[rahul_kej]

Hi Rubal,

First of all welcome on board. I was facing a similar situation just like yours in my lancer at least 7 to 8 years back. Tried lot of trial and error methods but nothing worked, the noise seemed to be from the steering rack or front suspension.

Finally the cross member was opened and it was found out that both front and rear bush of the cross member gave up. Replaced those bushes and the noise was completely gone.

[kaps454]

Originally Posted by pitstop_chd

Hi All

My Bolt' s Front Right tyre makes a khat khat sound while going over uneven surface. Let me explain it like this. There is no Khat Khat sound when I go over a pothole but there is a khat khat sound on any uneven part of the road. When I say uneven it does not mean rough roads, it is like any unevenness on the road surface, tiled roads where- in the tiling is uneven. Initially the issue used to surface 8 out of 10 times & gradually after multiple visits to the service centres it is not 3 out of 10 times. It is not like that every time I go on a tiled road or uneven surface that the khat khat sound comes but it does. The pattern is not consistent. Also, when it comes I do feel that there is a slight play in the steering rod (I am not that very technical).

Own a 2015 Revtron Zest XT. 90,000 kms done. Nothing changed so far. I also have a similar issue to the one you have described. Noticed it in the last 5000 kms. The steering column has excessive vibrations when going over rumble strips.
Another issue is excessive vibration of the door liners and dashboard which spoils the rich bass of the otherwise fantastic OEM ICE.
Any tips as to what needs to be done is very welcome

regards kaps454

PS: wheel alignment done once at only 50K when I changed all the tyres. Never got it done again as the car drives true.

[subramaniamj]

I had a similar experience with my Honda City. The car would be perfect up to almost two weeks post servicing and would feel small impacts in the steering whenever driven through any uneven surface. I had inquired regarding the solution many times to Honda authorized service engineers and some very skilled local mechanics too. Here were their findings.

1. All the parts (including the steering assy.) would be lubed and tightened to near perfection post any service and that's why you won't hear rattles or impacts in the steering
2. The problem here could be a play in the steering, which could be caused due to any spindle which could have been broken in any systems connected to the steering unit. This could even be from the lower joints in the suspension channel.
3. To do any of this, they needed to do a complete dismantling of the drive system and isolate the issue which they said is going to take at least a week (if not more) and substantial labor (Range of a couple of ten thousand). Needless to say, the cost would be higher if there needs any replacement.

I opted not to go for any repair or diagnosis since I had plans to sell the car and the issue was a bit negligible and is not causing any significant issues to the car.

[Theyota]

Few years back in China, I had noise coming from what I thought was wheel well area of my brand new Volkswagen. I made my own checks and I did not see any abnormalities. The first couple of shops I went to wanted to replace something or the other without really being able to explain why. The mechanic in the 3rd shop sat in the car for hardly 30 seconds, got out and opened the bonnet and showed me a tiny leak in the power steering line. He replaced the line and the sound never came back.

Another time back in the US, on a Toyota, I thought it was a strut/axle/ball joint problem and went to a 4S as the car was still under warranty. It turned out to be a loose flimsy plastic engine cover underneath rubbing against some other component every time I turned the car to a particular direction. All it needed was a reinstalling a lost clamp.

[Camshaft tunes]

Originally Posted by pitstop_chd

My Bolt' s Front Right tyre makes a khat khat sound while going over uneven surface. Let me explain it like this. There is no Khat Khat sound when I go over a pothole but there is a khat khat sound on any uneven part of the road. When I say uneven it does not mean rough roads, it is like any unevenness on the road surface, tiled roads where- in the tiling is uneven. Initially the issue used to surface 8 out of 10 times & gradually after multiple visits to the service centres it is not 3 out of 10 times. It is not like that every time I go on a tiled road or uneven surface that the khat khat sound comes but it does. The pattern is not consistent. Also, when it comes I do feel that there is a slight play in the steering rod (I am not that very technical).

On a recent long route travel where- in there were too many diversions & uneven road, it actually became a pain to drive the vehicle as I feel irritated due to this.

Hi. I've been exactly hrough this on my Fiat Linea. Open the strut boot and check the joint where the strut meets the shocker mount. You should be able to see a visible gap. You can also try rocking the car from sides and see the gap widen back and forth. In my view the front strut mount or shocker mount(as they call it) has been damaged far beyond any greasing can pull out a few more miles for you. The upper and lower plates of the mount are probably just sitting on each other with a few bearing balls lying inside as most of these balls would have fallen off by now. This causes the upper and lower part of the mount to not remain parallel resulting in audible play on the strut.

