2017 CX-5 Sport Suspension Noises

Hi, all. I recently purchased a 2017 CPO CX-5 Sport with 31,000 miles on it, almost 3 weeks ago. I am enjoying the vehicle quite a bit but have two concerns. 5 days into owning the vehicle I noticed a creaking noise coming from the front-end suspension when turning my wheels, such as when going from drive into reverse. Didn't think much of it, but now I can hear some creaking/crunching (like floorboards) even when driving slowly over various undulations in the road. Today backing up into my driveway I heard the sound quite a bit as well.

I know the quick response will be, "take it to the dealer". But, given that the weather has turned cold it's when I really started noticing it, and I know that vehicle components tend to get a little noisier when it's cold out. We didn't hear it on the test drive, and it was almost 70*F that day. My 2015 Hyundai Elantra has some noisy bushings that have been just fine for over 40,000 miles, and the mechanic said they're fine. I'm wondering if it's the same situation here. Either way I'm going to bring it up at my first service visit in March, but it's a little upsetting to hear this right away, and with my luck they'll say everything checks out. My question, has anyone had similar issues? I've searched the forums and it seems limited.

Additionally, I get a clunk/rattle like noise from the right rear when I turn onto streets or driveways. It's intermittent, though.

Thanks!
 
you are gonna want to use that fancy SEARCH option.

start here:

and go from there.



TLDR; if you can get video with clear audio and post that then diagnostics is gonna be easier. There is no single fix for "creaking noise coming from the front-end suspension when turning my wheels" or "clunk/rattle like noise from the right rear when I turn onto streets or driveways"
 
you are gonna want to use that fancy SEARCH option.

start here:

and go from there.


Lol, thanks. I appreciate that. I swear I searched high and low. These aren't quite the same noises I'm describing from the front end.
 
Hi, all. I recently purchased a 2017 CPO CX-5 Sport with 31,000 miles on it, almost 3 weeks ago. I am enjoying the vehicle quite a bit but have two concerns. 5 days into owning the vehicle I noticed a creaking noise coming from the front-end suspension when turning my wheels, such as when going from drive into reverse. Didn't think much of it, but now I can hear some creaking/crunching (like floorboards) even when driving slowly over various undulations in the road. Today backing up into my driveway I heard the sound quite a bit as well.

I know the quick response will be, "take it to the dealer". But, given that the weather has turned cold it's when I really started noticing it, and I know that vehicle components tend to get a little noisier when it's cold out. We didn't hear it on the test drive, and it was almost 70*F that day. My 2015 Hyundai Elantra has some noisy bushings that have been just fine for over 40,000 miles, and the mechanic said they're fine. I'm wondering if it's the same situation here. Either way I'm going to bring it up at my first service visit in March, but it's a little upsetting to hear this right away, and with my luck they'll say everything checks out. My question, has anyone had similar issues? I've searched the forums and it seems limited.

Additionally, I get a clunk/rattle like noise from the right rear when I turn onto streets or driveways. It's intermittent, though.

Thanks!
There’re multiple issues which may cause front suspension noises on gen-2 CX-5. Check out this thread and the TSB 02-002/18:

Click/ Clunk/ Knock sounds 2018 CX 5 AWD

C67565A2-DA94-41C3-ABDE-3FA79CF0744F.jpeg
 
Alright, I got the creaking noise on video. You can hear it right at the 9-10 second mark; it's that initial creaking/crunching noise. The video amplifies the noise a bit -- it's much more subtle in the cabin. Apologies, you can also hear my arm moving/body shifting and it interferes a bit but you can still hear it. This was when I was reversing into my driveway with the wheel mostly turned all the way to the right (I try to avoid doing this but it's a wicked tight turn into my parking spot).

I'm determining whether or not to wait until my first service in March. I don't drive that much as I'm working from home (I've only put like 400 miles on it in almost 3 weeks). However, I'm going on a 275 mile round trip this weekend in the vehicle. My gut tells me this isn't an urgent issue, but would love input. Thanks, everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving!

 
I would describe the sound as a double clunk.
Haha, I’ll respectfully disagree. It’s a little misleading because I’m also wearing construction boots and I’m fairly certain that’s the knocking/clunk you hear. The creaking sound I’m describing is RIGHT at 10 seconds.
 
So, since I noticed this creaking I've become much more hyper aware of all things suspension related. At night, I began to notice my headlights oscillating a little bit (like 2-3 times and relatively small) after I hit a series of bumps, which possibly indicates the front struts are rebounding more than they should. It's also very possible that this is due to a sort of rythmic series of bumps, as the roads around here are horrible...they dip, they dive, they have ripples, they undulate, they're cracked. We also have a main road constructed with concrete slabs that have joints every 50 feet or so. I have a new set of Altimax RT-43's and they're relatively mushy tires, so not sure if that makes a difference either.

This might sound a little odd to notice, but when a door is shut on the vehicle, it does a normal "rock", and then jiggles side to side 2-3 times (again, very slightly). On most vehicles I've noticed one hard rock from the door closing and then it settles. Is this normal? I did the "bounce test" on the front end and it oscillates maybe a fraction but not what I would call a bounce on rebound. Bounce test on the rear is rather easy...looks like one bounce (including roll forward and back onto the parking pawl), but again, just seems a little too easy to do.

