Clunking noise from front end upon first moving.

JN259

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So I’m feeling kind of annoyed. I’m about 1600 miles into my Si Coupe and I’ve noticed something odd. When I am letting the clutch out, in either reverse or first and right as I start moving. I get a clunking sound from low and front. I really can’t tell exactly where it’s from but id say towards driver side. It doesn’t seem to be suspension because it doesn’t matter if the pavement is flawless. Maybe it’s the clutch engaging and I’m just not used to a noise because all my past manuals were upwards of 200k miles and had tons of other random noises
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So I’m feeling kind of annoyed. I’m about 1600 miles into my Si Coupe and I’ve noticed something odd. When I am letting the clutch out, in either reverse or first and right as I start moving. I get a clunking sound from low and front. I really can’t tell exactly where it’s from but id say towards driver side. It doesn’t seem to be suspension because it doesn’t matter if the pavement is flawless. Maybe it’s the clutch engaging and I’m just not used to a noise because all my past manuals were upwards of 200k miles and had tons of other random noises
Just a wild guess, as I have experienced something like you describe, but not with a Civic.

Could it be the Brakes Binding .. rust ?

Does it happen every time ?
Does it still happen if you (safely) do a few hard braking events from about 20 mph, and then try again.
If it persists, you might get someone to listen from outside the car, - maybe they can better determine where it comes from.

At 1600 miles, it should be something that your "Dealer" may look into under Warranty, especially if it was not doing this until recently.

Any "clunking sound from low and front" is probably a symptom of something that should be investigated and corrected ASAP. (Like a front wheel just about to come off - check wheel nuts, ideally with a torque wrench!!)

At 1600 miles, you have not even had your 1st Oil Change & wheel rotation.
Maybe the wheel nuts were never torques correctly ?
I know when I got my new Si home, the 1st thing I did was to check the wheel nuts.
They were all over the place.. A few as much as 20 ftlb under-torqued, and a few over torqued !!

Should be about 80 ftlb (check your manual), so -20 ftlb was about 25% under-torqued. !!
 

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So I’m feeling kind of annoyed. I’m about 1600 miles into my Si Coupe and I’ve noticed something odd. When I am letting the clutch out, in either reverse or first and right as I start moving. I get a clunking sound from low and front. I really can’t tell exactly where it’s from but id say towards driver side. It doesn’t seem to be suspension because it doesn’t matter if the pavement is flawless. Maybe it’s the clutch engaging and I’m just not used to a noise because all my past manuals were upwards of 200k miles and had tons of other random noises
Yes I get exactly this and it started right away. Noticed it within a few hundred miles of ownership. Has not gotten worse or better and many others in this forum have reported similar types of lunking/thunking noises.

I would add that it's not JUST a noise, I also feel something moving under the car or inside the engine bay when the noise occurs. It FEELS like something is loose and moving around underneath.

I assume it's clutch-related but i'm just guessing. I plan to mention the issue to the dealership during my first service appointment and just hope this is typical of the car vs. a problem.
 
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JN259

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Just a wild guess, as I have experienced something like you describe, but not with a Civic.

Could it be the Brakes Binding .. rust ?

Does it happen every time ?
Does it still happen if you (safely) do a few hard braking events from about 20 mph, and then try again.
If it persists, you might get someone to listen from outside the car, - maybe they can better determine where it comes from.

At 1600 miles, it should be something that your "Dealer" may look into under Warranty, especially if it was not doing this until recently.

Any "clunking sound from low and front" is probably a symptom of something that should be investigated and corrected ASAP. (Like a front wheel just about to come off - check wheel nuts, ideally with a torque wrench!!)

At 1600 miles, you have not even had your 1st Oil Change & wheel rotation.
Maybe the wheel nuts were never torques correctly ?
I know when I got my new Si home, the 1st thing I did was to check the wheel nuts.
They were all over the place.. A few as much as 20 ftlb under-torqued, and a few over torqued !!

Should be about 80 ftlb (check your manual), so -20 ftlb was about 25% under-torqued. !!
I don’t think it is brake related as I usually am completely off the brakes when I start rolling. Nor do I think it is a loose wheel or really any loose suspension component. My reasoning here is that I experience zero shimmy or shudder when actually driving, there is no problem with turning or impact response. Regardless I’ll check wheel torque because that’s never a bad thing to do.


Yes I get exactly this and it started right away. Noticed it within a few hundred miles of ownership. Has not gotten worse or better and many others in this forum have reported similar types of lunking/thunking noises.

I would add that it's not JUST a noise, I also feel something moving under the car or inside the engine bay when the noise occurs. It FEELS like something is loose and moving around underneath.

I assume it's clutch-related but i'm just guessing. I plan to mention the issue to the dealership during my first service appointment and just hope this is typical of the car vs. a problem.
I am hesitant to bring it to the dealer for this issue only as it is “minor” and inconsistent in that the noise is very small compared to some issues and it only happens most starts, not every one. I am certain I’d get a bit of a run around on the issue and would prefer not to make the 45 minute drive to the dealer to have them tell me nothing is wrong. However, I’ll need to keep researching this as I won’t be modifying anything until I have all troubles like this dealt with.
 

