Hey there everyone. I hope that you’re having a good Saturday. I live in the wonderful city of New Orleans, which - in addition to good food and good times - is know for a rather amazing variety and plethora of pot holes, bumps, and other road irregularities. Whenever my car interacts with these little buggers, I hear a “clunk” sound that comes from the front end, and more from the right part of the vehicle.
Some more descriptors:
- The noise is most apparent when one wheel hits an irregularity in the road vs. the other; i.e. there is no clunk on a big road-spanning dip, but there is one if there is a dip on the right side of the road, and not the left.
- The car tracks just fine. There is no vibration or wiggling at any speed, and when you let the steering wheel go, the car runs straight.
- I can reproduce the noise if I find a nice flat straightaway (rare as they may be) and then rapidly move my steering wheel side to side.
- It seems to get worse when it gets cold, but it’s there when it’s warm as well.
- I’ve taken it to the Hyundai mechanic a few times, and they couldn’t find anything. They replaced both front struts out of courtesy, and that hasn’t helped the problem.
- My car is a 2007 Sonata V6 SE that I bought new, and which has 25000 miles on it. I didn’t notice the issue until I came to New Orleans since we don’t really have pot holes back home.
Thanks so much for your time.
Best,
Tim
If it is still under warranty, try that route first, free beats all!
It just ran out (at least the part that would cover the front end)! I wish I would’ve had an opportunity to take it to them since the last time they looked at the issue a few months ago, but I usually work 6/7 days a week, so it wasn’t really possible…
Many times a reported problem in the warranty period will still be covered. It sounds like it will take some detective work to find the source of the noise. I would try the dealer first, then an independent analysis.
Thanks for the advice regarding the warranty. I’ll give it a shot.