revamped

Thanks for your input. You're right. It's a strange that there'd be an issue like this at 27000kms. But there definitely is something going on. Maybe if previous owner enjoyed mounting the curb? Today the airbag light came on, so we're definitely going to take it in. It'll probably be worth a check at Pedders beforehand in case Toyota struggle to see the issue. It's never a good feeling when issues come up in the first couple of weeks. Cheers.

Hey guys. I found this forum while looking for answers about an issue in a recently purchased used Corolla MY10 from the local Toyota dealership. It has approx 27,000km's on it, auto transmission, standard Ascent 5-door hatch. The sound comes and goes, and any issues managed to fly under the radar during test-drive and when our mechanic checked it out. So far we've been impressed with how it drives, and we have a lot of warranty remaining. There have been a couple of issues though. Upon driving off when the car has sat idle for a couple of hours, we consistently hear a "clunk clunk" sound coming from the left rear wheel direction. It's usually heard after leaving the driveway. At first I put that down to ABS calibration, but then we noticed the same sound happening going over certain bumps. It doesn't happen so much straight up & down. Moreso over angled dips. But it only happens occasionally, and I've yet to find a way to recreate it with certainty for when we take it to the dealership. It always comes from the rear left, and seems to clunk through the chassis. Overall the left rear suspension is a bit noisier and sloppier than the right. I did some problem solving, took out all the tools / spare and parcel shelf, and the sound continued. Full / empty tank, it continued. Today, on checking out the strut & coil & bushings that I could identify, I noticed the left rear strut is slightly loose from the chassis. I could fit the car key between the strut and the upper strut mount at one side, making the strut lean slightly forward. Is this normal, or does it show a bit of wear? Could that be responsible for the sound? Otherwise all the bushings I could see appeared okay. Does anyone have experience with this issue? I just want to make sure I can point it out properly to the dealer so we can get something done, rather than running around all the time. Thanks.