Apologies if this has been covered. I haven’t been able to find a topic on it. My 2015 CX-5 makes random popping noises from the front end. Most of the time when driving slower speeds from 10-45 mph. It doesn’t sound like a CV axle issue as it doesn’t do the typical constant click click click that a busted CV joint would do on a turn. And the popping isn’t specific to turns or going straight. More for just bumps sometimes. I just finished replacing both front lower control arms, which honestly wasn’t a waste because the big rubber bushing on both original control arms had major cracks and needed replacement anyway. But the popping noise is still there, albeit a little quieter and a little less often than before.

Anyone know what else it could be?

 

Remove the cowl panel and tighten all the bolts around the suspension towers and windscreen motor.

 

I had popping/clunking noises at low speed over bumpy roads. I chased it for nearly a year, but I fixed it. Here is the list of things to try in the order I would suggest going.

2015 CX-5 auto 72,000 miles.

- check the cowl bolts and there are two bolts under the car, one on each side, just behind the rear attach bolts for the front lower control arms. I got about 1/8th a turn on each with a long breaker bar using normal force, not cranking on it. I also checked the lower control arm attach bolts and they did not move under the same torque.
- check the wheel bearings by jacking wheel off the ground and try to rock the wheel horizontally and vertically, if there is any movement then the wheel bearing is bad.
- check every bolt in the suspension
- replace the engine and transmission mounts. This is most likely the problem. Total of three mounts. About $100 in parts. Not a bad DIY job, but you need a long breaker bar and six point sockets since the nuts are on there pretty tight. Half day job and I go slow and clean everything. If money is tight then start with the transmission mount since that one was clearly failed on my car. The others looked okay, but I replaced them since you can’t always tell by just looking at them.
- I replaced the shocks/struts, drop links, and axles. The car seemed to make fewer noises after this, but didn’t fix it.
- I replaced the front wheel bearings. They passed the movement test, but started squealing after installing the new axles.

I also had a groaning noise when starting from a full stop. I replaced the brake pads, clips, and shims with original Mazda parts and it’s quiet now. I found one seized brake caliper slider, so be sure to pop those out and grease them.

I would recommend replacing the drivers side transmission mount on every CX-5 of this generation since the original one has probably failed.

The car drives like new now. I also replaced the inner and outer steering tie rods and got it aligned. That didn’t effect the noises, but made the steering a lot tighter.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Scott