Squeak and screech from the front

[Luma46]

So we took our “new” Vue (it is a 2007 3.5l AWD) for the first longer trip, going to Radium Hot Springs, BC, just over 600 kms return trip. On one hand I was very pleased with overall good handling and engine/transmission performance and the fuel consumption of about 7.9 l/100 km (almost 30 MPG) and that was going steady 100 to 105 km/h.
However not so nice surprise came when driving over road construction for about 2 kms. There was a TERRIBLE squeaking/screeching noise coming from the front passenger side as the front wheel rode over this bumpy road. It sounded almost like metal rubbing against metal or metal against some hard plastic. I cleaned the other day with pressure washer wheel wells, struts and strut wells and checked the tightness of all bolts and nuts around this part of suspension, everything is OK.
Coming later home, I was trying to reproduce the sound by rocking the vehicle from the front and also by humping on the lower edge of the door opening – nothing. This sound seems to happen only at slow speed and over bumpy road.
I have read on this site about issues with the front struts, but I just cannot figure out what specifically would cause this squeak.
The vehicle is still under warranty so I will try Saturn to fix it, but I hope I will be able to actually demonstrate this sound …
Any help/advice would be appreciated.

[bob shanks]

I also have a 2007 fwd v6. Same here with the noise. Dealer replaced upper strut mounts, and all was well until 2 months later. Same noise as you stated after going slow over some bumps in the road. They replaced the sway bar links, and all went well for about 3 weeks. Brought it back and they said CANNOT DUPLICATE NOISE. Let us know how you made out.

[far2grumpy]

So we took our “new” Vue (it is a 2007 3.5l AWD) for the first longer trip, going to Radium Hot Springs, BC, just over 600 kms return trip. On one hand I was very pleased with overall good handling and engine/transmission performance and the fuel consumption of about 7.9 l/100 km (almost 30 MPG) and that was going steady 100 to 105 km/h.
However not so nice surprise came when driving over road construction for about 2 kms. There was a TERRIBLE squeaking/screeching noise coming from the front passenger side as the front wheel rode over this bumpy road. It sounded almost like metal rubbing against metal or metal against some hard plastic. I cleaned the other day with pressure washer wheel wells, struts and strut wells and checked the tightness of all bolts and nuts around this part of suspension, everything is OK.
Coming later home, I was trying to reproduce the sound by rocking the vehicle from the front and also by humping on the lower edge of the door opening – nothing. This sound seems to happen only at slow speed and over bumpy road.
I have read on this site about issues with the front struts, but I just cannot figure out what specifically would cause this squeak.
The vehicle is still under warranty so I will try Saturn to fix it, but I hope I will be able to actually demonstrate this sound …
Any help/advice would be appreciated.

I'd guess strut mounts ... you can test with vehicle standing still by establishing rhythmic "bounce" of front-end. Do suspect side first and don't quit too soon.

I redid brake caliper pins, front sway-bar bushings and sway-bar end links with no noise abatement. I decided to become very aggressive with moving front end up and down and heard the noise.

Next step was to inject beau-coup silicone spray in the openings around top of struts (under the hood). This was to be temporary measure to confirm it was the strut mounts. I've put almost 2000 miles on the Vue since the spray with no recurrence of noise.

I'm not looking forward to replacing the strut mounts, but intend to do so if / when noise returns (or, depending on my mood, might inject more silicone spray).

BTW ... inject the spray while an assistant is doing the bounce ... I stopped spraying when the noise disappeared.

[Luma46]

I think, I have fixed that squeak, at least it looks like for now. I have followed the advice from several posts on this site and did following things:
* sprayed all front rubber bushings with silicone spray
* sprayed the tops of the struts with silicone as recommended by ‘far2grumpy’
* sprayed the bottom rests of the strut coil springs with WD40
Actually, I think it was the last step that finally did the trick.
No matter what, these kinds of problems really drive me nuts, I am just not used to that with other vehicles. I used to have a 1994 Pathfinder, sold it last year with 250,000 kms and the only thing I had to do on it was to change oil every 8,000 kms or so. The Vue is actually my vife’s vehicle, she is replacing a 2000 Altima, which did not have a single problem in these 9 years either.

[burnout]

These suspension rattles are just part of the game with GM vehicles it seems as of late...