Questions and Answers

Passat Creaking Noise Q. Vincent, Thank you for taking the time to put together such a useful site. I looked for quite a while to find an auto site that actually had useful content and I am very glad I found you at About.com. Relating to the problem below, I read many articles and went through the "hear" troubleshooting content.

Although I found the content extremely helpful I was not able to draw any specific conclusions relating to my particular issue.

Here is my question: I have a 1999 Volkswagon Passat with 43,000 miles on it. We have kept it well maintained with the appropriate regular service visits. When moving under 30 mph we hear a "creaking" sound coming from the front suspension area. It is clearly most prominent when riding over uneven or choppy roadway, leading me to suspect some type of issue with the shocks or suspension.

Another clue: when the car is off and a passenger enters the car we also hear a gentle creak responding to the weight of the passenger (although it seems to be coming from the rear in this case, which sort of leads us to believe it may not be fully related). We've brought the car into our local certified factory dealer for a thorough checkup on the problem, thinking it had a chance of being brake related and it was important to get it checked.

$1,000.00 later, we had new brakes, but the creaking persisted the next time we drove the car. Our dealer insisted the brakes were the problem, there is no other problem with the car, and that they did not hear the creaking after the brakes were replaced. I am not a picky person, but there is definitely consistent creaking.

Do you have any ideas on what could be going on - and whether is could be a major issue? We are trying to determine if we should shell out another few hundred bucks to get our dealer to inspect it again, post new brakes.

Thanks,
Russ

A. The clues were all there, you just misinterpreted them. The creaking is very likely coming from dry bushings in the front and rear suspension.

When bushings get old and start to dry out, they start to creak, like my joints at the end of the day.

What you can do is reach in through the wheel well and place your hand on the different parts while someone bounces the car up and down. When you found the part that's creaking, you will feel it. Now be careful where you put your hand so you don't get hurt.

The most likely place the creaking is coming from is the lower control arm bushings. Spraying all the rubber parts under the car generously with Liquid Wrench or WD-40 will help get rid of the creaking. It may take three or four applications to do it. If, after that, the creaking is still there, you'll have to replace the offending bushings.