thumps and thuds over bumps

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FikseRxSeven

Member
before i complain to the dealer, i would like to get your opinions about what im feeling in my car over bumps.


not sure if anyone else is feeling it or my shocks are really defective... I notice that whenever i go over light bumps i hear a thump from the rear wheels, and feel the bump through my seat. and the larger the bump, the louder the thud, and the more you feel. and over a series of bumps, it almost feels like the suspension doesnt settle and just bounces around, almost like the tires are over inflated (which i checked and was good at 36psi each wheel on 17's).

I am not saying that it ruins the ride, but it sometimes gets annoying and i keep thinking in my head that its broken, if others can atest that their cars feel the same... maybe ill stop stressing hehe.

thanks guys
 
my exhaust pipe hits the lateral link from the suspension. I think my struts are bad because the car bounces a couple times when pushed down on the right front and back. that's my rattle and the thud i get, i'm assuming, is from the flexing of the right rear wheel. since the strut doesn't give any resistance it just shoots open THUD!
 
What model do you have? !7's mean nothing if you have mediocre tires. I have a GT, 07 on 20's and it bumps a bit, but they are low profile tires. There are things that will make bumping sounds, like loose items in the stowage area of the back, and loose under body items like exhaust/hitch. If you go with a softer rubber in a tire it can reduce road noise and jumping, but handling will be effected.
 
FikseRxSeven said:
before i complain to the dealer, i would like to get your opinions about what im feeling in my car over bumps.


not sure if anyone else is feeling it or my shocks are really defective... I notice that whenever i go over light bumps i hear a thump from the rear wheels, and feel the bump through my seat. and the larger the bump, the louder the thud, and the more you feel. and over a series of bumps, it almost feels like the suspension doesnt settle and just bounces around, almost like the tires are over inflated (which i checked and was good at 36psi each wheel on 17's).

I am not saying that it ruins the ride, but it sometimes gets annoying and i keep thinking in my head that its broken, if others can atest that their cars feel the same... maybe ill stop stressing hehe.

thanks guys
Click to expand...

I don't notice any of this. I am assuming you have the 18" wheels/tires? The CX-9 only comes with either 18" or 20" The 18" tires recommended pressure is 36psi and the 20's are 34 psi. What type of vehicle did you have before? Could it be you are not use to a large SUV with sport suspension?
 
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rk2112 said:
I don't notice any of this. I am assuming you have the 18" wheels/tires? The CX-9 only comes with either 18" or 20" The 18" tires recommended pressure is 36psi and the 20's are 34 psi. What type of vehicle did you have before? Could it be you are not use to a large SUV with sport suspension?
Click to expand...

very possible that i am just not used to suv suspension.

my other cars are a honda fit which has a soft suspension, and a 3rd gen rx7 with coilovers.

so you guys would agree that the suspension on the cx9 is on the stiffer side compared to the average car?
 
I'd say the CX-9 has a firm ride, but it doesn't make any thumping or thudding noises when I go over bumps. It's actually about the most solid feeling vehicle I have ever owned. If you feel something in the suspension doesn't feel right, or maybe something in the exhaust system is loose, your dealer should not have a problem checking it out. My dealer is always very happy to answer any questions I have or check something out if I don't think it's right. Take it to your dealer and have them look it over and test drive it...
 
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One of the best things you can do is find a section of road near the dealership that ALWAY makes the vehicle do "that certain thing". Then take the service tech with you and show him/her EXACTLY what you are talking about. If the mechanic can't immediately find something, the service tech can then drive the mechanic over the same section of road. It rarely takes them more than a few minutes to find it that way.
 
I have a secondary "clomping" sound coming from the right front of the car after going over raised tar strips, like a speed bump. Not metallic, but kind of a clomping sound. My dealer deliverd the car with 45psi, and it was really bad then. Since then, I lowered the psi to 32 and it is much less obvious. I posted a new thread with the same complaint, but thought I would toss out my .02 here as well.
 
