Today when I was idling at a stop light, I noticed a tick/ping sound coming from underneath, about every 5 seconds or so. Kind of like the sound that metal makes when it heats up/cools down. What could it be?

 

Did you have your Air Conditioner or Defogger on?

Whenever the condensor comes on, it will make a noise. Having the front window defogger on makes the A/C condensor run unless you manually turn off the A/C after engaging defog mode on the HVAC controls.

 

No A/C or defogger was on...

 

exhaust leak...

 

How long had you been driving the car? Was it still warming up? Maybe it's exactly what you described.

 

I have the same noise. I wonder if it's the cat.

 

Thats what I am thinking ... warmed up cat ticking.

my car does that too sometimes. no worries

 

I don't think you should be able to hear the stock cats warming up while idling, only when you turn it off.........

 

I have that sound too... one day, i pulled over and turned the engine off to see if it was an engine or tranny noise. The thing just kept pinging and ticking... I assume it is the exhaust/engine components cooling & heating. It is pretty damn loud though. I can hear over my engine to about 1.5K rpm or so.

My theory is that the G's w/ the aero kits make louder and more distinctive noises (pings/ticks) than sans aero kit (underbody covers). Cuz my older G w/o the aero kit only made such noises after I parked. Or that's when i was able to notice them. And it wasn't as loud.

 

its your axle check the TSB this is a common problem with Gs do a search. Take it to a dealership they will fix it but they will keep your car for two days or at least they did mine.

 

What's the TSB?

 

TSB = Technical Service Bulletin ( or something like that ).

I don't think this guy is talking about the rear axle click. I've had that before and it only sounds when there is stress put on the rear axle. Not when standing still.

 

I had a similiar sound/noise. Didn't know where it what coming from. And this was about 4 to 6 months after I bought my car...brand new that is. Now that sound has disappeared. No worries now....

 

hey mine is making a clicking sound from the back, i have volks gt-c, it couldnt be my wheel right... and its covered under the warranty..

 

The noise from the axle occurs as you move from a dead-stop. The ticking noise we are concerned with here is a tick-tick up front while at stationary idle without any drivetrain componentry under strain.

For reference, my coupe is an '05 (June) 6MT w/7200 miles.