Rhythmic thumping noise when car's moving

Hello,
I have started hearing faint thumping noise in my Murano, coming from the front most likely.
It sounds as if I have a bold spot on a tire and is very faint. I can also feel it faintly through the steering wheel.
It’s not a ticking or hard knocking noise. Also, the noise is variable depending on the speed AND the duration of noise is also speed dependent (going slow, the thump is drawn out. Going faster, the thump duration is shorter.)
Here’s what I have done so far but the noise is still there.

  • Rotated both front tires to rear
  • Inspected the tires while rotating and saw nothing out of ordinary
  • Checked the pressure and everything’s good.
  • All lug nuts torqued to spec
  • Visual inspection of brake rotors and calipers seems fine

The car has 34k miles on it and the tires are in good condition although there’s about 1/8 - 3/16" usable tread left.

What could this be?

You could swap the spare into each corner to see whether one particular tire is causing it.

Might be a bad CV joint, if the tires are okay. Does the noise get really bad when you drive in tight circles?
Look under the car and towards where the transmission has these shafts (“half shafts”) sticking out that go towards the wheels. They have rubber boots on them. Make sure they aren’t torn.

Thanks for the reply.
I tried to swap the spare but to be honest I wasn’t able to tell whether the noise was gone or not because the spare tire noise on the road was louder than the thumping.
I did check the CV boots and everything looks fine. No loud noise whatsoever when making a tight circle.

This describes exactly what I began hearing in my '04 Murano yesterday. Did you ever figure it out? I am hoping it is something simple and not a transfer case or some other absurdly priced repair…

I once had a wheel bearing fail in such a way that it sounded like thumpa thumpa thumpa rather than the more normal droning / whining noise. Luckily I didn’t lose a wheel. Jack it up and spin the wheels.

Check the front brake rotors for a rusty spot exactly the size of a brake pad. Are you feeling it through the brake pedal when lightly applying the brake? You don’t say, but if the car was parked for a while in moist conditions, the pad may have rusted to the rotor and the spot may be thumping on every rotation. Good luck finding the culprit. Those noises can sometimes be tough to diagnose.

Interesting - good suggestions worth checking out. The front brake pads were replaced last month. I was driving yesterday in snowy/slushy conditions and parked for about 45 minutes. When I began driving again is when I heard the noise and first thought I had developed a flat tire but after pulling over and doing a quick inspection found that all the tires looked fine. I knocked the ice build-up out of the wheel wells but the noise continued. Will be taking her in to a trusted shop this afternoon to see what they can find.

Could still be some ice lodged up under the fender that is hitting the wheel sometimes. Could be hard to see. If the problem goes away when the snow melts, well, problem solved. Or you could take the car to one of those diy car washes, where you put some quarters in then you use a pressurized wand to spray out all the wheel wells. I’d try that first before assuming it is something else.

As mentioned above, CV joints and wheel bearings on the fritz can cause this too. As can bad, damaged, or out of round tires.

"Rythmic thumping noise when car is moving"
Is the radio on ?
Early 70’s disco, rap or a good solid west coast beat, Like “Everybody Knows” John Legend ?

My focus is doing same…took it to two garages and they cant see anything wrong although they can hear thumping noise…also using more petrol than normal

You just tagged on to a 4 year old thread about a different vehicle then you have, Please start your own thread so that replies will apply to your problem.