Car makes grinding noise
I've noticed some sight noise in my car lately. It is coming from the bottom of the vehicle, where my feet are. This is an intermittent grinding and thumping noise. There is no noise when I first put it in drive upon starting the car. However, as I drive, the noise starts occurring up to the point when I reach around 45 mph. The noise then disappears again. When I put the car in reverse, it doesn't make any noise. What could make this noise? Are there any parts I need to replace?
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hey there, thanks for writing in. I would have a professional mechanic check out the constant velocity joints on your vehicle. One or more of them may be worn enough to cause the noises you describe. S/he can diagnose and replace any failed CV joints.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
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A common cause of grinding noises under your car are failing wheel or hub bearings. Wheel bearings allow the wheel and tire to rotate and are designed for low friction, while hub assemblies have an additional responsibility of securing the wheel and tire to the vehicle.
If you notice your car making a grinding sound when it accelerates, your issue is likely to do with your transmission, a problem with your differential, a bad wheel bearing, a damaged CV joint, or a worn engine/motor mount.
Most of the time, if you hear scraping and grinding, it can be attributed to one of two main issues: Worn-out brake linings. Worn-out wheel/hub bearings.
A grinding noise when turning may mean that the wheel bearing is worn out and should be replaced as soon as possible.
The sound often appears when your vehicle comes to a complete stop, but you may also hear it as you step on the brake pedal. The best way to resolve this problem is to have your brake pads replaced as soon as possible, but you may also need to replace both your discs or rotors at this point.
Driving with grinding brakes is simply not safe. Brakes are a critical component of safe driving and should not be overlooked. If your brakes start to fail: Don`t drive any further.
A healthy transmission will shift between gears smoothly and there won`t be any slippage. Low fluid levels can cause gears to miss, which will result in a grinding sensation.
One possible cause is debris or dirt stuck in the brakes, which can create friction and lead to a grinding noise. Another potential reason is a misalignment of the brake calipers, causing them to rub against the rotor instead of smoothly pressing against it.
If you hear grinding noises when stopping or slowing down, your brake pads are most likely the issue. Remember, over time your brake pads lose their thickness and begin to make squealing noises known as “brake scrubbing.” As your pads wear down further, you`ll hear a grinding noise instead.
A light grinding may indicate that your power steering fluid is contaminated, while a heavy grinding may indicate that your rack and pinion gear has slipped out entirely. If you catch the issue early enough, you won`t have to replace the entire power steering rack.
If your transmission makes a grinding noise when you shift gears, you are likely experiencing friction between gears due to insufficient transmission fluid, worn transmission linkage, maladjusted binding, or a “dragging clutch.” If you hear grinding sounds when shifting from neutral to any gear, you may be dealing with …
If you are grinding going into park and occasionally neutral, you may be experiencing an issue with the transfer case, transmission output shaft yoke or axle.
Grinding gears is one of the most common signs of a transmission problem. It means that the clutch isn`t completely disengaging from the engine while the gears are still rotation. However, there are numerous reasons why it could be happening. In some cases with a manual transmission, it`s actually user error.
If your brake pads are excessively worn, the metal backing on them can become exposed, allowing the rotors and metal to grind against each other when you brake. Not only does this cause an unpleasant sound, but it can also damage your rotor, reduce your brakes` responsiveness, and lead to brake failure.
Even if you replace the pads or rotors, bits of debris can get caught up during the repair process. This should go away as you continue to drive your car. If you`ve only had your brake pads replaced and not the rotors, the grinding noise could be coming from worn-out rotors.
The classic sounds of a bad wheel bearing are cyclic chirping, squealing and/or growling noise. You can also tell that the sound is related to wheel bearings if it changes in proportion to vehicle speed. The sound can get worse with every turn, or it can disappear momentarily.
One possible cause is debris or dirt stuck in the brakes, which can create friction and lead to a grinding noise. Another potential reason is a misalignment of the brake calipers, causing them to rub against the rotor instead of smoothly pressing against it.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Car makes grinding noise – 1996 Chevrolet Corsica
ANSWER : Hey there, thanks for writing in. I would have a professional mechanic check out the constant velocity joints on your vehicle. One or more of them may be worn enough to cause the noises you describe. S/he can diagnose and replace any failed CV joints.
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My car makes a really annoying noise and sometimes dies right after
ANSWER : Hi there. From the description you have provided your vehicle’s moaning noise and intermittent stalling problem could be any number of things. It could be a failed alternator diode making the moaning noise and affecting the idle.
