We had the shocks and struts on my wife’s 2005 Saturn Vue replaced, all the way around. Immediately after we started hearing a thumping/rattling noise coming from the front of the car (maybe front left?) while driving slowly over bumpy roads (like in an older cemetery). We took it back to the mechanic and he now thinks the front tires need replaced because they have “a hop” in them. That sound 'bout right?
Tires, eh? Not impossible. But why did it only start after the suspension work? Before I went back to the mechanic, I’d try bouncing up an down on the four corners of the car to see if I can get the noise to happen. If so, it’s probably not the tires. Oh yeah, and open the hood and check to make sure that the support rod for the hood is latched down. It may well rattle if it isn’t. And if you have any doubts at all about where the noise is coming from, check to see if you have any thunk/rattle makers floating around in the trunk. The location of car noises is notoriously hard to pin down.
Well, if something sounds fishy… I guess it is. The replaced the front tires and lo and behold the sound was still there. So they kept the car again and put a different technician on it… loose front left sway bar is now the diagnosis.