I drive a Kia Optima Hybrid 2013. In the last year, I hit a turkey in flight, where it hit the grill and rolled under the car down the middle (didn’t hit any wheels). The extent of the repairs was a replacement of the hybrid radiator (the radiator under the main one). Also, the frame on the front that holds the radiator and where the hood latches was replaced. The bumper cracked and all of the tabs on it broke, but I reconnected it with zip ties and now it’s secure.
A few weeks later, I ran over a raccoon. It hit the bumper and went under the front left wheel. The fender liner cracked into pieces and was replaced. From what I could tell, that was the extent of the damage.
Flash forward a few months and I rotated the tires. In the next few weeks, I noticed the car started making a noise on left-hand turns. It doesn’t make the noise at low speeds or on sharp turns, but more of left-hand bends. Especially, it makes the noise on left-hand bends when I’m going downhill and/or a little too fast for the turn (around 45 mph). Sometimes, I hear the noise when I’m going straight down hills as well, but not as loud. The noise sounds like a combination of thumping/grinding (metal on metal). It sounds like it’s coming from the front, and, from what I can tell, the front right (but I’m not sure about that).
A little bit later I noticed that the car seems to have a constant noise, similar to the sound of loud road noise. It sounds exactly like driving on a milled road, but a little quieter. It makes this noise most loudly around 35-45 mph and 65-80mph. At the other speeds it can be heard, but it’s not quite that loud. Along with the noise, I can feel a vibration in the gas pedal, and a passenger told me he could feel it in the floor. Wondering if it was bearings, I swerved the car. Swerving left reduces the noise and swerving right increases the noise.
I can’t tell what the issue is, if it’s in the wheel/bearing/CV joint etc. Perhaps, there is more than one issue? Perhaps they are related to tire rotation? Perhaps related to the turkey incident?
Both noises persist (the thumping and the vibration noise described in paragraphs 3-4). Any help would be appreciated.