Avalon 2005-12 :: Clunk From Rear Suspension In Cold Weather
Jan 28, 2014
I purchased the Avalon at the end of the 2012 year. It now has 16,000 miles on it. The car is garaged outside in Massachusetts. On November 10, 2012 (month after purchase) and yesterday, January 28, 2014, the car was brought back to the dealership for a rear suspension clunking noise that happens during cold weather (32 to -10 degrees Fahrenheit). Both times the mechanics say they cannot find anything wrong, nothing is loose with the suspension, and there are no recalls about it.
The best way to describe the noise is when going over potholes in cold weather, I hear a clunk from rear suspension (both left and right side) like something is loose in the trunk (trunk was completely empty yesterday). The sound is not too loud, but audible enough to notice. The rear struts perform well, and the car does not bottom out. As soon as the weather warms up, the noise goes away. It is very really annoying to hear this clunk and the dealership not be able to identify the problem.
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I have a 2011 Avalon Limited and live in the Dallas area. Are used the auto setting on my thermostat all the time. I noticed that in cold weather, the AC almost always switches on as part of the thermostat function. I don't understand that. For example, its 30 degrees outside, & I select Auto and set the temperature to 70 degrees, and the green AC light goes on. I want to avoid using more gas than I need to use, so I'm wondering why this might be so. It's a simple matter to simply press the AC and turn it off, but I'm wondering why it goes on in the first place.
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I notice if I drive on anything other than a smooth road the suspension squeaks a lot. Is this normal when its -30C or -22F? Car has 30000km and is 2.5 years old if that makes a difference.
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It's been extremely cold in the northeast recently (<20 degrees), and I've noticed that my suspension has been very noisy (clunking type noises) when I'm driving on uneven roads or bumps. Is this normal? Is there something I can do to alleviate it?
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Ok so I replaced my upper strut mount and my struts in the front along with the shocks in the rear.......... the squeak is still present when i go over a rougher bump and it is cold ..................SO i went on hma service and saw this...................
Symptom "Squeak or grunt-noise from the front suspension, occurs more in cold ambient temperatures-more noticeable over rough roads or when turning"
Suspect Area "Front stabilizer bar"
Remedy "Under these conditions, the noise is acceptable."
Wow so not acceptable i am going to try and lubricate this piece... Will report back
[URL] ....
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We have a 2007 Avalon XL with 65K miles that we bought 2 years ago from my parents with 40K miles. Last summer at about 50k miles it developed a clunking noise in the left front when you hit a bump. An independent Toyota mechanic diagnosed it as a bad upper front strut mount and he wanted to change the struts along with the mounts. We didn't have the money so we waited.
When I put the snow tires on in the fall, the noise went away. All I did was install a winter set of wheel/tires and I also turned the wheel/tire left-to-right to see if I could find anything loose but I didn't.
The noise came back about a month ago so when I had the snow tires rotated I asked our tire mechanic to check it out. He said he couldn't find anything definite but thought it was the sway bar links. We didn't have him change them because he wasn't sure.
Now the noise is gone again and we have just put new tires on it. I want to have an alignment because the previous set of tires wore more on the inside but am afraid to have it aligned if we need to replace some parts first. What could be causing this intermittent left front clunking noise?
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Just bought a used 2010 toyota avalon with 66000 km on it. so far really like the car but finding small issue with suspension.
over small bumps or cracks in pavement, quite a bit of thumping is heard from the suspension. further, when on concrete highways, the ride doesn't settle down. the whole body is constantly vibrating and jiggling. I've not experienced this before with any other vehicle I've driven over the same roads.
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I've been having this ongoing clunk in the front of my 06 Avalon for about a month now. When I slightly hit the brake i'm getting almost a metal on metal clunk sound from right in front of the drivers side wheel area, or possibly on the other side wheel well area, and not sure if its related but a popping noise when i turn my wheel a certain way it seems.
Replaced:
Both CV axles
Both Rotors
Both transmission mount and engine mount (left and right side)
Dog Bone torque bar on top
Drivers side caliper
Control arms
Struts were replaced 6 months ago, and reused old mounts, so I took it out and replaced the strut mount with the bearing on passenger side only.
Control arms have been replaced 4 or 5 times in 6 months because they keep cracking, they are being installed correctly and still having the issue, they're slightly cracked right now (many tiny little rips in the rubber rear bushing of the front control arms) perhaps this is the problem and they're flexing too far? They're Dorman and ordered off of amazon. I have 2 replacement ones arriving tomorrow and will throw them in.
124k miles. I have had multiple shops look at it and cant figure it out, they said everything is tight. One shop said it was internal transmission.
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Every year about his time for the last six years my 04 rear suspension starts to clunk. Sounds like a spring trying to reseat itself. I will raise the rear end, slide under on my 40 year old car, shake out of the suspension components and won't discern a thing. Never have been able to reproduce that clunking. I suspect it is the spring seats. By April, the clunking will be gone so I think the ambient temp has something to do with the noise. The strut mounts seem to be tight to the body so is the wear in the spring isolator or other components?
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I was driving home today from work and everything seemed to be going well until I approached a bump a few blocks from my house. I was literally driving 3mph over the speed bump. When my read was coming down the speed bump I heard a loud metal clunk come from the rear. I tried looking underneath the car with a flashlight but no success. It's not a constant clunk. Only when I go over a speed bump and certain cracks or potholes in the street.
