meeters Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I have this strange problem with my 99 es300 which has about 60K on it.. Whenever I back up then go forward while turnng the wheels after the car has sat for more than an hour or two I hear this ka thunking noise briefly from the front end as the car begins to move forward. This will happen when I'm backing out of the driveway in the morning, put the car in drive and straighten the car out as I begin driving down the street. It will also happen when I back out of a parking spot, and begin to pull forward, again straightening the wheels as I move through the parking lot. In both cases I'm moving slowly and the noise may last only about a second, but its very noticeable. The dealer looked the car over and couldn't find anything wrong with the steering or trans. They said it might be the brake pads shifting since they are getting to the point where they need replacing. The service manager offered to ride while I drove it so he could hear it. But the porter had already backed and drove the car around a little before we got in and I couldn't make it happen. Anybody have any ideas? I bought this as a CPO with 33K on it two years ago. The person that had it before me took very good care of it and had every oil change and scheduled maintenance done on time. The car is in great shape and this is the first issue I've had with it. Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcv10guy Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I could be wrong, but it could be your engine mounts. Have they checked your top engine mount on the passenger side (looks like a dogbone), and the front engine mount (behind the radiator, near the oil filter). It could possibly be that your top strut mounts are making noise. Since your car still has the CPO warranty in effect (3 years or 100k total miles), I'd try and find the problem soon before the warranty runs out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Force Rascal Posted March 4, 2005 Share Posted March 4, 2005 I have this strange problem with my 99 es300 which has about 60K on it..Whenever I back up then go forward while turnng the wheels after the car has sat for more than an hour or two I hear this ka thunking noise briefly from the front end as the car begins to move forward. This will happen when I'm backing out of the driveway in the morning, put the car in drive and straighten the car out as I begin driving down the street. It will also happen when I back out of a parking spot, and begin to pull forward, again straightening the wheels as I move through the parking lot. In both cases I'm moving slowly and the noise may last only about a second, but its very noticeable. The dealer looked the car over and couldn't find anything wrong with the steering or trans. They said it might be the brake pads shifting since they are getting to the point where they need replacing. The service manager offered to ride while I drove it so he could hear it. But the porter had already backed and drove the car around a little before we got in and I couldn't make it happen. Anybody have any ideas? I bought this as a CPO with 33K on it two years ago. The person that had it before me took very good care of it and had every oil change and scheduled maintenance done on time. The car is in great shape and this is the first issue I've had with it. Thanks, Steve ← You say this happens when you are making a turn..? If so, may be the CV Joint..check just behind of your front wheels and see if the rubber around your CV joints are still intact or cracked or broken..if they are then they have lost their grease, which causes the joints to dry out and fail. Just a guess..without seeing the car in person..good luck...air force rascal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexie99 Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 I have the same problem with my 99 ES300. Back out of a parking place, put car in drive and a slight crunch noise is heard in the first few feet of driving. I wonder if this has something to do with ABS?? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruznroadking Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Doesn't sound like anything major. I had a 2001 RX that did the same thing. After the I replaced the front brake pads the noise went away, the front brake pads do shift on these cars & make a thunking noise. If you need brake pads soon anyway, replace them & if the noise goes away then that's your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meeters Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 I went back to the dealer again and he stuck to the story about the brake pads shifting. He had me try this the next morning. Back out of the driveway and put the car in drive, but just let up on the brake pedal enough to get the car rolling forward. Keep the pedal down and straighten out the steering and go forward for about 10-20 feet, then let up on the brake pedal. The noise didn't happen until I let up fully on the brake pedal. I've done this several times and the result is the same every time. So the dealer says this shows its the pads shifting and if it still hapen after the pads are replaced he dig in further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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