Often a funny noise is the first indication that your car or truck is having a problem. Ever listen to the Car Guys, Click & Clack the Tappit Brothers on NPR? Some of their funniest shows featured callers imitating the noise their vehicles were making! In all seriousness, these sounds can indicate something is simply annoying, or it could be something that needs urgent attention. Let’s review some of the most common car sounds and what they might mean for your vehicle.
Squealing from the Wheels
This is likely the sound people are most familiar with from 1970’s cop shows: the squealing brakes. Unlike in the chase scenes from CHiPs, a squealing brake sound doesn’t just happen from time to time. More often than not if it happens in real life it is due to worn out brake pads. This will cause your rotors and calipers to grind metal on metal as opposed to metal against the brake pads. Get this fixed immediately before you destroy your brakes.
Squealing from Under the Hood
If you’re hearing a strange squeal from under the hood when you start up your engine, it’s time to get your belts checked. This sound can come from any belt system that you have in your car and only stops when the belt has warmed up. Just because the sound stops shortly after starting up doesn’t mean the problem is gone. It just means that you can’t hear the problem anymore. Get this fixed immediately or your car might abruptly stop dead.
Thunking from the Front End
As you’re turning a corner and you hear a pounding coming from under your car it’s likely that your CV joint is failing. The CV joint is what allows power to still go to your wheels when you are turning the vehicle (pretty important). There are a several reasons why your CV joint might be failing. For now, we suggest you focus on getting it fixed as soon as possible. Otherwise, your car might simply stop moving in the middle of a turn. Eeek!
Rattling from Under the Vehicle
- Most commonly, rattling under your car will mean one of two things:
- Your exhaust pipe is damaged in some way
Regardless of the reason, you’ll hear it rattle while you’re driving and even more when you’re going over bumps of any kind. Generally, we can’t determine the cause by the sound alone. In the end, the rattling needs to be taken care of before your suspension gives out completely or your exhaust pipe simply falls down mid-drive. The latter sounds ridiculous but trust us: we’ve seen it happen!
There are dozens of other sounds that your car may be making for any number of reasons. If the sound is one of the above and is worrying to you … don’t ignore it. Give us a call at 303-400-4062. We’ll check it out and make a plan with you to resolve that noise!
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