Creaking/ popping noise when turning in neighborhoods
06-01-17, 01:55 PM
#16
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 6,260
Received 1,732 Likes
on
1,368 Posts
Hi,
No problem. Do the following two quick tests for me though... These are what the Lexus mechanic and I did together at the dealership when I was having the popping noise issue, as he was stumped at first to what the problem was:
Start your IS on level pavement then place it into Neutral (block your wheels too for safety
)
Test #1
- With your foot OFF of the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
Test #2
- With your foot firmly pressing ON the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
If the sound occurs when you turn the wheel and only when you have your foot ON the brake, then most likely, it is the brake pads causing the issue. There's play in the calipers and the pads are moving around and causing the crunching/popping noise. I know, it sounds impossible but that was the issue with mine (my pads were OEM and almost worn to the tabs at that time).
I'm betting that when you turn the wheel with your foot OFF of the brake, you don't hear the popping. You don't have to be moving to hear it. When I had the issue, it was happening when I turned my wheel to turn into a parking space at a slower speed for example, I'd have my foot on the brake, and would hear the noise. With new pads on the fronts, the noise was gone. I guess the new pads stopped the space gaps and from the parts from moving around in the calipers.
Let me know what you find.
No problem. Do the following two quick tests for me though... These are what the Lexus mechanic and I did together at the dealership when I was having the popping noise issue, as he was stumped at first to what the problem was:
Start your IS on level pavement then place it into Neutral (block your wheels too for safety
)Test #1
- With your foot OFF of the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
Test #2
- With your foot firmly pressing ON the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
If the sound occurs when you turn the wheel and only when you have your foot ON the brake, then most likely, it is the brake pads causing the issue. There's play in the calipers and the pads are moving around and causing the crunching/popping noise. I know, it sounds impossible but that was the issue with mine (my pads were OEM and almost worn to the tabs at that time).
I'm betting that when you turn the wheel with your foot OFF of the brake, you don't hear the popping. You don't have to be moving to hear it. When I had the issue, it was happening when I turned my wheel to turn into a parking space at a slower speed for example, I'd have my foot on the brake, and would hear the noise. With new pads on the fronts, the noise was gone. I guess the new pads stopped the space gaps and from the parts from moving around in the calipers.
Let me know what you find.
The following users liked this post:
momak (03-27-20)
06-01-17, 08:03 PM
#17
Rookie
Thread Starter
Hi, that's exactly what I did. I took the car to Newport Lexus and they denied that the car had any issues and would not even bother to take the car into to the back to look at it. They said that that noise is normal which is ridiculous because this car has never made the noise beforehand and I've had the car since around 5000 miles and now it has 40,000 miles
The following users liked this post:
momak (03-27-20)
06-01-17, 08:05 PM
#18
Rookie
Thread Starter
Hi,
No problem. Do the following two quick tests for me though... These are what the Lexus mechanic and I did together at the dealership when I was having the popping noise issue, as he was stumped at first to what the problem was:
Start your IS on level pavement then place it into Neutral (block your wheels too for safety)
Test #1
- With your foot OFF of the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
Test #2
- With your foot firmly pressing ON the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
If the sound occurs when you turn the wheel and only when you have your foot ON the brake, then most likely, it is the brake pads causing the issue. There's play in the calipers and the pads are moving around and causing the crunching/popping noise. I know, it sounds impossible but that was the issue with mine (my pads were OEM and almost worn to the tabs at that time).
I'm betting that when you turn the wheel with your foot OFF of the brake, you don't hear the popping. You don't have to be moving to hear it. When I had the issue, it was happening when I turned my wheel to turn into a parking space at a slower speed for example, I'd have my foot on the brake, and would hear the noise. With new pads on the fronts, the noise was gone. I guess the new pads stopped the space gaps and from the parts from moving around in the calipers.
Let me know what you find.
No problem. Do the following two quick tests for me though... These are what the Lexus mechanic and I did together at the dealership when I was having the popping noise issue, as he was stumped at first to what the problem was:
Start your IS on level pavement then place it into Neutral (block your wheels too for safety
)Test #1
- With your foot OFF of the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
Test #2
- With your foot firmly pressing ON the brake, turn the steering wheel all the way left or right. Does the popping sound occur?
If the sound occurs when you turn the wheel and only when you have your foot ON the brake, then most likely, it is the brake pads causing the issue. There's play in the calipers and the pads are moving around and causing the crunching/popping noise. I know, it sounds impossible but that was the issue with mine (my pads were OEM and almost worn to the tabs at that time).
I'm betting that when you turn the wheel with your foot OFF of the brake, you don't hear the popping. You don't have to be moving to hear it. When I had the issue, it was happening when I turned my wheel to turn into a parking space at a slower speed for example, I'd have my foot on the brake, and would hear the noise. With new pads on the fronts, the noise was gone. I guess the new pads stopped the space gaps and from the parts from moving around in the calipers.
Let me know what you find.
06-02-17, 12:40 PM
#19
Hey again snabbledab,
Interesting. So, it does make the noise when you apply the brakes while turning the steering wheel? Yep, I still had some meat on my pads too which was the baffling part.
Since I had my car at the dealership testing the noise out (thinking the repair was going to be under warranty, never imaging it was the brake pads), I went ahead and had them install the new pads. Not cheap. So, you may want to go to a trusted mom-and-pop garage to have them install the pads for you instead. Obviously, whatever your comfort level is. I put the minimal dust pads on mine as I couldn't take all of the brake dust from the factory, high-friction set. The dustless ones weren't that much more.
Let me know how you make out!
