lol, thats funny, im 18 and my dad says if something breaks, its my fault cause I drive it hard (whatever) so I can pay to fix it. Its probably gonna be front ball joint time soon

 

The upper control arms themselves are not the problem, the bushings pressed into the control arms break over time and cause the control arms to move around. When they completely fail the upper links will flop around like a fish out of water since there is nothing holding them still, when you turn the wheel the control arm will bang into the strut housing. When the shop inspects the car tell them to look at the upper control arm bushings and see if they are cracked or flat out blown.

 

I'm taking the car in today so I'll update you with what happens. I would drive with it but I just feel like it isn't good to do to the car.

 

Update:
It needs new tie rod ends (that was the crunching sound apparently)
Front brakes resurfaced
Wheels rotated (they're doing it for free since its such a small thing).

At least the dealer is paying for the brakes, CV boot, and oil pan when that happened.

 

So, in reading this thread I'm reminded of something...

My Audi makes similar crunching noises (mechanical rubbing of some sort from the front wheel wells) when I turn. It doesn't happen unless I'm making a U-turn or somehow otherwise spinning the wheels all the way left or right. At first I was worried about the bearings, but if that was it I'd feel it when going straight too...

So, I should look at the bushings for the control arms? And CV boots?

Thanks!

 

if you're running aftermarket wheels or springs/dampers, you may have tires that are too tall and you're rubbing.
if that's not an issue, CV shafts, hubs, and bearings are goin to be the only things to look at.

 

I have the exact same issue. Only here the noise on full turns.

 

crunching or clicking or both ...... sharp turns usually indicate a CV problem ..... but don;t rule out other possibilites as mentioned before ....