So spring has begun and we've been getting a lot of rain - and I've noticed that whenever I turn the wheel (specifically left, when turning left or letting the wheel go back to straight after turning right) there is a slight squeak in the cabin, which is apparently a lot louder outside than inside. Attached is a video - any ideas??

Thanks!

 

I'm guessing a suspension bush? The noise is similar to worn out suspension bushes I've had on other cars, if it rained, the noise would go away (guessing the water got in and lubricated it) but then after a day or two the noise would come back (guessing the lubrication dried up).

 

Is it something that he should replace?

 

I don't believe it is inherent to safety or anything like that. As if a suspension bush completely wears out, you end up with metal banging on metal and then you get it replaced because the of the noise.

But even with the squeaking noise above, I found that annoying enough to get it replaced. But in relation to safety I don't believe it has any affect in my unqualified opinion.

That's the experience I've had with other vehicles anyway.

 

That's a bad squeak. Not sure I've heard that on a B5. You need to track that down. When bushings go bad, you loose your alignment and eat your tires. If its something else suspension related, at some point one of your front wheels turns a diection all its own and that can do some real damage.

 

I've never seen that happen. From my experience when the bushing completely disintegrates 100% (ie. no rubber left) then it's metal on metal and while it makes a noise, it doesn't turn your wheel violently or cause anything else to go pear shaped except the noise as there is not just 1 bushing holding the suspension arm in place but usually multiple!

 

Yes if its a bushing its probably not going to let go completely. If its a ball joint it happens often when people ignore the noises. I even saw it happen on an Accord in front of me a couple years ago.

 

When I've had ball joints let go on me before, they tend to let go slowly over time rather than all of a sudden and the worst result I experienced was as a ball joint got worse it resulted in the suspension arm touching the brake rotor when on full lock left or right. I'm not sure if it would yield different results on different cars though.

Regardless, that type of noise annoys me too much to put up with!