Rear wheel pop sound

[orange57]

I'm the new owner of a 06 Saturn Vue, with the 3.5L motor. The car is really nice, has great power, comfortable interior, and is overall a great car. However there is a pop sound that comes from the passenger side rear wheel area. Could this be suspension ro break releated? Bad bushing or something else? I plan to take a closer look tomorrow to see if if i can spot anything.

Thanks for your help,

matt

[1saxman]

Check lug nuts for looseness first.

[far2grumpy]

Check lug nuts for looseness first.

Checking lug nuts is great idea ... if they're tight can you provide a few more clues?

Do you notice "pop" sound at any particular speed?

Can you duplicate by bouncing car?

Can you duplicate by applying lateral force to rear section of car?

Only when braking?

Turning?

Backing?

Engaging either forward or reverse?

[bigapl]

Check the rear sway bar end links for tightness I have seen the loosen slightly and the pop and knock.

[orange57]

I'm pretty sure the lugs are tight. We just had new tires put on the car yesterday, and the sound was present before that. It only happens when you start to turn right, and comes from the rear passenger side.

thanks for the input so far. I'll take a look at some of the suspension components thsi morning and let you know if i find anything.

Thanks,

matt

[orange57]

So i looked at the suspension earlier today, go under the car, gave it a good look over, shook the car from side to side, jumpped on the rear bumper, and could not replicate the sound. So i had my gf drive the car while i walked next to it, hoping to hear/see something, and go figure it's the one time that we could not get the car to make the pop. But on a positive, it appears to be the plastic splash guard that is poping against what i assume is the cover on the strut. I just think it's weird that it only happens when we would turn right, or back up to the right. If anyone has any other ideas, or has had a similar issue, i'd appreciate the comments. I plan o taking a closer look in the day light and see if i can permanently fix the sound.

thanks,

matt

[04Pacific]

You know what I have this happen sometimes when my car has been sitting overnight and I make a right. The only thing is that it only does it for about a minute or so then stops. This may just fall under the infamous "squeak & rattle" section but I'm not sure.

[1saxman]

Most VUE owners wish this is all they had to worry about.:snide:

[1saxman]

This probably isn't what you're hearing, but I wonder if it could be the knocking noise from the fuel transfer pump?

[orange57]

well i'm not sure what the fuel transfer pump is, but the sound is back. Last week kind of pulled the plastic splash guard away from th shock, and the sound went away. A trip to San Diego and back, and now it made the sound again. So i'm back to the drawing board.

[Tom92SCm]

How often does it make this sound during a drive? Everytime you turn right?

If it happens when you turn, it is probably a function of the weight transfer onto that corner as you turn. I would look for suspension related things like a bad shock, spring not seated correctly, loose suspension bolts, bad wheel bearing...... See if you can replicate the noise by shaking the VUE side to side by pushing the fender/glass/bumper/wheel.

The fuel transfer pump will make a knocking noise- about 2 or 3, maybe 4, quick knocks soon after the VUE has been started. I seem to only notice mine when it's cooler out.

[1saxman]

Something else to check as soon as you can crawl under the back end - there are four big bolts that hold the rear suspension to the car - two on each side, one front and one rear. They're easy to see - screwed vertically into the rear unibody through a large 'flattened' pipe. If you find one with the bolt head missing or extending out like it's unscrewed, do not drive the car. These have been known to break.

[orange57]

All the bolts have heads, look still snugged up, i didn't take a wrench to them, but that may be the next step.

As far as trying to replicate it, i cannot replicate it by jumping up and down on the rear bumper, or pushing the car side to side. It's weird. How can i check the wheel bearing? Jack the car up and shift the wheel around?

Thanks,

matt

[orange57]

could the problem be caused by bad rear brakes?

[Luma46]

Having the 2007 AWD VUE for two months now, I have been fighting these squeaks, rattles and “pops” almost since day one. I managed to get rid of them with fair degree of success and here is what I'd suggest:
1) Using a pressure washer, clean thoroughly the bottom mounts/cups where the springs rest, they tend to collect lots of dirt and small rocks. There is a fairly good access to the front strut springs, but to clean the rear spring mounts, you may have to take the rear wheels off.
2) I use lots of silicone spray to lubricate all the suspension rubber bushings and spring mounts top and bottom, except I use WD40 on the front strut spring bottoms as there is no rubber, just metal against metal. Make sure you do the lubrication when all dried up after your cleaning job.
3) I used a silicone grease to treat all the rubber around doors and rear gate.

Evidently, the isolation of the Vue’s body from suspension is pretty poor and I am not sure, how often I will have to do this lubrication to keep the squeaks and rattles at bay. I am very “sensitive” to all unusual vehicle noises and this is quite frustrating to have them on a vehicle which is two years old with 33k kms and which otherwise looks and rides like new.

[Bismarck318]

This probably isn't what you're hearing, but I wonder if it could be the knocking noise from the fuel transfer pump?

I ocassionally hear a pop or 2 after just starting it, perhaps once every 15-20 starts, & about 5-15 seconds after startup, was thinking it was something in the warmup process.