Noise from front of car | Rumbling, squeaking, creaking, knocking, hammering, clunking...what they indicate.

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General front end noise troubleshooting table

Listening carefully to the noise coming from the front end of your car can lead to the identification of a mechanical defect.
The front suspension, steering system and wheel hubs do include a few wear parts that need to be replaced upon the first symptoms.
Driving on bad or uneven roads, hitting a pothole or a walkway can accelerate the ageing of such parts.
Regularly inspect the ball joint of the lower control arm (and upper control arm when available), the stabilizer (stabiliser, anti-roll bar) and its drop links, the shock absorbers, MacPherson struts, steering box, steering links, etc. to keep your car safe and smooth.
Noises generated by such part result from either a:
  1. rubber to rubber friction (creaking)
  2. metal to rubber friction (knocking)
  3. metal to metal friction (clunking, squeaking, humming)
The below table provides a summary of such noises generated by the front end of the car and their associated defects.
Noise
How & When
​It Is Heard
Possible Causes
How To Fix It
Creaking
Creaking noise is heard in winter upon crossing a speed bump
1- Rubber parts of the upper strut mount (MacPherson suspension support) have dried out.
2- Rubber parts of the upper control arm silent blocks have dried out.
​Wash well the car then lubricate with white lithium grease or silicon spray lubricant
Clunking
Knocking noise heard on one side on low speeds and on uneven roads. Eventually heard only when the two wheels are not on the same level (see cause 3)
1- Lower triangle (control arm) ball joint
2- Upper control arm (if any) ball joint
3- Stabilizer link (anti-roll bar drop link)
4- Shock absorber
Use a crowbar to check any gap in the ball joints and your hand to test the stabilizer drop link. Replace the defective part. Replace both shock absorbers if one is found defective.
​Thud
Knocking noise with a low frequency of occurrence and low sound frequency (bass).
​1- Rear engine support / link
2- Shock absorber seat (bumper)
3- Anti-roll bar (stabiliser) bushings
4- Side engine supports
Visually inspect all parts and replace the defective ones.
Knocking / Hammering
Heard as if coming from the front of the driver and felt at the same time in the steering wheel.
Normal on some vehicles with rack and pinion steering system, could increase however if the steering rack needs lubrication.
Visually inspect the steering box bellows. Replace if defective while adding graphite grease for steering systems.
Loud Rattling
Heard on FWD vehicles when turning at low speeds. Increases with both vehicle speed and tighter turns. "Tac tac tac" like noise.
Defective wheel drive shaft (Outer joint of the CV axle)
Fix the outer joint of the CV axle or replace the whole drive shaft.
Rumbling / Humming
Heard at medium and high speeds. Increases with the vehicle speed, getting louder.
Defective wheel bearing
Replace the defective bearing
Squeaking
Occurs from time to time or constantly when braking
1- Bad quality brake pads
2- Missing brake pads noise suppressors
3- Worn brake discs
Replace your brake pads / Inspect and replace your brake discs upon the next brake pads replacement
You can also buy a specific car noise analyser tool, which we did not try however:

See also...