Popcorn sound??????
 

My TL developed a nice little sound earlier this week. I have no idea how else to describe it, but it sounds like popcorn popping and is coming from the front passenger side wheel area. I don't hear the noise at high speeds, only at low speeds - but it's honestly when I'm slowing down (not quickly either, but at a normal rate) the noise appears between 2-0 mph, and then I hear it between after letting go of the brake pedal and barely touching the gas pedal. Sometimes it's been 10ish pops and other times it's only one or two.

Anybody have any guesses? It's on an 05 auto TL.

Maybe the CV joint needs to be changed, check the boot to see if its ripped or check to see if grease has leaked out from the boot.

my car does a popping sound almost every time i do either slow full left or right turns... happens alot when im like backing out of a parking spot and what not... its kinda annoying too =[

That's what is odd....I don't hear it when I'm turning. Only when I'm decelerating or accelerating. I'm not sure whether to take it to the stealership or not. I'm a little nervous that it might be axle related, but I don't notice anything in the steering wheel or in the brake pedal.

I hate diagnosing "noises" in a car!!

Why not turn the steering wheel all the way to the left and look under there to see if you see anything amiss?

Oh, and 05wdptl, you may have bad CV joints. Check to see if your boots are torn.

Sounds like a CV issue, unfortunately.. when it comes to noises and suspension, I agree... its a PITA just to find out exactly what it is, if not obvious.

i had a creaking/popping sound coming from my right passenger side when turning at really low speeds. i only heard it when i was coming home and parking. it was my serpentine belt tensioner pulley.

if u stand outside of the car with it in D and the parking brake on, pop the hood and turn the wheel from outside of the car and see if it's coming from that area.

Well I got home late tonight and have to be at work early tomorrow so it looks like this will have to wait until the weekend comes around to investigate. Thanks for giving me a few ideas guys. I'll let you know what I find.

I have this same noise. It doesn't happen all the time though. Seems to depending on the weather. In the winter I hear a clicking sound when I turn left. I bet they are related. Could it have something to do with the brake calipers?
How many miles on your 05? I have 46,000.

^^ Funny you mention that it's intermittent, because I haven't heard it at all the today! And I was out driving between construction sites for work today. Someone I work with thought it might be related to the calipers, but I would think that I'd feel something in the brake pedal. I'm almost at 83k right now.

Tonight I put the car in neutral, lifted it and turned the wheel by hand and from what I can tell the noise came from where the axle connects to the transmission...I think. The car wasn't high enough for me to get under it to find out for sure. Any thoughts?

CV Joint? My noise came back yesterday. Not when I turn the wheel though. Seems like it happens when it's warm out (70+) and my car has been sitting for a few hours.

I lifted the car today and I've determined it could be a couple things. One is the stabilizer link. I noticed one of the rubber boots was torn so some dirt/sand could have gotten into it.
The other source could be the brakes. I took them apart and noticed there were no shims. According to the shop manual there should be two for each brake pad. I pressed the pedal and noticed a popping sound. I cleaned the pads and calipers and re-greased them but it didn't seem to help.

Interesting. I actually took my car to the dealership Friday and they were not able to figure out what it was coming from. They checked all boots and joints, and also checked torque on all the bolts associated with the front suspension. I talked to the service manager and we took the car for a drive and before hardly leaving the parking space I heard the noise. He had no idea what it was coming from and said to maybe hold off on checking anything else until it becomes more pronounced. I agreed to that since he didn't charge me anything, which was awesome! I was thinking about the front stabilizer bar and wondered if it might be an endlink or something. My only other guess is that I'm thinking it's a strut. I noticed that it didn't make the noise yesterday when it was raining out.......but not sure what that means.

What dealer did you take it to? I took mine to Bloomington Acura last year and they kept it overnight. Didn't end up finding anything but at least they didn't charge me and I got to try a 2009 TL.

At any rate I'm going to order a set of shims and see it that does it.

This one in particular sounds symptomatic of bad CV joints. I had the same problem when I had a 1986 Legend and both joints had to be replaced. Unfortunately it's not a cheap repair, but it's vital that it be done if that is indeed your problem. Don't put off having it checked.

I took mine to Buerkle - that's where I always take my car. I didn't realize you are in MN. You should lookup our Twin Cities thread on here and try and make it to the next meet.