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I don’t think it is brake related as I usually am completely off the brakes when I start rolling. Nor do I think it is a loose wheel or really any loose suspension component. My reasoning here is that I experience zero shimmy or shudder when actually driving, there is no problem with turning or impact response. Regardless I’ll check wheel torque because that’s never a bad thing to do.




I am hesitant to bring it to the dealer for this issue only as it is “minor” and inconsistent in that the noise is very small compared to some issues and it only happens most starts, not every one. I am certain I’d get a bit of a run around on the issue and would prefer not to make the 45 minute drive to the dealer to have them tell me nothing is wrong. However, I’ll need to keep researching this as I won’t be modifying anything until I have all troubles like this dealt with.
Once again, get someone OUTSIDE the car to listen for it-- they should be be able to hear a lot better than you in the car... may even try with the hood up...

If you can determine where the noise is coming form, you are 75% there to a solution.
 


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Sounds like the rear motor mount to me. Check out some of my posts and you can review my experience with what sounds like the exact same issue. Don’t be afraid to bring it to your dealer, that is what they are there for you.
 

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Sounds like the rear motor mount to me. Check out some of my posts and you can review my experience with what sounds like the exact same issue. Don’t be afraid to bring it to your dealer, that is what they are there for you.
Is this not a little unusual -- "1600 miles into my Si Coupe and I’ve noticed something odd." = Rear Motor Mount ?
If it is, must be a manufacturing defect .. a Rear Motor Mount should last longer than 1600 miles :dunno:

WARRANTY ---> Dealer ---> Car gets "FIXED" :yes: .. and the constant cycle of taking the car BACK to the Dealer starts ;)
 

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I had the same problem with my car, after taking a long road trip, the clunking seemed to have gotten worse, or maybe it was just me. Two weeks ago, I took it to my local dealer and of course they wanted to set up an appointment to drop it off and let a tech look at it. I told him no, that I needed someone to ride with me now so I can duplicate the problem. After riding around the parking lot, and making it do its clunking thing, the service guy said it sounded like it could be 1) the strut is bad, but not the suspension side of it, since the ride quality has not changed, but more like where it connects to the car. 2) the CV axle is bad. Both of which he said he has seen several other hondas come in and needed the same parts to the point they are on back order. Weird thing is, I took my car to get the tires rotated and balanced the next day and havent heard or felt the clunk since, but I also havent really driving my car but two days since that because I was on call with work and had a company truck to drive. I was thinking it was either the motor mount or the tranny mount that was problem. I will have to start listening again to see if its still there.
 

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Is this not a little unusual -- "1600 miles into my Si Coupe and I’ve noticed something odd." = Rear Motor Mount ?
If it is, must be a manufacturing defect .. a Rear Motor Mount should last longer than 1600 miles :dunno:

WARRANTY ---> Dealer ---> Car gets "FIXED" :yes: .. and the constant cycle of taking the car BACK to the Dealer starts ;)
Yes, it was a manufacturing defect on the part.
 

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Yes, it was a manufacturing defect on the part.
What part on what model civic, and what year. ?

If you have a bad part. chances are others have the same bad part (maybe from the same batch of bad parts)
 


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My car does this, I always assumed it was normal for these civics.
Had it when I picked it up, still has it at 9k miles. Hasn't caused any problems for me.
 

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I would say it is the Rear Motor Mount. Do you have any performance mods? I have Ktuner and DP. Sometimes when I get on it in first and second gear, I hear a clunking sound. Sometimes it is so hard of a clunk that it feels like I just ran over a possum. I am pretty sure (at least in my case) that it is wheel hop.
If what you are experiencing what I am explaining then the dealer isn't going to do you any good. I am not sure if people experience wheel hop with a fully stock car but it wouldn't surprise me if they do. Granted you need to know what to look for to know what it is.
I am personally going to upgrade my RMM to 27won to fix this issue.
As far as I know this is normal, I wouldn't get dealer happy over this unless you have a lot of time to kill. If it was me,
 

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So I took my car to the dealer this morning, had a tech ride with me, got the car to duplicate the noise, he takes it in right away. I had to go to work, so he calls a few hrs later to ask if the noise started before or after the CAI install, I of course told him before, but after thinking about it for a bit, I cant remember if it was happening with the stock intake or if it started after the CAI install. Does anyone that is having the clunking problem still have the factory intake or is everyone running aftermarket intakes?
 

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Mine is 100% stock and bangs after a hard shift in 2nd or hard launch in 1st. Or if I get wheel spin in wet conditions the traction control kicks in and cause the engine to oscillate which results in several quick bangs.
I've ordered the boomba motor mount as remedy. Will update after I stall.
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