Subaru - Outback :: 2009 - Steering Rattle When Turning Left Or Right Over Uneven Surfaces
Jun 25, 2014
I have a 2009 Subaru Outback with 60K miles and this problem has been present since I purchased with 30K miles. When turning left or right over uneven surfaces (like washboard dirt road, potholes, or strips of Botts' dots in a parking garage) there is a loud, audible rattle coming from the front end. It sounds like to metal pipes hitting together. The noise does not happen when driving straight.
Subaru and another garage have inspected. Front struts and sway bar links have been replaced with no effect. CV joints, ball joints have all been inspected with no issues found.
I read on a forum that it may have something to do with the power steering fluid, that when turning there is uneven pressure on both sides and it results in the noise. Possible at the steering column universal joint.
I assume since it only happens to some Subarus that replacing the correct parts will resolve the issue.
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I cannot figure out where the noise is coming from. I cannot duplicate the noise just by shaking the truck even with two guys on each side. It's not a squeak, but more of a clunk or a pop. I can feel it in the floor with my left foot if I press it against the fire wall where it meets the floorboard.
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My outback has 57k miles on it and already needs the front struts and rack replaced (diagnosed today at the Subaru dealership). The car has been making a whining noise in the engine and has been clunking when making turns for the past week. I have also noticed it hasn't been taking bumps as smoothly. They told me that both ends of the rack are leaking and both front struts are leaking. My husband did admit to hitting the curb on the driver side front tire pretty hard while making a u-turn about a month ago, but all other driving is pretty standard. Yes, we drive on dirt roads in the mountains a few times a year for hiking, but don't drive in a manner that I consider wrong. Did the u-turn incident cause this? (hard to believe that would affect both sides of the rack and struts).
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So I just got my new 2015 Elantra SE - and of course, noticing every detail that is different. I feel as if it is 'skidding' when driving on uneven surfaces - and I don't mean off road, just regular I-95 and major roads with humps and bumps in the very old and used roads.
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I took the R in for a passenger side seat issue (recliner not working), and while I was there I had them look into a light knocking noise I was experiencing.
The noise would happen most noticeably at low speeds, over uneven road surfaces...but not over things like speed bumps. I checked under the car, checked the hatch, made sure the spare/tools were secure, and nothing worked.
VW figured out that the noise was coming from the lower rubber rear spring plate, part (1K0-512-297-D). Not sure if it was one side or both, but they replaced both.
All better now, no more noise! Just wanted to make a thread for those of you who like to hunt down and fix noises.
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I have coilovers on my R32 with adjustable control arms and have been noticing a "thud" type of noise when going over uneven surfaces which appears to be coming from the rear.
I actually periodically noticed this noise when I first got the PSS's put on my car when going over larger bumps/dips in the road but lately it is becoming much more pronounced - occurring over uneven surfaces like parking ramps or driving over crappy roads. Over smooth surfaces, no problem.
Thought it was my rear sway bar bushings since they were making a really bad creaking noise, got those replaced and still noticing this damn noise.
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I just replaced both front strut mounts on my 2005 Outback 3.0L. I was 100% sure that it would resolve an ongoing noise/rattle in the front end when driving over bumps and generally rough roads. It worked with some of the noise because the strut mount bearings were shot. But much to my disappointment after putting everything back together I still have a rattle (more like the sound when you shake a shoe box with a tennis ball inside it) in the right front suspension somewhere. When lifted the right front wheel is solid with no wobble left to right or top to bottom so I"m thinking it is not a tie rod but I am not a professional mechanic. Should I take the right front strut back off and check the new mount or is there an easier answer.
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I have a 2001 Subaru outback. Recently I've noticed a rattle when I accelerate, especially when I take off from a dead stop. I sounds like it's coming from the front wheel area. It also occurs sometimes when making a turn and then accelerate. It almost sounds like an object in a box and someone is shaking the box-very noticeable.
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Heard a funny intermittent rattle and my mechanic told me that my check engine light should be going on any time now as my cat converter is bad. The part is about a thousand bucks! Looked on line and see some aftermarket ones from walker and some other retailers. My car has 103K miles on it,.
