There’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling you get when you turn your car on in the morning to go to work and hear it rumble louder than usual. The worst part is that you don’t know what’s causing it and whether it will be an expensive fix that might total your car.
Don’t worry if you’re not a car mechanic because I’ll explain everything you need to know about the common causes of loud noises. By reading the rest of this article, you’ll know how to identify where the noise is coming from and potentially even fix it without spending a penny. Let’s get started!
1. Damaged Muffler
If your car is louder than a Harley Davidson, or if it sounds like it’s having a tough time on the toilet after eating Tex-Mex, then it’s most likely a damaged muffler. Even though it can sound scary, the problem thankfully isn’t as serious as having an engine failure.
However, the loud noise could distract other drivers, wake up your neighbors, and just generally annoy everyone around your car, so it’s best to deal with it as soon as you can. Plus, the exhaust fumes from your engine aren’t being filtered out properly, which means that your car is polluting the environment significantly more.
This is a common issue that happens from rust buildup. Corrosion eats up the metal that makes up the muffler, leaving a hole.
You can tell that your muffler is damaged if your car is obnoxiously loud all the time the engine is running, and it gets even louder when you drive at high RPMs. Alternatively, turn on your engine and walk around to the back of your car. If the sounds are coming from around the exhaust area, it’s the muffler.
As a side note, the muffler is just the most common part of your exhaust system that fails and causes your car to sound louder than usual.
You should inspect the whole exhaust system, including:
- Resonator
- Catalytic converter
- Exhaust pipes
- Exhaust manifold gasket
The last can especially sound concerning because the sound will come from under the hood. It can also cause your car’s gas mileage and performance to go down, along with a slew of other problems.
Depending on the condition of your exhaust system and where the sound is coming from, you may need to replace/upgrade the whole system.
A cheap fix would be to J-B weld it using the J-B Weld ExhaustWeld Repair Wrap (Amazon), which can hold up for a few months until you get to a mechanic and replace the damaged parts.
2. Cold Start
Is it possible that your car is going through a cold start? If it’s below or close to freezing temps outside and your car is having a tough time starting up, then this is likely the cause of the loud sounds. And if the noise goes away after your engine has been running for a while, you’ve found your noisemaker.
A cold start can make your engine sound as if it’s screaming in agony, but it’s just that the engine is stiff from the cold temperatures.
Thankfully, a cold start is usually nothing serious, especially if the engine isn’t too loud and the sound goes away after a few minutes. On the flip side, a cold start can also make existing problems audible, so it’s worth checking where the noise is coming from before you dismiss it.
3. Loose Exhaust Shields
Let’s go back to the exhaust system for a bit. If you hear a ton of rattling coming from underneath the car that gets worse when you press the gas pedal, it could be the exhaust shields.
Exhaust sheets are pieces of thin sheet metal that sit between the exhaust and the bottom of your car. They protect other parts from the heat coming from the exhaust pipes. They can be installed either on the exhaust pipes themselves or the bottom of the car.
Regardless of how they were installed, they can loosen over time and start to rattle very loudly.
The only way to inspect and fix this is to get under your car. You’d only want to do this after the car has completely cooled down, so wait at least 2–3 hours if your car was on recently.
Try to move the shields with your hands. They shouldn’t budge. If they move even a little bit, tighten the nuts holding them. You can also apply some heat-resistant thread lock adhesive before you do it to make sure they stay in place.
4. Low Engine Oil
If your car runs on low engine oil for long enough, stuff will start to wear down fast. This is a serious problem that can be mitigated with just a bit of regular maintenance.
Not enough oil means the moving parts in the engine won’t be lubricated, which can cause your car to work loudly. But what’s more concerning is that the metal-on-metal contact will wear down your engine.
So, pop your hood open and check the dipstick. Wipe it and dip it in again. If it’s below the minimum line, top off the engine oil. You may also want to see a mechanic to make sure nothing else has been damaged, especially if the noise doesn’t go away.
5. Low Power Steering Fluid
If the loud noise is only there when you turn the steering wheel, especially when parked, then something is wrong with your power steering. In most cases, it’s just that there isn’t enough power steering fluid.
Again, pop open the hood of your car, and locate the power steering fluid reservoir. It’ll either be transparent with a minimum level on the side, or it’ll have a dipstick on the cap. Either way, if there isn’t enough fluid, top it off, and the noise will disappear.
Check out this video for more information.
6. Squeaky Belts
If you hear an annoying squealing sound coming from under the hood, one of your belts is at fault. There are quite a few different car belts, namely, timing belts, alternator/serpentine belts, and fan belts.
You can identify which belt is squeaking by popping the hood open. The AC fan’s belt is easy to identify — if you only hear the noise when the AC is on, you’ve found the problem.
If you’re not sure, you should inspect all belts under the hood. If they’re frayed, chipped, or extremely loose, it’s time to see a mechanic to replace them.
But if you’ve had a new belt installed not too long ago, and it’s squealing, then you could try lubing the belt with a small bit of petroleum jelly first to see if the noise will go away.
7. Worn Down Wheel Bearings
If you hear the noise at high speeds and it gets worse as you go faster, it could be the wheel bearings. I don’t mean to scare you, but this could be a serious problem because the last thing you want is a wheel to pop off while driving down a high-speed highway.
It’s not hard to identify this issue. Just open your window and shift the car into neutral while driving on a straight road. If you can hear the rumbling noise coming from the wheels, you’ve found the culprit.
I recommend going to a mechanic as soon as possible to sort this out.
8. Transmission Problems
If your car is louder than usual when you’re changing gears, then you have a problem with your transmission. Automatics are especially prone to this issue because the torque converter can get low on fluid.
When this happens, you get metal-on-metal contact, just like with low engine oil above.
This can be really bad if you don’t fix or replace it on time, as it can take the whole transmission with it. Don’t drive your car if you’re certain that it’s the transmission. Have it towed to a mechanic to avoid any further damage.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you have identified and fixed your issue. As you can see, many of these problems can be fixed with some regular maintenance.
Inspect all fluids in your vehicle regularly to make sure everything works properly.
