Front knocking when braking
Hello and Hope this helps you and anyone else experiencing this... My Wife and I have a 2005 Pac Trng and ever since we got the vehicle we had been hearing an increasingly loud "thump" on acceleration or over bumpy roads, and a loud "thunk" when initially applying the brake, also, from a high speed slow down, the car would shake in the front end. After 3 service stops at different dealers in the area (all of whom said they could not tell what it was or did not hear anything even when it was audibly noticeable, to "we think it might be the struts" explanation), I decided to do some googling on my own and found an obscure post about a little known issue with the "Lower Front Control Arms". There is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin on this item as well - Chrysler Pacifica 2004-2005, Service Bulletin #: 0200704 and NHTSA #: 10010533). It seems that even the Chrysler Service Technicians are unaware of this issue which shocks me - Aren't they they ones who should be telling me what it is???!!! We scheduled a service check at the same dealer who didn't hear anything the first time, asked for the manager to take a test drive with me so he could hear what I was hearing, let him drive it on his own, and insisted that he look up the TSB. Since it was covered under warranty, I asked him to "please replace the item we are referring to" - I mean what else do we have to lose? They reluctantly took the car in and the manager called me the next day to tell me that I was exactly right! The Rear Lower Control Arm Bushing was extremely bad. We also had the Front and Rear Motor Mounts replaced to elimante a secondary knocking issue we experienced while accelerating. The overall effect was a much smoother (and Quieter!) take off and stop, with no popping, creaking, or "loose parts" sounds coming from the front end at all! If you are experiencing the "Thumping" or "Knocking" noises during braking or acceleration, or a slow speed "Rumble" (between 5 and 15 mph) in the front end when going over uneven ground or potholes, then you may want to have your dealership or mechanic take a look at these two items (Lower Control Arm Bushings and Motor Mounts). It has nothing to do with Brakes or Struts - unless you have a really crappy mechanic who just tinkered around with those items recently.
Hope this helps. - Gary, Los Angeles, CA
Hi Monica Mathews, I want to help you with your question, but I need more information from you. Can you please add details in the comment box?
pacificas are known for squeaky rubber bushings in the rear end, i would say look at the rubber bushings for cracks.
Is the squeaking in the front or rear and is will it squeak while you are stopped and just turning the wheel or does it squeak when you hit a bump?
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