Hello to all who read this.Sometimes at startup as the engine cranks over I hear 2 or 3 thumping sounds coming from the front of the vehicle near the center.It sounds and feels like something is knocking against something else.The thumps can be felt on the floor and usually have occured when Ive been parked on an incline and I crank the engine but it stops when engine is started.I have also noticed increased steering wheel vibration while reversing out of driveways on an incline.The thumping also occurs on bumpy roads,RR tracks etc..It does not occur while vehicle is sitting still idling,going down smooth roads or simply turning the wheel left to right either.Its a '00 I30 with 177,000 miles and Front struts and mounts were replaced 2yrs ago and both CV axles replaced 1yr ago.I tried checking motor mounts with the hood up but I noticed no out of ordinary movement of the engine but Im still thinking motor mounts.What else can I check??

 

I think you are right when you say motor mounts. Less likely, but still worth checking is the exhaust system.

 

Just to finish this out it was my Front and passenger side mounts even though I could not actually see the issue until they were removed.They were cracked but not destroyed like Ive seen in other posts.The car now literally feels like a brand new car again.The engine feels smoother and the car feels more planted to the ground now.It felt like front struts were bad because the car had this bone jarring,shaking effect over bumps.Also the Rear mount was intact but the motor attached to the bottom had somehow burned up and the cover burned off of it so I may have narrowly escaped problems with my ECU.All three mounts were replaced with non-electric mounts.