Update: 1 Year Later

Still have the front suspension clunking/thumping noise. Still reading posts here and on Edmunds about the sounds. Still hearing all sorts of bulls*** from dealers. $40K for a car with this problem, three years on and NO TSB??? WTF? Mazda HAS A PROBLEM with the front suspension. There is probably just one thing out of tolerance or spec, one bushing that is not the right size of some attachment point that is loose................. How is it after this SAME COMPLAINT, over and over and over again in every MAZDA CX-9 forum, that the issue is not being addressed by Mazda? Surely the dealers are getting tired of the complaint. Isn't there anyone on this board that knows or can find out what the REAL mechanics at the dealers are saying about this? One year later, I love my car - but I am now losing my patience with the front end noise.
 
Interesting...

I just took my 08 CX-9 GT (I replaced the 20s with 19s) to the dealership for an oil change. Mentioned that I've been experiencing a strange clunk / knock in my front left axle area. This happens quite a bit when I'm turning 90 degrees into my garage when I straighten the wheel out -- happens about 50% of the time. Also happens sometimes when hitting dips or potholes (more so when the left side is lower than the right). I took the service manager out for a spin, and of course couldn't reproduce the knock even though it happens on a daily basis.

I turned down the volume on the stereo all the way so that we could hear better... and I noticed a creaking noise when coming to stops, etc. He was actually expecting to hear a noise like that. The service manager told me that they are having issues on the CX9 with the front suspension and that there is a service bulletin out there about it. He said it takes some time for it to show up as the suspension loosens up over time (mine has around 20k on it), but they've seen quite a few CX9s in the shop with that creaking kind of a noise.

I actually came to the board to find the service bulletin for the details so that I'm informed.... will let you guys know if I can track it down.
 
I do see some other mentions of the groaning noise w/ the struts -- which I believe is the issue mentioned. (The service manager did mention a problem with a bushing).

However, I was unable to track down a TSB.


Still not sure if my clunk / knock noise will go away when the groan is remedied... but hopefully the two are related. I'll probably follow up with more details when I get the car back later.
 
CX9 SportOwner said:
Anyone with he creak/groan can grease the strut stop themselves. Even if it turned out not to be the same noise I had, it won't hurt to do it.

If you wait for your dealer to figure it out, they probably never will. And there isn't a TSB on it. It was probably a few random cars that didn't get enough grease on the rod. (Probably a Monday or Friday at the strut plant)
Click to expand...

CX9 SportOwner is correct! I had the same creak/groan noise coming from both front suspension strut area every time the suspension would compress. CX9 SportOwner reccomended Dielectric, White Lithium or any other heavy grease on the bump stops and almost 2 months later after applying no more noise what so ever.
 
I have a 2009 CX9 and am having the same front clunk noise.
9/2009: Dealer trip 1 -shop confirmed LF noise (upper strut mt bushings) special order 10/2009: trip 2 - install part, tech hears same noise on opposite side, now order RF
11/2009: trip 3 - install RF upper strut mt bushing
12/2009: noise is back!

I called the dealer (very nice) but part is a "non stocked" item and apparently if there is no TSB the dealer can’t pre-order warranty parts.... How do you get a TSB out there any way???
So I will have the same tech can look at it to help speed things and request a loaner. Any advice would be great.
 
Still not fixed

Back from my appointment. It started snowing heavily and apparently with so much snow pack they can not replicate the LF clunk/grind noise. I drove around trying to get it to replicate.

I will have my husband use the heavy lube as suggested and also spend some lunch hours driving around the dealer to find a special left hand turn w/a pot hole so we can recreate noise.

Any updated info you are experiencing would be great. Thanks
 
Just as an FYI...I also did the TSB that replaced the upper strut mounts (at my expense) and it did not fix anything. I then took SportOwner's suggestion of lubbing up the bump stops and now three months later and a few weeks of torrential storms no more noise...I suggest you have your hubby get a little dirty and lube them things up to see if that addresses your problem.
 
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