Steering click/knock sound

[amsr]

My 2017 GTI just started making a clicking sound when steering. Car is stock, can be heard when sitting in a parking spot moving the wheel left or right. It’s coming from outside the car, it’s more audible on the driver side. Happens both when stationary and in motion. Car has 30k miles on it. Any ideas what this is? Can’t really take it in right down, so I’m hoping to get an idea of if it’s a known issue and if it’s safe to drive.

 

[Cesco_93]

Going to monitor this post. I am also getting a steering sound but mine is more of a deeper knock sound when turning sharply while parking.

 

[2018gti]

I had this same problem - I was able to get the whole steering rack replaced under warranty last year when it started happening. The car still steered fine, so it might just be a characteristic of the steering. But after a bit of back and forth with the dealer and them hearing the noise, they decided to replace the whole thing since the noise was coming from inside the rack.

edit: I was also getting 1 deeper knock when turning left or right, like pulling into a spot for example.No problems since the replacement

 

[amsr]

The rack went bad? Any idea why? I thought it might be the strut mounts but it’s coming from lower down. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Jacobmk7]

Mine has a knock when turning quickly one direction then waiting a second then turning the opposite direction while stoped or going less than 3-4mph. Happens worse when hot outside, I’m 90% sure it’s the universal joint at the the bottom of the steering column. It’s been doing it for 2 years and hasn’t gotten any worse and during normal driving you really don’t notice it much. You can hear it best at 0:14 and 0:26.

This is my video, idk how i mistakenly posted somebody else's video

 

[kevinkar]

I've got 8,500 miles on my '18 and heard this for the first time today making a right hand turn on the way to work. It was a clear loud knock as if a tennis ball hit my left front fender. Guess I'll have to keep listening for it now.

 

[2018gti]

The rack went bad? Any idea why? I thought it might be the strut mounts but it’s coming from lower down. Thanks for the replies.

Here's a video I took from the wheel well when it was happening:

Yours sounded very similar.. First I took it to a mechanic friend and we put it on a flat-bed lift (not sure what the correct term is) and jiggled the wheel. It seemed to be from inside the rack. Then decided to take it to the dealer where I bought it from because the car only had like 16k miles on it. They made the same diagnosis there. But interestingly enough, the 2019 Jetta loaner they gave me (with half the miles of my GTI) was making the same noise, much worse. I didn't mention this to the dealer though . So that's why I was guessing that maybe it's just an annoying characteristic, but nothing to worry about. I was not having any obvious issues with the steering - I was mostly just annoyed because of the other warranty defects I had with the car previously so I didn't hesitate to take it in.

 

[amsr]

Mine seems better when it’s warm out, worse when it’s cold. Odd...

 

[Ramon64124]

Having the same click. No codes nothing abnormal. Seems to be only with the car on, not moving. Can’t hear anything when moving. It’s another Quirk?

 

[bl33dBlue21]

had similar noise when my steering rack went bad. Had a knocking sound also when i wiggled my steering wheel. Dealer replaced it under warranty...It was more pronounced when vehicle was at stop

 

[vbrad26]

I'll throw my vote in for steering rack as well.
Never had an issue on my '15 GTI but our '19 Atlas has had this problem the entire time we've had it.
Have not done anything about it yet though...

 

[amsr]

My dealer said turning right to left in a stationary position is "not the intended use case" so they don't expect it to be silent. The car didn't make the noise for the first 30k miles.

 

[Ramon64124]

Checking back in on this, I ended up buying a LKQ used rack. they are pretty cheap.i'll go ahead and buy a deadset kit as well and get it all done at the same time. Not sure on the timeline, but it hasn't gotten worse and it did not do this before. I have no codes and no weird feeling. When you hold the steering shaft and turn, you can somewhat feel the click, so it leads me to believe, it could be wear and tear, bad yoke, or something else. either way, it isn't an emergency, but i want to get it fixed.

I talked to a local guy who works at VW and he quoted me 400 to get it installed. I guess there is a bunch of coding needed as well, so it is not a DIY.

 

[Jacobmk7]

Mines still making the same exact noise, hasn’t gotten any worse so imma just leave it.

 

[PowerDemon]

To me that sounds like a bad bushing. My car makes a similar creaking sound when it’s cold out and I’m pretty sure it is the front strut mounts.