This is my first post on this site so sorry if I make some mistakes. I've done a lot of searching on this issue and haven't found anything that matches my problem, so I figure I'll post it here and see if anyone has an idea as to what might be up (or what exactly to get investigated by a mechanic so I don't get charged a $250 diagnostic fee again--yikes).

Some history on this vehicle: I have a 2010 Rogue SL that I bought used (two years ago at about 150k miles) and it's currently at just shy of 179k miles. The front strut, all the tie rod ends, the brake pads, the rear shocks, the driver's side front brake line, and the front control arms have all been replaced by me since I bought the car. I replaced the CVT fluid in summer '19 and recently gave the car some fresh oil. I have no idea if the previous owners of the vehicle got the transmission replaced under the extended warranty period

A few weeks ago I started getting this clunking noise in the front end of my car that shifts from the left side to the right side (as in, it'll clunk on the left, then it'll clunk on the right, over and over). It starts when I hit the brakes, and lasts until I accelerate for a couple seconds. I've lifted my car up and inspected the underbelly to see if I could see anything wrong with the suspension, but couldn't make out anything of note, and everything seemed secure. I've also tried shifting into neutral as I come to a stop to test and see if the noise still happened then. So far it hasn't, but it also doesn't make the clunking every time that I use my brakes, so I'm not sure if it's actually alleviated by the car being in neutral or if it just hasn't made the noise in neutral yet.

I'll try to get a video of the noise in the next few days to add it to this thread. Any insight or suggestions is much appreciated

You might want to have your engine mounts looked at. Many, many years ago, when I was a kid, I had an engine mount break on my car (I believe it was a 1963 Comet station wagon). I mostly noticed it when I was accelerating. The torque of the engine lifted the engine on the broken side during acceleration, causing a "clunk", and eventually it would "clunk" back down into place as acceleration leveled out. Our mechanic found the issue by watching the engine while someone held their foot on the break, shifting into gear, and lightly giving it some gas. The mechanic watched as the engine rose on one side and dropped back into place as the other person let off the gas.

That seems like it would be worth a check. But was the sound persistent when it happened? Because with my car, the clunking keeps happening (the rhythm of it sounds like a heartbeat, kind of) until I accelerate again.

No, not persistent. Only when accelerating.

Here's a video where you can hear the clunking (it sounds like bumps on the road at first, but when I come to a stop, you can really hear it):

I couldn’t tell from the video but does the noise happen when you cross those little bumps every 100 feet or so in the pavement? Or is this noise rotational?

What brand/kind of struts did you use? Did you replace the complete strut including the strut top?

Did you check for something that may have come loose since you did the work? Maybe not entirely loose and hanging but loose enough to slop around when the vehicle flexes.

The noise happens even when the car is completely stationary, so I'm not sure how much the suspension might actually be contributing to the sound.

Sounds like Piston Slap to me.

Sounds Like Trouble: A Quick Guide to Diagnosing Common Engine Noises

5 Causes of Engine Ticking Noise (At Idle, Acceleration, & After Oil Change)

I'm not so sure that it's coming from the engine. It doesn't come across very well in the video, but the clunk sounds like it's coming from the front left and right wheel wells. Could it possibly be something with my brake calipers or something with the brake system in general, since it only happens when I use the brakes?

Since at this point were just playing guessing games, I'll change my answer to heat shield. 9 times out of 10 that's what these noises turn out to be.

As stated previously, the audio quality of your video is too poor to make a proper educated guess. I suspect that even if you upload a new clip we still won't be able to sort this out. A trip to the repair shop of your choice (doesn't have to be the dealership) may be in order.

Does the noise happen if the engine is not running? The reason I ask is I had a van that every time I opened the door and set in the drivers seat the front end of the van would squeak. I could hear nothing while driving. It turned out to be a ball joint going bad.

You will either need to take the vehicle somewhere and have a mechanic diagnose it or diagnose it yourself by jacking the front end up and checking what might be happening.

It only happens when the car is running. I'll see if I can get the car in to a mechanic I trust in a couple weeks or so (not a dealership, since the last time I took my car in to one of those to diagnose a noise, they charged me about $270 just for the diagnosis).

archippos wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2020 6:13 pm

It only happens when the car is running. I'll see if I can get the car in to a mechanic I trust in a couple weeks or so (not a dealership, since the last time I took my car in to one of those to diagnose a noise, they charged me about $270 just for the diagnosis).

Damn, the repair would probably be cheaper than the diagnostic fee.

These days trying to get a car fixed is like going to the dentist.

Dread it.

U should stick a go-pro up in there to see what’s flapping. It might be so blatant if you could just get a peek, easier said then done, unfortunately.

Took it in to a mechanic today and he didn't see anything wrong with the underside of the car, aside from one of my front tires wearing really badly. He also seemed incredibly perplexed that the sound only kicks in while I'm braking and keeps going while I'm at a complete stop. He's going to replace the front tires, do an alignment, and an oil change and then we'll see how the car acts.