If your car is making a popping noise when turning, here are the potential causes:
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- Damaged CV joint
- Broken tie rod
- Loose drive belt tensioner
- Problematic hubcap
- Wrong tire inflation
- Malfunctioning struts
Whenever your vehicle makes weird noises, it can be stressful, especially if you're an experienced driver or haven't heard this noise before. You must take all noises seriously because sometimes these noises might be related to a minor issue. On the other hand, the noises might be linked to measuring problems that you should be aware of.
One of the common noises that you might experience during the lifetime of your car is some popping noises when turning. These noises might be linked to an issue with the CV joint but can also be linked to a list of different other culprits. Understanding what causes these noises helps you decide what to do next. It also gives you an idea about the expected repair costs and whether you are dealing with a major issue or not.
This article walks you through all potential causes for popping noises when turning. It also highlights some rough estimates about expected repair costs.
What causes popping noise wouldn't turn?
There's a common misconception that an issue causes every popping noise when turning with the wheels. However, it can be linked to various other problems that are different from the wheels. Let's take a closer look at all potential causes for popping noises when turning:
- Damaged CV joint
One of the most common causes for the popping noises when you turn is a damaged CV joint. The CV joint, or what's known as the concept velocity joint, is an essential minor component within your steering and suspension systems.
It is typically located at the end of the front axle, where it gets connected to the wheels. This joint can break overtime reviews, and when it breaks out, it will start making some popping noises every time you turn. You can't immediately assume that it's the CV joint until you do a thorough inspection by visiting your mechanic.
You can also do your visual inspection and take a closer look at the CV joint location to see if there are any signs of grease spreading around or losing CV joints or any other signs that can help you narrow down the list and confirm it's a problem with the CV joint.
Finally, the popping noise might come from the front or the back, depending on your vehicle's system. For example, if you're driving a front-wheel-drive car, you’ll load the popping noise that happens every time you turn, and the noise will come from the front end of your vehicle.
- Broken tie rod
If the CV joint doesn't have any problem, then you should move forward and check the tie rod. The tie rod is a critical component within your braking system, which means that if the popping noise is happening because of a bad tie rod, you are dealing with a very critical situation.
Therefore, you want to perform a visual inspection by looking at where the title rot is located and checking whether your real is loose or moving. There are plenty of online tutorials that help you inspect the tie rod and confirm that it doesn't have any problem.
Once you confirm it's the tie rod that's causing this popping noise, you must stop driving your car and have it towed to your mechanic. Then, of course, the damage decides whether you can continue driving your vehicle or you'll need to get it towed.
- Loose drive belt tensioner
A specific drive belt connects the engine to many internal components like the steering system, the alternator, air conditioning, and others within your engine. Thanks to the drive belt tensioner that maintains strong connections, this belt must be tightened very well.
When there is any problem with the tensioner or even the drive belt itself, the belt will start hitting against the engine's components, and that's when you'll hear the popping noise. Unfortunately, the popping noise coming from a bad drive belt might get people confused with some other potential culprits because it typically comes from the side of the wheel.
That's why when you hear the popping noise every time you turn coming from the wheel side, you'll need to consult your mechanic immediately because it can be a little bit tricky to determine the actual cause of the problem.
- Problematic hubcap
In some instances, you might deal with continuous popping noise not only when you turn your vehicle. If that's the case, you'll need to consider checking the hubcap. The hub cap is a metal or plastic cover protecting the nuts and lugs of the steering system. When there's any problem with the nuts, they will cause some wobbling and fluttering in the hubcaps. When this happens, you'll notice the weird popping noise.
It's important to note that any popping noise happening due to a problem with the hubcap should come from your vehicle's interior. In other words, it's not going to be coming from the sides or towards the location of the wheels. Thus, by determining where the noise is coming from, you can help narrow down the list and determine the actual culprit without wasting time and effort.
- Wrong tire inflation
In many instances, popping noise when turning happens because of a problem with over or under-inflating your tires. The tires are designed in a specific way to withstand specific pressure, and if you did not follow the required pressure, you'd start hearing some weird noises.
Typically, these noises happen stronger every time you turn left or right. Luckily, resolving a problem related to tire inflation is very easy. All it takes you is to read through the manual to understand how much you have to inflate your tire so you can deflate it or inflate it, depending on your situation.
