Recently I replaced my 2005 CR-V Sport with an identical CR-V Sport (same colour, features, options, mileage and about 400 difference in serial number) because the old one had dings, dents and scrapes everywhere while the new one did not.

But the new one has a clunk in the front end. It happens at all speeds on even slightly rough roads. It does not sound dangerous, but comparing old to new, it definitely is not normal. Because it is under used-car warranty, the dealer's mechanic will be fixing it, but I know how if they don't find it on the first or second try, they become more difficult.

Doing google searches, I cam up with a list of possible problems. I would appreciate if you review it, and if you have similar symptom and found the cause, do tell. And if it ended up being something else, please tell me so I can add it to the list:
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1. ball joints
2. coil springs lacked grease where mated to rubber bumpers in wheel well
3. damping ring separated from original half-shaft mount
4. flexible part from the exhaust (link #38)
5. lower front A-arm bushings
6. motor mount or transmission mount
7. rack and pinion steering (car towed behind an RV caused this one)
8. stabilizer/ sway bar end links (the mechanic took a quick look today and thinks this is the problem, but we won't know until he books it in, a few weeks from now)
9. strut
10. strut mount
11. strut tower caps (and link)
12. subframe bolts
13. tie rod ends (linkage)
14. upper arm bushings
15. upper arm flange bolts/clamps
16. worn radiator rubber bushings
17. wheel nuts loose
18. tools, beer bottles, smugglers contraband, etc
19. or it could actually be coming from the rear end, while the impression is the front

 

Your best bet here is to try and duplicate the issue while being able to see/feel what's happening on the underside. Park the vehicle on level ground and turn the vehicle off. Open one of the doors and have a helper stand on the door threshold while holding onto the roof rack (if it doesn't have a roof rack, have them grab the roof and the oh **** handle. Lay under the front of the vehicle while your helper starts yanking on the roof to get the vehicle to pitch left-and-right. With the suspension rapidly cycling up-and-down on both sides, see if you can hear the clunk noise. You can also place your hand on various components to see if you can feel the clunk noise.

I had a clunk noise in the back of my grand cherokee and I used this process. Turned out to be the sway bar bushing. It had dried and shrunken over time, and I could see the sway bar physically moving side-to-side within the bushing. Threw a new bushing in there and all was well.

Even if you can't identify exactly what's making the noise, or you don't have the knowledge to know a sway bar link from a control arm bushing, you may still be able to nail down what corner of the vehicle the noise is coming from, and this will greatly help the mechanic identify the issue. If they can't duplicate the clunk for whatever reason, they may be able to identify visual wear more easily given a targeted area.

 

Thanks for that tip Matt, I will give it a try. On Thursday I took the CRV to town (car ferry) for the dealer's mechanic to look at. His hunch was the sway bar bushings as well. Normally, I do all my own work, but with a recent purchase under used-car warranty, I'll let someone else bust their knuckles. If it solves it, I'll post it here. The other thing he will look at is the transmission. It judders between 80-90 km/h (about 50-55 mph) and today I noticed at slow speeds after starting from a stop light, it feels a bit odd shifting. The mechanic checked the fluid and said it was due for a change, so hopefully these are just deferred maintenance items which would be why the previous owner traded it in to Honda.

 

I do all my own work as well (having previously been a dealer tech), but yes, if it isn't too much of a headache, I'll never miss the opportunity to take advantage of a warranty!

I don't know how long your warranty lasts, but I know it generally isn't too very long on a used car purchase. Changing out the fluid is a logical first step to sorting out a transmission performance issue, especially if the fluid looks suspect. Don't let the dealership use it as a tactic to push you out of the warranty window though! I've absolutely seen that happen where a service center will tackle the cheapest, easiest things and say "check back in 1000 miles and let us know how it's working". Before you know it, you're strategically outside the warranty period with a torque converter that **** the bed, and the shop kinda knew the truth all along. Warranties are all too often used as a selling tactic and not a consumer protection, which is a shameful bastardization of the whole concept!!

 

Check strut top nut and 3 strut to body mounting nuts under hood?

 

Yup, I'm aware of the game. Here in NZ however, we have the Consumer Guarantees Act, and regardless of what warranty is offered, the Act overrules. Thus, I begin by documenting the symptoms immediately and proceed with a staged process. If it turns out the transmission is cooked, but it takes longer to fail, the record will show it was a matter of time. It's a pain, but so far, every time I have threatened to initiate the process the vendor has come to the table. We'll see how it goes with this used car dealer who buys Honda dealer trade-ins.

This is where forums are invaluable. The experience of other owners is after the fact, whereas a busy mechanic doesn't take the time. But if I come in forearmed with wisdom of crowds, I can call his attention to symptoms and possible problems. So far, it judders on the highway between 80-90, like I am driving over rumble strips if I veer into the breakdown lane, and around town, what feels like shifting from a lower gear to a higher gear experiences a bit of hesitancy or flutter. Stage-one fixing (changing the transmission oil) is complicated by the fact that draining the transmission does not remove all oil. Thus I have to add new fluid, take it for a run, then repeat. I'm told machine flushing is a bad idea because it dislodges solids that can do more damage than good.

 

Would that be items 10 and 11 (I changed the original post from bullets to numbers), or should I add these as new items to examine?