Clunk noise from rear passenger side. Any ideas?
 

Been having a clunk noise coming from the passenger side rear suspension and it kind of sounds like as if I was running over a manhole. It happens even on flat ground. Also, either I can't hear it anymore or something, but it just goes away once I get on the highway. Some searching says either my ball joint is going out, sway bar link nut, or diagonal strut tower bar nuts. What else could it be? Should I continue to drive it? I don't have the tools to check under my car yet... Also, my car only has 7500k miles on it so I don't think it'd be the ball joint.

I'd suggest you drop it off at the dealer tomorrow morning (since it's under warranty) and have them fix it.

Let us know what was wrong.


humfrz

Is your tpms light illuminated by any chance?

I probably can't drop it off til this weekend. Should I continue driving it or swap cars for now?
Nope

This might "sound" strange - check the fold down seats. I have a brand new tS, I go down the hill I live on, which is pretty bumpy and I get the "clunks". Make sure those seat backs are properly latched. Mine are and still occasionally make sounds. It is disconcerting and irritating. The clunks sound more ominous than you would think. I better not have suspension problems, I have less than 1200K on the clock.

Oh, and on flat ground and the highway I don't hear it either. (Of course at highway cruise speeds this car is not what I would call quiet)

Well, that's a tough call.

If it were me, and didn't have any tools, I'd just make sure all the lug nuts were tight and carefully drive it till you get a chance to take it in to the dealer.


humfrz

Hm I'll have to check that again. I've tried taking everything out of my trunk and re latching my rear right seat, but it still made the sound. I'll try relatching it again tonight to see if that fixes anything.
I made an appointment for this Friday. Ill check the latch issue that firekat brought up though to see if that's the issue. If not and it still persists, I'll probably just drive something else in the meantime.

I'll keep y'all updated on my findings.

Just a quick update:
I folded down my rear seats to see if that latch was causing the noise as per @firekat's recommendation , but it still made the noise. I have an appointment with the dealers for this Friday so, hopefully they can figure it out.

Let us know how it works out.

It could be something as simple as the jack or one of the things under the rear floor have come loose. Lift the cover, pull everything and reseat them in their respective spots.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13451

Good luck.

I've got a "tick, tick, tick" in the back somewhere that I can't find that I've had since new.

hmmm....I suggest you have another cup of coffee then re-read his post #7.

;)


humfrz

Taking things out of the trunk not under the trunk floor :) I was getting more detailed ;)

hmmmm….point well taken.... :thumbsup:

If it is discovered that the clunking was caused by something lose under the trunk floor …… I'm ah gonna :slap: @ImADuck.

:D


humfrz

Yea, I have this clunking noise too at low speeds. It happens whether the ground is flat or bumpy. Like OP, cant tell at high speeds due to cabin noise. Also have a rattle above 5k RPMs that souds like its coming from the shifter area. I have 1700 miles on my 2017 86. Pretty disappointed.

Grab that shifter, and reverse lockout ring good when it happens, to hear if it changes. If it does, it could be caused by a small spacer that likes to dance around. There is some info regarding that particular noise.

Don't let the little noises take the pleasure away from your ride. I'm a picky sonuvabish and sometimes they get to me, but then I just get the driving pleasure good feeling and I forget (especially when I've just put 2017 suspension on my 2014).

Not telling anybody to just drown the noise in music either; think of it as just a "project", but get to it.

Back to topic, I haven't located my source just yet.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

It's ok, yer old we expect it :cheers:

I did previously move things around a bit under the trunk floor. It doesn't seem to be it but, maybe I just didn't seat it back properly? It's in the shop now, I should have an update from the Subaru dealer later today. Don't worry, I'll slap myself if that ends up being the cause... I'm just mainly confused why it would make the noise even on flat ground and sometimes 4 or 5 times in rapid succession. It really sounds like a loose bolt to me, but we'll see.

Maybe your trunk monkey is messen with you... ??


humfrz

Yep, I'll take a "senior moment" on that one … :sigh:


humfrz

..the shifter rattle is nothing, I've read many people having similar rattles from their S2000 or Miata, both of which use a derivative of same the manual gearbox that the 86 uses.

this car has very thin sheet metal and no sound insulation, what did you expect to be disappointed about? the best piece of advice with this platform is unless the car drives funny just disregard it...get a louder exhaust or get a subwoofer and turn it up...

