Question: My car makes a clicking noise when moving that seems to come from the rear wheel. What could cause the noise, and do I need to take the car to the shop?
Answer: Oh, boy, the mysterious clicking noise! Luckily, the clicking coming from the rear wheels helps to narrow your problem.
Clicking and ticking noises that follow a specific cadence and change in frequency when you drive are generally related to parts of the car that rotate as you drive. A few parts that rotate in the rear wheels are CV joints, brakes, wheels, bearings and hubs, and tires.
Some problems are obvious and easy to resolve – for example, removing a stone embedded in a tire that’s causing the clicking noise. In other instances, the problems are more severe and complex – bad CV joints, brakes, bearing and hubs. You should take the car to a mechanic if you can’t figure out the problem as some of these parts are crucial to driving safely.
There are several possible issues at play here, so let’s go through the parts one by one.
Damaged CV joint
A damaged or worn constant-velocity (CV) joint could cause a clicking noise.
CV joints sit at either end of the axle and add flexibility to your steering; think of them as wrists for your axle.
They are generally covered by a large rubber boot that contains grease that keeps the joint lubricated, but if there’s any damage to this boot resulting in a lack of lubrication, then you could see accelerated wear.
For front-wheel drive cars, when the joint wears out, a clicking or popping noise when turning is the classic symptom. To test the CV joints, drive the car in reverse while turning the steering wheel all the way in one direction and then the other. If the clicking noise is pronounced, it’s a joint problem.
However, since you hear a sound from the rear, you can use this test: Put the vehicle into reverse and drive by alternating between accelerating and decelerating. If you notice an audible clunking noise, you might have a bad CV joint.
Brake issues
Brake issues can cause a clicking noise. With disc brakes, some possibilities for a clicking noise include loose calipers, bent backing plates or debris wedged between the wheel and brake calipers.
Jacking up the car, removing the wheel and inspecting the brakes for irregularities and debris can help you rule out this issue.
On cars with drum brakes, you might hear a clicking and popping sound because of broken springs, adjustment problems or mismatched surfaces.
Bad wheel bearing
A bad wheel bearing can sometimes cause a ticking noise but generally produces a grinding, droning and low-pitched noise.
Tire making clicking noise
It could very well be as simple as there being something stuck on your tire such as a stone wedged between the treads or a nail embedded in the tire. A visual inspection would help you eliminate or confirm this cause.
Muffler cooling down
A muffler is extremely hot after a long drive, and when it cools down, it will cause some clicking noises as it contracts. Of course, this is probably not the culprit since you hear the noise when you are driving.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Phil Metzger is a personal finance editor and writer with more than 30 years of experience editing and writing content across a variety of industries. In writing and editing for Jerry, Phil’s mission is to help car owners better understand their vehicles and the costs associated with car ownership. Before joining Jerry, Phil worked as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines, television radio and online news. His work has appeared in many major publications and websites over the years, including a series he edited that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.
