2022 CX-9 Clunk over speed bumps

M

mazdaflo

Hi All,

Just purchased my first Mazda - 2022 CX9 Touring, under 16000 miles. Love the car so far but noticed occasional clunking when going over speed bumps at a slow speed. I've managed to capture it on video from the cabin. I can't really hear anything from outside the car. Thoughts on what it could be?

 
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M
Just want to post a follow up. The dealership initially changed the front struts (under warranty), but after I got the car back it still had the same issue. So I brought it back to them. They had the car for 2 weeks and eventually found the issue. The front strut bearings needed to be replaced (under warranty). I got the car back today and so far no more noise over speed bumps!
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Yes, this is an issue i'm having as well, 2022 model year. It's not all the time. It seems to be worse when it's hot, so all summer I had this, and now not so much.

Some say loose cowl bolts, but it's not lose cowl bolts for me. I get this creaking/flexing sound over jumbo speed bumps in the neighborhood. It seems to also be related to popping/knocking noise, when low speed turning turning and going over a bump or more so, when the wheel goes into a dip. Like driving through a parking lot, or a drive thru. It's like it's something shifting laterally, because it will pop in one direction, but won't do it again until you make it pop in the other direction. Noise is coming mostly from left side, but also right side sometimes.

There are a few posts on here from cbale, outlining his issues. Here is a video from his Youtube, exact same thing. He had subframe bolts tightened up and it apparently fixed it. But not after doing a ton of other things.


I'm dreading having to go into dealership to deal with it.
 
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Thanks for the info. I'm down in Florida so it's hot all the time, maybe why I notice it every day. I've also heard some popping noises when turning at low speeds but seems to be random. The car drives well otherwise.

I'm also dreading having to go to the dealership to deal with it... it doesn't seem like a well documented issue. I have an appointment next week. We'll see what they say.
 
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mazdaflo said:
Thanks for the info. I'm down in Florida so it's hot all the time, maybe why I notice it every day. I've also heard some popping noises when turning at low speeds but seems to be random. The car drives well otherwise.

I'm also dreading having to go to the dealership to deal with it... it doesn't seem like a well documented issue. I have an appointment next week. We'll see what they say.
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Awesome, keep us posted. Still love the car other than this one damn thing. There seems to be a lot of random clunking noises reported, but everyone seems to have a different fix. They're definitely going to go to start at the cowl bolts where they attach to the strut mounts.

I'm wondering if it's a 2022 thing. Love the car other than this one thing. It'll be perfect now until April/May, and then it will drive me crazy for the summer.

Say I was turning left from a stop sign, i will get a knock, or a ponk sound. And it could be from the left side or it could be from both the left and right side. Then the only way it would make the sound again, is if I was turning right. So it's like something is shifting side to side, or it's binding. Maybe it's in the strut mount, or maybe it's in the steering rack or sub-frame.
 
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I can guarantee that the problem stems from a loose fastener, but exactly which one is a daunting task. I have heard repeatably that no one knows more about your car than the dealer because they work on them every day - they should have the knowledge and resolution to near every issue. I would think that after only 16K miles a re-torque of suspension fasteners is required but the question remains as to who will perform this. Bolts stretch and loosen, nuts mysteriously come loose and in some cases fasteners are missing completely. There seldom is an obvious cause without a clear history of the problem at hand. This type of issue tests the DIY'rs patience to the limit as it requires hours of work to eliminate sources one by one. I went to both the dealer and two other independent shops to no avail. I was not willing to resolve the "clunk" by throwing hundreds of dollars on replacing parts with the hopes of eliminating the cause. Lucky for me, and after a lot of research, out came the trusty torque wrench and every nut and bolt from the dashboard to the grill was verified for tightness. I was capable of doing this, many aren't. I did discover that noises from the front suspension can actually travel through the uni-body and sound as if their coming from another location on the car. Who would think the feeling underfoot on the drives side would actually be coming from the top of the strut towers, namely, a loose strut brace.Your issue could in fact be this simple, but not the same, and it sure made me feel accomplished to not have spent hundreds of dollars at a dealership based on a "could be, might be" diagnosis. I have no idea of your capabilities or the tools you possess but with a bit of deductive reasoning, a few friends who have the tools you don't and a ton of patience you will fix this. As Eric O says, "If I can fix it, so can you!"
 
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Logidad said:
I can guarantee that the problem stems from a loose fastener, but exactly which one is a daunting task. I have heard repeatably that no one knows more about your car than the dealer because they work on them every day - they should have the knowledge and resolution to near every issue. I would think that after only 16K miles a re-torque of suspension fasteners is required but the question remains as to who will perform this. Bolts stretch and loosen, nuts mysteriously come loose and in some cases fasteners are missing completely. There seldom is an obvious cause without a clear history of the problem at hand. This type of issue tests the DIY'rs patience to the limit as it requires hours of work to eliminate sources one by one. I went to both the dealer and two other independent shops to no avail. I was not willing to resolve the "clunk" by throwing hundreds of dollars on replacing parts with the hopes of eliminating the cause. Lucky for me, and after a lot of research, out came the trusty torque wrench and every nut and bolt from the dashboard to the grill was verified for tightness. I was capable of doing this, many aren't. I did discover that noises from the front suspension can actually travel through the uni-body and sound as if their coming from another location on the car. Who would think the feeling underfoot on the drives side would actually be coming from the top of the strut towers, namely, a loose strut brace.Your issue could in fact be this simple, but not the same, and it sure made me feel accomplished to not have spent hundreds of dollars at a dealership based on a "could be, might be" diagnosis. I have no idea of your capabilities or the tools you possess but with a bit of deductive reasoning, a few friends who have the tools you don't and a ton of patience you will fix this. As Eric O says, "If I can fix it, so can you!"
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Excellent post!

