Q: The back end of my car is sitting lower than it should and won't move more than a foot in drive or reverse.
I was stopped at a red light and I heard a weird pop noise (figured it was just the heat changing vents because I had just changed it) and when I went to take off from the light the car didn't want to move at first but did with not that much resistance. When I went to use the car an hour later it wouldn't move more than a foot when I reversed it. So I tried pulling it back up the driveway in drive and the same thing happened. I got out and looked around the car and it's noticeably lower in the rear. We have also had a horrible grinding noise when we break for about a week. It's also started to make the grinding noise after we take off from a harder stop. We think the grinding is coming from the front but we're not 100% sure. What could be causing the car not to move and sit too low? Also what could be causing the grinding noise? We assume is the breaks, but again, we're not 100% sure.
My car has 140000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hello. From what you describe it would appear that your vehicle may be experiencing more than one issue. If the rear of your vehicle is noticeably lower than the front, it may be possible that some sort of suspension problem has occurred. If the vehicle’s rear shock absorbers or coil springs have had an issue, they can cause the suspension to sag, sometimes to the point of the wheels contacting the chassis and preventing the vehicle from moving. This may be why the vehicle cannot move forward or backward.
The same can be caused by a broken suspension link or control arm. I would carefully inspect the rear suspension for any signs of damaged or worn parts. The grinding noise you describe can be caused by a few different things; however, if you believe that it is coming from the front, and occurs when you brake, then it is probably caused by worn brake pads. If the grinding noise was considerably loud, it may be possible that the the brakes have worn to the point of metal-to-metal contact. A careful inspection of the front brakes will reveal if the pads and rotors need to be replaced. I would recommend having a professional technician, such as one from YourMechanic, come to your location to inspect the suspension and brakes and diagnose your noise and ride height issues.
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