A failed alternator diode(s) allows voltage to flow both directions or no flow at all resulting in noise heard and erratic electrical operation. It could be a faulty idle air control valve. The idle air control valve can make noise and would account for the erratic idle and sporadic dying. It could be an accessory component, such as an A/C compressor, serpentine belt tensioner, or idler pulley, power steering pump making noise and placing undo load on the engine at idle. If you would like to have this done, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose the noise and stalling issue.
Read Full Q/A … : Car makes grinding noise
car making womp womp noise and pop
ANSWER : A common cause of a noise like that is tire belt (internal) separation, flat spot(s) on tire or other tire defects. If the tires end up being excluded during a diagnostic, the CV axles, wheel bearings, and unfortunately the transmission and clutch have to be considered. The noise on turning is suggestive of a possibly defective outer CV joint but very loose tie rods ends and ball joints can sometimes be implicated. Also, it is possible to have a bad strut bearing, in the strut mount. Keep in mind, a "combination" of faults might be in play here. Your best bet is to request a front end inspection/diagnostic during which the responding certified mechanic will get this resolved for you insofar as identifying the root cause(s) and estimating the repair for you.
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Switched to 4WD – did fine for a little then started making grinding noise. Now car won’t move and the 4WD light is blinking.
ANSWER : Hi there. If the 4WD light is blinking and you hear a grinding noise when the transmission is in drive or reverse only, then the transfer case has either broken the fork inside the case or the syncronizer jammed up and is grinding the gears inside the case. If the noise is not coming from the transfer case, then the front differential could be damaged. I recommend seeking out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you diagnose your 4WD not working issue.
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Car makes a grinding noise when moving forward but nothing while you’re moving backwards
ANSWER : There are a few things that could be causing your grinding noise. Typically this is a sign of worn out wheel bearings, but that can also happen in reverse as well. It’s possible that you have a transmission issue or a front wheel brake rotor is warped. The best way to know for certain is to have one of our professional mechanics test drive your vehicle to help them diagnose the grinding noise so they can recommend the correct action that will solve your issues.
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car won’t start.
ANSWER : A possibility is a faulty ignition switch. If the switch opens after the car starts, the engine will shut off. But, that is just a possibility and a diagnostic would have to be performed to rule that in or out. Be sure you have a fully charged battery that passes a load test. Starters motors can display intermittent operation if they are faulty. With a fully charged battery, if the starter motor does not run that signifies an electrical problem in the starter circuit (includes the ignition switch) or a problem with the starter motor itself. If there is power to the starter motor and yet it doesn’t run, the starter is condemned and replaced. Alternatively, if there is no power to the starter, or there is a big voltage drop anywhere on the circuit to the starter, then the circuit has to be traced until the fault in the circuit is found. Notably, faults can include high resistances, due to corrosion, wire strand breaks, or loose terminals, which can only be diagnosed using a voltage drop test. Regardless of what the underlying cause of the no start condition is, if you desire that a certified mechanic resolve this promptly, please simply request a no start diagnostic and the responding mechanic will get it diagnosed and repaired for you. Please let us know if you have further concerns or questions as we are always here to help you.
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I want my car repaired but not sure what the problem of th e car is. lately when i start the car it just makes a grinding noise an
ANSWER : If you have confirmed that there is a loud grinding noise on starter activation, that means one thing and one thing only: the starter motor is failing, likely due to an internal fault such as a bad starter drive gear, and will eventually stop working. Depending on the mode of failure, teeth on the flex plate that engage with the starter can get damaged. Even as the problem is only intermittent now, the wisest thing to do is schedule starter replacement.
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Car makes noise only in the morning
ANSWER : Hello. Thank you for writing in. When the vehicle sits for an extended period of time, the oil collects at the bottom of the engine due to gravity. This causes the engine and components in which the oil lubricates to run dry. There is no problem with this while the engine is off, and every car does this. Now when the vehicle turns on, the engine will need a moment to circulate that oil throughout the engine. Once the oil becomes warm enough to be the viscosity in which the engine desires, and everything has had a moment to become lubricated again, there should not be any more noises coming from the valves. If this is a new noise or it is irritating to you, you can attempt to change your oil or maybe even change the type of oil that you were using. The noise is simply the engine not having oil when it first starts up. But this is normal.
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