okay, so all you 5gen owners are pretty familiar with this problem..
primarily when driving over imperfections on the road you hear an odd knocking noise coming form the front of the car...almost sounds like your wheels are loose even though they are not and you feel a shudder in the steering wheel...i've read a few threads about this problem and i know its a common issue with 5th gen max's. i have had this problem as well... its not bad but its annoying and i've been told its not an urgent fix..in otherwords, you can learn to get used to it...

however, this morning i was running late to work and i decided to skip an intersection by skipping across a parking lot and cutting a diagnal path to the road i needed to get on... i had just started the car not even a minute ago (this is close to my home) and i was fooling around with the temp controls trying to clear my windshield which was fogged up from the morning dew and such...i wasnt really paying attention ( like a dummy) and i hear this huge bang..
pretty much i ran over a speed bump with my front left wheel at around 25mph.. (okay 25mph doesnt sound very fast...but for a speed bump...its really fast). the impact sounded so loud that i actually stopped the car and got out to inspect for any damage... i couldnt find any damage . nothing out of the ordinary at all. i was pissed, i just got this car not too long ago. hell, i can still even hear the noise reverbrating in my head right now... suks.
anyway...for some inexplicable reason the car is not making that knocking noise up front any more and the steering wheel and steering feel as smooth as silk... its like the problem went away completely...... wtf?!... i dont get it.. what did i do? it actually drives better now. weird.....

 

I'm guessing it's your imagination playing tricks on you...just wishful thinking...

I have the problems you mention, and driving on these great Jersey roads (especially hitting two or three very large potholes in the past year) has not made the problem magically disappear.

 

Interesting... could you post the links to the threads that you are talking about (describing the problem) I don't think I know what you are talking about.

 

Look for warn out balljoints/control arm bushings or upper strut mounts.

 

lay off the weed

just kidding...as MerlotMax says look for warn out balljoints/control arm bushings or upper strut mounts or possible blown strut.

 

i never heard of that problem, nor do i have it myself... but thats whats up though! i say count your blessings and enjoy the ride.. lol

 

Many have spoke of that problem, I myself had that problem. I replace my strut mounts, no aval, ball joints, no aval, inner and outers, no aval, control arm bushings, no aval, swaybar links, No aval........ see where iam getting at, Anyways after replaced basicly the entire front end and no improvment i was pissed, so next thing i did, Replace the Struts, Instant gratifacation, the noise is gone, Iam a happy camper and a tight front end now i may add

 

ahh yes, Jersey roads...the reason I'm not lowering my car =(

but I get the same knocking sound sometimes on my Max...but then again I thought it was normal since my dad owns a 2K Max and has had the same sound for years...

 

struts have been changed....i got brand new struts on this car. i also read somewhere that in some cases.. engine mounts where the culprits...
like someone mentioned above, i could be imagining this...but i swear i felt some kind of diff... anyway the problem didnt go away completely...but it feels better for sure...

 

Look for the link kit.....

I had that knocking and loose wheel sound when I was hitting holes and denivelation....Two littles arms that costed me 150$ and the noise went away.

 

WTF? Define please!

 

My bad its in French lol....

Denivelation means that the road isnt even, like holes cracks and stuff.

 

I had the exact same problem, and it turned out to be a broken engine mount. No-one could isolate it, until finally a sharp mechanic put it on a lift, and got his buddy to turn it on and off several times (that also invoked the noise). Then he noticed one mount was a bit smaller than the others, so he jammed a screwdriver in there to support it - and voila, no more noise. Could be you too.

Have no idea why the big bump would have fixed it, unless you've shifted your engine into a new and weird position...

 

I'll have to use that word randomly in a conversation and see if people nod their head like they know what I just said.

I figured that what you meant, since it sounds like "delevelation" lol

 

i know this thread is more than 2 years old but I have this same problem with my bad with my car making that knocking noise while driving. I know my front left strut is done but the noise from the engine. The knocking noise is coming from the suspension or something else? Im taking my car to change the front brakes and also doing an alignment. If i can fix this noise tomorrow i be the happiest person alive! Because that noise is driving me nuts and make my car sound like ****. Thank you