clicking sound from front on m35x

[rxmclaren7]

hey all...its been a while since i posted a topic but i am having an issue with my car and i am hoping the almighty m forums can help! my car has just over 169xxx miles and i just started to notice a slight clicking sound that seems to be coming from the front left of the car...although i cant be sure...i do not notice it all the time but if i am in the drive thru of a fast food joint i can hear it bouncing off the walls of the restaurant...my fiance has also said she hears it when i pull in to the drive way but not all the time! any ideas?? thanks again in advance for any advice!! also did a search and came up with nothing but i do remember reading a post a few months back that another member had posted that his drive shaft was clicking...do you all think this could be the cause?? also no vibrations at all when moving even at 80+...

[cruzad3r]

have you done any of your suspension refresh? if not i suggest you replace the front sway links and stabilizer bushings. the labor is extremely easy and parts should run around 150$ shipped for everything.

[myother45isalesbaer]

hey all...its been a while since i posted a topic but i am having an issue with my car and i am hoping the almighty m forums can help! my car has just over 169xxx miles and i just started to notice a slight clicking sound that seems to be coming from the front left of the car...although i cant be sure...i do not notice it all the time but if i am in the drive thru of a fast food joint i can hear it bouncing off the walls of the restaurant...my fiance has also said she hears it when i pull in to the drive way but not all the time! any ideas?? thanks again in advance for any advice!! also did a search and came up with nothing but i do remember reading a post a few months back that another member had posted that his drive shaft was clicking...do you all think this could be the cause?? also no vibrations at all when moving even at 80+...

Does it click when the car is moving or stopped? If it is stopped with no clicking its not likely to be drive train related. If it clicks all the time, even when stopped its more than likely something around the engine. That's the first thing I would determine to isolate the problem.

[rxmclaren7]

it only clicks at low speeds like when i am rolling up to a stop sign and pulling in and out of the drive way!

[built2makeit]

i have the same problem, but mine comes from the left side... i hear it when i'm driving along a jersey barrier on the highway when there is traffic. so usually under 30 mph

[bluedevil30]

Have you had your wheel bearings checked?

[myother45isalesbaer]

Check the CV joints too. I have had them go on other cars and made a clicking sound almost identical to what you describing. That's if you have front wheel drive.

[jallow33]

I have a 06 M45, and have the same noise coming from the left, although its the rear left wheel. Clicks that happen when going slow, when car goes into drive from park, over bump. Almost sounds like soda cans hiting each other. Thought it was suspension or cv joint related, but it is not. Turns out, it is the parking brake cable that is loose or needs to be lubricated/replaced. Seems to be a common problem with the M as there is a service bulletin for it(ITB05-040). I havent got mine fixed yet as I havent had the time, but it doesnt affect the drivability of the car, although its very annoying.

There is a bolt right under the steering wheel near where the parking brake leads to, I would try to tighten this first if this is your issue. Ive tried this myself, but it dodnt work, so I may need a new cable altogether.

[mixeaodjservice]

I have had 2 type of clicks on mine. 1) High pitch clicking when going over bumps at low speeds, and over bumps. Sounded like a soda can opener tab being rattled in the can, in a larger scale. This turned out to be the e-brake that was loose just like jallow33 said. This issue is mostly common in the rear. in fact when it happened to me, it was also rear left. 2) Rattling/clicking/clunking noise from from passenger side, mostly at low speeds and over bumps. This noise was more on the middle of the noise spectrum and not so high pitched. It sounded like the tire was loose and bouncing around a little. This turned out to be the outer tie rod, just like someone else had posted on another thread.

I hope this helps.

[rxmclaren7]

i am going to have my car looked at hopefully sometime tomorrow or early tuesday...i will mention the e-brake cable thing to them and lets all hope that is the issue!! i will update when i know more from the dealer!

[m4m]

not sure if it relates to what you have, but just as of fyi
TSB ITB10-002:
VARIOUS INFINITI MODELS; WHINE NOISE / VIBRATION FROM TRANSFER CASE
A whine noise and/or vibration from the transfer case assembly when:
• Making right or left turns at slow speeds,
and/or
• Stopped, with steering wheel turned to almost full extent in either direction, and then applying slight acceleration

[shankrr]

Sounds Like you might have a Headlight problem I read about... Pop your hood and put your ear to the headlight lamp and there is a motor on the headlights that makes a noise... it doesnt happen all the time and it is loud enough to hear in the car if you are going slow. I hope that helps.... i believe you have to replace the whole headlight if this is the case.