- Malfunctioning struts
The other potential cause for these popping noises every time you turn might be related to a malfunctioning strut. The struts are part of your suspension system, and they're expected to wear out over time. When this happens, you'll notice the weird behavior of the overall suspension system, and your vehicle might start making these noises.
If you want to know what causes the popping noise when the problem has to do with the struts, you can investigate how these struts work. The struts rely on a specific cylinder filled with fluid to absorb the loads and prevent the bumpy feeling whenever you drive your car. Therefore, any problem with these cylinders directly impacts how these struts work. Thus, don't be surprised to deal with popping noise every time you turn your vehicle.
How much does it cost to fix popping noise when turning?
It depends. Fixing popping noise when turning depends heavily on the route culprit. For example, if your issue is as simple as tire inflation problems, you could easily deflate or inflate your tire properly.
On the other hand, if the problem has to do with the best CV joint, then you'll need to pay somewhere between $60 and $150 per axle. The tie rod should cost you somewhere between $40 and $120.
Finally, a bad drive belt should cost you somewhere between $120 and $160.
Can a bad alignment cause pop noise?
If there is a significant issue with your alignment, it can lead to various consequences, including popping noises when turning. However, you cannot confirm 100% unless you reach out to your mechanic because it's most likely a problem with the CV joint but checking the alignment might be important.
What to do when dealing with popping noise when turning?
As a rule of thumb, most automotive experts recommend taking any weird noises seriously. This is because your vehicle relies on these noises to grab your attention for internal problems here. As you notice earlier, all these popping noises are always related to an internal issue, and the more you wait on it, say, higher repair costs.
Therefore, the first thing you have to do when dealing with popping noises when turning is to stop driving your vehicle and consult your mechanic. If you depend on the severity of the popping noise, you might be able to continue driving your car to the nearest shop. Still, in some severe instances, you'll need to stop and have the vehicle towed, especially if you know that it's other major symptoms that impact your safety.
Once your mechanic inspects the vehicle, he'll provide you with a list of potential culprits. It's critical that you understand the expected repair costs and not forget labor costs as a final component in the bill. After evaluating costs, you'll need to decide whether you should fix or sell your vehicle because there are many instances where the repair costs are extremely high. It's a combination of different repairs that might not be reasonable for you to fix your vehicle.
Can I fix the popping noise when turning by myself?
First of all, before you move forward with spending money or repairing your car, you'll need to confirm whether what you're dealing with has to do with a bad CV joint, problematic tire, or others.
Understanding the main culprit helps you decide whether you should fix your vehicle yourself or leave it to professionals.
Once you confirm the culprits, you'll need to evaluate your skill sets because there are many instances where repair costs require high mechanical skill sets here that you feel comfortable fixing your car, you can go ahead, but if this is your first time, most automotive experts recommend not experiencing on your car. For example, if the issue has to do with a bad drive belt, you're going to be dealing with sensitive components around your engine, which has a very high chance of causing some damage by mistakes.
If you didn't know, many DIY's do not work the first time, and any mistake is very costly because you're dealing with a car, not a minor component in your household. Thus, you must have a full understanding to do and consider that you're not going to save a lot by doing things yourself, especially if,
Final thoughts
Any driver needs to keep an eye and ear for any weird noises from the vehicle. While some of these noises might be related to a minor issue, many can be related to significant problems. Detecting the major problems early helps you resolve them at the lowest costs. On the other hand, ignoring these noises lead to significant damages that might be beyond repairs or might cost the 2000s of dollars on repair.
This article highlighted a very important topic that any driver might deal with: popping noises when turning. These noises might be related to a problem with the CV joint in most instances. However, other culprits like bad tire inflation, worn-out tie rod, and others might also cause the problem. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you recharge your mechanic and have him inspect your vehicle thoroughly to confirm the real culprit and fix it.
Unfortunately, some repair costs might be very high when dealing with popping noises. Therefore, if that's the case, you must evaluate your vehicle's value and compare it to the overall repair costs. If you realize that repair costs are piling up and approaching 75% or more from your vehicle's value, it is not worth their appearance, and you should sell your card instead and use its value to buy a better vehicle.
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