mike_rose

Okay, it starts out like this. My wife is driving the car monday night with me on the passenger side we started to pull into a parking lot that we didnt really want to go into so we had to back up to get out. after backing up about 10 feet my wife put the car back in 1st gear and we started to move forward, when she completely let out the cluch we heard a loud crunch noise like we ran over a couple soda cans or smacked the fender into something, but there was nothing around. Then again on tuesday when i got home from work i was backing in to my parking i stopped took the car out of reverse and let the cluth out and heard the loud crunch noise again, at first i thought i had left the car in gear and hit my muffler or tip on the curb behind me, but my muffler was totally clear of the curb when i got out of the car to inspect it. Does anyone know what this noise is??? is it the clutch? transmission? cv axle? what?? is this something i can have fixed under warranty? or is this even something i have to worry about?

Daniel B. Martin

Possibly, but not likely. The most common failure mode for a clutch is slipping under power, and that is not what you reported.

Possibly, but not likely. The most common failure mode for a transmission is "gear clash", an ugly grinding felt/heard when shifting.

No. A defective Constant Velocity joint makes clicking or snapping sounds when the vehicle is moving and the steering wheel is turned full left or full right. Your unwanted noise was heard with the car at rest.


If you have the standard factory warranty, it has expired. If you purchased an extended warranty you may be covered. You will have to (1) arrive at a firm diagnosis, and (2) read the fine print in the warranty to see if that is a covered part.

mike_rose

How do you think i could go about finding what this problem is?

Daniel B. Martin

Continue to drive the car normally and gather more clues. Keep a pen and small pad handy to make notes. Observe when the sound occurs, and when it doesn't. If the sound varies in intensity, note when it is loudest.

There are some unusual clutch failures which make strange sounds. For example, one of the anti-chatter springs may have come out of it's nest in the driven plate and is now rattling around in the clutch cover (pressure plate), and making mischief wherever it wanders.

Daniel B. Martin

You could change the lubricant in the transaxle. Watch the old lube as it drains out. It should be brown or black. If it is shiny and silvery, that is because thousands of tiny metal fragments are mixed with the oil, indicating trouble inside the transmission.