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I have a 1998 Subaru Outback with 140000 miles. When I begin to turn the car from a stopped position the vehicle shutters . I can not feel anything at speed. The transmission appears to shift smoothly. I only feel the shutter when I accelerate and turn from a stopped position. Can it be the differential?
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We noticed a burnt rubber/oil smell coming from our '01 Subaru Outback, no engine lights were on. When I looked under the hood, all the fluid levels looked good, but I noticed on the left side, about two thirds down the side of the engine, there appears to be a leak of gooey brown oil? from a hose running up over the engine. Do you think this is the source of the smell? What this is, how much it will be to fix or if we can safely drive it to the mechanic (we are about 45 min from town)? See photos here: [URL] ... I tried to zoom in slowly so you could get an idea of the location.
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As I was changing my oil last week I noticed that there was a thick, dark green fluid near my front left shock and on the automatic transmission filter. The fluid appeared to be sprayed on the underbody of the car. I am unable to notice any change in automatic shifting or in the front left shock. The photo shows the filter (?transmission filter) on the top, the shock is at the bottom right. This is slightly behind the left front tire. This was not anywhere else under the car and did not appear to be road grime.
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I bought a new 2011 Outback about 3 weeks ago, and I have around 1500 miles on it.
A couple days ago I started noticing a clicking noise near the right-front wheel area whenever I turn for the first time after I start the engine (releasing handbrake, shift to Drive, etc). This happens only one time per drive, and mostly after I turn to the right for the first time. After hearing that sound, the next time I will hear it is only after I park and shutdown the engine and restart.
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I bought my outback a few months ago from a dealer/mechanic who had fixed the car after it was totaled. So it has a reconstructed title, but it was hit in the back, so all the engine parts were unaffected by the crash. Since I have had the car I have experienced intermittent loss of power steering ability. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to parallel park or turn a corner gracefully, and other times, within the same short trip, the steering will be completely fine and smooth. I have had the issue looked at about three times now by different mechanics. Each time they have either replaced or tightened the belt, which temporarily fixes the problem. But within a few weeks it always comes back. Is there something not keeping the belt tight, or could the issue actually be in the power steering pump?
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I have a 2003 Subaru outback and sometimes when I go to back into a parking space or straighten out after pulling into a parking space my steering wheel becomes incredibly difficult to turn. It used to only do this when I was backing into a space but now it has started doing it when I pull forward into a space as well. This happens most often when I am driving to multiple places and have to park several times over a period of a few hours. I've monitored my power steering fluid and the power steering pump was replaced not too long ago. What's causing this?
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My Outback gets the DTs in the steering wheel. 2003 with 300K highway miles. New tie-rods, brakes, brake master cylinder, alignment & balance (all from great shop with great rep) have failed to eliminate the problem. It comes on suddenly at highway speeds, usually in cold weather (below 20); but not necessarily in snowy conditions. Slowing down to 30/20 mph does not stop the shudder (though it slows and reveals itself as a fierce twitch to the right). Eventually the shudder is accompanied by a rhythmic scraping sound somewhere in the left front wheel well, which maybe is there all along but inaudible at higher speeds.
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A new issue has cropped up with my 2001 H6 Subaru Outback (which I believe is technically a Legacy). We've put so much work into this thing to keep it running and this might be the last nail in the coffin. However, what's going on...
My wife reported to me yesterday that the vehicle was turning itself off while driving. I was not in the car to verify any of this, so this part is anecdotal. After 45 minutes of driving, she said the engine was "hiccuping" and the gages were dropping to zero and then bringing themselves right back up to the current RPM and speed. She said the ABS light came on. The first time the vehicle did this, she reports that it did it many times in rapid succession. She described it as "the gages were going crazy". After turning around to come back home this happened once more, though not in rapid succession. It was a single occurrence of turning off and back on again. She indicated that the vehicle did not require a restart with the key. I suspect that this was because she was driving at highway speed at the time.
She brought it right to the mechanic and - as is the case with all intermittent issues - they were not able to repeat the failure in any way. So, being an engineer, I decided I wanted to experience it for myself and do a few tests.
