Cracking noise around front left wheel (with video), SC says normal trim noise?

[GoodManFrank]

Hi:

My 2019 M3 AWD is developing a disturbing cracking sound around front left wheel / fronk / suspension area. I've been having this concern over the last half year, went to service center twice, and they said it's "normal interior trim noise as vehicle gets older". I've attached a short video compilation to demonstrate the issue.

It mainly happens in two scenarios:
1. When doing an acceleration and immediately slow down using either regen or brake. This will 100% trigger the noise when speed is close to 0. However braking without a preceding acceleration will not trigger it.
2. When turning the vehicle at low speed, like during parking or u-turn. This will ~40% trigger the noise.

The control arm ball joint fix was done 2 years ago so should be unrelated to that. SC also double checked & lubricated the ball joint (at least it's what they claimed) last year but that didn't fix this issue. Over the last half year, this situation is getting more frequent, and the noise is getting louder. Is this normal as SC said, or something wrong with suspension / powertrain and needs to be taken care of?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I'd guess it's the control arm coming loose. There was a recall for certain VINs but the issue is not as uncommon as it should be outside of the recall range.

Model 3 : control arm disengaging

My vehicle, was parked and pulled out of the parking lot on a doing a complete left steering turn, couple of nuts&bolts carrying the vehicle control arm fell to the ground and the entire control arm disengaged out of the shafts. This could have been very fatal, if my family or me were riding the...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[GoodManFrank]

I'd guess it's the control arm coming loose. There was a recall for certain VINs but the issue is not as uncommon as it should be outside of the recall range.

Model 3 : control arm disengaging

My vehicle, was parked and pulled out of the parking lot on a doing a complete left steering turn, couple of nuts&bolts carrying the vehicle control arm fell to the ground and the entire control arm disengaged out of the shafts. This could have been very fatal, if my family or me were riding the...

teslamotorsclub.com

Is there a way I could check this by myself or it has to be done by Service Center? I brought it to service Nov 2022, they said they "inspected" it but found no issues...

I guess if I go to SC again, I'll need to identify the failing point so they know what to look for.

 

[thesmokingman]

Is there a way I could check this by myself or it has to be done by Service Center? I brought it to service Nov 2022, they said they "inspected" it but found no issues...

I guess if I go to SC again, I'll need to identify the failing point so they know what to look for.

Get some jack pads and lift the corner and just grab a link and start shaking it till you find the loose one. Something is definitely clacking down there.

 

[GoodManFrank]

Get some jack pads and lift the corner and just grab a link and start shaking it till you find the loose one. Something is definitely clacking down there.

Thanks for the advice. I don't have jack pad / lift but I'll try to see what I can do. I assume if I can find the loose part I can also fix it on the spot hopefully?

 

[thesmokingman]

Thanks for the advice. I don't have jack pad / lift but I'll try to see what I can do. I assume if I can find the loose part I can also fix it on the spot hopefully?

Fix, it depends on which part is bad. But if you can pin point it then you can point it out to the SC for warranty.

 

[borland]

That is not a "cracking sound". I'm sure the clicking noise I hear in your video might not be apparent when test driven in a un-jerky manner by the Service Center tech after just being told the car has a "cracking sound".

 

[GoodManFrank]

That is not a "cracking sound". I'm sure the clicking noise I hear in your video might not be apparent when test driven in a un-jerky manner by the Service Center tech after just being told the car has a "cracking sound".

Thanks I'll use "clicking" next time.

The second time I visited SC, they were unable to reproduce but then they allowed me to drive it with technician sitting in passenger seat, so they heard it very clearly, and concluded it's "normal interior trim noise"... Oh and they said it could also come from battery pack (???).

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I agree. It's either normal trim, the battery is falling out, or one of your wheels is about to fall off.
But it could be something else, depending on whether it's "creaking" or "clacking".

 

[GoodManFrank]

I agree. It's either normal trim, the battery is falling out, or one of your wheels is about to fall off.
But it could be something else, depending on whether it's "creaking" or "clacking".

Battery falling out This is a joke, right?

I think if it's battery issue it won't happen when turning. I'd still suspect suspension

 

[Copes]

Hi:

My 2019 M3 AWD is developing a disturbing cracking sound around front left wheel / fronk / suspension area. I've been having this concern over the last half year, went to service center twice, and they said it's "normal interior trim noise as vehicle gets older". I've attached a short video compilation to demonstrate the issue.

It mainly happens in two scenarios:
1. When doing an acceleration and immediately slow down using either regen or brake. This will 100% trigger the noise when speed is close to 0. However braking without a preceding acceleration will not trigger it.
2. When turning the vehicle at low speed, like during parking or u-turn. This will ~40% trigger the noise.

The control arm ball joint fix was done 2 years ago so should be unrelated to that. SC also double checked & lubricated the ball joint (at least it's what they claimed) last year but that didn't fix this issue. Over the last half year, this situation is getting more frequent, and the noise is getting louder. Is this normal as SC said, or something wrong with suspension / powertrain and needs to be taken care of?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Control arms. Had them replaced twice on my 2020 SR+.

 

[GoodManFrank]

Control arms. Had them replaced twice on my 2020 SR+.

Thank you. Very helpful info. Do you have the same condition (similar sound & trigger condition as shown in video)?

 

[Copes]

Thank you. Very helpful info. Do you have the same condition (similar sound & trigger condition as shown in video)?

Same. The way it was explained to me was that there was a problem with the gaskets (my term, not theirs) on control arms. Curiously, had to snap a photo of this bulletin

 

[parrainx]

I had/have this noise since pretty much new. Seems like a common issue from what I heard on forums. 12k miles in still haven’t reported it do need to get this addressed in near future though. With music playing I never hear it and forget about it. Just like the creaking from the vin number area, but I’ll fix it myself. Don‘t want nobody’s dirty hards around trim.

 

[GoodManFrank]

I visited SC again and they still believe it’s normal sound as vehicle body flexes (technician says acceleration & braking & turning pushes the car body front and back). They said I could do a suspension “retorque” for piece of mind, but that would be ~$150 cost. I’ll keep monitoring it and maybe visit different SC again for a second opinion before the warranty expires.

 

[GoodManFrank]

Ok so I went to SC and did the retorque. That did not solve the problem. It's becoming interesting: If it's not from suspension, what else can I look for?

 

[buckets0fun]

Ok so I went to SC and did the retorque. That did not solve the problem. It's becoming interesting: If it's not from suspension, what else can I look for?

- sway bar bushings (imo not likely)
- aged/fatigued rubber bushings on lower arms

It doesn't sound like when an CV is bad. It most definitely isn't "the body shifting". What a ludicrous thing the SC told you, with I assume a straight face.

try to get someone to drive the car while you film or check to see if you can pinpoint it further.

 

[GoodManFrank]

- sway bar bushings (imo not likely)
- aged/fatigued rubber bushings on lower arms

It doesn't sound like when an CV is bad. It most definitely isn't "the body shifting". What a ludicrous thing the SC told you, with I assume a straight face.

try to get someone to drive the car while you film or check to see if you can pinpoint it further.

Thank you. I don't know much about cars so I have to trust whatever they says (even it might sound ridiculous?). I know it's definitely not body flexing / shifting because the sound can also be heard when statically turning.

Seems to be the issue with control arms at this point. I just don't know how to let them recognize the problem and repair it (even at my own cost), because they just keep telling me "its normal", "its not that bad". It seems like they just don't want to go through the trouble of diagnosing it...