What solved it for you in the end? The strut brace/cowl? Did you notice any other bolts that were loose? This has been something i 've noticed since it was brand new, and it hasn't got any worse.

I have pulled the wipers and re-torqued all the cowl bolts called out in the TSB. Also checked strut mount nuts.

The next plan is exactly what you suggest. Will have to work my way down to the bottom and check all the sway bar, suspension, and sub-frame bolts.

The fact that it's temp related makes me think perhaps somewhere there are bushings that are allowing a bit of movement somewhere. Hopefully it's a bolt torque issue and not a part tolerance one.
 
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Ok, to prevent frustration overload look to the usual suspects. I doubt very much that the stabilizer bushing mounted to the subframe would be an issue, but the drop links from the strut to the stabilizer bar could be loose or the plastic liner inside the swivel ends damaged (flattened slightly). With the wheels removed put a pry bar under the stabilizer bar end with the other end of the bar on the top of the subframe. Pry up and down slightly to see if the links have play. While the car is sitting in the "up" position, mount the wheel (one side at a time), firmly grab the tire on either side and move it horizontal side to side. You should have zero movement but if you do the cause may be a worn or damaged inner joint under the inner tie rod boot. Do this for both sides independantly. While at it repeat the same procedure at the top and bottom to check for vertical play. I have never seen a car with strut towers that hasn't been equipped with tower braces in some form or other. The idea here is to stabilize the towers when one or both sides of the car goes over a bump and the towers try to lean in from the existing shock. This is what mine was doing and if you have this configuration you have to find the braces and check them for tightness. They may be hidden under the cowl beauty plastic. The other items to check are any frame braces under the car that span the sub-frame horizontally - on my car, the large bolt that secures the rear motor mount was also loose. It was right in the middle of a cross brace. The area of this bolt is designated a a factory jacking point which I will never use again because I think the sheer weight of the vehicle disturbed the threads for this bolt and it relaxed. Don't throw the parts cannon at this car (lower control arms, struts or sway bar bushings) until you have checked every frame and part mounting nut and bolt. Which brings us to the subframe bolts - they have to be loosed first before torquing because just putting a wrench on them and pulling means you have to overcome rust on the bolt threads before getting an accurate reading for torque. Start from nothing and work your way up. As for torque settings, I've never seen such nonsense as Mazda's torque spec ranges and one proper spec would be more than sufficient. Good luck!
 
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Z31 said:
Yes, this is an issue i'm having as well, 2022 model year. It's not all the time. It seems to be worse when it's hot, so all summer I had this, and now not so much.

Some say loose cowl bolts, but it's not lose cowl bolts for me. I get this creaking/flexing sound over jumbo speed bumps in the neighborhood. It seems to also be related to popping/knocking noise, when low speed turning turning and going over a bump or more so, when the wheel goes into a dip. Like driving through a parking lot, or a drive thru. It's like it's something shifting laterally, because it will pop in one direction, but won't do it again until you make it pop in the other direction. Noise is coming mostly from left side, but also right side sometimes.

There are a few posts on here from cbale, outlining his issues. Here is a video from his Youtube, exact same thing. He had subframe bolts tightened up and it apparently fixed it. But not after doing a ton of other things.


I'm dreading having to go into dealership to deal with it.
Click to expand...
You may have a lower control arm issue cause mine was doing the same also it would make noise when backing out making the turn . Check the bushings
 
Upvote 0
Just want to post a follow up. The dealership initially changed the front struts (under warranty), but after I got the car back it still had the same issue. So I brought it back to them. They had the car for 2 weeks and eventually found the issue. The front strut bearings needed to be replaced (under warranty). I got the car back today and so far no more noise over speed bumps!
 
Upvote 0
Solution
mazdaflo said:
Just want to post a follow up. The dealership initially changed the front struts (under warranty), but after I got the car back it still had the same issue. So I brought it back to them. They had the car for 2 weeks and eventually found the issue. The front strut bearings needed to be replaced (under warranty). I got the car back today and so far no more noise over speed bumps!
Click to expand...


Awesome, good news. Lets see how the replacement set does! I think they're plastic now, maybe just not durable enough for the size of the vehicle/?
 
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Silly Wabbit said:
What exactly is front strut bearing?
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It is a thrust bearing that allows the suspension to turn while carrying the weight of that corner of the car. The only one I've had fail was after hitting some bad potholes buried under snow. These are usually replaced during every normal, i.e., high mileage, replacement of worn out struts.

A clunk from the suspension can come from so many places that are not quite tightened to spec. They can feel tight, plenty tight, but not quite tight enough to stop the smallest movement in the parts that caused the clunk that magnifies through the car body like it was a drum.
 
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I had a clunk from the suspension. Spent some time under the car with a pry bar and found that the drivers side sway bar end link had worn to the point where it made a noise as any bump was driven over. It was a pretty easy and cheap fix. Lots of good tutorials on YouTube.
 
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