Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Cleartec 2011 - Suspension knocking (sometimes)

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 17 Jan 2019 20:42
Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Cleartec 2011 - Suspension knocking (sometimes) - Colt45

Any suggestions as to the cause of an occasional knocking noise from underneath the car when I go over a bump or a pothole? It doesn't always occur, seems to be coming from the RH side (the car is LH drive, manual) and is a heavy knock, not at all metallic. I only hear it at low speed. The car drives perfectly, but because of the snow here, I haven't been pushing it through the twisty bits, so can't tell if there's more body roll than usual.

At first I thought it might be something moving about in the boot e.g. spare tyre or jack, but II've also heard it coming from the front. Perhaps it's always the front, and any noise from the rear is something loose in the boot. This weekend I'll try emptying the boot...

Haven't had time to go to a garage, or jack up the car to check it myself, but thought someone here may have had something similar. The car has covered 100,000km.

One more question - the slightly stiff gearchange on this car may or not be a 'feature', but would fresh gearbox oil help?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 18 Jan 2019 08:15
Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Cleartec 2011 - Suspension knocking (sometimes) - hardway

First look would be the links and anti roll bar "D" bushes.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 18 Jan 2019 17:18
Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Cleartec 2011 - Suspension knocking (sometimes) - Colt45

First look would be the links and anti roll bar "D" bushes.

Thanks. I'll get them looked at.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 18 Jan 2019 23:16
Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Cleartec 2011 - Suspension knocking (sometimes) - Andrew-T

Check all the exhaust attachments. If it's moving about more than it should it could well hit something, front or back.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Jan 2019 10:51
Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Cleartec 2011 - Suspension knocking (sometimes) - madf

Possibly broken rear spring near one end - see rust on it.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices