Hi,

I've noticed my car has developed a knocking noise when going over certain types of rough road. Surprisingly it doesn't do it over speed humps, only when around 20mph over uneven roads. Sounds more like 2 snooker balls knocking each other rather than serious banging.

I've uploaded some pics from my suspension (front and back) and I can't notice anything. Is there anything obviously wrong from the pics? I was expecting oil everywhere lol.










P.s. The suspension tops have been rusted like that since the car was 6 months old (it's now coming up to 5 years old).

Thanks if you can help before someone relieves me of a lot of money lol.

A visual inspection is insufficent, you need to have a pry at the ball joints and tie rods with a long lever to check for any movement. Any detectable movement is too much.

Does it sound like it is coming from the rear?

Check the rubber mounts on the top of the rear shocks. Sorry I could see this area in your photos.

We had a knocking sound on ours which was intermittent and the rear shocks where completely shot. It was fairly obviously, most of the rubber had gone from around the top bolt on the shock.

If the knocking is coming from the front end, it might very well drop links aka anti roll bar links.

Trust me, drop links don't last forever and are a regular MOT failure for some cars. I've just replaced the drop links on my other car (non Fiat). If you are mechanically adept, it is an easy job, no more than 30 minutes each side. The links themselves are pretty cheap too. Warning though, if you have no idea about how to replace suspension components, then leave it to someone who does. If you are on your original drop links, they might be an absolute pita to get off if the bolts/nuts have seized on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-Panda-Bravo-Stilo-Front-Suspension-Link-Rod-/251296715172?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a827391a4

Meyle do a heavy duty drop link. They are very well engineered and have a four year warranty. I fitted Meyle links to my own car.

Oh and by the way, there's no excuse lol!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19eb3ea632

KaZetec said:

Hi,

I've noticed my car has developed a knocking noise when going over certain types of rough road. Surprisingly it doesn't do it over speed humps, only when around 20mph over uneven roads. Sounds more like 2 snooker balls knocking each other rather than serious banging.

I've uploaded some pics from my suspension (front and back) and I can't notice anything. Is there anything obviously wrong from the pics? I was expecting oil everywhere lol.

View attachment 134700

Thanks if you can help before someone relieves me of a lot of money lol.

Click to expand...

Please read my other post. The reason I kept your top photo is, the vertical piece of metal you can see in the top right of the picture is the drop link, but I'm sure you know that

I've had 3 fiat 500's now and all three have had the same issue of knocking in the front suspension area going over uneven surfaces and sometimes speed bumps. I had my previous 500s in for inspection on warranty and no problems were found. I can say though that mine happens more often in the colder weather and the weather being warmer the last few weeks I've not noticed the noise. Maybe it's a quirk of the car. My current car is a 63 plate fiat 500S and it's 6 months old with 6k on the clock. So I cannot see it being a defect on mine and as the dealers say a characteristic of the car.

Just to keep this updated incase it helps someone else in the future, I've had the top mounts replaced and the noise is still there :bang:

I've now ordered new drop links & will let you know if this solves it

Thanks for all the replies!