Today I drove 45 minutes to work, 10 minutes of small town driving, 25 minutes of highway driving, 10 minutes of small town driving. Lucky for me (!), in the first five minutes of driving, the radio cut out, power steering died, and I heard fuses or relays clicking as I was gently braking and gently taking a right turn. I continued the right turn off into a parking spot on the side of the road and stopped the car. I turned the key to the off position, put it into park and restarted the vehicle right away. No problems. All was fine.
The vehicle did not do this again for the entire trip. However, I did perform some tests to see if I could repeat a similar failure with the ignition alone.
1) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at highway speed (~55 mph) will cause the vehicle to kick back into a normal running mode.
2) Turning the ignition off and quickly back on again by hand while rolling at lower speed (~30 mph) will require a restart by turning the key all the way to the "start" position and not just the "on" position.
3) Turning the ignition off with the key (as in 1 and 2) DOES NOT cut out the radio. Note that when the intermittent defect occurs, the radio will cut out and then come back along with the engine and instrument panel.
4) Wiggling and stressing the keys to put strain on the ignition switch doesn't seem to cause anything to happen.
5) The battery is only a few months old and a general inspection of the battery terminals, cabling, and fuses indicates that everything appears to be in tact and clean.
I'm not the most experienced car person, so my terminology is probably a little off and that's all I have for now. I feel like this is a common ground issue and if I could only identify which ground services the instrument panel and radio and spark plugs I could inspect it and clean or replace a connection. My limited research reveals that there are many grounds throughout the engine compartment, though.
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2009 Subraru Impreza Outback Sport (60K miles).. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with my clutch. When I start my car I hear a squealing noise from the engine that sticks around until my car is warmed up. If I depress the clutch while it's warming up (and squealing), it goes away. Bearing?
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I have a 2009 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport with 42k miles. I purchased the vehicle about 2 weeks ago, and since the day I got it i noticed a vibrating noise inside. It is not too loud and so it did not bother me at first, but I have become increasingly more and more annoyed with it. It is constant, as long as the engine in running. It varies in pitch depending on the rpm of the motor, but never goes away. Does not change with the air conditioner on or off, and does not change with the radio on or off. It is not engine noise, and is not noticeable outside the vehicle, but it loud enough that it is heard by all in the car.I took it to the Subaru dealership and they could not pinpoint the noise, and said that the vehicle was sound.I then had a mechanic friend look at it, and he traced it to under the driver's side kick panel, but could not pinpoint it further.
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My husband is now installing the 3rd radiator in my 2009 Subaru Outback. It appears that road debris is being kicked up into the radiator and putting holes in it, which then leaks out fluid. Is there something that is supposed to be under the radiator to protect it from this happening. My husband thinks it is just that the parts are made very cheaply now and therefore not reliable.
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Yesterday, I noticed a rattling sound coming from the entire car a 2002 subaru outback 2.5l 4 cylander (it seems a bit louder on the passenger side but it literally can be heard throughout the car). I was on the expressway and got off and stopped at a red light when the check engine light came on and started to flash and the rpm's dropped rapidly and the needle began to bounce up and down. I pulled into a gas station to check it out more and popped the hood to find that when the car is rattling it is also shaking and rocking the engine of the car from side to side slightly.
When I'm idling the rpm's drop and the car feels like it is going to stall out. Then, as I accelerate, the rpm's barely go above 2000 and jump up quickly between 3000 & 4000. It sounds like a metal on metal rattle with a very slight high pitched whistle and you can hear a fan kick on and the engine try to keep the rpm's up every couple of seconds when the car is stopped. I had the timing belts replaced 2 years ago and it sounds very similar to how it did when they needed to be changed, however, the engine never felt like it was going to stall until yesterday.
When idling the noise gets louder and when accelerating it can still be heard but barely. Also, the rattling has caused the entire car to vibrate all of the time. I noticed yesterday that the oil was low and topped it off, but I don't think that would cause such a hige issue so quickly. When I go uphill, i have a good amount of power but every 30 second or so the car shifts and the rpm's jump lurching the car forward because of the surge of power. Also, when I hit the brakes, my rpm's jump slightly to about halfway above the 1 but the engine does not accelerate.
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