Pop. Hiss. Bang. Screech. Boom. Clunk. Ever feel like your ride’s speaking to you?  If your car’s recently become bilingual with a whole new vocabulary, it’s time for a special interpreter.   When a vehicle starts singing out a medley of grunts and squeaks, it’s warning you that something’s amiss and needs your urgent attention. The longer you wait… the more likely the clamoring won’t just get louder, it’ll get more expensive too.  What noises should you listen out for? And what do they mean? 

Perhaps you love to blare the anthem song from Ariana Grande, Nikki Minaj and Jesse J: “Bang Bang.” But in general, when your car’s in motion, you want it to purr along with that quintessential quiet hum.  

What it could mean: Get thee to a mechanic, pronto. There might be a serious problem with a whole cornucopia of issues from your engine, transmission mounts, suspension system, valves, connecting rods, spark plugs, pistons, or more.  

It’ll sound almost like you left loose change rattling inside a washing machine or clothes dryer on a high spin cycle. Except, of course, you don’t have a laundry room inside your vehicle. 

What it could mean: It’s likely a loose lug nut banging around inside your hub cap, which means your wheel isn’t secure. Pull over as soon as you can and tighten the loose lug nut or get your car into a shop. 

Sure, you might love Sam L. Jackson’s cult classic, Snakes on a Plane. But you don’t want to hear its sequel Snakes in a Car while you’re driving (or even idling). 

What it could mean: If your car is making a hissing sound, you may have a variety of issues you’ll need to address — including an exhaust leak, an issue with your cooling system, a damaged A/C valve, or more. 

Where’s the noise coming from? The location of the hiss may be an indicator. If it sounds like it’s emanating from under the hood, it may be damaged hoses that are responsible for such VIP maneuvers as transporting engine coolant and moving hydraulic fluid. Eventually, these rubber hoses can grow brittle and crack. 

If you can hear it while driving, particularly while idling, it may be a vacuum leak. (Yes, you have a vacuum in your car, just not the portable kind you can take to clean out your living room carpet.) Your engine light might go on along with the sound.  

Either way, bring your vehicle into a mechanic to look over everything and determine the best course of action. 

When your brake pads grind, growl, or squeak — they won’t be able to safely slow your car down to a stop.  

What it could mean: That unnerving sound is telling you have an issue with your braking system. The harder you are with your brake pads, the faster you’ll wear them out. But regardless of how seldomly you have to slam on the brakes (versus a gentle tapping), your brake pads and rotors still get worn out overtime.  

Hopefully, you just need an easy replacement. But if it’s more of a crunching metal-on-metal noise, it may be that the pads have almost completely worn away and the brake caliper is grinding against the rotor.   

Avoid these telltale sounds before they ever reach your ears, and always have your brakes looked at in routine check-ups. 

Don’t worry, it’s not as if you’ll feel like Casper the friendly ghost is hitching an invisible ride with you and singing along with your tunes. But you may hear a strange chirping or whining sing-songy hum.  What it could mean: Your wheel bearings may be calling out to you. Bearings are a pretty critical part of the wheel assembly considering that they connect the wheel to the axle. When they start chirping away, there’s an issue with the rotation of the tires. The sound usually increases with speed and can change when you turn the steering wheel in different directions, get worse with every turn, or sometimes disappear momentarily.   Don’t keep driving along with faulty wheel bearings: you could lose control of the vehicle while driving, have brake problems, or your wheels could even come off.  

When you’re hearing these noises, get them checked out to ensure your ride is safe. Because as always, empowered drivers are safer drivers, more thoughtful drivers, and more engaged drivers. Check out more helpful tips on our blog, like: 

• 5 Ways to Avoid Distracted Driving 

• Dating 101: How Can Your Car Drive Up Attraction? 

• 9 Surprising Hacks to Save Money at the Gas Station 

• Essential Road Trip Packing Guide 

• 6 Ways to Defend Yourself Against Drunk Drivers

What are you waiting for? Join the ride and get a quote today to see how techno-driven coverage can lower your premiums.