Why Does My Car Thump When I Start It?

For those of us who are driving an aging vehicle, unusual noises, vibrations, clunks, and thunks have undoubtedly all become a normal part of our daily driver.

However, certain sounds and behaviours can indicate a much bigger problem. Like a thump upon starting your vehicle.

Today’s blog post answers the question, “why does my car thump when I start it?”. We’ll explore what issues could be related to your vehicle thumping upon start up.

What Causes Your Car to Thump on Start Up?

And we’ll also discuss what signs and symptoms could indicate an even bigger problem. The knowledge shared within this blog comes from over 30 years in the scrap car removal industry.

More Cash For Scrap offers this knowledge as a general resource in determining if your vehicle needs work by a licensed professional mechanic.

However, we advise that you don’t try to fully diagnose your vehicle yourself!

Why My Car Thumps When I Start It

Aging vehicles, or ones with high mileage naturally wear down, as do their components. When parts start to breakdown, they start to operate less effectively.

Moreover, many of the moving parts within a vehicle start to incur increased friction. The increase in friction, along with other structures losing integrity, can cause major mechanical failure.

There is a wide variety of things that can causing thumping upon start up of your vehicle. Here are just a few of the most common causes of thumping when starting your vehicle.

Why Your Vehicle Thumps When You Turn It On

1. Bad Engine Mounts

If you notice a loud thump when you start your car, it could mean that you’ve got failing or failed engine mounts. Especially if your vehicle noticeably jerks alongside of that thump.

This happens because worn-out or broken engine mounts can’t hold the engine in place the way it used to. So, the thump that you hear, along with prominent vibration or jerking, comes from the engine actually moving when you turn the ignition.

Signs Your Engine Is Failing Include:

• Knocking
• Pinging
• Damaged components
• Worn engine mounts
• Oil leaks
• Burning oil
• Unusual noises
• Tricking
• Check engine light on
• Grinding
• Hard starts
• Stalling

We buy a lot of vehicles with various engine issues. And some of them have an engine that’s in decent shape, but the mounts need to be replaced. For these types of vehicles, we always pay MORE cash for scrap cars with engine issues than the other guys!

2. Starter, Battery, or Electrical Issues

Most people know that when your vehicle won’t turn over, it’s often times to do with the starter or battery.

But when your vehicle actually will start, but does so with a loud thud, followed by a slower than normal start up, it could mean that you’ve got starter, battery, or electrical issues happening under the hood.

Usually this needs to be properly diagnosed by a professional mechanic, like our friends at Fairview Automotive. They can run proper diagnostics to save you time an energy on trying to find out if what you’re dealing with is electrical, starter, or to do with your battery.

3. Failing Transmission

If you’re finding it hard to get your vehicle in and out of gear, like moving from park to drive, or drive to reverse, it could mean that you’ve got transmission issues on the horizon.

Additionally, if you notice that your car thumps when you start it, combined with some slight movement from your vehicle, that could be further indication that your transmission needs some attention.

Because when your vehicle thumps upon start up, combined with hard shifts, it means that your transmission isn’t engaging the way it’s supposed to. We see vehicles like this a lot in the scrap car removal business.

Signs Your Transmission Is Failing Include:

• Slipping gears
• Rough idling
• Delayed or hard shifts
• Shaking or vibrations
• Check engine light on
• Transmission fluid leaks
• Burning smell
• Loss of power

Our junk car removal team offers MORE cash for cars with failing transmissions. And we provide free towing from anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Which is perfect for when your tranny goes and leaves you stranded on the side of the road.

4. Exhaust System Issues

You might think that you only have an exhaust system issue if there’s odd coloured smoke coming from your tailpipes, if you have a known leak, or if your car sounds like a race car when it shouldn’t.

However, if your vehicle thumps when you start it, it could mean that part of your exhaust system needs some work.

Because if certain components aren’t held in place properly (due to wear, tear, or damage), it can make your tailpipe bang against the underside of your car. This will sound like a loud thump or thud on startup.

5. Blend Door Actuator Failure

For those of you who don’t know what a blend door actuator is, it’s a flap within your vehicle’s HVAC system that helps regulate the flow and temperature of air that comes inside your cabin.

And when that flap or “door” is failing or malfunctioning, it can cause a thump that sounds like it’s coming from behind the dashboard upon starting your car.

However, not every thump is like other thumps, which is why we offer our advice as an experience scrap car removal company, but advise you to always have your vehicle checked out by a licensed mechanic to ensure accurate diagnosis.

Cash for Cars with Dead Engines & Bad Transmissions

At More Cash For Scrap, we love a good late model sedan or SUV that’s having transmission issues or has a failing or failed engine. Because we know there is still MORE value in those vehicles than some people might think.

We pay MORE cash for scrap cars with dead engines and failed transmission than any other scrap car removal company in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Because we don’t just offer generic scrap prices when consider your vehicle.

Our scrap car removal team has over 30 years of experience in the scrap car buying industry. So, we appreciate and understand the value of junk vehicles better than most. Give us a call and find out what your scrap car is worth today.

How Much Can You Scrap Your Car for With Us?

Every vehicle has a different value, because we don’t just offer a flat rate on junk vehicles. That doesn’t ensure that you truly get MORE for your car. So, instead, we consider everything that your vehicle has to offer.

Provide our junk car buyers with the make, model, year, condition, mileage, and location of your vehicle. Then, let us know of any mechanical issues, electrical problems, or collision damage.

Once we have all of this information, we’ll make you an instant cash offer right over the phone or by text. There is no vehicle inspection required to get MORE cash for scrap cars with us!

Contact Our Scrap Car Removal Team Today!

More Cash For Scrap is the best way to get MORE cash for scrap cars in Vancouver. We are also the fastest. That’s because many of our scrap car removal specialists live and work in the areas we service.

Moreover, we offer our scrap car removal services 7 days a week, from 7:00 AM-11:00 PM. Which means that we are also MORE available for junk car pick-up than the other guys!

So, if you want to sell your junk car TODAY, sell it to More Cash For Scrap. We offer MORE customer service, MORE flexible scrap car removal times, and MORE cash for scrap cars than the other guys. We always offer MORE!