My 2007 Kia Spectra makes a slow, faint scraping sound when I make a hard right turn. The sound comes from the front end. It doesn’t happen during slow right turns, left turns, driving straight, or braking. It isn’t the creaking/groaning sound of a ball joint or the “click-click-click” of a CV joint.
I’ve been researching, and it looks like it could be a variety of things, from a loose lug nut to a loose hub cap to a loose brake caliper to a bad wheel bearing. I was wondering if anyone here knew which of these problems it’s most likely to be.
Thanks.
Are you using the standard size tires? With larger tires, it’s possible one of them is running against the inner plastic fender. On some cars, the far right and far left stops are adjustable. I don’t know if it is on the Kia’s or not.
I assume by “hard right” you mean all the way to steering lock.
Not all the way, but most of the way. And only when the car is going fast. A slow, hard turn right doesn’t make the noise.
The tires were replaced a few months ago…
When going fast?? As I sit here, I can only imagine a little Spectra getting ready to roll over or spin out. 
Could it be you’re pushing this little car a tad harder than it was designed for, and the suspension is compressing, the tires hitting the fenders, anyway?
You should be able to remove a wheel and inspect inside the fender.
The tires were replaced…with the manufacturer specified size tires? or did you decide to get a bit more rubber on the road an up-size them to handle all the hard cornering?
It could be any of the things you mention. A loose hub cap or wheel lug nut is easy to verify, so check those first. My first guess – same as chaissos – is that the wheel is somehow hitting the fender – especially if the wheels/tires have been removed or replaced recently. Inspection should reveal a mark where the wheel is hitting. It might not be a problem w/the wheel, it might be that something has come loose on the fender or something loose attached to the fender. If you don’t see any marks, my second guess would be something in the brake calipers – especially if work has been done on the front brakes recently. A loose brake caliper could cause this. A brake shop will check it for you. Wheel bearings are pretty tough and for me they seldom fail unless I’ve hit some pot holes very hard the past winter, I’ve never had a wheel bearing make a noise only on turning, but I suppose that is possible.
One thing that can cause this noise is brake pad retaining hardware that’s no longer holding the brake pads to the caliper or to the caliper piston. If this hardware fails, the brake pad is free to move. So if you take a high speed turn the brake pad gets forced into the rotor and you get the scraping noise.
So you might want to have the front brakes inspected.
Tester
Sorry, I was mistaken.
I just tested the car, and it does make the scraping sound in slow right turns as well as fast ones. And just like chaissos said, it happens when the wheel is all the way over to steering lock.
The new tires I think are a standard size…195/60R15
OK, this is different. Now we could be talking about a CV joint or wheel bearing. Could still be the brake retainers, though.
I have to assume by this point you’ve already checked the obvious things listed…hubcaps, center caps, lug nuts, all the easy things.
If you’re not comfortable tearing the front end apart and working on it, then you should get it taken care of by either your trusty local mechanic, or if the warranty is still in effect, the dealer. This doesn’t sound good, and is likely just going to get worse, possibly even becoming a safety issue.
I’ve had a couple of Toyota’s do this to me. When brand new, the steering stops have a plastic or polyurethane cap to keep the bump-stop from making noise as the suspension goes up and down at wheel lock. A year or two and the cap pops off, leaving a metal-to-metal contact at wheel lock that makes scraping and rubbing sounds if the suspension moves.
Of course, this is assuming the suspension has no other problems, like ‘chaissos’ fears. Bad ball joints and suspension bushings can also make scraping sounds.