Clicking Noise When Turning? It Is Probably a CV Joint

If your car clicks rhythmically when you turn — especially at low speed on full lock, reversing out of a driveway or going around a roundabout — you almost certainly have a worn constant velocity joint.

It is one of the most recognisable faults in car repair, and one of the clearest examples of why catching something early saves real money.

What a CV joint does

Front-wheel-drive cars, and all-wheel-drive ones, need to send power to wheels that also steer. That means the driveshaft has to transmit torque through a constantly changing angle without varying in speed. The constant velocity joint is what makes that possible.

There is one at each end of each driveshaft. The outer joint, nearest the wheel, does the hardest work because it handles the steering angle — which is why the outer joint is nearly always the one that fails.

The joint is fine; the boot is the problem

Here is the part worth understanding: CV joints are robust and rarely fail on their own. What fails is the rubber boot protecting them.

The boot is a concertina-shaped rubber cover packed with grease that keeps the joint lubricated and keeps road grit out. Over years of flexing, heat cycling and exposure to road salt and grime, the rubber hardens and eventually splits.

Once it splits, two things happen at once. Grease is flung out by rotation, and water, dirt and grit are thrown in. The joint then runs increasingly dry with abrasive contamination inside it. From there, failure is only a matter of time.

A split boot caught early is a cheap repair. The boot is replaced, the joint is cleaned and repacked with grease, and the joint itself survives. Left for months, the joint is worn beyond saving and the whole shaft assembly needs replacing.

That is the entire economics of this repair: it is decided by how quickly you act.

What it sounds and feels like

• Clicking or knocking on full lock, getting faster as you speed up. Worse turning one direction than the other, depending on which side has gone.
• A clunk taking up drive — shifting from reverse to drive, or lifting off and reapplying the throttle. Often the inner joint.
• Vibration under acceleration, particularly noticeable at moderate speed.
• Grease sprayed around the inside of the wheel arch or on the underside of the car. This is the definitive sign that a boot has split, and it is visible without removing anything.

That last one is worth checking yourself. Turn your steering onto full lock and look in behind the wheel. If you see dark grease flung across the suspension components or the inside of the wheel arch, a boot has gone.

Can I keep driving?

For a short period, cautiously, yes — but do not treat clicking as background noise you get used to.

A CV joint that fails completely can separate. If that happens the wheel stops receiving drive, and in the worst case the loose shaft can damage surrounding components. It is not usually dangerous in the way a brake failure is, but it will leave you stranded, and it will be a bigger bill than if you had come in when it started clicking.

If the noise is getting noticeably louder week to week, bring it in sooner rather than later.

Why Sydney cars get this a lot

We see a disproportionate number of CV joint failures, and the reason is how people drive in dense inner suburbs.

Tight parallel parking, apartment basement car parks with sharp ramps and tight corners, and constant low-speed manoeuvring on full lock all load the outer joint at its maximum working angle. That is precisely the condition that stresses both the joint and the boot.

Zetland, Waterloo, Newtown, Erskineville and Redfern are all suburbs where we see this constantly — dense streets, difficult parking, and a lot of full-lock manoeuvring.

What we do

We inspect the boots, check for play in the joint, and determine whether the joint has been contaminated or is still sound. If the boot has only recently split and the joint is undamaged, we replace the boot and repack it. If the joint is worn, we will tell you honestly and quote a replacement shaft.

We also check the CV boots as part of every service, because this is one of the clearest cases where a five-second visual check during a routine service saves a customer a lot of money later.

If your car is clicking on turns, call 02 9667 4008 or book a service and let us look at it while it is still a boot job.

Related: Steering, suspension and CV joints · 4WD and AWD service · Wheel alignment