Clicking noise from driver's side rear

soooo here is more to the saga... got a nice low profile jack - took of the 2 lefts wheels, removed the centre caps, only wiped the "centre" of the front wheel as it looked grungey to me. took out for a electric silent test- seemed good, did the rights.. again slow silent drive- minor creaks came back - but focused on the rear and less pronounced... soooo I took off the rear Left only and scrubbed some of the gunk from the wheel hub centre and the hub itself.. cleaned the wheel bolts too. well - Rear Left is quiet again - seems a little bit of corrosion/gunk makes the hubs REALLY sensitive to that clicking going forward- same symptoms - no noise going backwards.. so I'll full scrub all 4 wheel centres and do the teflon trick and see how it goes... KK34
 
Anyone replaced the caps with a different one and color matched to solve this issue?

2.75 inches seems like the standard size for most Hondas
 
I recently replaced my tires, and ever since then, I’ve been dealing with a clicking noise from the driver-side rear wheel. I’m fairly certain that the issue comes from the metal O-ring inside the center hub cap. The O-ring is likely there to prevent the cap from falling off, but during the tire replacement, it must have deformed slightly, causing the cut section to misalign and produce the noise.

To confirm my suspicion, I flicked the cut section of the ring with my finger and heard the exact same noise. I initially considered removing the ring altogether, but instead, I wrapped the cut section with vinyl tape to prevent it from shifting, and that seems to have resolved the issue.
 
Guitaryojedi said:
I recently replaced my tires, and ever since then, I’ve been dealing with a clicking noise from the driver-side rear wheel. I’m fairly certain that the issue comes from the metal O-ring inside the center hub cap. The O-ring is likely there to prevent the cap from falling off, but during the tire replacement, it must have deformed slightly, causing the cut section to misalign and produce the noise.

To confirm my suspicion, I flicked the cut section of the ring with my finger and heard the exact same noise. I initially considered removing the ring altogether, but instead, I wrapped the cut section with vinyl tape to prevent it from shifting, and that seems to have resolved the issue.
Click to expand...
Can provide picture?
 
NC1 said:
I was wondering if there is a way to pull off the cap without removing the wheel.
I tried the suction cup method, but the emblem is in the way.
Click to expand...
Since there are six claws on the inside of the cap, it’s almost impossible to remove it from the outside using a suction cup. So, it does raise some questions about the purpose of the metal O-Ring, though…
 
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Crap!!! I just noticed that clicking noise comes back this morning…..

Click noise

Very noticeable when the car is in full EV mode… I have to explore other possible causes a bit further.
 
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Update: The clicking noise was getting pretty bad, so I went to the dealer today. I spoke with an NSX Certified Technician, and he found severe rust around the center hub. They disassembled the rotors, thoroughly cleaned everything, and applied grease. It cost me $570.

As a result, the noise you hear in the video clip is now gone. However, there is still a faint clicking sound. It could be related to the center cap issue mentioned in this thread(and that I thought I fixed it), or there might be another cause.

For now, the noise is much quieter and not really noticeable, so I plan to monitor it and see if it worsens over time.
 
Clicking noise just getting worse today, even after spending $570 at the dealer yesterday. This is really annoying. I just sent an email to the Acura Customer Service. I think the hub bearings maybe the cause of this, and I think it needs to be replaced... we will see.
 
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I had the ticking noise several years ago and it was really annoying and concerning. My tech ultimately took off every wheel and tapped out the center cap, and I think he may have put a lubricant or some never seize on them then re-installed them. Never ticked again. There is no way I know of to take the center caps out of the wheel without removing the wheel and tapping from behind. Whatever he did, the clicking went away and it never came back. It was the strangest thing and made absolutely no sense why the center cap would cause this definite clicking. It sounded like it was a bad CV joint or some other mechanical driveline issue.
Still a mystery to me, but I would follow up with the center cap issue. Good luck....
 
nsx878 said:
I had the ticking noise several years ago and it was really annoying and concerning. My tech ultimately took off every wheel and tapped out the center cap, and I think he may have put a lubricant or some never seize on them then re-installed them. Never ticked again. There is no way I know of to take the center caps out of the wheel without removing the wheel and tapping from behind. Whatever he did, the clicking went away and it never came back. It was the strangest thing and made absolutely no sense why the center cap would cause this definite clicking. It sounded like it was a bad CV joint or some other mechanical driveline issue.
Still a mystery to me, but I would follow up with the center cap issue. Good luck....
Click to expand...
Thanks. I will once again try to remove the center cap today to see if the problem persists or not. Thing is, I have replaced tires( all 4 of them) about 2weeks ago, and since then I was aware of the clicking noise, though… I haven’t received reply from Acura yet, but I will update later.
 
Update:
The clicking noise had been getting worse, so I decided to remove the tire, take off the center wheel cap, and then reinstall the tire without the cap. When I drove in EV mode, the noise disappeared completely, almost like magic.

I still have the cap in hand, but I don’t see any visible wear or damage on it. It’s quite puzzling. For now, I’m debating whether to put the cap back on, as the look without it isn’t great.

centercap.jpg

Also, it seems like the metal ring inside the cap is coming loose from the plastic clips and then snapping back into place, creating the same kind of clicking noise. I suspect this might be the cause. I uploaded a video to show what’s happening.

*Cap O-Ring Clicking
*Noise Problem

To me, the clicking sounds are identical.(or pretty close.)

Do we really need this metal ring? If it’s not essential, I’m considering reinstalling the wheel cap without it to see if that solves the issue.
 
Well, at least you now have some relief knowing the ticking noise is indeed related to the center cap and not a major and expensive mechanical repair.... As I said, I still have no idea how such a loud metal on metal clicking sound is made. How can there possibly be enough movement to cause a distinct click??? It's just bizarre. Nonetheless, once my tech figured it out, I never had another clicking episode. I do not recall exactly what he did as it was several years ago, but I do think he may have used some sort of lubricant like a silicone spray or some never seize? And BTW, I have no idea of what the ring is or what purpose it provides??? I would guess it is somehow related to holding or locking the cap in the center hole? Lots of unknowns.... Scott
 
nsx878 said:
Well, at least you now have some relief knowing the ticking noise is indeed related to the center cap and not a major and expensive mechanical repair.... As I said, I still have no idea how such a loud metal on metal clicking sound is made. How can there possibly be enough movement to cause a distinct click??? It's just bizarre. Nonetheless, once my tech figured it out, I never had another clicking episode. I do not recall exactly what he did as it was several years ago, but I do think he may have used some sort of lubricant like a silicone spray or some never seize? And BTW, I have no idea of what the ring is or what purpose it provides??? I would guess it is somehow related to holding or locking the cap in the center hole? Lots of unknowns.... Scott
Click to expand...
Thx Scott, you are right. I’m relieved that this is JUST the center cap problem for me. Still trying to put back on with tape or lubricant, that I have to consider. Taking out this big tire is not fun.
 
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It's a great car, but after more than 7 years of ownership, I just traded mine for a new Lexus LC500. I didn't drive mine enough to justify keeping it and my wife couldn't get into it. Even though we have perceived Honda reliability, I became more and more paranoid about potential failures and high repair costs. Seeing stories of parts shortages, and seeing the cost of replacing the hybrid battery something over $8k, among other things..... Anyway, I moved on and the LC500 is amazing... The NSX was a great experience. Let us know how it turns out or if any of us can be of further assistance....
 


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