AWD Makes Noise Near Rear of Car when Turning at Slow Speeds

[justinnow123]

I've noticed a weird noise coming from what sounds like the AWD system when turning at slow speeds. The noise sounds hollow and kind of like a grumble/moan that comes from the rear of the car and seems worse during cold starts. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm trying to understand if this is normal for the Twinster AWD or if my car has something wrong with it.

 

[Ctrcbob]

I've noticed a weird noise coming from what sounds like the AWD system when turning at slow speeds. The noise sounds hollow and kind of like a grumble/moan that comes from the rear of the car and seems worse during cold starts. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm trying to understand if this is normal for the Twinster AWD or if my car has something wrong with it.

Tour-X or Sportback or GS?

Have dealer check it out. Could be CV Joint. (Could be anything).

 

[justinnow123]

Its a Tourx, I have an appointment tomorrow. I just wanted to see if anyone had something similar/ideas so i could try to direct the dealer.

 

[Wlepse]

Haven't a few people had leaks in the rear differential? Maybe this is what you have going on.

 

[justinnow123]

I took the car to the dealer, the outcome is that the Twinster AWD system has failed. The dealer originally tried to change the fluid. They specified that since the unit is a sealed system they will need to replace the whole thing. Unfortunately, the part is on back order, however, they said the car is safe to drive and no damage will occur to continue using it while they wait for the part to come in.

 

[FavaBean]

Well, that's just great.
How many miles @justinnow123 ?

 

[justinnow123]

The car is just under 13,000 miles. The dealer unfortunately could not give me any details regarding the failure. I plan to inquire further when I pick up the car later today or tomorrow. My understanding from what they said on the phone is that the Twinster AWD is treated as an assembly and the only service the dealer can provide to it is a fluid change.

 

[L J]

Have you been doing any rock crawling, and/or longer then normal ...AWD burnouts?

 

[buickx]

Hope a heavy rain storm, or ice storm, doesn't happen before the parts come in.... it's a new car, where is the loaner?

 

[L J]

Hope a heavy rain storm, or ice storm, doesn't happen before the parts come in.... it's a new car, where is the loaner?

No doubt fine print in warranty requires vehicle to not be driveable ...to get loaner.
Yeah hope it is just making noise.... and has not lost AWD capability, if you need it.

 

[justinnow123]

Have you been doing any rock crawling, and/or longer then normal ...AWD burnouts?

I thought a Buick Wagon was built for rock crawling.

Kidding aside though, probably about 7K out of the 13K miles have been highway miles which is concerning since I would imagine the AWD is minimally if at all engaged. The dealer has very willing to provide me with a loaner for the last few days while they looked into the issue. Unfortunately, they do not want me to keep the loaner while they wait for replacement parts. I think I should be fine with AWD and with the issue, just hoping the parts come in before the snow does.

 

[Lt0302]

my front lower arms failed again and I just got mine back because they do not have the parts available..due to who knows this is GM!....the longer I have this car the more I think I should have had my head examined before buying GM! Hell the Maserati Q spent less time at the dealer in its 8 years than my 6 months old Buick!!!......

 

[L J]

Bad time to need parts, probably have supervisors trying to figure out what their people do.

 

[BoostedRegal2.0]

I thought a Buick Wagon was built for rock crawling.

Kidding aside though, probably about 7K out of the 13K miles have been highway miles which is concerning since I would imagine the AWD is minimally if at all engaged. The dealer has very willing to provide me with a loaner for the last few days while they looked into the issue. Unfortunately, they do not want me to keep the loaner while they wait for replacement parts. I think I should be fine with AWD and with the issue, just hoping the parts come in before the snow does.

It seems like your AWD system is defective, it has nothing to do with where or how you drove it. You shouldn't be concern about why it failed, you should be more concerned that the replacement parts hold up in the long run.

 

[JORDANSILVERNAIL]

So.....I just wrote a ticket on my car (2018 GS 17000 miles) last week and had our techs check it for this EXACT concern. Ultimately, the rear diff fluid was just changed out. However, my tech came to my desk and told me to come take a look at something when he drained the fluid. In all the years I have been writing service, I have always known Diff fluid to be clear or brown, depending how dirty the fluid is. What I saw come out of my rear diff was JET BLACK. Neither my tech or myself had ever seen this before. He said GM was telling him to just change the fluid. He told me if the sound came back, we would just replace the rear diff. Here is a screen shot of my complaint and his diagnosis. As black as the fluid was, im expecting we will be replacing the rear diff down the road

 

[JORDANSILVERNAIL]

And yea, trying to get parts right now is pretty much impossible with the GM Strike going on. We are running out of basic essentials like air filters, oil filters, wiper blades, batteries, brakes, etc. Then, we have customers coming in for diagnosis and repairs, and we cant even get the parts to do half of these repairs. Its really crazy and even when the strike ends, it will take weeks to get everything back on track and getting parts stocked

 

[justinnow123]

Wow, that really is exactly the same issue. My dealer noted that the noise was still heard after the fluid change and already approved the clutch change. They did not mention how the fluid looked when doing the change but I'm guessing if they warranted a diff change it had to be pretty dirty. Do you think driving with a burnt out/broken could cause any issues to other components?

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Here's one outcome on this problem, not sure if these are going to be the same over time, just a FYI.

TourX rear Axel needs Replacing

 

[BoostedRegal2.0]

Wow, that really is exactly the same issue. My dealer noted that the noise was still heard after the fluid change and already approved the clutch change. They did not mention how the fluid looked when doing the change but I'm guessing if they warranted a diff change it had to be pretty dirty. Do you think driving with a burnt out/broken could cause any issues to other components?

It's possible other parts were damaged. But the warranty will cover any parts that fail in the drivetrain, specially since they had to replace some of the rear end parts.

 

[justinnow123]

It's possible other parts were damaged. But the warranty will cover any parts that fail in the drivetrain, specially since they had to replace some of the rear end parts.

That makes sense. My concern is my dealer wants me to continue driving the car until replacement parts come in. Should I insist I keep the loaner vehicle? They told me no components would be damaged when driving with a broken diff, but i am skeptical they just dont want to pay for the rental.