Suspension noise or is something inside the cabin noisy? (update: now with video)

tchalikias

tchalikias

Paid Member
I just returned from my 2 week vacation.. and I think I've noticed a problem (?) on my 2000 mile 200.

Everything works at it should, and it drives perfectly well, however, on certain cases, when the body is exposed to torsional forces (i.e. going over a speed bump while turning) I get a very disconcerting 'clunk' from somewhere in the back of the car.

Its perfectly audible both with the windows up and down..

At first I thought it was something in the trunk, took everything out, the noise was still there. I checked the boot lock, checked the rear seat mounts, checked the seatbelts, I checked pretty much everything inside the cabin..

What am I missing? What could making this ocassional 'clunk' noise that seems to come from the rear?:s:'(

P.S. I even tried removing the car's jack, it wasn't the cause of the noise..
 
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What do you mean? The sound makes itself apparent no matter how slowly or carefully I pass through the bump..
 
I checked the seats.. I dropped the rear seats and also unclipped the lower part and raised it and held it up with a couple of towels underneath... Shaking the seats also doesn't produce the noise.

I also tried passing over the bump with the boot 'unlocked' (closed but with the latch off), still the same noise... I think its from the rear left of the car and its definitely from inside the cabin.
 
Update: I went by my dealer and guess what... we couldn't replicate the problem anywhere near the garage! We tried everything, no noise, just normal suspension noise...

Of course when I returned home I heard the noise when entering my garage (the entrance has a small 'step').

Its definitely not suspension related (99% sure that is), its something in the rear part of the cabin... I'll hunt for the noise during the weekend!
 
Are you sure it's not the rear seats? I spent ages trying to track down this noise in my 197 and it's the hinges on the backs of the rear seats.

Try pushing the bottom of the rear seats (From in the cabin, towards the boot) and see if you hear the noise
 
Hmm.. So dropping the rear seats wouldn't stop the noise, would it?;/

I'll check it later, its 38 degrees Celsius outside right now!:zomg:
 
Well I tried everything, but I couldnt pinpoint the origin of the noise. I'm starting to think its not from within the cabin but from underneath the car. :worried:

And the weird thing is, I can drive on rough surfaces of all kinds and the noise wont be heard, but I can hear it when coming out of my garage (which has a 4cm high ramp in the entrance). I drove by a lot of speed bumps today and couldnt hear it. And then, on a random anomaly on the road, "Clunk"!

Any ideas?
 
Today I had the car on a lift and every nut and bolt in the suspension checked and tightened.

It made absolutely no difference.

I also tried going through a speed bump with the boot open - no difference there, either.

So this noise is the worst kind - the mysterious intermittent kind! :worried:

Any suggestions on where to look after that?
 
Update: the tech at the dealership insisted that the noise comes from the front left side and that the culprit is the spring..

He said they have another 200 with the exact same symptom and are awaiting delivery of 2 new front springs on Monday, they will replace them on the other car and see if it solves the problem.

Anyone else heard of noisy front springs on newer 200s??
 
That's just typical mate. On this one I have no suggestions hope it gets sorted
 
tchalikias said:
Update: the tech at the dealership insisted that the noise comes from the front left side and that the culprit is the spring..

He said they have another 200 with the exact same symptom and are awaiting delivery of 2 new front springs on Monday, they will replace them on the other car and see if it solves the problem.

Anyone else heard of noisy front springs on newer 200s??
Click to expand...

i knew of 2 owners that have had new springs fitted and i think there has been a couple on the rs forum
 
After driving in heavy rain the problem has gotten worse, now sometimes the clunk can be felt on the pedals.

Here's a video of the problem, you have to turn up the volume, the noise is near the end of the video, I recorded it as I was coming out of the garage. You 'll notice it doesn't do it the first time, it still has this annoying 'randomness' which makes pinpointing it very difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1PxzivHXus

It makes driving the car a real chore :worried:
 
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