Ive owned a S2000 and that transmission is rock solid. Why would I ignore issues on a new car when its clear its a issue that can be fixed. I have no issue with a loud cabin, but knocking and rattle noises arent supposed to be normal.

Either way Im having the techs look at it.

this is a much cheaper car than your S2000. plus, just do a google search, plenty of 86/S2000/Miata threads out there with the same issue, it is a hit or miss that has no impact on drivability. My 2016 FRS shifter didn't exhibit any sounds for the first 10 K miles, then I got some rattling in 2nd gear above 6 K RPMs from time to time and now for the past 20 K miles I haven't heard it since. I've never had any shifting problems either before or after the sounds. I'll tell ya, out of the hundreds of threads I've read on this forum about the shifter rattling, absolutely NO ONE has solved it. Some people have managed to get their dealer to replace their entire transmission due to the noise only for it to come back!

None of what you're saying is an issue. This is exactly like the direct injection and HPFP chirping sounds that you'll hear as well. Just drive bruh...if ya don't want/like the cheapness of the twins then ya should've gotten a 2 series

Well, now, sfdai0 that's too bad you feel disappointed... :(

Question: Has a short shifter been installed?

Do you have any other mods?

You might consider changing the transmission oil with an aftermarket product .. that might help .. :iono:

Keep in mind that with only 1700 miles, the transmission is just starting to get broke in … it may smooth out in time.

I hope it settles down for you.

humfrz

I had that too, then i realize it was my oem audio amp enclosure in the trunk...

Cuz when i took the damn thing off on track i never heard it... >_>

it comes from the shfiter itself, nothing inside the gearbox so changing trans oil isn't going to do anything. There was a TSB for this on the early MYs but I don't think it made any difference and Toyota hasn't bothered trying to submit a new TSB probably because it isn't detrimental to actually shifting http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...shifter+rattle

UPDATE: They found a loose bolt that was causing the noise. Not sure which, but I'll ask when I go to pick my car tonight. Thanks for the help everyone!

*loose suspension bolt

Any idea which one?

Glad you get er fixed ..:thumbsup:


humfrz

According to the report, both rear struts had loose bolts on the lower part of the strut. It also mentioned that it seemed like it was touched recently (I got the car used only 1k miles ago/4 months). Is it possible the previous owner had modified it at one point? Maybe had aftermarket coils?

Also, the noise is still there. I was too quick to believe it was gone [emoji24] Just as a sanity check, I'll reseat all the stuff below the trunk liner as well to see if that does anything. Sigh...

I thought you bought the car new. No matter.

Yep, it could be that the former owner messed with the suspension. Does it have evidence of any other mods?


You may consider taking everything out of and from below the trunk cover and take it for a spin ...;)


humfrz

Oh, sorry I wasn't clear about that...

Other than some factory accessories, I noticed the previous owner installed the cusco pedal attachment. I also know the owner sold the car and got a 2013 frs so what I'm thinking is that he may have modified the car and swapped the parts over to his frs.

Good idea, I'll do that to make sure it isn't the stuff in the trunk.

Maybe the previous owner had coils, but then bought someone else’s stock suspension before turning it in, and those shocks are blown.

Ok guys, I brought my car in for an early service after the run-in period. I brought up the issue with the service department and was lucky enough on a test ride to demonstrate the noise.

They looked into it and repositioned the exhaust and put some foam between some plastic panels near the gas tank.

Will advise is this is effective.

Of course now after the service I have V-bar clunking. Just can't win. Not even 1500 miles on the car!

Hopefully it fixes it for you! I still haven't figured out what is causing my noise... :( Btw what is v-bar clunking?

Tentative Update: I just installed a corsa exhaust and my noise has gone away. Maybe it's possible that my stock muffler was hitting the metal panel right above it? I'll be giving it another drive tonight to see but so far it's gone! :)

Ok nope, wasn't it. Gonna try bringing it in to another dealer this Friday.