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Strut Issues

8823 Views 32 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  ryedaddy
Hey everyone,

My 2020 is in the shop right now for the 3rd time in a year for the same problem - the infamous knocking/clunking sound in the driver’s side wheel well. I’ve had both driver and passenger struts replaced for this same noise on separate occasions (also a crunching/binding noise that developes over times, most noticeable with large speed bumps). Today, the dealership informed me that both struts need to be replaced AGAIN.

I have just over 22,000 miles on this van, so it’s really hard for me to understand what’s causing this. When asked about the cause, they claimed the parts to be faulty. Admittedly, the issues were resolved with replacement parts, but always come back over time. I’m not so sure this is a parts issue as it may be a design/installation issue. I’m a single dad in the military and I bought this vehicle new because I thought it would be more reliable. I was unfortunately wrong about that. Now I’l am really concerned about what happens after my warranty is up - do I really have to replace struts after 10k miles because of poor quality OEM equipment?
Has anyone dealt with this reoccurring issue? Is the problem actually faulty OEM equipment or do some vans have a design issue that causes this?
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I went through that on the driver's side of my 2018. They wasted time and parts when it was the lower control arm that needed to be replaced.
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That sounds like sway bar bushings or control arm bushings creaking.
Sounds like bushings and they have techs lacking experience. The bushing will also quiet when it gets colder and start making noise again when it gets warmer or heat from the engine bay warms them causing the parts to expand.

I had a vehicle the was silent in the winter but in the summer at 70F+ started creaking. 100F+ sounded like the Titanic, would turn heads in parking lots going over speed bumps.

Tell them to try soaking down the sway bar and control arm bushing with silicone spray and use the spray straw to try to force it in the center of them.
That will fix it. The Pacifica only has lower control arms because it has struts. If they told you they are changing upper control arms I would find another dealer because they would be lying to you and might not actually be replacing all they said they were.
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