I can’t figure it out. The sound is coming from the rear. It appears to be left rear. It comes and goes, but seems to intensify when accelerating and right turns. It’s annoying. It’s embarrassing. I have taken it to several different shops and nobody seems to be able to figure it out. Do you know what it could be? I would really appreciate any help.
See the video below to hear the noise…
Sure sounds like it could be a CV joint. What year/miles?
It is a 2001 and it has about 130, 000 miles on it.
Then it’s certainly ‘used’ enough to have a bad CV joint, or mayble a bad bushing letting things get out of alignment under acceleration/turning.
What would I need to look for to tell if that is bad? Also, when you take your foot off the accelator pedal it will stop.
Sure sounds like the CV joint. I’m surprised mechanics can’t find that, though.
I guess it could be brake related too. Perhaps take one wheel off and spin it by hand to see if it comes from the pad area. Maybe a shim is not seated correctly or perhaps they forgot to install something.
Here’s what each of your rear axle half shafts looks like:
The CV joints are protected by the rubber boots on each end of the axle. You can see inside one of the joints in the center picture. If the boots are torn, that’s a sure sign the joints are likely worn, but they can be worn even if the boot’s OK. And yes, the noise is typically loudest when you push the gas or turn.
One other possibility is a problem within the differential. But you’ll need a good mechanic to check that out.
Sounds like a CV joint to me too. I tried checking to see what type of joints are used in that rear axle, and was unable to find out other than to verify that it does in fact have CV joints.
I agree that spinning by hand is the place to start. Checking for play of the axle shaft relative to the CV joints as well as the condition of the boots is certainly a good place to start. And while the car is on the rack, it’d be good to check the front end too.
Thank you all for your suggestions, I will try out the spinning by hand and see what I find out.
I can’t view the video at work, if it only makes noise while accelerating and turning I think you have the optional torque sensing limited slip differential and it is binding/failing. Check the condition of the rear differential gear oil.
Weird that taking your foot off the gas makes the noise go away. Half shafts would rotate regardless of them being driven. That almost smells like a rear diff problem.
Could be either. CV joints will often only click under specific load conditions. Impossible to tell from here, but the place to start is on the rack.
Certainly could be the diff, but you’ll want to make ABSOLUTELY SURE it’s not a CV joint, MUCH cheaper to fix. And CV joints often click under power because that’s when they’re being stressed, much louder at that time.