That Noise we all hate to hear
 

Hey everyone! New to the forums. I have a Mazda 5 Sport 2009 who is starting to make the noise in the front of the car when going over bumps. I love my car but was wondering what should be replaced in order to make it go away. I am not a handy person so it would be done by a mechanic. Thanks in advance!

....and sway bar links.
Your mechanic will find it quickly if it is loud enough.

2009? Are you still under warranty? Here in Canada we get 3 years 80,000 km's, so if under warranty don't worry about it, take it to Mazda.

If warranty is over, I suggest going to anyone BUT Mazda, and you'll probably want to go with aftermarket parts for suspension, from my experience, aftermarket is superior, and comes with a better warranty.

I live in South Carolina and the temps have dropped the last few weeks. Each morning the front suspension a noise for about 10 minutes when first driving. the rest of the day nothing. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

"Noise" is too general. Beethoven had to change his address very often, because what he thought is "music" the landlords defined as "noise".
Creaking squealing, knocking, making thud, growling, grinding, screeching are just a few terms.....

excellent point! I would think it sounds more of like a thud. it feels like the noise comes from the front of the car. Any time of bumps of any sort make the thud for about 10-15 minutes until the car get warmed up? I don't mind the noise however I purchased new tires and from what I read from the other posts they can get wear unevenly if the suspension is garbage.

A thud would indicate some rubber bushings getting to loose. Prime candidate: Swaybar bushings. But this does not explain why the sound disappears after warm up.

So, scknightfan: you hopped onto an existing thread and leave us in the dark about what car you have, what miles are on it, what you have done to address the problem...
New tires would indicate high miles and that would lead me to think your struts are on the way out.

Well, I was the one who started the thread but I have an 2009 Mazda 5 with 80,000 miles on it. Does anyone have a good brand for struts? I received a quote from my local mechanic and it was 850 for 4 new shocks/struts that were monroe shocks

Sorry, I didn't go back to post one and that caused a "senior moment".

I replaced my front struts on my minivan with "Raybestos" quick struts. It was a bad choice. They have noisy thrust bearings and depending on the weather they creak like a door with rusty hinges.
Go with Monroe Sens-A-track.
If your mechanic has included a wheel alignment than his quote is a-ok.

Hi scknightfan

Did you ever find out what was causing the noise..? I have the same symptoms as you described. A sort of thud noise when going over bumbs in the morning, for the first 10-15 minutes or so.

It has happened the past couple of winters now. I did mention it to Mazda the last time the car went in for a service, but they said they couldnt see anything wrong. Thats fine, but the noise is driving me crazy !!

David

My wife's 2009 GT has the exact same symptoms. Let us know what you find is the problem.

I have the same problem, only really noticable in the very cold. Seems like the anti-roll bar bushes.

With the issue of first few minutes in the cold, being colder, the rubber is harder and less pliable causing them to absorb less of the energy after a few minutes the friction will cause the rubber to soften and be less noticable. Nothing too serious. This would be the same for all rubber bushes so might not be antiroll bar in every case.

When you go over a bump, is the thud exactly when you hit the bump, or does it reverberate for a little longer followed by smaller knocks. This is usually classic anti-roll bar bushes.

I plan to get mine sorted when the weather improves and i feel like spending the afternoon under the car :P