2014 Prius V groans, pops and thunks in the front end... why?

I have a 2014 Prius V and it has some issues related to the front end that I can't figure out....

Problem #1:
There is a slight 'tick' when I decelerate moderately aggressively, and a very audible 'thunk' when I then accelerate (for instance, at a stop sigh). I've not been able to nail this down. It is almost as though there is a bushing that has disappeared and the 'post' is now free to move around in the cavity previously occupied by the bushing. I cannot discern any play in the wheel when I jack up the car. The vehicle does have fairly recent (off-brand) wheel bearing and axles. The bolts for the wheel bearing carriers are tight.

Problem #2:
If I am sitting stationary and I turn the steering wheel back and forth, there is a significant amount of groaning and slight popping noises from the steering setup. It is very similar to what one would hear with low hydraulic steering fluid, but the Prius V does not have a hydraulic steering system; it is all electric. And, again, when I jack up the car and try to detect play in the wheels, I can't detect any.

History:
The vehicle has about 128K miles on it. The strut boots have completely disintegrated and I have some suspicion as to whether or not the struts are the source of the problem(s). I have been mulling over whether or not I should proactively replace the front struts, but I would like to be confident that this is actually the problem before I perform that work. This thought isn't because I'm against doing the struts, but more around the fact that I conceptually feel I should be confident I'm resolving the source of a problem versus the "throw new parts at it and see what works" approach.... Similarly, I'm wondering about the ball joints, but, again, there is no appreciable play in the wheels (left/right or up/down) when the vehicle is jacked up.

Background:
I am not a professional mechanic, but I do hold my own very well. I've done the wheel bearing on the car because they were definitely bad. The axles were replaced at the same time because the axle nuts buggered the threads. I've done ball joints on other vehicles because the boots were completely gone, and also suspension bushings on other cars. The Prius V is different than the Mini Cooper, however, where I can see how the "thunk" (problem #1) would come into play. The lower control arm looks to be fairly easy to visually determine if the bushing is bad, and it doesn't appear to be.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I've tried to be thorough with the description, but if there is something you'd like me to clarify or test, just let me know. Thanks!

 

Great... thanks for the response. One question, though. Is that an issue for *both* problems or only #1 or #2?

Regards.

 

I bought the car about 3 years ago with 100K miles on it. The dominant issue at that time was an increasing growl from a wheel bearing that was going bad. I replaced that and the axles (latter as a result of the nuts damaging the threads). After this, I had a tick/thunk on acceleration (problem #1, not #2). That was an odd one because I torqued (and re-validated) the hub bolts several times. I finally took it to a "real" mechanic who said the bolts were too loose. I asked him what he torqued them to (and mentioned the specs in the service manual, which he also thought were pretty low) and he sheepishly said, "we just used an impact wrench on them...." I wasn't thrill with that answer, of course, and yes... these were very well rated mechanics and I can't say I ever had any issues with them in the past. Still, I am kind of a stickler for torquing correctly.

Anyhow, the thunk on acceleration came back eventually (maybe 8-12 months later) and I checked the hub bolts. They were still tight. Roughly the same time, the groaning and popping (hard to explain the exact noise) started. Both have, frankly, gotten progressively louder. My initial thought was that it was the struts as the rubber boots are gone. But, the car isn't mushy at all when driving nor when I push down on the front wheels. Although the struts may well still be bad, I don't think that is the issue here. I've tried lifting the car and seeing if there is horizontal/vertical play in the wheels, but I haven't been able to discern any in the past. I have not tried that same test since the noises have become more prominent....

At this point, the noise is loud enough that it really does need to be addressed. My wife no longer wants to drive the vehicle and I have to agree that I am not comfortable either. It isn't that I think it is going to fall apart, but something clearly isn't correct and that becomes a safety concern. I can start replacing parts, but that isn't the best way to address the issue. I'd rather have a more logical direction and plan of attack, meaning some identification of logical parts to replace (or diagnostic steps to identify the faulty part(s) and then replace that/those.

I have ordered some sway links per rjparker's suggestion. I have some surgery coming up and some home construction going on at the same time (it has been the summer from hell) so it might take me a month or more before I actually get to the link installation though.

 

No. There is no evidence of a collision, and the CarFAX was clean. The previous owner was the original purchaser of the vehicle and a fairly wealthy physician. Although that doesn't mean a ton, my strong suspicion is that she/they would have gotten rid of the car in a significant accident if there were any. It was dominantly used as a freeway commuter for about a 30 mile (one way) trip. This was a private party sale, and they vehicle had been regularly serviced at the local Toyota dealership. When I purchased my other V, I did so from the same dealership; I had my vehicle serviced there during the warranty period and, although expensive, I never had any complaints with their competency.