Hi all,

I'm not knowledgeable about cars myself, but I've brought my car to three separate mechanics over the past few months to figure out what is causing the popping noise I've been hearing in my front end suspension, and no one can figure it out. So I'm wondering if anyone here might have any ideas. 2013 Honda fit, haven't had any suspension problems before Sept 2022. If anyone here has any ideas of what could be causing this, that I can maybe ask the mechanic to look at, please let me know. Considering the experiences I've had with people doing a crap job looking things over and not being honest with me, I just...want to exhaust all my options in trying to figure out what's going on. Thanks if anyone can help!

Video of the sound attached here.

Timeline of events:Original Problem Appeared on 9/1/22:

• I started hearing/feeling a rattling sound/feeling when I pressed on the accelerator after going over bumps in the road.

I brought the car to a Mavis (which was a mistake) on 9/2/22, and they…

• replaced the sway bar links (they said they were loose)
• replaced the front stabilizer bar
• changed the oil
• Result: This didn’t fix the problem. When I picked up the car, the rattling sound/feeling was still there.

So I brought it back to Mavis on 10/27/22, and this time, they…

• replaced the front strut assemblies
• did an alignment
• did a rotation
• checked the brakes (as part of regular maintenance--my brakes were fine, it was just time to check them)
• checked the air filter (as part of regular maintenance too_
• Result: When I picked up the car, the rattling sound was still there (although the rattling feeling in the accelerator was fixed). Also I don't know what the **** they did to the brakes, but the brakes (which were previously fine) sounded horrible and creaky, and made a rotational clicking noise when pressed at low speeds that they never made before.

So I brought it back to Mavis again on 11/4/22, and this time, they…

• replaced the axel (the manager said that they’d damaged it while replacing the strut assemblies previously...lovely)
• Result: When I picked up the car, it sounded even worse than before. The suspension was more rattly and more creaky. The breaks were making louder and creakier noises, and clicking at low seeds more frequently.

So I brought it to a different mechanic (someone a family member knows) on 11/15/22, and he…

• he found that Mavis had broken the stud on one side of the car and left the stud on the other side loose (dangerous to drive the car like this)
• he had to remove the axle to get to the studs, so he removed the axle, replaced the broken stud and fixed the loose one, and put the axle back
• he also replaced the front brakes
• Result: When I picked up the car, most issues were improved, but I still heard the original popping sound in the front suspension when going over bumps. I’ve left it alone since then, since the mechanic said he didn’t hear anything (supposedly), and that the car runs fine.

On 1/16/23, the car started making a really loud popping noise when I turn the car at low speeds in either direction (right or left). It sounded like it’s coming from the right side of the car. I brought it to a different mechanic, recommended to me by a friend, and he...

• acknowledged he heard both popping noises, but couldn't find anything wrong with the suspension except that the two nuts on top of the struts that were replaced were extremely loose. So loose that they could unscrew them easily with their fingers. They tightened them properly and thought they would fix both popping noises.
• Result: This fixed the really loud new popping noise that had started happening when turning, but the old popping noise that occurs when going over bumps is still there. The mechanic didn't know what could be causing it

 

It could be the sway bar bushings.