Hit a curb, now hearing strange noise.

this happened to me when my 17 y.o. son had my car and hit a curb in my wife's olds intrigue. car made a funny sound for a year, and after replacing the wheel bearing $400. and the driveshaft $350. (mechanic was grasping at straws and my wallet) the sound was still there and that's when we traded in for our first camry. i hope you have better luck, all the best!

 

I agree that is reasonable to think that either a halfshaft (with constant velocity joints at both ends) or a wheel bearing was damaged. So both should be examined.

 

Just curious, did you happen to check for this noise before your mishap? Maybe it was already there but now you're paying more attention because you're wondering...?

Patrick is probably right, but don't overlook the simple possibilities.

Do you have plastic wheel trims? Try pulling them off and see if it goes away.

Also, wheels sometimes make these noises when wheel nuts or bolts are getting loose. I'd pull the most probable offending wheel off, clean the contact areas of any dust etc, check that the threads etc are clean and running freely all the way (run them all the way in when the wheel is off to make sure), put the wheel back on and check the bolts are correctly tightened. See if that helps.

 

Clicking is usually cv joint. Bearing will quickly become wup wup sound at specific speed.

 

Hi there Hollywood Cole,

I've been wondering about this noise since my last post, and wondering what it turned out to be. Like me, you've just recently bought your car and are trying to figure out what is normal, and what might be the sign of some problem. I've now got a leaking engine coolant pump (no mistaking that!), booked for replacement tomorrow, but still learning the other foibles.

Your noise does sound a bit strange. If it's clicking but happens when wheels straight ahead and not noticeably different when turning, I'd say it's not CV joints. CV joints usually wear from two causes - high milage while well maintained, or, much lower milage while running with broken boots (badly maintained). In that case, the grease flies out, and water and dirt get in, causing rapid wear. But again, shows up mostly when turning, as click-click-click... Very regular, timed to wheel speed.

If you're keen, check your CV boots. Turn your wheels hard one way so you can get a better look at the boots. If one has split, expect to see lots of grease around the inside of the wheel etc, and you should see the boot gaping open, and grease around the boot as well. Or, get a mechanic to check them...

In your first post you said it sounds like a brake noise. Do you mean a sound like brake pads rubbing slightly, a kind of shh- shh- shh- noise while rolling slowly without braking? I'm not an expert on the Prius front axle assembly, but if it's that, it could indicate a bent stub axle, most often caused by hitting a curb with the wheels already turned- like when turning around in a street, misjudging and hitting the curb with the side of the wheel. The suspension has nowhere to go in that situation and the axle is likely to bend, whereas running straight up over a curb, the suspension is free to move up and absorb the force - and is also cushioned by the air in the tyre. Reminds me of when I ran over a brick on the motorway at 60MPH, in a rear wheel drive Toyota wagon I had back then. The front wheel made it over no problem, but the rear wheel, with all the mass of the rear axle, couldn't move fast enough and crushed the side wall against the rim, puncturing the tyre. Smashed the brick as well, but that was little consolation.

Anyway, if you have a bent stub axle, that will cause problems and needs to be repaired. I guess a wheel alignment shop might be the best bet - ask them if they can check for bent stub axles, and if Yes, get them to check both sides. If they say it's the right side, they might be telling the truth, though that is, of course, the most likely side in a LHD country. Of course, it's always possible that the damage occurred before you bought the car.

Do you have wheel trims - did you you check them?

And the wheel nuts?

 

I drove out of a parking lot but it wasn't an exit, it was the curb. The curb was not abrupt and so the car went up it (the curb)and then the car hit the curb with the undercarriage. The car was stuck. A couple of good people came by and tried to get me to reverse the car hard but it did not work. Then a big truck tried to pull it backwards but it only budged about 2 inches. Finally I called a tow truck. When I started the car back it did not run right. When the engine kicks on it runs rough. It only does this when I accelerate or when the engine first kicks on. The car actually shakes a bit. I'm so upset and I just would like some idea of what could have happened so I can determine what to expect.

 

maybe you pinched the exhaust pipe.

 

There is no point in guessing - you need to look under the car for damage.

 

that would take all the fun out of it.