Hello and thank you for your time I appreciate it,
My sisters car, not mine, i drove it one day and noticed the sound. When i asked, she said its been doing it for a while but doesn't know what it is.
Its a 2015 Toyota corolla s. automatic transmission, 4 cyl. 92,000 miles. Several nicks and dings on the front tires/rims - potential accident damage? I suspected a bad cv joint. I lifted the vehicle and all the boots were on and intact-no leaks or grease. The boot on drivers side axle closest to the transmission seemed a bit off color but felt dry to the touch. A bit of play on the passenger side cv axle (not while rotating, but when bouncing it up and down). Almost no play in the driver side cv axle. No play on the struts, ball joints, or control arm. No scrapes or visible damage on any of these either (I thought she might have bottomed out a few too times but I guess not). While driving I noticed that the vehicle has started pulling to the left as well.
I don't have any problem swapping the axle itself out (I have done it before on other vehicles and did see an older video of Mr. Kilmer's on how to do the job) - but I am wondering if i should just swap the part? She is the only owner, drove it new off the lot. took it to the dealer for maintenance as required. What could cause the part to fail so soon? would nailing a few too many curbs cause the part to fail so soon? I am a little stumped as to why it went bad and am worried that I am just tossing a band aid on a bigger issue.
Once again, thank you and I would appreciate an experienced 2 cents on the issue.
-V
Take the car to a good alignment shop.
Care to elaborate on type of sound? Screeching sound? Grinding like a bunch of rocks? Thuds? It would help with the diagnosis of your issue. If the CV axles are dry to the touch then it should be all good really, off color could mean anything. Maybe a bit of oil or coolant got on it during maintenance or something. Minimal play is also normal and within reason. Hitting too many curbs is for sure why it's turning left though lol
Edit: seems normal and within reason. If you feel a vibration when accelerating then you have a problem for sure. I've heard that the cause could be your suspected bad inner cv joint. And then it is definitely cause for concern but fixing it should be a 1 time thing if your sister stops hitting curbs lol
I drove it to go run some errands today to see if I can catch the sound in action but it is still intermittent and I haven't been able to replicate while recording with my phone.
The sound reminded me of my U-joint going bad on the axle of my pickup, clicking is the best way I could think to describe it.
I passed along the recommendation-both of them hahaha. Curbs and alignment.
Thank you for the advice