Loud clicking noise
 

It started few months ago, I heard a clicking sound coming from the rear drivers side area. I'm assuming its from the wheel. At first it randomly make noise, as time went by, it's more constant. I cant' figure out what's wrong. I also took it to the dealership, they couldn't figure it out. It's scaring me because I'm afraid something might happen at random while I'm driving. Anyone else run into this problem? Any help would be much appreciated.

what speeds? over bumps?
Any damage on the tire?

do the clicks get faster as you speed up? are you sure its coming from your rear ? :naughty:

did they actually hear it?

The dealership should be expert on those, but they don't know whats wrong with your car?! lol

Anyway, all i could think of is your wheel bearings is making that noise. :dunno:

To be fair, you know but a fraction of the details.

yellowRX... Was the mechanic able to recreate the noise? Or is it an intermittent issue?

I was thinking it's the bearings as well. The clicking dose get faster as I speed up. as for the dealership, I really doubt that they heard anything. during that time, it would only click when the car has been driven for a while. Now it clicks every time I take it out, at times it even goes away for a few minutes.

Have you checked for a foreign object stuck in the tread of a tyre .

yes I have. I've even changed from my aftermarket rims to the stock, same thing happen.

What you describe is indicative of a failing cv joint.

This is way more likely than a wheel bearing... Bad bearings will make a grinding/humming/howling type noise.

Is that really expensive to fix?

Also, is it dangerous to be driving my car like that?

Well... If it is a CV joint that is making the noise, it's only a matter of time until it fails. Whether that's next week or two years from now, there's no way to say.

As for the cost, the joint itself is probably about $40, and I'm guessing the labor would be another $150. A complete axle is about $130, and I'm guessing the labor would be around $100. So, usually, the price to replace the entire axle isn't much more than to replace only one joint. (Each axle has two CV joints.)

NOTE: The above prices are my educated guesses, based on my experience with other cars. You'll have to do your own research to get a more accurate answer.

Thanks for following up on this thread and helping me. Just to update everyone, I took the car in today. The problem is now fixed. The problem was rust build up on the axle, and the bolts went bad as well. They took all the rust off and re greased it to keep the rust from coming back. I asked if this was a common problem, and they replied that this is actually very strange and dose not really happen.