My (new-ish) truck squeaks. What can I do?

I bought a 2015 XTerra a few years back, and over the last year or so it’s started squeaking. If I hit a bump, it squeaks. If I close a door, it squeaks. If I step in or out of the truck, it squeaks.

I haven’t been able to isolate where the noise is coming from, and it’s not completely reliable- but the only way I’ve been able to completely ignore it happening is to turn up the radio so I won’t hear it. Otherwise, it drives me up the damn wall.

I’ve had several vehicles over my life, of varying ages, and I’ve never had anything like this happen. Any ideas on this? Can I just go to the dealer and say, “Something’s squeaking- fix it”?

When my Mustang convertible would start squeaking, it would go away when I “lubricated” the rubber door gaskets. I’ve used wd-40, , silicone spray lube, and Armor All in the past, whichever was closest at the time. Spray it on a rag, and wipe any door/trunk gaskets you can find. It only takes a few minutes, and might help to isolate your issue.

Have someone help you isolate where the squeak is coming from.
Pay close attention to any bushings, like on the sway bar.

I did exactly this when my Miata had the same problem a number of years ago. The dealer charged me $250 to hook the car up to an “electronic ear,” which I suspect was just a technician with a stethoscope. They said that I needed to replace essentially every component in the suspension for $3,600. This was insane because I suspected that the problem was very minor.

Foreshadowing…

My problem was loose sway bar bolts causing the bushings to rub. It’s a common problem with Miatas and internet research had already told me that was likely my issue. I brought it to a Miata specialist. They charged me $95 to diagnose it but since it was just loose bolts, they didn’t charge anything to actually repair it. That fix lasted until I sold the car 15,000 or so miles later. If I had a place then to work on cars, I probably could have fixed it myself with a socket wrench in a few minutes.

  1. The door part sounds like a hinge, very common, and you’d just WD-40 it. The step out part sounds like it’s in the suspension. Squeaks when you hit bumps are often the door gaskets as was mentioned but if the same as the ‘get out’ one I guess also suspension. But if separate from the get out squeak, the bump squeak could be dried out door gaskets as already mentioned. A product for that besides WD-40 is ‘Gummi-Pfledge’ (just ‘rubber care’ in German but that’s the brand name).

But if the step out and go over a bump squeaks are the same (hard to see how the close the door squeak is the same as other two unless you really slam it) maybe both are in the suspension.

  1. I’m fascinated by Tired and Cranky’s experience with a Mazda dealer hooking up a microphone, even charging and coming up with a very expensive solution. SOP for car dealer service depts IME is to write up all squeak/rattle complaints as ‘could not reproduce’ unless really obvious. :slight_smile: But often owner forums for the particular car give good suggestions. My BMW had a rattle I couldn’t isolate, loath to waste time arguing with the dealer (it was still under warranty) if it really existed because it was intermittent and I knew they’d say they couldn’t reproduce it. But I saw on a forum it’s sometimes door gaskets and sometimes the door lock buttons loosening. I lubed the gaskets and that wasn’t it, but one turn of black electrical tape around the base of the button, nobody can see it, voila, rattle gone. Tiny rattle only on quite bumpy pavement, but right near driver’s ear so sounds the same as a bigger one from a bigger component. That’s what 's so hard to tell about odd car noises (which bug the crap out of me if I like the car otherwise, some people are able to be more relaxed about them).

My 2008 XTerra was very squeakalicious (from about the time I bought it new to selling it in 2010). It could just be the nature of the Nissan beast – I couldn’t isolate where it was coming from, so I eventually gave up and just turned the radio up. :slight_smile: Actually, a few of the sounds went away after the X was hit really hard in the rear by an inattentive driver and much of the rear bumper/hatch/etc were replaced – but I don’t recommend this as a solution :smiley:

The X3 (BMW) has a massive sunroof and it does some squeaking when it’s warm out. I cut a chamois cloth into a little square and pushed it up between two parts that were producing the sound – fixed. I figure that heat makes something to do with the sunroof area swell a bit and rub together because it doesn’t happen below 80 or so degrees.

Coil springs binding/loose mounting with the struts/strut mounts. Had this happen before. Bouncing the car and up and down might not even show it and the squeak actually does sound like its coming from the door hinges or inside the vehicle cabin. If it makes the noise when you are getting in or out of the car, it’s almost guaranteed to be something with the strut assembly. You can either lubricate the bearing plates and spring to see if it goes away or replace the struts, or just live with it.

Unless you do it yourself (cheap, relatively easy) only replace them if it when you drive over a large bump or dip, the vehicle feels like a boat on water (takes more than 1.5 ‘bounces’ to level out) or creaking/popping and knocking when turning the steering wheel.

If they have more than 50,000 Miles on them, its worth checking out replacements anyway.

My Mom’s Olds Silhouette minivan was a squeaker: turns out it was the plastic front bumper rubbing against the sheetmetal fenders.

A spray of silicone spray wherever plastic rubbed against metal did the trick.

I bought la new Toyolta Corolla i n 1985, and it squeaked immediately. I took it back to the dealer, without an appointment, and complained about it. A mechanic came out immediately, drove it into the shop, came back out in ten minutes, and it never squeaked again. I had the feeling at the time it was in a rear seat.

Lighten up on the WD-40 advice for lubrication. It’s a poor choice for lubrication, penetrating oil, or corrosion cleaner though it works for a short time in a pinch. Water Displacement is part of the name and that’s its main purpose. Note: you can find numerous discussions of WD-40 capabilities on this board.

Use a silicone spray, grease, or dry lubricant spray specific for what you are working on - hinges, door seals, etc… WD-40 as a brand makes some of these other products.

I’d do all the door/window seals first, then door hinges, then check the suspension. My $0.02. Dash panels and gaps are another frequent source of squeeeeeks:mad: