Troubleshooting Tips: Car Makes Noise When Turning – Why?

You might become frantic with worry when each time you turn on your car, it starts making strange noises.

In times like those you might not have the money to send your car to a professional mechanic right away? Here’s a quick guide that will help you better identify the problem and see if it requires immediate attention or helps you see that there’s nothing to really worry about.

Troubleshooting Tips

Car noises are a main indicator of things not running quite well within your car. It is vital that when spotting the source of the noise, you perform hearing isolation in order to better detect the problem.

Once you’ve identified the noise source you can troubleshoot for these issues.

If the noise comes from the engine…

From all of the noises you get, the one to be most concerned about is the knocking noise. This can mean that some parts are worn out and got loose, which can lead to more complicated issues that can cause accidents.

Check for the sounds that have a low frequency and have a more set rhythm and increases with engine speed.

A sound of this nature can also mean a low oil supply, therefore check for a sudden oil light blink.

After the knocking noise, the second most concerning noise will be a ticking or clacking noise that is high frequency and way faster than the first one.

This might indicate loose valve parts that can be caused by the collapsing of the hydraulic lifter.

When these lifters are faulty the oil coming through them leaks out, producing that ticking noise as a result.

You might want to keep an eye on using the proper type of oil. If that doesn’t solve the problem then maybe the lifters need to be replaced, along with the cam, to stop further damage from occurring.

If the noise comes from somewhere near the engine…

There are times when the noise doesn’t necessarily come from the engine, as it can be produced by closer engine parts like

Loose torque converter bolts
Cracked flex plates

In this case if your car is automatic, the torque converter bolts are a good place to start. You might also want to check the flex plates and see if they’re not cracked.

If a noise is made when depressing the clutch pedal…

This only happens to manual transmissions. Maybe your thrust bearing might have worn out as the pressure applied on the crankshaft each time you press the clutch will have caused the bearings to wear out overtime.

You might as well see movement of the crank pulley when pressing the clutch, so in order to trace that you might need help from a person who can observe if there is any odd movement during clutch operation.

If the noise comes from the transmission…

If your car runs on automatic transmission, noises are usually consistent, and it can come in the form of a whine to a growl during transmission operation, you might as well hear a tick or a thump.

In these cases, you need to pay close attention to when the noises generated:

The engine is at idle
Shifting gears
Change from drive to reverse
Driving at a particular speed

The most common solution to these noises can be to change the transmission fluid.

On the other hand, if your car has a manual transmission the noise is split into:

Clutch noises
Transmission noises

In the first one, identify whether the noise comes from the pedal or from the transmission as clutch only noises come either from the clutch pedal return springs or the clutch linkage itself.

In the second one, take a look at the clutch linkage as some of the linkages are adjustable and they can be adjusted to solve the problem.

If the noise comes from the suspension…

A plethora of noises can fit in this area, the main ones being: