Intermittent crackling noise

I would check the engine/trans torque stut mount.

Does it do this only when the ICE is running, or does it happen on pure electric?

Tom

Actually it is when ICE is running

I am sorry, it's actually the ICE. Not electric, as far as I can tell. It happens when the ICE is running.

In that case it's more likely to be engine mounts or something mechanical like that.

Tom

Thank you. I notice actually it does it in ICE more of the time. And then after the car has been on for a while it does it in electric-only on. It is kind of strange that it does it in both- although it does it more intermittently in electric-only mode, and more consistently will it happen when the ICE is on.

At first I thought it was electric-only because that is when I first noticed it. And then it does it more when the ICE is on. So it is a little confusing.

As reported, this is inconsistent enough that you won't get much meaningful help from us. You may need to visit the dealer, assuming that this really is a problem and not just a normal noise.

Tom

I owned a 1977 Chevrolet Monza with a large 5 liter V8 ingine, which they "shoehorned" into a basically Vega unibody designed for a 4 cylnder engine.

For years, I heard a "cracking" noise, when the car downshifted. I looked and looked for 11 years and couldn't find where the noise came from.

One winter in 1988, the the right lower control arm broke from its mounting. The sheet metal unibody had completely torn off. Luckily, I was able to drive it to a car dealer and still got $1,000 of the trade-in.

Metal fatigue can take years to show up. It's called poor design and "unintended consequences."

Age counts. The old 40 years old C-130's that they are using to fight forest fires out West are failing because of "metal fatigue."