Hearing knocks and bangs coming from your car can be quite frightening because there are so many different components to a car that we might not even recognise what is wrong. In this article we will give you some tips and pointers of what different noises could mean in your car and what the problem could be!

Rattling Underneath Your Car

If you hear rattling noises from underneat your car, something that resembles a box of stones being shaken, that most likely means there is a problem with your exhaust system or your catalythic converter is faulty. A catalythic converter should be changed every 10 years or 100,000 miles, in some cases it gets damaged and worn out before that, it is a vital component for your car so you should get it checked out and replaced as soon as possible before it causes any more damage to other components.

Knocking Inside The Engine

If you hear knocking coming from the inside of your engine, stop the car safely and check if you have enough engine oil in the car, adding engine oil will lubricate all of the components and possibly fix the banging coming from the engine. If your engine oil levels are correct that means that a component from your engine is breaking or already broken in that case you should take your car to a specialist and get it checked out. It could start from a small issue but if it is ignored and you hope it goes away it can cause even more damage to other components, making your repair costs even higher.

Squealing when you brake

If you hear your brakes making any unusual noises, that most likely means your brake pads are starting to ware out, your brakes should not make any sounds when applied. If they do make a squealing sound make sure to replace your brake pads, if you ignore this issue you will end up damaging your brake calipers, increasing your repair costs drastically.

Loud Banging Noises

Loud banging noises often come from the engine backfiring, if this does happen your air filter is most likely clogged up. This means that air isn't mixing with the fuel supplied to the engine. Do not put these bangs off or ignore them, something is most likely wrong with the engine or the air filter get it checked and fixed by a professional as soon as possible.

Clunking When You Change Gear

Your transmission should not make alarming sounds when you change gears, if yor transmission does make a strange/alarming sound whilst changing gears, there is most likely a problem with your transmission or you might have a damaged clutch. In this case you should get it checked out by a professional and fix any of the issues immediately before any more damages are caused that could lead to more expenses.

 Hissing

If you hear a hissing sound coming from your car there could be a few different issues appearing, if you hear the hissing sound you should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so, the hissing sound could be an indication of your engine overheating, you can check the temperature gauge to see if this is the issue that makes the hissing sound.

If overheating is not the reason why your engine is hissing it could also mean that your rubber hose has developed a crack or a hole in it which means you would have to take your car to a professional and get it fixed as soon as possible.

Squealing When Accelerating

There should not be a concerning noise coming from your car when you accelerate, if you do hear a weird/unusual noise when you accelerate. That typically means that your fan belt is worn or has come loose, in this case you will need to visit a mechanic and get it replaced or tightened, the fan belt is a component that deteriorates over time, it needs to be changed or tightened after a certain amount of time. DO NOT ignore this sound or let the issue continue, it will cause a lot more damage to other components in your car, causing bigger repair bills.

You should never ignore unusual noises in your car, your car is a perfectly manifactured machine that should run smooth without making concerning noises. Some components deteriorate and break over time, these components should be changed and replaced before they cause damage to any other components, for example if your brake pads are worn out and you don't replace them they will damage your whole braking system.