Another method of checking is to ask someone to steer the car on a standstill while you hold the strut spring from the wheel well using your hands. You should feel strong vibrations as the steering wheel is rotated indicating that the overall steering mechanism is struggling to steer.

I suggest check the shocker mounts and get them replaced. You should be good to go with that alone as you have already replaced everything else. If ignored, the strut will pop right through the shocker mount and settle on the inside wall of your front hood.

[techcoze]

My Civic had similar issue and my search for the root cause went over an year almost. On some casual inspection at FNG, found reason to be "stiff tie rod". Tie rod had gone kaput and was stiff causing khat-khat sound on unever roads since it was not freely moving along with other suspension parts.

[Living2Drive]

I had similar noise back in 2014 on my 1st gen figo, the hood latch was adjusted & later replaced to fix this issue. This was after a year of diagnosis in 2, 3 outlets & finally got this fixed in Chennai Ford Arumbakkam branch.

To my fortune the quality guy allotted to test my vehicle was knowledgeable and was knowing what he was doing.
He did what i thought would be the most crazy and unsafe thing to do to identify the problem, when the noise was audible he unlatched the hood lever from the cabin, the sound immediately stopped.

After getting back to the workshop i noticed this guy had a wire tied to the hood and to the front member holding the front end, later explained that even if the cross wind lifts the hood the wire will hold the hood from being lifted all the way up and bang on the glass.

In another instance the bush holding the hood stay rod was fallen off and was causing the same problem, resolved with a new bush.

[pitstop_chd]

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

From the list of parts, the only suspension component which hasn’t been replaced is the strut assembly. Shock absorber or full assembly including spring and mount. If you can get full assembly try to change that.

Next suspect is the strut mount, since you have changed the steering column and rack. Suspension parts should always be changed as a pair due to chances of uneven wear.

Please get your car up on a lift and inspect the other parts, including lower arms. Some of them are replaced a longer time ago and may have worn out as well. If you see signs of play or rubber wearing out, go ahead and replace them as well.

All the best and hope your issue gets sorted out !

Hi. Sorry for the very late revert. I was intact keeping busy with my office & hence the delay. Let me first thank you all for the inputs you all gave. Well, going through the suggestions what I feel is that I should get the strut assembly changed.However, I do have a question & though the question may sound stupid, I think its better to ask. I have limited knowledge about the car mechanicals & I am trying to learn the basics going through the various posts. While the vehicle has run almost 50000 kms, should I get both the left as well as the right strut assembly changed or rather get the right side strut assembly changed?
Also, is changing the shock absorber different from getting the whole assembly changed?

While, even yesterday I drove the vehicle, the khat khat sound sound comes only at the moment while the tyre goes over an uneven surface & that too not always. I mean imagine a surface near any diversion where- in the road is partially broken at length. That khat khat sound always comes during such road conditions. Some one in the forum mentioned about the rumble stripes- No, the sound never comes while crossing any rumble stripe. The most irritating part is the sound is not consistent that is it comes on its own without any warning. Also, the sound comes for micro second till the time the tyre goes over that kind of surface so I cannot tell whether the sound goes off if I apply brakes because I do not get time to brake within those micro seconds.

The only viable thing I feel I should go for is strut replacement. I do not wish to sell the vehicle as there is nothing else wrong with the vehicle & its rattle free till time & I have kept the car well maintained & usually drive carefully over bad roads

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by pitstop_chd

...should I get both the left as well as the right strut assembly changed or rather get the right side strut assembly changed?
Also, is changing the shock absorber different from getting the whole assembly changed?

Change the whole strut (i.e. complete assembly including shock absorber + spring) on the affected side. If it solves your problem, you can get the other side changed in the next few days.

[Tgo]

I dint think it is necessary to change the spring.

[pitstop_chd]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Change the whole strut (i.e. complete assembly including shock absorber + spring) on the affected side. If it solves your problem, you can get the other side changed in the next few days.

Not very sure but after giving a detailed attention to this khat khat sound, i realised tgat the sound does not come when the brakes are pressed. Basis this analysis, i went to the tata service center to get my calipers checked. They diligently checked the calipers & found them perfect. They greased them & gave me a thumps up. I also got the shockers checked & even for the shockers they said they are fine with no issues whatsoever.

However, still that khat khat sound does come for that moment when i cross an uneven or rather a broken patch. I am.not too sure whether changing the shock shall make any difference or no. I at times pity the fact that such a lovely vehicle is marred by this ghost issue