OT: ?? for Mazda 3 owners: Creaking struts

[BumbleBeeDave]

I really love my Mazdaspeed3 EXCEPT for one thing . . . when the temps go below 20 degrees it starts to creak.

This morning when the temp outside is between zero and +5 it's creaking and groaning very loudly every time I go over a sudden bump. When it did this last winter when new I figured it was the struts or shocks breaking in period. But now it's a little late for that. My best guess is that it's either the struts/shocks or cold expanded body panels rubbing together. But my money is on the struts/shocks because the noise generally comes from the wheel area that is most absorbing the bump.

Anybody else have this problem with their Mazda3 or any other Mazda? Causes? Cures? Aside from that it's a kick-ass car.

BBD

[chuckroast]

Dave, I don't know the answer to your car question but I've discovered the same thing is true for me personally!

Someone had to say it.....

[michael white]

I have that problem with lots of cars.

[Richard]

Generally at that temperature most cars do that. Suspension bits are stiff, any moisture is rock solid, seals are miserable and spings creak. I've never had a car that wasn't unhappy and telling me about it when the temps approach zero.

[rwsaunders]

Dave...I owned 1 '92 Acura Legend that used to do the same thing. Best car that I ever owned except that noise drove me nuts. It turned out to be a rubber bushing in the front end, and not a strut. I replaced the bushing and drove the car for 200K.

[PaulE]

Although all suspensions will have that problem the colder it gets, it will be more apparent in a car with Macpherson struts, which the Mazda 3 has but the Legend didn't. The Macpherson strut has one lower control arm that swings in an arc with a ball joint at the bottom of the strut and the strut is a pistion which moves straight up and down. So there is some binding up inherent in the strut design. They accommodate this binding up with rubber bushings, but in a performance car like the Mazda Speed 3 they make those rubber bushings firmer. So with struts in a performance car there will be more creak in the cold weather.