I bought my first wrangler in August of 2019. It is a 2 door 2013 Sahara. It has 2 previous owners but from what I am aware of there are no interior or exterior mods besides cosmetics (floor liners, decals, etc). In November of 2019 the front left caliper froze and I had to have it and the brakes replaced. Since then there has been this awful squeaking/chirping whenever I drive. It is very high pitched and happens whether the road is bumpy or not and also at any speed. When driving with my dad, I mentioned that I thought it was coming from the passenger side, but he said it sounded like it was coming from the drivers side. I had my friend drive with me and she said she also thought it sounded like it was coming from the drivers side. I was pressing on the front end to see if I could hear squeaking outside of the car and there was nothing. I had a friend sit on the inside while I did this as well and again there was no squeaking. I took it to a local dealership and they simply said that Jeeps were made to do things like this and that working on it wouldn't fix anything. I find it extremely hard to believe that this is the case. I am very new to jeeps and am naïve when it comes to cars in general (I'm just shy of 20). I was hoping that I could get some advice/ideas from here on what this might be or if someone had the same problem what the solutions were (if any).
Squeaking Frame?
GreenMachine00
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I bought my first wrangler in August of 2019. It is a 2 door 2013 Sahara. It has 2 previous owners but from what I am aware of there are no interior or exterior mods besides cosmetics (floor liners, decals, etc). In November of 2019 the front left caliper froze and I had to have it and the brakes replaced. Since then there has been this awful squeaking/chirping whenever I drive. It is very high pitched and happens whether the road is bumpy or not and also at any speed. When driving with my dad, I mentioned that I thought it was coming from the passenger side, but he said it sounded like it was coming from the drivers side. I had my friend drive with me and she said she also thought it sounded like it was coming from the drivers side. I was pressing on the front end to see if I could hear squeaking outside of the car and there was nothing. I had a friend sit on the inside while I did this as well and again there was no squeaking. I took it to a local dealership and they simply said that Jeeps were made to do things like this and that working on it wouldn't fix anything. I find it extremely hard to believe that this is the case. I am very new to jeeps and am naïve when it comes to cars in general (I'm just shy of 20). I was hoping that I could get some advice/ideas from here on what this might be or if someone had the same problem what the solutions were (if any).
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Wranglers are not refined vehicles, they are utilitarian and rugged. Some noises are bad, some noises are “normal.”
Take it back to who did the brake job and have them look things over since the noise is coming from that side.
Take it back to who did the brake job and have them look things over since the noise is coming from that side.
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Thank you!
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Welcome to the Forum, from Cave Creek AZ.
Congrats on owning a Wrangler!
Congrats on owning a Wrangler!
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How many miles on your rig? When starts squeaking if you apply the brake with your left foot lightly while keeping your speed up does it affect the sound? Is there any rhythm to the sound? Does it get faster a slower based on your speed or is it random?
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It's just under 56k . The brake doesn't seem to be the source of the squeaking; no, it doesn't affect the sound at all. There doesn't seem to be a rhythm to the sound other than the more aggressive the bump, the louder the squeaking is. When you hit a bump with the right side it seems to be louder than if you go over a bump with the left (which is interesting since it was the left caliper that was replaced). I was thinking it might be the right caliper but from what I've read that doesn't seem to be it.
The actual speed of the squeaking doesn't change with the speed but is does seem to get slightly louder the faster I go. I can only hear it up until about 55 then the noise on the highway takes over.
The actual speed of the squeaking doesn't change with the speed but is does seem to get slightly louder the faster I go. I can only hear it up until about 55 then the noise on the highway takes over.
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It could be a spring isolator that is deteriorating causing the coil to rub on the spring perch, metal on metal rubbing?
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Man, I know what you're going through. After suffering a similar noise for a while I took it to a shop, but then they couldn't hear any noises at all until it was up in the air with a stethoscope. They never did figure out the cause, but after doing a full lube and tighten job on all suspension/drivetrain/brakes/etc it finally disappeared completely, no new parts. As they say, it's a Jeep thing.
In my experience, you can absolutely chase these noises down and resolve them, but the process might involve a lot of time (yourself or paying others to wrench), could require new parts, and might introduce issues along the way. Just be mindful, it's easy to spend a lot of money killing a squeek.
In my experience, you can absolutely chase these noises down and resolve them, but the process might involve a lot of time (yourself or paying others to wrench), could require new parts, and might introduce issues along the way. Just be mindful, it's easy to spend a lot of money killing a squeek.
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I will definitely mention that when I take it in. Thank you for the insight!
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I definitely agree. At this point, it's more of an annoyance than anything else. I plan to take it in to the guy who did my breaks and just have him check it when I am home from college. If it's nothing serious, I don't think I'll fix it right away so I don't waste money on unnecessary things. Unfortunately, I don't really have any experience working on cars and although the internet is a powerful tool I just don't trust myself to try and self diagnose it. Thanks for the info I appreciate it!
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If you got the time,, get a spray can of good penetrating oil. Spray one suspension part at a time, track bar, control arm,,, drive to make the noise. If it goes away, bingo. When ya find it, pull the bolt and lube it then tighten it up good. A squeak is usually a metal to metal movement. Look for any signs of rust on the frame or body mounts, and suspension points of movement.
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@GreenMachine00,
Thanks for sharing your concerns here, and congratulations on your new Jeep! Please know that our team is always available for additional assistance to your dealer service. Feel free to send us a private message in the future for our additional support, and keep us updated on your official diagnosis!
Kathryn
JeepCares
You are a Wrangler Forum active member, therefore you are not naïve. You may be inexperienced, but do not admit this to anybody working on your Jeep.
You did learn something, it is that the local Jeep dealer you went to are not competent. It is not true that Jeeps were made to do things like this.
It is true that JK/JKU are not refined, but any noise has a source and it is typically fixable.
Identifying/locating the noise source if often the most difficult part.
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I never mention that to any place I go to and I always bring my friend who is a self taught mechanic (he buys old cars fixes them up and sells them) with me so I know I am not being overcharged for anything or buying anything that is not necessary. It's definitely been quite difficult but I'll get there eventually!You are a Wrangler Forum active member, therefore you are not naïve. You may be inexperienced, but do not admit this to anybody working on your Jeep.
You did learn something, it is that the local Jeep dealer you went to are not competent. It is not true that Jeeps were made to do things like this.
It is true that JK/JKU are not refined, but any noise has a source and it is typically fixable.
Identifying/locating the noise source if often the most difficult part.
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I have the exact same problem with my passenger seatbelt as well! But it definitely a different sound than what I am hearing in the front bumper.
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That's actually what one of my friends says as he is well acquainted with it. After doing some research I think it might be a bushing, although I might be very far off.
If your frame is squeaking, you have some pretty big problems. I would instead look at swaybar links, control arm bushings, maybe driveshaft. If none of these parts were replaced or serviced/maintained by prior owners, just normal wear and tear for a 7 year old vehicle.
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