When driving slow my car make a knocking noise. Sounds like a rock in a tin can.
Rock in a tin can sound make me first think of engine pinging. But that is usually more noticeable during acceleration, not so much as slow speeds. So my first guess is you might have a rock stuck in your wheel. Remove the wheel nearest where the sound is coming from and shake it. Rocks can get stuck in the brakes too, another possibility.
Beyond that, do some experiments. Does it occur when the car isn’t moving at all, just idling in the driveway? What if you bump the rpm when idling in the driveway? Does it only occur in certain gears? Turning affect it? Coasting vs in gear? Pushing down on the bumpers? etc etc.
once I had a piece of tree branch stuck in suspension to do similar sounds - it was dragging on the wheel and made noise, then another side was hitting the heat-shields and it would make for similar pings
It kind of sounds like the dust shield for the brake rotor. I would take the wheel off and see if the shield is bent or debris caught in it.
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Mine sounded the same because parts of the dust shield fell off.Rust is a real problem where I live. Pieces of the dust shield will come off as soon as you remove the wheel.
I agree that this is likely the result of a rock that is lodged somewhere in the vicinity of the brake dust shield. That exact scenario happened to me many years ago with a rental Ford Tempo, and it ended when the rock eventually shattered, and dropped-out.
Thanks for all the feed back. The noise only happens when I’m moving at a low speed. If the car isn’t moving it doesn’t make the noise. Later, I’m taking off the tire and check to for any rocks.
Well took it to the shop and they said the breaks and rotors had to be replaced. Had it done noise is gone.
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Thanks for posting back with the fix. Most times we never hear back from the OP.
Ed B.
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