[Z06] "Clunk" noise when cornering??
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,113
Likes: 0
From: Alexandria Va
"Clunk" noise when cornering??
Hey all, i have about 4,500mi. on my '04 Z. I only notice this when first taking the car out (within the first 10 min.) but when i go around a corner or something (like at an intersection) there's a very audible noise coming from the rear. I tried searching the topic, but came up dry. Is this a known problem covered under a recall notice? All help is appreciated. 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,171
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
This actually was the subject of a few posts about 6-9 months ago. The bottom line is that it appears to be normal and different people have different opinions on why it happens. Some believe that it is the back of one of the seats pressing against the thin sheet metal that is behind the seats. In fact, if you stick your hand back there and press up against the carpeted area behind the seats really hard, you can hear the clunk sound. Others believe it is an oil-canning effect coming from the gas tank when the thin sheet metal of the gas tank heats up. In either event, the same exact thing happened when I first got my 04, usually when I first drove it in the morning. I described it as sounding like a kid threw a tennis ball at one of my rear quarter panels. It went away after about 5-6K miles. Hope this helps. Best wishes with the ride.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,113
Likes: 0
From: Alexandria Va
damn....the tennis-ball throwing description is spot-on. Either that or something really heavy just tipped over in the trunk or something. I have a rear partition back there, but i keep nothing in the "trunk". I do keep my seat really far back, and i haven't tried pushing on anything. I does seem to go away when the car gets warmed up though. Oh well, i'll just 
it.
it.
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
From: San Clemente CA
I have an 04Z and had this same noise until summer arrived. In the warm southern CA weather, it never happened. Now that fall has arrived and mornings are around 60 degrees instead of 70 degrees when I drive to work, the noise is back. It only happens once or twice when the car is still relatively cool. It sounds like some interior panel in the rear of the car is oil-canning.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 4,534
Likes: 374
From: Philadelphia PA
Same here on my 04 Z. I actually wrote into this forum about this subject a while ago. Mine seems to disappear when my fuel tank is anywhere above 3/4 full. I hardly notice it anymore, and I have about 3300 miles on her.
