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2011 Smax Occasional Knocking Noise - Video Inside!


Needaf1x
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Hi,

First post on these forums and hoping someone may be able to help with a diagnosis!

Our 2011 Smax 2.0TDCI 160ps has started to develop a very occasional knocking noise. It has occurred twice in the last few months and both times after a cruise on a bypass (not sure if that has anything to do with it). The first time it occurred I thought it was the exhaust or something knocking but couldn't see anything or pinpoint the area.

It then didn't re-orror until last week. This time I took a short in car video and found that the noise does increase with the revs. Unfortunately the noise level on the video I have uploaded is not a clear as that on my phone but here it is:

As you can see I checked if the noise is coming from the back of the car and it is not. I also later looked under the bonnet whilst the engine was idling but couldn't hear anything other than normal engine idling. It seems to be most noticeable from the front footwells.

The car is booked in next week at the local dealer but I am worried it won't happen when they see it as it is so occasional and they won't be able to help. The car is out of warranty in a few months and I would obviously like it sorted first and am worried it could be something major?

The car has just done 20,000 miles and has no other issues whatsoever. Any thoughts appreciated!

Cheers

Mark

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Welcome to the club. Where abouts is the knocking noise coming from?

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does this happen only if you have fans on or air con on?

Also is the fusebox fully secured in place?

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Welcome to the club. Where abouts is the knocking noise coming from?

I haven't been able to locate it, but I am guessing low down and to the back of the engine bay, hence why it seems to be clearest from the front foot wells. it is not audible from the engine bay above the noise of the tick over. Next time it happens I will have a much more thorough search for it!

does this happen only if you have fans on or air con on?

Also is the fusebox fully secured in place?

Not sure, but will test a run with both. I'll also check the fusebox.

Thanks both for the input :)

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Take the car to Ford - this will be covered under warranty.

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Maybe a wheel bearing on its way out if its only happening when the cars moving?

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Take the car to Ford - this will be covered under warranty.

I hope so, my concern is the problem won't occur the day we take it to the dealer and therefore can't be diagonsed and fixed and may then manifest into a bigger problem once the warranty has expired.

Maybe a wheel bearing on its way out if its only happening when the cars moving?

No, the video was taken when the car was stationary, so definitely not wheel bearings. Thanks for the input though :)

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certainly worth taking it to Ford, it should be a warranty fix.

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  • 4 months later...

hi, did you get an update from this. Mine seems to have the same problem. Drove home with my new second hand s-max (2.0 tdci titanium automatic gear, 2010) and on arrival (party killer), at idle, it had this faint knocking noise. Didn't have it at any other time during the 140km drive. Didn't have it when I drove it today. Like you mentionned you hear it mainly from the inside. Not sure if it followed the revs with us. It was gone on its own some time after we turned of the A/C and/or the motor ventilator stopped, so not sure which of the two would have contributed to it stopping.

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hi, did you get an update from this. Mine seems to have the same problem. Drove home with my new second hand s-max (2.0 tdci titanium automatic gear, 2010) and on arrival (party killer), at idle, it had this faint knocking noise. Didn't have it at any other time during the 140km drive. Didn't have it when I drove it today. Like you mentionned you hear it mainly from the inside. Not sure if it followed the revs with us. It was gone on its own some time after we turned of the A/C and/or the motor ventilator stopped, so not sure which of the two would have contributed to it stopping.

Hi,

No we still haven't identified it and it still occasionally happens. The local Ford dealer has supposedly had a good look around but as it hasn't happened in their presence they can't diagnose it. It still only occurs very occasionally.

The last time it happened I lifted the bonnet to see if I could better identify the area and whilst doing so I noticed the radiator cooling fan, which was running, turned off. I went back inside the car and the knocking had stopped. I did tell the garage that I thought the two could be connected but again they were unable to find anything.

Please do let me know if you find it.

Good luck!

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Well yes that was our first investigation too. The fan who continues to blow on arrival for a while stopped and than the knocking stopped as well. I have seen many similar situations (youtube : knocking, inside, behind dashboard) attributed to the "blend door actuator" who controls the intake of exterior air into a/c system and sits somewhere behind the glovebox. Fairly simple and cheap to remediate. 360 days of waranty left to find out ;-)

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Maybe we don't need a fix after all, it could be the dpf regeneration (didn't know what that was until a few minutes ago) manual says we shouldn't park above dry leaves while this function is on - we could set ourselves to fire ;-) unfortunately they forgot to couple an icon to it on the converse interface.. Other than higher consumption at idle and someone confirming "oh yes, that's the regen" us newbies don't have a clue ;-)

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  • 6 years later...

Hi Needaf1x,

Did you ever resolve the occasional knocking noise from May 2013? If so do you mind sharing what it was and how it was resolved. I have a 2014 S Max 2.0 TDCI Titanium with exactly the same noise. Intermittent though. Seems to be evident when i'm parked on a kerb on the passenger side, so the car is at an angle stationary. Thanks.

 

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