In any event, I am going to have them inspect my entire suspension system when I bring it in for service in March. I've only put 1,200 miles on the vehicle since purchase, so hopefully all checks out.
 
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Talking to myself here, probably, but hoping that if someone has any issues in the future they can read through this thread.

I actually recorded a number of bounce tests with my phone both on the rear and the front end, at every corner of the vehicle. I did one large bounce, and several series of bounces to get it oscillating. To my surprise, it is almost unnoticeable if it bounces at all. The shock and/or strut goes down once and then goes right up to resting height. Can’t see any oscillating. I’m a short guy, so it’s kind of difficult for me to get good arm leverage on the front end, so it’s anyone’s guess if I’m even doing it properly. But, when I’m driving and I come to a stop (gentle braking or harsh), the headlight line clearly oscillates up and down right when the vehicle stops. So something is indeed shaking; this vehicle doesn’t have adaptive headlights, only the manual positioning wheel so I’m not sure it’s that.

I will return with further updates once I finally get to the dealer in the spring. I still suspect a strut issue in the front.
 
Use an open door as leverage to rock the car., or better... speed bump check where both wheels on an axle are working, is a bit more revealing. Rears checked same way. After the axle crosses the bump, one moderate dip, one moderate rise and then back level is good. If it falls deeply, rises steeply, falls again significantly, (more than one complete up/down oscillation) before settling, they are pretty cooked.

Also look if the struts are significantly oil stained; oil loss is a common failure.
 
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Use an open door as leverage to rock the car., or better... speed bump check where both wheels on an axle are working, is a bit more revealing. Rears checked same way. After the axle crosses the bump, one moderate dip, one moderate rise and then back level is good. If it falls deeply, rises steeply, falls again significantly, (more than one complete up/down oscillation) before settling, they are pretty cooked.

Also look if the struts are significantly oil stained; oil loss is a common failure.
Thanks for the reply. Speed bumps are actually fine, both rear and front end seem to settle just nicely and rather sturdy. The front struts don’t seem to be oil stained. Rears are definitely clean. Something may be going on with body roll, not necessarily front to rear or up down bouncing (as evidenced by the “jiggle” when closing the door, same as if I move abruptly in my seat or cars go by at speed when I am stopped).

I think I am probably overreacting, honestly. No use guessing until I take it to the dealer. The creaking noise I made this thread for is probably more annoying than anything (which, strangely doesn’t make a peep when I go over speed bumps).
 
Did some testing of my own last night. Hitting the brake hard when going slow produces clear oscillation of the vehicle — the headlights bounce before settling. This has confirmed to me that there is a strut or shock issue. Quite upset since it has so little miles and I’m nervous the dealer is going to say “cannot reproduce”.

Will keep you updated. Think I’ll be bringing it in earlier than I thought.
 
Did some testing of my own last night. Hitting the brake hard when going slow produces clear oscillation of the vehicle — the headlights bounce before settling. This has confirmed to me that there is a strut or shock issue. Quite upset since it has so little miles and I’m nervous the dealer is going to say “cannot reproduce”.

Will keep you updated. Think I’ll be bringing it in earlier than I thought.
And remember to bring a copy of the TSB posted in post #7.
 
I have a service appointment for this Wednesday. Here is a better video of the creaking noise when turning into my driveway (the pop is a piece of wood I ran over); the sound is much louder in the video than in person.

 
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It’s raining out, and while driving before my wife actually brought up that she couldn’t hear any creaking anymore. I noticed the same, and steering felt more firm in a good way. Worried I won’t be able to reproduce it tomorrow since it’s going to be wet. I guess I’ll mention this fact if it’s not doing it tomorrow AM.

Any idea what would cause creaking to go away when it’s wet outside?

Thanks!
 
OK, so I brought it into the dealer. Of course on the way there it was dead silent. Not a creak, not a crunch, not a squeak, other than my child's car seats in the back. I was going to drive with a tech, but actually had to get out of there to take care of some business. Unfortunately, I had to pay a diagnostic fee but it is what it is.

They took it on a 7 mile drive and tried to reproduce it, but could not. When on the lift they said they checked every component of the suspension, and found no cracked or worn bushings, no bent pieces. Everything operating within the normal parameters of the vehicle. As for front-end oscillation, they said the shocks and struts look fine and give no indication that they are worn.

He said as soon as I hear it, I'm more than welcome to bring it in and have someone drive with me. I quite honestly will probably just wait until my oil change in a couple of months and have them take a look then...I don't know. Perhaps then they can check for any uneven tire wear if there was anything actually wrong with the struts.

It's weird. With situations like this, you always want confirmation that something is wrong -- yet when something isn't wrong, there's always a level of doubt because you know the sound will happen again as soon as you leave the lot. Interesting comparison, my Hyundai Elantra has had a rubbing/creaking front-end since 22,000 miles. I'm now at 68,000, with the noise present as ever, and have had no uneven tire wear or any suspension troubles at all. My mechanic is not concerned at all.

What do you guys think?
 
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