Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. Just bought a 2013 CX-9 a few months ago. Touring version with AWD. Love it so far!
So, my wife and I went out to shoot some photos where we live. Found a spot that looked cool so we decided to find a place to park. Unfortunately, it's out in nowheresville, no parking lots, etc., so we look at parking on the side of the road. There is a "ditch", and we thought what the heck, might as well park in the ditch. It didn't look that steep at all. When we went in, it seemed more steep than it looked. So no problem we'll just have fun getting out when we finish taking pics. We get back, try to get out, and it's not so good. The pitch/angle of exit from the ditch is making it feel like the car is twisting, etc. So we decide to drive down the "ditch" to find a better exit point. Suddenly a loud "pop" noise, sounds like someone took a hammer and struck a piece of metal - but a bit muffled, which gave us a scare. We ended up finally getting back on the road - after spinning tires, etc... trying to get out.
We drive around, and I can't tell if anything is damaged. It seems like everything is functioning as it should. No fluid leaking under the car. Cornering hard seems to be the same. Engine seems to be running fine. Transmission seems to be shifting ok. We checked out a gravel road, tested the AWD, no light flashed so I think that's ok as well. No dummy lights are on either. I did notice that some trim seems to be loose on the rear passenger side wheel well now which was fine before. Checked all the windows, none are cracked or anything.
So, what could that sound have been? Any ideas? I'm afraid with the twisting and torque on the car trying to get out of the ditch that I might have damaged the frame of the vehicle or something. But nothing is showing that it's messed up. Is there a way to know if the frame has been damaged? I'm thinking it's either that, or something with the wheels suspension (struts, shocks, whatever). I'm not very mechanically inclined. lol :-(
So, my wife and I went out to shoot some photos where we live. Found a spot that looked cool so we decided to find a place to park. Unfortunately, it's out in nowheresville, no parking lots, etc., so we look at parking on the side of the road. There is a "ditch", and we thought what the heck, might as well park in the ditch. It didn't look that steep at all. When we went in, it seemed more steep than it looked. So no problem we'll just have fun getting out when we finish taking pics. We get back, try to get out, and it's not so good. The pitch/angle of exit from the ditch is making it feel like the car is twisting, etc. So we decide to drive down the "ditch" to find a better exit point. Suddenly a loud "pop" noise, sounds like someone took a hammer and struck a piece of metal - but a bit muffled, which gave us a scare. We ended up finally getting back on the road - after spinning tires, etc... trying to get out.
We drive around, and I can't tell if anything is damaged. It seems like everything is functioning as it should. No fluid leaking under the car. Cornering hard seems to be the same. Engine seems to be running fine. Transmission seems to be shifting ok. We checked out a gravel road, tested the AWD, no light flashed so I think that's ok as well. No dummy lights are on either. I did notice that some trim seems to be loose on the rear passenger side wheel well now which was fine before. Checked all the windows, none are cracked or anything.
So, what could that sound have been? Any ideas? I'm afraid with the twisting and torque on the car trying to get out of the ditch that I might have damaged the frame of the vehicle or something. But nothing is showing that it's messed up. Is there a way to know if the frame has been damaged? I'm thinking it's either that, or something with the wheels suspension (struts, shocks, whatever). I'm not very mechanically inclined. lol :-(