Interesting. So, it does make the noise when you apply the brakes while turning the steering wheel? Yep, I still had some meat on my pads too which was the baffling part.
Since I had my car at the dealership testing the noise out (thinking the repair was going to be under warranty, never imaging it was the brake pads), I went ahead and had them install the new pads. Not cheap. So, you may want to go to a trusted mom-and-pop garage to have them install the pads for you instead. Obviously, whatever your comfort level is. I put the minimal dust pads on mine as I couldn't take all of the brake dust from the factory, high-friction set. The dustless ones weren't that much more.
Let me know how you make out!
06-03-17, 03:01 PM
#20
Rookie
Thread Starter
Hey again snabbledab,
Interesting. So, it does make the noise when you apply the brakes while turning the steering wheel? Yep, I still had some meat on my pads too which was the baffling part.
Since I had my car at the dealership testing the noise out (thinking the repair was going to be under warranty, never imaging it was the brake pads), I went ahead and had them install the new pads. Not cheap. So, you may want to go to a trusted mom-and-pop garage to have them install the pads for you instead. Obviously, whatever your comfort level is. I put the minimal dust pads on mine as I couldn't take all of the brake dust from the factory, high-friction set. The dustless ones weren't that much more.
Let me know how you make out!
Interesting. So, it does make the noise when you apply the brakes while turning the steering wheel? Yep, I still had some meat on my pads too which was the baffling part.
Since I had my car at the dealership testing the noise out (thinking the repair was going to be under warranty, never imaging it was the brake pads), I went ahead and had them install the new pads. Not cheap. So, you may want to go to a trusted mom-and-pop garage to have them install the pads for you instead. Obviously, whatever your comfort level is. I put the minimal dust pads on mine as I couldn't take all of the brake dust from the factory, high-friction set. The dustless ones weren't that much more.
Let me know how you make out!
06-09-17, 07:15 AM
#21
Hey man, were you able to find out what the issue was?
06-09-17, 11:11 PM
#23
Rookie
Thread Starter
No not yet, I've dropped it off at the dealer and have asked them to check the brakes as well as the suspension. So far they've said that the brakes shouldn't be a problem but they will check them anyways. I'll give you an update once I know more tomorrow.
06-11-17, 07:23 PM
#24
i actually had the same problem. while replacing my rotors and pads, I accidentally loosened a bolt on the hub assembly thinking it was the caliper bolt. In my case this is what was causing the creaking every time i turned the wheel to one side
06-13-17, 07:41 AM
#25
drives cars
I'm at the dealer, and for what it's worth I have a completely different issue. Apparently I scraped something along the underbody and tore one of the panels and dented the exhaust. The pop I was hearing was the exhaust hitting the underside of the car under braking. Thankfully the exhaust is fine, but I need to get the underbody panels fixed to protect the exhaust, fuel lines, and suspension from things getting kicked up into them. 
06-21-17, 10:39 AM
#27
I'm at the dealer, and for what it's worth I have a completely different issue. Apparently I scraped something along the underbody and tore one of the panels and dented the exhaust. The pop I was hearing was the exhaust hitting the underside of the car under braking. Thankfully the exhaust is fine, but I need to get the underbody panels fixed to protect the exhaust, fuel lines, and suspension from things getting kicked up into them.
10-21-19, 08:38 AM
#28
Bumping this old thread - @snabbledab did you or anyone ever find a solution? Can't seem to figure this sound either and 3 shops including the dealership can't figure it out. 2015 is350 f sport
11-11-19, 07:31 AM
#29
Bumping this old thread - @snabbledab did you or anyone ever find a solution? Can't seem to figure this sound either and 3 shops including the dealership can't figure it out. 2015 is350 f sport
The following users liked this post:
Jazzrock (11-11-19)
06-12-20, 12:42 PM
#30
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: State
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Did someone ever find a cause of this issue?
I have the same popping/creaking noise from the front suspension while turning AND braking, like in this video posted above
on my 2014 IS 250 (non f sport, all stock).
The only thing that reduces the extent of it/makes it go away temporary is greasing up the brakes. That usually lasts around a week or two.
So far I've tried:
New OEM front brake pads and rotors (mine were close to the end of their life, however new ones did not fix the issue)
New OEM front brake pad retaining clips (or whatever they are called) and new shim kit (did not fix the issue)
New OEM front brake calipers (did not fix the issue)
At this point I'm really frustrated because the whole front brake system is pretty much brand new and yet the issue is still present (and it keeps worsening until it becomes so loud and annoying that I end up greasing up the brakes which solves it for a week or two).
I've bought the car at 30k miles and it did not make any of the noises in the beginning (Car has 60k now).
The issue only starts to happen after a car is driven for a certain period of time (20+ minutes) and the brakes/suspension heats up and reaches the operating temperature.
I have the same popping/creaking noise from the front suspension while turning AND braking, like in this video posted above
The only thing that reduces the extent of it/makes it go away temporary is greasing up the brakes. That usually lasts around a week or two.
So far I've tried:
New OEM front brake pads and rotors (mine were close to the end of their life, however new ones did not fix the issue)
New OEM front brake pad retaining clips (or whatever they are called) and new shim kit (did not fix the issue)
New OEM front brake calipers (did not fix the issue)
At this point I'm really frustrated because the whole front brake system is pretty much brand new and yet the issue is still present (and it keeps worsening until it becomes so loud and annoying that I end up greasing up the brakes which solves it for a week or two).
I've bought the car at 30k miles and it did not make any of the noises in the beginning (Car has 60k now).
The issue only starts to happen after a car is driven for a certain period of time (20+ minutes) and the brakes/suspension heats up and reaches the operating temperature.