Is any level of strut/shock oscillation considered normal dampening characteristic?

[Marconis]

OK, so I brought it into the dealer. Of course on the way there it was dead silent. Not a creak, not a crunch, not a squeak, other than my child's car seats in the back. I was going to drive with a tech, but actually had to get out of there to take care of some business. Unfortunately, I had to pay a diagnostic fee but it is what it is.

They took it on a 7 mile drive and tried to reproduce it, but could not. When on the lift they said they checked every component of the suspension, and found no cracked or worn bushings, no bent pieces. Everything operating within the normal parameters of the vehicle. As for front-end oscillation, they said the shocks and struts look fine and give no indication that they are worn.

He said as soon as I hear it, I'm more than welcome to bring it in and have someone drive with me. I quite honestly will probably just wait until my oil change in a couple of months and have them take a look then...I don't know. Perhaps then they can check for any uneven tire wear if there was anything actually wrong with the struts.

It's weird. With situations like this, you always want confirmation that something is wrong -- yet when something isn't wrong, there's always a level of doubt because you know the sound will happen again as soon as you leave the lot. Interesting comparison, my Hyundai Elantra has had a rubbing/creaking front-end since 22,000 miles. I'm now at 68,000, with the noise present as ever, and have had no uneven tire wear or any suspension troubles at all. My mechanic is not concerned at all.

What do you guys think?

 

[meep]

I think the best clue is your reference to what your wife thinks. I’ll admit that after buying cars i can go into hyper-alert, which is probably tied to the way we can brush up against “buyers remorse.” If she perceives that your sensitivity here is outside of the bell curve, she is the best one to know.

the thing we are prone to idolize will also be the thing to let us down. As a bitoger, we probably all share the risk of making idols out of cars. as such, buying them can be emotional, even if we don’t realize it. You probably did triple homework to get the right car, so any flaw will set off a flag.

relax, drive it for a while, enjoy it, and circle back if needed. Just my advice based on your comment of her reaction.

you can bet I’ve been exactly there.

 

[JohnnyG]

As to the creaking/rubbing, they used to sell a (trigger spray) rubber lube for stuff like this. It was not petroleum based, but rather more like a soap. These days, people don't get under their cars to grease them, and they mostly have plastic shields under them anyway, so the demand probably went away.
I remember spraying that lube around on all bushings and rubber parts every "grease job", which was usually every oil change.

As to the headlights, that one has me stumped. I'm pretty sure the outer lenses will be tightly fitted, with no movement, but what about the insides? Could they be motorized (like my Mercedes) or rubber mounted to avoid shock damage to the bulb? Very strange.

 

[Marconis]

I think the best clue is your reference to what your wife thinks. I’ll admit that after buying cars i can go into hyper-alert, which is probably tied to the way we can brush up against “buyers remorse.” If she perceives that your sensitivity here is outside of the bell curve, she is the best one to know.

the thing we are prone to idolize will also be the thing to let us down. As a bitoger, we probably all share the risk of making idols out of cars. as such, buying them can be emotional, even if we don’t realize it. You probably did triple homework to get the right car, so any flaw will set off a flag.

relax, drive it for a while, enjoy it, and circle back if needed. Just my advice based on your comment of her reaction.

you can bet I’ve been exactly there.

As to the creaking/rubbing, they used to sell a (trigger spray) rubber lube for stuff like this. It was not petroleum based, but rather more like a soap. These days, people don't get under their cars to grease them, and they mostly have plastic shields under them anyway, so the demand probably went away.
I remember spraying that lube around on all bushings and rubber parts every "grease job", which was usually every oil change.

As to the headlights, that one has me stumped. I'm pretty sure the outer lenses will be tightly fitted, with no movement, but what about the insides? Could they be motorized (like my Mercedes) or rubber mounted to avoid shock damage to the bulb? Very strange.

@meep, it definitely is a buyers remorse sort of thing. I've been this way for a while...I eventually forget about things and enjoy the car, just living with the reminder that they are cars. Mechanical beings that creak and clank yet get you where you need to be. I really appreciate your response. Sure enough, the entire ride home the car drove like a dream. Heard the faintest creak; I do feel better that they inspected everything. Perhaps it's just cold, dry weather making one of my bushings act up and now that a warmish rain came through it's "lubed".

@JohnnyG , I'll look into the lube. The headlights, they are LED projectors that have a manual positioning adjustment wheel in the cabin where you can raise or lower them. The motion of the lights when changing the position is smooth and uniform. It's possible I'm not used to very sharp LED cutoff lines and it's just a half an inch oscillation and nothing more to think about.

 

[JohnnyG]

It's possible I'm not used to very sharp LED cutoff lines and it's just a half an inch oscillation and nothing more to think about.

I'd say this could be a function of the self leveling mechanism then. There probably are a bunch of moving parts in that enclosure that try to compensate for movement of the car itself.

 

[Marconis]

I'd say this could be a function of the self leveling mechanism then. There probably are a bunch of moving parts in that enclosure that try to compensate for movement of the car itself.

I’m not sure it actually is self leveling? They aren’t “adaptive headlights”, unless this type of manual positioning self levels. Who knows!