BinaryJay

I was driving outside of the city today going over some not so paved areas, gravel, uneven ground... at one point for a short while, the car shook/shuddered/pulsed quite a lot making a loud thudding sound. I kind of just dismissed it at the time but now I'm wondering if it could indicate some kind of problem with the differential.

The remainder of the trip was smooth and everything felt and sounded normal. I don't know, I don't leave the paved roads in the city very often. Is it possible that there could be some condition of driving over unpaved roads that causes something to occur that isn't occurring all the time anyway when driving on smooth roads? Since it's full time awd, I would have figured any problem with differentials etc. would be noticeable all the time.

Wish I could explain this better, but maybe somebody will know what I'm talking about. Actually yes, this had to have been wheel hop now that I think about it. It's exactly the same kind of sensation I used to get if I would floor one of my previous FWD cars in the rain and the front tires would slip. I just didn't expect with the AWD system in the car, and the fact that I totally wasn't flooring it at all, that it should happen. Apparently it's really bad mojo for the parts involved... so I guess my question boils down to... is it normal that it happens at all in these situations occasionally or should I bring her in while my warranty is still good and make a case out of it?

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Since the gravel was uneven, wouldn't it be possible that you simply hit an uneven part of the gravel road?

And if the remainder of the drive was smooth and everything felt and sounded normal, why take it in?

BinaryJay

It was a pretty violent shaking/noise, the whole car went "thud thud thud thud" I doubt it was just the terrain. It must have been wheel hop from inconsistent traction due to sand/gravel. I didn't think AWD cars were susceptible to wheel hop especially with all the traction control stuff thrown into the mix which is why I'm a bit concerned.

I don't think it damaged anything hopping for a second but I don't know why the car didn't do something to control the situation if that's what was going on.