I have a 2001 Honda Civic coupe with manual transmission. It has low miles - 72,000. I’m the original owner and it’s always made a clicking sound. I was told that the brake plates account for this. Lately the clicking sound has gotten louder and more frequent. It’s not a constant click. I hear in in the low gears and sometimes between gears (2nd and 3rd), but mostly commonly when starting out in first and second gear. (Never at the higher gears.) I’ve wondered if the temperature or the type or amount of driving plays a part in the frequency. (By “type” I mean freeway (I live in LA but rarely drive the freeways if I can help it) or surface street (my preference, but that involves a lot of gear changes and driving in the lower gears).) I think those variables might have an impact but I’m not 100% sure. The Honda dealer had the car for some recall work and they gave it a “stem to stern” inspection (looking for repairs they could recommend I have them do) and they found one engine mount was bad - which I replaced. That had no impact on the clicking sound. The Honda mechanic didn’t road test the car, though. I took it to my regular mechanic (they’re okay, but nothing to write home about) and that mechanic did test drive it. He seemed bored or indifferent and when he came back from driving it around the block he claimed not to hear the clicking or if he did hear something thought maybe it was a wheel bearing in the early stages of going bad. I’m not a genius about cars, but I think that guess was incredibly lame. I’m hesitant to take it back to the Honda dealer because when they don’t know what’s wrong, they make stuff up (they did this to me one time, so now I only trust them to do recall repairs or maybe an oil change - but nothing big). The clicking is not incredibly loud. If the radio’s on, you can’t hear it. Any ideas?
My wife’s 98 Ford Windstar had a noticeable clicking noise from the front wheels at low speeds. I thought it was a CV joint/axle, but it turned out to be the plastic wheel covers. I took the wheel covers off and the clicking stopped. If you have alloy wheels, check the center caps for tightness. Loose center caps caused a clicking on my Dad’s 78 Cutlass.
Thanks. I need a new set of tires so when I get those installed maybe the noise will go away. I was thinking CV joint/axle also, but the clue I keep thinking about is that the Honda dealer’s mechanic went over the car with a fine tooth comb – because they’re looking for repairs they can sell to me and they would have (should have) spotted any problem with the CV joint or axle (I think). Thanks for the input. I’ll let you know what I find out.