[Cabo]

I have the same annoying click sound and sounds like the front driver side or rear cant tell... im dieing to fix it but cant find what it is... makes sounds over little bumps I hate it lol

[myother45isalesbaer]

hey all...its been a while since i posted a topic but i am having an issue with my car and i am hoping the almighty m forums can help! my car has just over 169xxx miles and i just started to notice a slight clicking sound that seems to be coming from the front left of the car...although i cant be sure...i do not notice it all the time but if i am in the drive thru of a fast food joint i can hear it bouncing off the walls of the restaurant...my fiance has also said she hears it when i pull in to the drive way but not all the time! any ideas?? thanks again in advance for any advice!! also did a search and came up with nothing but i do remember reading a post a few months back that another member had posted that his drive shaft was clicking...do you all think this could be the cause?? also no vibrations at all when moving even at 80+...

From your posts it sounds like you have not found the source of the clicking. Try this to isolate the clicking. On a level surface, open the hood. Start the car, but don't move it. Listen for the clicking noise and try to ID where it is coming from, if it is clicking. If it is clicking it has to be related to motor or accessories. If it is not clicking we can move on to a driving test. Unfortunately there are literally hundreds of reasons for a clicking noise. We need to narrow the search until we find the cause.

[mixeaodjservice]

Here is a very easy troubleshooting idea, which is what did to isolate my issue. If you highly suspect it is the e-brake, find a rough road where you can repeatedly duplicate the issue time after time. Then slightly engage the e-brake 1 or 2 clicks so that the pads are engaged. Then slowly drive your car through the same road and see if the noise goes away. If it goes away, it is indeed an e-brake issue.

[rxmclaren7]

thanks all for the helpful replies! i just got back from the infiniti dealer and they determined it was the front drive shaft coming off of the transfer case! they showed me the issue and i am glad i got it in when i did! i was also told that had the drive shaft broken completely it could have taken out my transmission and engine!! so i am not worried about an $1100 bill coming my way on monday! on the upside of things, my loaner car is the new Q50!!!!! if you have yet to drive one go now to your local infiniti dealer and test drive one!! the entire car seems effortless when driving anywhere!! the transmission is so smooth and so is the engine! i caught myself doing more than the speed limit on a number of occasions on my return trip home...lol!!! really nice car and great service from my dealer!! if you are ever in Syracuse, NY and need service done look up Lowery Bros Infiniti of Syracuse! i will update on monday with total cost!

[Cabo]

Here is a very easy troubleshooting idea, which is what did to isolate my issue. If you highly suspect it is the e-brake, find a rough road where you can repeatedly duplicate the issue time after time. Then slightly engage the e-brake 1 or 2 clicks so that the pads are engaged. Then slowly drive your car through the same road and see if the noise goes away. If it goes away, it is indeed an e-brake issue.

Worked for me ^

[svard75]

I too have a clicking sound from the drivers front. I only hear it when I've been driving for a while then turning my wheel to reverse into a parking spot. It sounds like the brake pads are moving up during braking. I'll have to raise my front wheels to check the drive shafts just in case. Thanks for the update.

[dimataeus]

i had a similar clicking noise and it ended up to be one of the pulley tensioners/pulley assembly. i would get that checked out.

[JS520]

I have the same clicking noise coming from the front driver's side when I make slow hard right or left turns. Infiniti techs can't seem to figure it out. Have replaced bearings, machined rotors, replaced front breaks, tighten things, and lubed parts. Fortunately they stopped charging me after the 2nd visit, but they still can't figure out what's wrong.

From this thread, it seems like a couple different clicking topics. Mine only clicks when turning and not all the time. And recently it just started doing the whining noise from a stop through slow acceleration.

What was your solutions to fix this?

Thanks.

[rxmclaren7]

sorry i did not update this sooner!! my clicking sound was the front drive shaft bearings!! they were bad enough that the dealer was surprised i made it to the dealer in one piece! so the fix was to replace the front drive shaft ( i have the awd x model) and the problem was fixed....$1100 later!! JS520 i hope your problem is not as serious and good luck!

[JS520]

That's good to know rxmclaren! I'll let the service advisor know to look at the drive shaft bearings. I don't think they've looked there.

I'll update this thread with results!