Stryker

At least I think it is the wheel. Damn thing has been driving me crazy for months and its gotten bad enough that its somewhat easier to finally narrow it down.

It first started very sporadically over small bumps. After first I thought it was the suspension. So I pulled over and popped the hood, and pushed up and down the make it bounce a little. It never made the sound...so I pretty much ruled the suspension/shocks out at that point. The frustrating thing was it only did it over small bumps. It wasn't happening that often so I just ignored it.

Fast forward a few weeks and the damn thing is doing it going down the road constantly now. I live in Durham, NC, not the best roads in the world, so unless its a freshly paved road any bump causes it to make this noise.

Through more troubleshooting I found it makes the noise if I sit in the cabin and rock back and forth, or if I am driving and turn the steering wheel to the left and right real quick(like the Nascar guys testing their tires). So I can reproduce the noise while in the car very easily without having to drive it.

I was looking through the powertrain coverage wondering if its something that might be covered there, but going to the dealer to have them "listen" to it might end up costing more money than going to a local garage. Of course if it is covered then I would have wasted a diagnostic fee at the local garage.

The best way I can describe the noise is it sounds like a older pick-up truck and like the top of the bed is rubbing up against the cabin, a metal-on-metal sound.

Anyone ever heard of this or have the faintest clue?

Thanks.

a76marine

This has been happening to mine lately as well but it's more of a clunk sound. I am going to take it to the dealer next weekend and will report my findings... you do the same if you get it looked at.

1970judge

Sounds like the steering shaft or linkage whatever they call it. Pretty common in LATE gm's small cars. Mine does it too and it is super annoying but I dont have the money to get it fixed. Post up and tell us what the stealership tells you.

photojoed80

I've given up on getting the same problem resolved over the past 2.5 years. Many parts replaced to no avail. I'm disappointed that the GM of today still builds a car with such an annoying characteristic that they WON'T RESOLVE! And they stick the service departments to fail explaining the problem and that there's no resolution.
Other than that they've made a really nice car that fits many of our lifestyle requirements and looks great going down the road. I will think really hard about another GM car when time to buy my next vehicle. I hope thay take the care to see the customer isn't stuck with an underengineered car again.

1970judge

What all have you replaced?

photojoed80

Strut
Other strut
Intermediate shaft
steering column
wiper stalk
turn signal stalk
control arm bushings

donbrew

My 2 cents is Strut mount, sometimes called Strut bearing. Since it getting worse with time, I would also look at wheel hub bearing.

1970judge

Damn, that kind of makes me feel bad. I have the same noise and assumed it was the intermediate shaft problem. Oh well, I can live with it, because otherwise the car has been awesome to me. Sorry for your luck on that though, hope you get it ironed out.

Stryker

And I assume none of this is covered under the powertrain warranty?

brazodoro

Stryker,
Its like looking into a mirror! I have had my 06 since july of last year and it has the EXACT same problem. I have replaced-
Struts
strut mounts
sway bar end links
front transmission mount
Intermediate steering column
rotors

Last week a mechanic decided to take a crack at diagnosing it and adjust my steering rack as a result. He simply used a crow bar to adjust certain parts. For 24 hours it was flawless. Not a single clunk while driving, steering or hitting bumps. Next morning, pulling out of the driveway, it came back. That is the closest I have come to actually solving the problem. I wish I could nail this down.