Front strut bearing noise in cold weather

Tags: #noise

Symptom. The upper strut support bearing ("опорный подшипник") produces noise/clunking when driving in winter cold — reported as creaking that gets progressively louder.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

Wear depends heavily on prior use, not just current mileage. One owner at only 28,000 km (with a previous owner known to have driven the car aggressively for the first ~26,000 km) experienced loud creaking and ended up replacing: control-arm assemblies, the serpentine (accessory) belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, and strut assemblies — a fairly extensive repair bill for a relatively low-mileage car. The owner's frustration was compounded by having invested significant repair money for only ~3,000 km of driving under their own ownership.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

Community takeaway. Bearing/suspension wear correlates more with the previous owner's driving habits and road conditions than with mileage alone — some owners see few suspension issues past 100,000+ km, while others (like the case above) see extensive wear by 28,000 km if the car was driven hard or on poor roads early in its life. When buying used, ask about the prior owner's driving style, not just the odometer reading.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

Related pages

• Front wheel hub bearing
• Front suspension noise diagnostic checklist
• Front strut dust boots — sourcing
• Brake pad noise and quality
• Suspension and drivetrain noises in extreme cold

Sources

This page is compiled from 6 community messages. Every fact carries a numbered reference to its original author and message.

Last updated: 2026-10-29