2006 Sonata Wheel well noise

Welcome to the Ka-Thunk club Doc. :\

If we're talking about the same sound, I hear it mostly on rough streets while driving slowly. Sounds like it's coming from between the rear wheels.

One owner stated his dealer told him it was a shock mounting pad issue, and would be addressed by Hyundai. Heard nothing back on it so far.

Another owner stated his emergency brake cable was loose, and rapping against the floor pan. He could see a slight mark against the undercoating where the cable was hitting. He secured it with a zip tie, heard nothing back on it so far.

Personally, I slid underneath my car and hit against the fuel tank bottom with the heel of my hand. It made a very familiar sounding "ka-thunk" sound, even with the lightest bump. I just don't know if that's it or not. If I had a lift, I would stuff things in there and try to stabilize it. If's and but's!

Bottom line, if it's the noise I think it is, it should be brought in to your dealer for resolution. *

*I brought mine in, but the dealer was too busy that day, a huge thunderstorm came up with power blinking, and I just wanted to go home.

Update on the K-thunk. Below is an update from an owner I mentioned in my previous post.

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Just an update. We put 600 miles on the Sonata this weekend with about half being interstate and the other half being rough roads. We had no more thumps. Actually the front suspension was louder than the rear. At one stop I reached up under the drivers side rear wheel and cut the zip tie off the brake cable since that was the side that had the most marks on the under body. Guess what, thump was back. I put a new zip tie back on it and no more thumping. Good enough for me, until I can figure out a more permanent method of keeping the cable off the body. Good luck people with your thumps in the night.

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It sounds pretty promising, but I can't believe it's that darn simple!

Anyone else have news from dealers or personally investigating the noise?

I had a 2000 and 2002 Sonata with the same problem. It turned out to be the rear suspension / shocks ; it was very annoying and happened all the time. Got the District Hyundai Mgn involved and in an attempt to make it better, he had oil filled shocks put on and it greatly improved things. Also, consider adding some 3/8" thick insulation roll from J.C. Whitney.com above the wheel well plastic liners to muffle noise ; it worked out well on other cars ive done. You have to remove the wheel then the Liner , but its a pretty easy job. Then glue some insulation roll down after cutting it to size. Also put some in the cargo area under the carpetting on the inside of the vehicle .

Is the wheel well plastic?

Matt

Hmmmm... if the waxy undercoating was applied under the wheel well, I wonder of the sound mat would even stick? If not, maybe just some of that foamy tar undercoating would help deaden the noise a lot.

I know the sound deadening mat would help some, but the metal foil coating is most effective when oriented toward the cabin, right? In other words, it would work best if you could apply it to the wheel well from inside the car. Oy, I bet that would be a major job...

Bob, dont know if it would work or not but if you wanted to do it from inside the car why couldnt you drill some small holes and use that spray foam insallation, you know the kind that swells up when it drys. It would seep into the hard to get spots before it drys then all you would have to do is cut off the excess where you drilled the holes and touch it up with black paint and a small brush or a black magic marker.

Tunez

'Is the wheel well plastic? Matt'

REPLY: The Liners are black plastic inside the wheel well, and, from looking underneath the car...it appears the wheel well itself might be fiberglass as the floor looks to be.

Yea, I thought of it right away. I've used that expanding polyurethane foam for lots of things. Tip: Don't get it on your hands unless you like the way it looks! :)

I think my car is quiet enough until I get on some extremely rough roads. All I need to do is kill that "k-thunk" noise in the rear. I would rather remove the noise than to isolate it, but I will if I have to.

Note to Dave: Sorry for the e-mail. I pushed the wrong button. :\

Another note to Dave: Would you consider doing a "how to" with pictures? :)

'Another note to Dave: Would you consider doing a "how to" with pictures? :)

Hey Dave.

Ya, I know it's not rocket surgery. :)

But,,, sometimes finding and deciding which screws to remove can take hours.

You're saying to stick the Dynamat to the plastic fender liner? Have you found that to be truly effective?

The manufacturers could easily and cheaply done the same thing. Makes you wonder!