Very loud creaking when steering at low speeds, weirdly only noticeable after driving for a bit. I took to local shop and they are saying it's a faulty upper control arm and strut.

They recommend Remove & Replace Front Upper Suspension Control Arm (Both Sides) at $750 and Remove & Replace Front Suspension Shock or Strut Assembly at $1000.

Thoughts? I have already replaced the front axle assemblies, outer tie rods, and suspension ball joints last year. Annoying.

Thanks for any help.

 

Hard to say without a video but if I had to guess I’d say lower ball joint. They’re notorious on our cars. Could be the upper ball joint too. They might not be willing to press in a new upper ball joint which is why they’re recommending replacing the whole upper arm. It’s probably not the strut. They don’t twist when turning like other suspension designs on other cars. Hope that helps. FWIW, I had a similar noise on my car recently. Lubed the lower ball joint and it went away.

 

Thank you, this was helpful.