Car creaks when hitting bumps, what could it be?

[lizpat]

It's a front wheel drive car with MacPherson struts in the front and rear torsion beam suspension.

Road bumps that cause the car to sway from side to side are more likely to provoke this condition. What do you suppose the cause is?

The car has almost 90,000 miles (mostly driven on the punishing stop and go and stop and inch along roads of NYC.) I suppose a total suspension overhaul (ball joints, struts, control arm, wheel bearing hub) is not out of the question.

I suppose it's some kind of suspension component, a quick google search suggest that some bushing is likely the cause. What I'll do is to purchase Permatex silicone spray and start with the bushings first to see if it goes away.

 

[johnachak]

That sounds like as good a way to start as any. You may want to start by eyeballing all the bushings you can see. Check for dryness / brittleness the silicone may mask first. Good luck.

 

[ram_man]

What kind of car? It's common for strut assy to get noisy as well as control arm bushings. ...but it could be a number of thing

 

[The Critic]

Spray some silicone spray on the control arm bushings and see if it helps.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
What kind of car? It's common for strut assy to get noisy as well as control arm bushings. ...but it could be a number of thing


OP just went out of his way to tell us without telling us.

I suspect a sway bar, end link, or bushing.

 

[Rick in PA]

I'd just look at all the bushings first. If something in the suspension shifted, the bushing will not be centered. They go metal on metal and creak. I've had it happen.

 

[NHGUY]

Its probably a GM.

 

[JHZR2]

Sway bar bushings are my first thought, though I'll say that my saab did this until I replaced my struts... So poorly operating struts can do funny things too.

 

[Merkava_4]

Does it creak when going over speed bumps slowly ?

It could be your control arm bushings as mentioned previously.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I had a similar problem with the '03 Park Avenue; a creak or "clack" when going over speed bumps with the right side tires, no noise with the left. It turned out to be the black plastic baffle at the far end of the trunk, which was there to protect various electronics installed on the back side of the rear seat. It had cracked and come loose. Dealer found it, but the part wasn't available (or it was wildly expen$ive -- I can't recall).

See here: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1549810

 

[lizpat]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
What kind of car? It's common for strut assy to get noisy as well as control arm bushings. ...but it could be a number of thing


I'm a little embarassed, it's a 2007 Corolla (right. I hear you--what kind of car guy drives a Corolla, right?)

As for the struts, I did a push down test, up and down: no noise. It doesn't rule out the strut assembly though.

 

[lizpat]

Sway bar bushings, control arm bushings, sway bar end links.. I'll pay special attention to all that.

Thanks.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: lizpat
Originally Posted By: ram_man
What kind of car? It's common for strut assy to get noisy as well as control arm bushings. ...but it could be a number of thing


I'm a little embarassed, it's a 2007 Corolla (right. I hear you--what kind of car guy drives a Corolla, right?)

As for the struts, I did a push down test, up and down: no noise. It doesn't rule out the strut assembly though.


No worries about the driver, what's embarrassing is that the supposed most reliable and quality car has these issues at such low mileage.

 

[hattaresguy]

90k on NYC streets...the front end is probably shot...that's like 400k++ miles in a nice smooth state like FL.


NYC is a special kind of brutal on cars.

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: lizpat
Originally Posted By: ram_man
What kind of car? It's common for strut assy to get noisy as well as control arm bushings. ...but it could be a number of thing


I'm a little embarassed, it's a 2007 Corolla (right. I hear you--what kind of car guy drives a Corolla, right?)

As for the struts, I did a push down test, up and down: no noise. It doesn't rule out the strut assembly though.


No worries about the driver, what's embarrassing is that the supposed most reliable and quality car has these issues at such low mileage.


Really?

I'd expect a comment like this from someone else but a moderator.

And, didn't you just do the struts at 70k miles on your Saab. Which is 20k less miles than this Corolla has.

Not to mention, that miles don't mean much on suspension wear but rather the roads that the car is driven on matters more.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: hypervish
Originally Posted By: JHZR2


No worries about the driver, what's embarrassing is that the supposed most reliable and quality car has these issues at such low mileage.


Really?

I'd expect a comment like this from someone else but a moderator.

And, didn't you just do the struts at 70k miles on your Saab. Which is 20k less miles than this Corolla has.

Not to mention, that miles don't mean much on suspension wear but rather the roads that the car is driven on matters more.


Yeah, I did, and it sucked, and cost me a lot of money.

So coming from someone who just did a suspension job seemingly way too early (though 10 years of gravity), I have every right to comment. And note that I too was getting noise which was directly related to the struts.

Given that my Mercedes cars have 30 years >200k, and original suspensions, again, I have every right to comment.

I don't believe its bad roads either. Speed bumps take their toll, but some cars last, others don't. Growing up and living my whole life not far from NYC (like five miles from midtown), it's pretty relevant too.

This is a light and supposedly high quality car that can last a really long time for most everything. A car that people buy for cost effective transport in cities and most everywhere. So it is embarrassing that the car is having issues at such a young age and low mileage. NOT that a guy is driving a corolla, which is what the OP himself was hinting at.

Of course with mine, it would probably be chalked up to being GM. Perhaps your beef is that I thought Toyota would be better? After all, it took to over 200k miles for anything on the suspension of our previa to get bad. Yep, same NYC area roads and frost heaves and road salt...

 

[Y_K]

oy vey, sell the pinnacle of the post-war European car manufacturing, get yourself the new Daimler and see how quickly it falls apart.. and we are not even talking cost delta between corolla and a Benz.

Apples to cucumbers comparisons

 

[Subdued]

I'm an almost 40-something-fat-guy who drives a Yaris. I think a Corolla is a fine car.

 

[Nayov]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Sway bar bushings are my first thought, though I'll say that my saab did this until I replaced my struts... So poorly operating struts can do funny things too.


Yes to struts being the culprit. Just did a strut job on my Sentra which which cured the squawking - creaking sounds.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: Subdued
I'm an almost 40-something-fat-guy who drives a Yaris. I think a Corolla is a fine car.


This site helped me and is free. Just some annoying ads. I view it a little at a time. A little here and there.

www.sparkpeople.com

Which reminds me I have to log in my new weight. You can enter your age, height etc to get a new weight goal. Kind of keeps you accountable.