Anywho, let me know if the sound goes away after you install the shims. I'd be willing to meet up with you to see if we're experiencing the same sound as well.

I have 98,000 on my 2005 auto... The clicking noise started around 35,000.. Winter 2007 or so. only does it when its cold out.... once car/engine/ect is warm It dissapears. but the other day I heard it when it was 45ish outside:2cents:

so I'll be taking it to my mechanic soon for Cat-deletes and HFC plus the 105,000 service. Hopefully we can find it

Im having the SAME EXACT issue as you only when its cold out, when i make a turn please let me know what you find out so i can point the dealer in the right direction



1000th post :thumbsup:

Where's my intake? You have my money, but I have no intake!

Same issue with my 2005 auto. When it was really cold this winter it would start clicking on left turns. No clicking noise so far this spring. I have 47,000 miles on mine.

^^ Are you lowered ross? I'm wondering if this is the beginnings of a bad strut perhaps. I installed Eibach springs last year on stock struts, and am thinking that may be part of it..... I'm thinking about looking at the sway bar endlinks this weekend if I have a chance. Did you get the shims yet?

Yeah it starts on the left then both sides:ugh:

I am not lowered. 100% stock. I do however use rims from a 2003 Type-S for my snow tires in the winter.

The popcorn sound has been silent for the last couple days. I did not order the shims but I did put some multi-purpose grease into the torn stabilizer link boot. I have no idea if that did it or if it was overhauling the brakes.

Funny, cause I haven't heard the noise for the past couple day either, but I heard it this afternoon on the way home from work! :ugh: Did you by chance take a pic of the torn boot? Is it torn where it connects to stabilizer bar? I absolutely hate weird/random noises on my car and have actually been working on de-rattling my car tonight. I'm gonna be doing some pretty serious work this weekend hopefully. Maybe I'll find the cause of this noise!

The torn boot is the upper one where it connects to the wheel.

I have the exact same issue. Has anyone isolated the cause yet? I would like to point the dealer in the right direction to get this fixed. Thanks!

I installed the shims on the front brakes and the squealing went away but the popcorn sound is still there. I wasn't able to replace the stabilizer link. I didn't have the right tools and it's a little awkward to get to. The boot is torn though and I'm fairly certain it's making the noise. My left stabilizer link also seemed a little loose so maybe all the bolts just need to be tightened.

I'd be interested to know how the hell the bolts come loose if that's the case, because I had to cut the bolts off my rear sway bar endlinks when I replaced that last summer! Keep me posted though. Thanks!

Sucks how all these details go into some of these threads to just leave them unanswered....

Instead of starting a new thread does any one know if the solution to this would be the stabilizer links ? Im experiencing that popcorn sound at like 0-2mph

Any ideas about this strange popcorn sound at idle / low speeds. Strangely mine is at night time.

If the air mix controllers under the dash have gone fucky, it'll sound like muffled popcorn.

I have 08 TL and mine also makes clicking sound on left turn but only during cold or warm weather. I doubt it's the axle. Has anybody found a solution to this problem?

lol it's the axle fool.
clicking on left turn is tell tale sign

Left turn clicking=passenger side axle joint. Right turn clicking=driver's side CV joint.

Check the boot. You can pull the axle and rebuild the joint yourself if you're so inclined. If the boot is torn, you may just need to clean out the joint, regrease it and install a new boot.

Time wise, it's quicker to just replace the whole passenger side axle. If you take that route, then you'll face a decision of whether to use aftermarket axles, OEM axles,or Raxles. The aftermarket axles don't have the harmonic donut on them, but they seem to work fine and they are dirt cheap compared to OEM or Raxles. Raxles repurposes used OEM axles with better joints/grease.

About 6 months ago I had a clicking on my 06 when I turned right...turned out to be the driver side axle. Then a couple months ago the clicking started when I turned right so I brought it into the dealer since it was still covered under the warranty.
SA called me and said I had a leaking power steering rack......A couple days later dealer called and said the car is ready. I walked in with a lube and bent over and the clicking sound disappeared when I drove my car.

Could a power steering rack cause the clicking?

Popcorn from passenger side engine compartment = side motor mount. At least for me.