How can you tell what’s wrong with your car?
Ever heard a sound come from your car and your stomach drops? A properly functioning car doesn’t make too much sound, so it’s pretty obvious when things aren’t quite right. It’s never a good feeling to hear something you know you shouldn’t, but all we can do is be prepared! So without further ado, these are some common, but weird car sounds your car might make and what they may mean!
Car Sounds:
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Screeching or squealing when you break.
We’ve all heard this sound once or twice in our lives. First and foremost, don’t panic. Wheels can squeal a little when they’re wet so that could be the culprit. However, if this doesn’t go away quickly, your brake pads are most likely screeching for a replacement.
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Clicking.
If you hear clicking beneath your hood don’t freak out, this is probably your car telling you that it’s low on engine oil. In this case you’ll want to take it straight to a shop to get that oil changed quickly! Pro tip: use CarAdvise maintenance reminders so you never miss an oil change.
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Roaring when you hit the gas.
When you hit the gas does it sound like your car is accelerating way more than it is, almost like a roaring from your engine? This could be a few things. First, it might be your transmission failing, which you should hope is not the case as transmission issues are expensive to fix. Next it could possibly be your car’s exhaust system malfunctioning causing your engine to work extra hard. Both are costly to fix but a transmission replacement is not something you want to have to pay for.
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A rattle under the car.
This one’s easy! If there is a rattling coming from underneath your car there is definitely something loose. It’s most commonly an exhaust pipe that comes loose and rattles around. If it’s your exhaust pipe you can usually do a quick fix yourself before you have time to get to a shop. If you don’t know what’s hanging be sure to get to the shop right away.
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Bang.
This might be one of the most uncomfortable sounds to come from your car because it is very loud. There is a good chance your car is backfiring. If that’s the case a cloud of smoke will likely come out of the tailpipe following the bang. Unfortunately, your car backfiring means there is an issue with its catalytic converter. The catalytic converter keeps the exhaust coming from your car clean enough for regulatory standards. A great piece of machinery which is unfortunately a bit pricey to fix. Pro Tip: If this is the problem, saving on labor will be critical and CarAdvise typically saves 25%+ on these.
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Knocking in the engine.
This might mean that you’ve put the wrong type of gas in your car! Some cars require higher quality gasoline and if you put low grade gas in your vehicle it’s going to be unhappy with you. Once you put the right type of gas in your car you should be fine. Luckily this isn’t too expensive of a fix, just be sure to know what type of gasoline goes in your car!
And there you have it. Some of the most common, yet weird sounds, that you might hear from your car! Keep in mind that if you keep up with your car’s routine maintenance these problems are less likely to happen.
Keep an eye on your upcoming maintenance with CarAdvise so you don’t miss anything. However, if something does go wrong and you hear one of these sounds coming from your car, book an appointment through CarAdvise! We’ve got your back! We’ll keep the costs as low as we can and keep your repairs as stress free as possible.
Got some questions about your car battery? We’ve got the answers in our article Answers to Common Car Battery Questions here.
