Today when I took a 90 degree left turn at about 20 mph or so, I heard (and also felt) a pretty horrid grinding noise coming from the front.
I went to experiment in an empty parking lot and I can easily reproduce this noise at both left and right turns even at speeds of 10-12 mph and taking sharp turns. Like almost turning the wheel all the way to one direction while going at about 10 mph. As I said, this grinding can not only be heard but felt as well. And no, it's not the car sliding sideways on gravel and stuff.

What the hell might this be? I doubt that this would be normal - did anybody else experienced something similar?

 

Tamas,

Do you know about the snapping noise TSB ?

 

Do you have stock tires and wheels? Any mods to your suspension? Did you hit any curbs or potholes recently?

I hope that snapping noise mentioned in the TSB cannot be felt they way you're describing.

 

Yes, stock tires and wheels - no suspension modifications, and I have not hit anything.

WHealy, thanks for the link - that snapping noise TSB would be applicable to my VIN, however what I hear is not snapping but grinding. Now, since the TSB describes that the snapping noise is proportional to the revolution of the tires, snapping MIGHT sound as grinding if fast enough... I don't know.

Interesting thing regarding that anti-corrosion treatment. So the fix just removes this layer? Weird... one would think that we WANT anti-corrosion treatment and not remove it.

In case this is indeed what I'm experiencing, I suppose I dont have to get that layer removed... I mean, this noise should mean no harm, right?

If anyone else has differing ideas, please post. Thanks!

 

For a moment there I thought I had the answer, I thought you were cornering hard at 50-60 miles/hr. Thought it might might be yourself farting cause you were so happy you about chit On the serious side have never had that feeling sound in mine yet, or ever I hope.

 

can you hear the noise just by cranking the wheel over or just when driving?

 

Just when driving.

 

grrrr.., harder to diagnose then since you cant just stand out sidde the car to track down the location its coming from. does it sound like left or right side?

 

Tamas,

I would have described the noise i heard on mine in similar corning as a grinding as opposed to a snapping. But I still figured that this TSB applied. I only experienced it once and had decided as you suggested that I was just going to leave the coating on. When you think about how long you've already had your "8" before this even came up, I would think you would have minimal encounters going forward. Glad the TSB post helped.

 

i experience this same problem, it creates a snapping sound, and jerks the steering wheel when it happens... feels like the whole car is getting pushed about an inch... i'm about to go to the dealership and setup an appointment to take care of that amongst other small service jobs

 

I get a groaning coming from the steering column when I turn quickly to the left or right but not slowly it needs a quick steering response to make the sound. don't know what's causing it tho.

 

OK, I know this is kinda obvious to ask, but could it be your DSC kicking in? That sounds sort of like a grinding noise to me.

 

Had to revive this old thread since the car just got back from the dealer - and the culprit turned out to be EXACTLY this. It is the DSC.
Felt kinda stupid when they said the noise goes away when the DSC is turned off - as they tested in some other cars they had on the lot.
On the other hand, I still don't feel THAT stupid, since first they had no idea what's the reason for the noise, and they were hunting for codes in the computer and asked the Mazda Tech Line. They were equally clueless
During the process, they replaced the differential fluid for free which is probably a good thing :D
Hope this will help someone hearing the same noise and freaking out what it might be - it is normal.

 

Take your car out for a slow drive for about 15 minutes. Park somewhere safe and measure the temperature of the RIMS (just use your hand, its accurate enough). If the suspicious side is hotter, then it could need a brake caliper kit or just a clean up. I had experienced the same thing where the brake dust clogged up and prevent the brake piston from returning to the original position after braking. This accounts for the rubbing and hotter wheel. Hope this help