Hi all...first post here...just found this forum and I'm really excited about it. My wife's car is an '02 Civic (her third) and I have an Acura TSX...we love our Honda products!

Her car has about 50K miles. Within the last six months, it has developed a creaking noise coming from the front suspension. It's especially noticeable at slow speeds, under 15 mph. The best way to describe the noise is that it sounds like a tree in the wind...a pretty loud creaking noise. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to drive the car around a parking lot where people are around, because it sounds like it's 80 years old!

It doesn't seem to be affected by temperature...similar noise whether it's hot or cold. Turning or driving straight, same noise. I'm no mechanic, but I'm guessing ball joints? Does it seem unusual that a noise like this would develop at 50K, or is this a common problem for this car?

 

Does it happen on flat surfaces or only on dips and bumps? My car used to squeak and chirp like a bird everytime I would hit the slightest bump or dip. I later found out my shocks were completely shot. You said your @ 50k have you had shocks / struts changed? Try going outisde to your car and rock the front fenders up and down, try to listen for the "creaking" sound. See if you can narrow it down to which side its on, thats what I did.

 

My friend also had a similar problem were I thought it was his shocks but it ended up being a loose bolt underneath his car. Hope this helps you diagnose your problem.

 

It seems to happen on flat surfaces too. I notice it a lot when I'm on my street, driving at low speeds before I pull into my driveway. It's a pretty flat street.

Should shocks or struts be going at 50K? I've had GM cars from the late 80s and early 90s that have gone 100K+ without changing the shocks or struts. And I know a Honda should be built better than that...I hope???

 

I also have a 2002 honda civic, it has 65k and i have not yet had a problem with the struts or shocks, hopefully the problem is nothing major. Good luck!

 

When you have your car parked, push on the car right above the tires. If the sound is still there then you have a problem with the struts. Worn out bushings could also cause the creaking.

 

Hmm... I think my rear shocks are going bad then... when I was jacking up from the side of my car to put my motor mounts in, the rear suspension was popping and groaning the whole time the car was lifting off the suspension.