*** Everyone with steering clunk - read this ***

[DanR]

Guys, Here is the info from the Car and Driver article. I thought is was interesting because my wife's car is within alignment specs, but the front tires were feathering on the outside edges with only 5K miles.

Persistent vibrations and suspension clunks necessitated the replacement at about 17,000 miles of the anti-roll-bar bushings, a rear shock, and the steering intermediate shaft—all also covered under warranty. The problem caused uneven wear to, and prematurely trashed, the car’s Yokohama Avid 534 all-season tires, which the dealer fortunately replaced at no charge. The vibration never resurfaced, but we did continue to hear the occasional groan from the suspension.

 

[flatlander937]

The steering shaft and roll bar bushings would have zero effect on tire wear... fyi. I'd bet that the alignment was off from the factory(this is WAAY more common than you might think. Every single damn Dodge Caravan/Town and Country from 2008 was off center by a noticeable amount), and when the steering shaft was replaced it was checked/corrected after the shaft install.


How bad is the feathering? Got pictures?

FWIW a lot of cars seem to just be prone to wearing the trailing edge of every single tread block, my Mazda3 did the same thing in the front. The rear it was actual uneven wear(cupping) because of the goofy rear suspension they have(lots of negative camber + lots of toe). It depends on the tire in a lot of cases... the Yoko Avids they come with are not exactly great tires to begin with. This seems to happen to cars that are driven more aggressively in my experience(to the front tires). My Mazda3 needed the front tires rotated every autocross event or it would get out of control...



The front of the car is to the right. That is after one autocross event. Rotate them, did another event, evened them out(this all over about 500 miles), drive normally after the season was over and never see wear like that again.

 

[DanR]

I just posted the informatino relative to the steering shaft as a possible reference for other people. The tires were not too bad. After I show the tech, they relucatantly agreed to check the alignment. It was within specs and they billed Mazda for it. I would have liked them to have tweeked the toe, but they already pulled it off the rack. I agree with your comments about the tires. On my 2, yes we have two 2s, you could visually see how bad the driver side was towed out from the dealer. Since I was going to install the Bilsteins and camber bolts, I just maxed out the camber and adjusted the toe.

 

[daedalus_zero]

I'm gonna have them look at mine when I take it back for the 90-day checkup. I've got an occasional clunk on angled driveways and when backing out of parking spaces, with a whopping 210 miles on the clock. lol

 

[scuderia]

My 2012 2 has had a pretty loud steering clunk for quite some time now. It started at about 30,000 miles and the car now has about 60,000 miles. Other than being slightly annoying, it has caused no issued whatsoever.

Chris

 

[CorkSport]

We bent the car at the runoffs and had to replace the steering rack. When ordering a new one up it is a complete rack with tie rods ends/etc as a superceded part over the original rack only. It is also twice the price so if you are under warranty and getting noise have the dealer change it. We got luck and ordered the old # and there was one left in stock in Texas.

-Derrick

 

[blueturd]

Mine is going on tomorrow for the clunk. Hopefully they warranty it.

 

[Danielcut]

I guess I should take mine in soon. I get the clunk when turning at slow speeds and usually only after first starting it up. Doesn't seem to be having any negative effects but I guess it shouldn't be doing it at all.

 

[BigBlueDart]

I took mine in a while ago. They fixed it, but I'm trying to decide if it's coming back. I'm already past 30k on the odometer, but given that they fixed this before, I think they'd do it again if necessary.

 

[blueturd]

I'm at 29k lol. Dropped it last night. Haven't called me yet

 

[EF9]

AM I the only one here who hasn't gotten any issues with this yet? Also over 30k miles

 

[GrasshopperCO]

After reading this, I think I might be having this issue as well, but it's not really a profound "clunk". I'd say it's more like a rubbing noise, but I know there isn't anything rubbing. I just thought it was the ABS self-test, because it only happens when I first start the car and goes away after a few seconds. I don't ever get it after pulling out of my driveway.

 

[blueturd]

Well the Mazda dealer I took it too (bright bay Mazda NY) said do to modified suspension they won't do anything... I also took it in because when the ac is on and I'm driving it makes a very small whistle type noise but they "didn't find anything" car was there for 4 days... Meaning they didn't do s***. Will be going to another Mazda dealer tomorrow to set up an appointment.

 

[eyeballs]

Only time I consistently notice a clunk (and its not very obvious) is at full lock pulling out of my parking space after work, and occasionally one more turn after that. It's not a big deal, and I wonder if it may even be that the poly fsb bushings just need to be re-lubed. Either way, its going to have to get alot worse before I do anything about it.

 

[eyeballs]

Even though the clunk seemed pretty minor to me, I went ahead and brought it in anyways since my warranty is up soon. They replaced the rack for me, and it is now MUCH smoother than before. Worked out well since I just put on new tires and needed an alignment anyways. One of the techs must not have liked the firm damper settings on my shocks and turned them way down. It was very strange going from my stiffly sprung miata back to the 2 on those settings, felt like I was floating down the road!

 

[BigBlueDart]

I got mine taken care of awhile ago, now, as I think I've mentioned earlier in this thread. I have noticed that it has come back, but not strong, I think. I'm past the warranty, though I think if there is an issue they'll still cover seeing as it's the same thing they had to fix before. I'm just not sure if it's worth it or not. Do you guys think I need to worry about this? Like most people I'm only getting it at very low speeds while turning sharply (into/out of a parking space). I would just hate to ignore what seems like an inconsequential thing now, only to have it become a bigger problem later on.

 

[eyeballs]

BBD - Even if it got worse, the fix is still the same - replace steering rack. If you're out of warranty I wouldn't worry about it. But if you get to feeling let down by lack of smoothness, you could just bring it in and see if they'd replace it.

 

[BigBlueDart]

As of right now I'm only feeling anything when turning from a stop, and even then it's mild. I just don't know enough to know whether this problem could cause another bigger problem down the road if it does get bad.

 

[daedalus_zero]

I still get a clunk every single time I start the car and drive away. Been like that since day one. As soon as I straighten the wheel after turning, there is one clunk and I never hear/feel it again until I stop/start the car again. Is this the dreaded clunk that everyone is feeling or is it something normal engaging? It's so routine that I have to ask if the car is even broken at this point. I just ordered some drop springs, so I wanna know if I need some warranty work before I go and void mine. lol

 

[flatlander937]

I still get a clunk every single time I start the car and drive away. Been like that since day one. As soon as I straighten the wheel after turning, there is one clunk and I never hear/feel it again until I stop/start the car again. Is this the dreaded clunk that everyone is feeling or is it something normal engaging? It's so routine that I have to ask if the car is even broken at this point. I just ordered some drop springs, so I wanna know if I need some warranty work before I go and void mine. lol

What you describe is the ABS self test. It may coincide with you turning the wheel, but it has to do with hitting a certain speed after starting up. Perfectly normal.

Go to a parking lot, turn off and start up again. Go straight. About 5-12mph or so it will happen. A quick clunk-clunk type noise. Won't matter straight or turning. If you can repeat it doing this on command(requiring a shut down and restart each time) then its the ABS self test.