While on a road trip with my wife this last week, we noticed a noise coming from the driver's side of the engine compartment when decelerating. While accelerating, there is no noise and it seems to be running fine but as we went on, while coasting, the noise starts and continues until we are parked. It slows down with the rotation of the wheels and there is an occasional "clunk" when we start up again. Not every time, just occasionally. I'm hoping it's not the transmission on the whole failing and is something that is more minor. When I checked the ATF level, it was at the "min" line. I was able to add a little more that I had in the car but I've not been able to get more since we were in a remote part of Utah and could not make it to a dealership before Sunday/Memorial Day and I can't get more until tomorrow. Nothing changes during turning so I think I've ruled out CV joints or wheel bearings. Has anyone had a problem similar to this? The car just hit 90000 miles on this trip and I was planning on changing the ATF and filter once we got back since it is due. Do you think that this will help the issue? If it is a failed CVT, does anyone know a cost estimate? Any information would help inform me of what I should do to get it fixed so all replies are appreciated. Thank you so much!!!

 

All of this is just food for thought, pick what makes sense.

Clunkski, eh?
Lets keep the CVT in mind and get that level up ASAP but in hopes that the rubberband on the pulleys isnt your clunker, lets press on. The initial thought is fuel slosh (just a thought,) but ruling out suspension/steering without checking would be silly!
Just lift up the front end, grasp a wheel with both hands and shake it in all directions. Up and down = ball joint, left n right = tie rods, all around = wheel bearing. You want, ofcourse, zero floppiness in any direction.
The stock steering components are beefy, so I'd be a little surprised but hey..
Alignment can also be an issue if its bad, believe it or not that can cause a clunk, and in synergistic fashion so can struts!.
Go to the corners of the car!! Push down on each corner (with gusto, the springs are stiff) and watch for a bouncy response. Its.. actually hard to tell with this one. Does the car bump steer?

Well! Thats all I got for tonight.

 

Man I just figured it out and I feel like a complete moron. I came home and drove it around the block and for the first time, was able to hear a sound from the exterior of the car and it was coming from the wheel. I was immediately relieved as I then figured that it wasn't the CVT but was still perplexed as to the exact source. After I got back home, I jacked up the front driver side and with the engine in neutral, I turned the wheel by hand and found it to be a little shaky and then did something I will ALWAYS do when I hear a weird noise: I checked the lug nuts. Holy shit were they loose. I dropped the car back down to tighten them and then did another test drive and boom, the sound was gone. I feel so terrible since I drove the thing 1300 miles in that condition and now I'm worried about lasting damage that I may have just caused by not checking the simplest of details in the first place!! Thank you so much for your response and care. That being said, if I DID do damage, would that be easy to fix with regards to the wheel mount?

 

I've been there.. Scary, aint it?

Glad you got it sorted, I should have thought to mention the lugs. If you're concerned about damage, take the wheel off and inspect the studs, they would be subject to the brunt of it. If you see fit, take it to get the alignment inspected when possible, I know Evans at least wont charge you if its fine.

A good habit, after installing a wheel or wheels, lower the vehicle to where the tire/s are touching the street enough to not spin and torque all wheels. Then lower the rest of the way, remove jack, and torque all 4 again. The extra sweat ain't for us, you know?

Truly glad you're alright.

Edit: if you do need to replace studs, it would be easier to replace the wheel hub assembly, since studs are pressed in and out. Hub assys. (From memory) go for around 100 bucks via rockauto or other honest distributor. Centric is a common brand for that stuff, and based upon my experience, they're good. Real nice fit and finish. You'd pay near double locally.

 

Lukexbeitel:
What yr / model / trans FIT do you have? Kind of wondering about your "CVT" notation. I wish everyone would start out there engine, trans, accessory posts that way.

If you use a torque wrench on the lug nuts, you'll 'know' that they are tight (80 lb-ft) plus they'll be consistent (all 4 nuts the same tightness). Personally, I didn't used to use a torque wrench and I warped a front rotor on a 2000 truck. Now I use it on the wheels, oil drain plug, AT fluid changes, etc ('11 Sport AT).

 

The wheel bearing and perhaps the lower ball joint might have overly stressed during those 1.3k. More than likely there is no damage done other than normal wear and tear of a 90k vehicle.

 

This is a good educational thread for everyone here, so don't feel bad. Glad the tire didn't fall off. Thanks for posting.

Given you drove so much you might need the tire rebalanced and the front end realigned.

Tell the shop what happened and ask them to inspect the tire, wheel, hub/threads, suspension, steering, brakes etc. for health & safety purposes.

That's a lot of power!

 

It's a 2013 Sport 5 spd AT. I definitely need to have the alignment done since It already feels a bit wonky so I'll be sure to have that happen in the future. I'm also about do a spark plug change and ATF flush and change. As far as the spark plugs go, is there a secret to get the corner moldings off of the upper cowl without breaking the little white clips that hold them in place? It looks just a touch tricky after I watched a video online.

 

The videos and links I found most useful are here (first post, item #6).
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...fit-sport.html

The 3 types of clips you should have on hand before starting are in the third post. We replaced quite a few clips despite extreme care.

 

Thank you for the post, same thing just happened to me today, I'll be visiting the tire place in the morning to let them know.

 

I bought a cheap torque wrench from the local cheap tool shop. I rotate tires on every oil change and torq spec 'em.

As far as damage, I would look at the wheel and check to see if the holes are out of round in addition to the lug studs themselves.
Oh. In addition to out of round, check to see if they are enlarged.

 

This just happened to me, loose lug nuts. It was a significant problem that I just did not expect. We took the car to a shop a few days ago, and apparently they didn’t tighten the lug nuts on the driver’s side wheel.

 

I change my own wheels all the time. Even when a shop torqued them down properly, sometimes after you drive it hard enough to heat up the wheels, especially the fronts, they can back off.
I basically keep the torque wrench in my car for a week or two after I swap wheels, and I always go for a little rip and re check them after an install.
I also like about 82Ft/Ibs.

 

Torque spec for my Wife's car is 76 ft/lbs but because I don't trust my cheap torque wrench from the cheap tool store, I set it at about 80 ft/lbs. I'd rather be slightly tight than slightly loose. I don't recheck after I swap wheels but I do torque spec them twice per wheel before I quit for the day.