty much the same - it doesn't appear to have worn shocks/struts (tested via the old-school bounce test and looking for leaks). The lugs are torqued on properly, it's got relatively new tires, and some relatively high-end alloys in the stock size (and with the 4-bolt pattern/not multi).
Just wondered if you guys had any ideas because I've looked around the internet and searched this forum and found nothing exactly like my problem. Thanks in advance for any input...
The front is making this noise somewhere between a groan and a crunch when the suspension articulates slowly over a bump, particularly when you're turning. For example, it does it when you take a left-hand turn, slightly loading the right-front suspension, and then the right-front encounters a sharp bump. It really does it when you have to turn into something like a driveway that slopes up to a peak then down on the other side (putting a lot of compression on either one of the front struts. The weird parts are that a) it did it even when it had like 40,000 miles on the odo; and b) it only does it when the ambient temperature is low (say, less than 55 degrees). I never notice it in the summer, and it does seem a whole lot worse on a really cold day than just on a sorta-cold day (to us Southerners, cold is like less than 40 degrees).
The rear-right suspension has just recently started making this hollow-sounding thwack at low or high speeds, really only when the right-rear wheel comes down off a sharp bump. The left-rear suspension isn't doing it. I know it's nothing in the trunk because I took everything out of there the other day (including that particle board floor thing), tightened down the spare, and it still made the noise.
I had an alignment done at about 90,000 miles, and I have been really, really obsessively careful with this car since it was new. We have pretty good roads down here (central GA) and I always make a point to dodge pot holes, big divots in the road, and slow down to a crawl for speed bumps and unavoidable big holes in the road. My Civic still handles pretty much the same - it doesn't appear to have worn shocks/struts (tested via the old-school bounce test and looking for leaks). The lugs are torqued on properly, it's got relatively new tires, and some relatively high-end alloys in the stock size (and with the 4-bolt pattern/not multi).
Just wondered if you guys had any ideas because I've looked around the internet and searched this forum and found nothing exactly like my problem. Thanks in advance for any input...
Re: Stock Suspension Noises
I would like to second this post, my **** is making the same noises.....and is an 01 LX 2dr. The dealership told me...."Some suspension parts were going bad"....and it would be like 700...to fix it so i said peace out! ha mine has 135K miles
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