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Have an 07 Mazda6 with 110k miles. It developed a clunk in the right rear suspension about 6 months ago. Constant clunk at low speeds, whether small bumps, snow-covered roads, etc. Been to five different mechanics with no luck.
So far, the rear shocks have been replaced; made no difference. Stabilizer bar and end links were removed from car and driven carefully around the parking lot; no difference. New control arm lateral links installed; no difference. Top shock mount plate is tight, and rear coil springs removed and inspected during that process; no difference. No brake pad retaining pins are missing.
When I sit in the back of the car with the seats down, the sound seems to come from the top of the shock mounting area, but perhaps the noise is just traveling up through that area of the car.
Could it be a bad lower control arm bushing? Each mechanic checks them with a bar and reports little play. But I don't know where to go next. Car drives fine, but the noise is maddening.
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After having lowering springs installed, I've been noticing a clunk noise in the rear suspension when driving over dips in the road (eg. getting out of the parking lot onto the main road). It feels like having your wheels lifted in mid-air and being dropped onto the road.
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For the last year or so i have been annoyed severely by a clunking knocking sound from the rear (possibly passenger side) of the car. The noise occurs when there is torsion occurring or a sudden change of direction. I can go over a huge speed bump or pothole and not hear a thing yet the slightest change in direction or torsion will cause this extremely annoying heavy metal clunking knocking sound. I tightened every suspension system related screw in the rear of the car and the noise is still present.
The car is lowered on H&R springs (approx. 1.4 drop) so im wondering if maybe there is an additional stress that has been torturing the sway bar links for the last 3 years causing this noise. Or could it be the shocks (which are working properly)?
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My 2005 Prius shifts into Neutral, "N", when I put it either into Drive, "D", or Reverse, "R", during Cold weather, mid 20's and below. It will only stay in "B" to drive, and I have to hold the shifter in "R" to back up or "D" to drive. After the car warms up while driving 15-20 minutes in "B", I can shift it into "D" and it will stay there. I normally start the car and let it warm up in the morning for 10-15 minutes on cold days, below 25F but still I'm only able to drive it in "B" until it's ready. I just moved to Montana after driving this car in normal Southern California driving conditions. It happened while vacationing in Montana during the winter of 2007 a few times but it didn't bother me since I wasn't living there. I reported to Toyota but they couldn't do anything since the weather wouldn't co-operate. This car is still under 70,000 miles.
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My car is 2007 Avalon(Limited). I have a problem with my A/C.
When I go out from work (at outside temperature of 95 F to 100 F ) I turn the A/C ON, it blows a nice cold air. and then when I stop at the traffic light for 4 minutes or so, the A/C start blowing a hot air(or air without any cooling). then I a had to pull over and turn it OFF and then turn it ON again. so it will become cold again. sometimes it continue blowing a nice cold air, and sometimes it just stop cooling and blowing a hot air for a while and then become cold again. the hot air its like its without the A/C sign turned green but its actually ON.(it happened everyday for a month now)
In the morning(7 am, 80 F), I switch the A/C on and move on to work, it took me around 50 min by car from my house to work. but after around 40 min it became hot again.(not everyday)
Note: Before this problem by 4 months, the ac in the driver side was hot and the passenger side was cold. and I add some refrigerant(Freon) in it and it become OK again.
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How to diagnose what I think is a failing alternator?
Here are the symptoms:
- Hard starting in cold weather
- Battery not at full voltage when truck is parked (usually around 11.5-12 volts. I have been putting a charger on it some nights)
- Lights seem to dim when I've got accessories running, like heater fan, heated seats etc. Lights get brighter with engine RPM, like when pulling away from an intersection.
What's my next step to diagnose this? I did a search, and didn't see anything. My battery is probably still under warranty, so if that's the issue, it should be a free fix. How hard is it to install an alternator in a 2005 with 5.4L engine?
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When car is cold and leave the house a nasty smell emits from the ventilation system. I have replaced the cabin air filter 2 weeks ago and it seems to smell only when the car is cold. Once warmed up is fine. Is there another filter that I need to replace I just wonder where that old smell comes from.
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I have this problem for some time already. Most of the time my AC works great - blowing cold air as it should. But sometimes it starts blowing "normal" air instead of cold. To fix that I have to turn OFF and then ON the AC again by pressing the AC button.
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I have a 2005 king ranch and have a clunk coming from the back over bumps/heaves in the road. It doesn't happen all the time but often enough. I just replaced the shocks, that worked a little but didn't solve the problem. Now thinking rear sway bar end links? Anything I can check/inspect?
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Alright, dodge grand caravan 3.8. Year: 05' ... Just broke 100k miles on this thing, last time i changed the plugs i noticed plug 2 had oil all down in it. I completely forgot about the problem cause i got side tracked with bad sway bar bushings. Anyways, what is the cause of the oil leakage? It has gotten so bad that I am blowing smoke when its cold, even is warm weather. There is also caked on oil and dirt on a lot of the parts down the front left side of the motor. Blown head gasket? Bad valve cover gasket? I want the best way to approach this . The smoke is white, but not enough smoke to be a completely blown head gasket.
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My 2005 Accord V-6 makes a howling (actually a loud whine) when started in very cold weather (e.g., below 25 degrees). The sound goes a way after a few miles driving. It appears to come from a small "pump" looking thing at the top and on the left (facing the car) of the engine, which is attached to a pulley. My mechanic - although he did not actually hear it - says it's nothing to worry about; it's just the cold.
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