Welcome....

1. rear brake drag- pads are rubbing on the rotors. May be normal as a bit of surface rust will form on the rotors if the vehicle hasn't been used in a little while (even overnight). Could be some sort a problem causing the drag too.

2. Not as likely a source for the noise, but possibe. The rear differential fluid breaks down quickly and needs to be replaced. Not expensive to have done by a pro, or you can diy easy/cheap. The noises from the diff are most noticable when making a tight turn. This is very common after 60k, sometimes as early as 30k miles.

You can do a search on either of the "causes I mentioned to find plenty of threads on the subject(s).

Good luck.

Will

 

The original owner of my '04 4WD had this same issue at 27k...he had the differential fluid changed and that took care of it. good luck!

 

I'll go with probably rear differential fluid as most likely, brake drag as second likely (this would have to be coupled with an uneven rotor) and bad bearings as very unlikely but still possible.

Tell the dealer you want them to change the rear diff fluid, then take another test drive. The fluid's pretty cheap and the change is easy.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted!

 

AWD hesitation,roughness

Previously I felt some roughness in the steering at slow speeds when parking. It turned out to be the AWD rear differential. Honda changed the transmission fluid - fixed. But now I get the roughness in the steering wheel briefly between 25-40 mph? Any information?

 

What tires are you wearing?

 

growl sound when awd engaged?help

well we just got a blanket of snow here and i figured id give the e a run in the snow with the new tires but i was disappointed.i here this growling sound out of the rear end when i get on the throttle and the awd engages from a stop.i read about the rear end fluid and wondered if this could be the culprit.it is especially noticeable if i get on the throttle during a tight turn and the awd kicks in.i started noticing,month or so, a growling noise when i turn on dry ashpalt under a sharp radius but though it was just the new tires.they resemble the bridgestone duelers with a little agressive pattern.any suggestions what this could be,it has 52000km on it right now. thanks a bunch!

 

change the rear diff fluid and should help

 

Ditto on changing the rear end fluid. Should cure your problem for under $20.

See Aprilia Guy's instructions in the How to section.

 

well plan on changing out the rear diff/trans and engine oil tomorrow hopefully this is the problem.thanks for the reply guys and i'll keep you posted as to my findings.

 

fixed mine, could not believe it!! buy 2 qts, and only use the honda duel pump fluid II.

 

well bought the oil from honda saturday and changed it out.i couldn't believe how thin the new oil is.i used to have a suzuki samurai and the diff fluid on that was like molasses,80w90.regardless it solved the growling problem.thanks again for your help on this one everyone.

 

Honda uses a thinner oil because the REALTIME AWD dual pump system is like a clutch pack limited slip differential as opposed to your standard-style differential like that of rear-drive or 4WD vehicles which take the heavy weight gear oil.

The S2000 which is rear-wheel drive has a more standard-style differential that uses a heavy weight hypoid gear oil.

 

AWD and Hard Turns Growning Noise

Hi All,

We finally had some snow in Pittsburgh and I got to take the E out and see how it handled. Over all very well. My only concern is that when the AWD engages there is a fairly loud growling or growning sound coming from the back. I have always heard this sound when I made hard turns at low speeds. Is it normal to hear this sound when the AWD engages?

I have an '03 AWD.

Thanks

 

Hi All,

We finally had some snow in Pittsburgh and I got to take the E out and see how it handled. Over all very well. My only concern is that when the AWD engages there is a fairly loud growling or growning sound coming from the back. I have always heard this sound when I made hard turns at low speeds. Is it normal to hear this sound when the AWD engages?

I have an '03 AWD.

Thanks

Have the same vehcle with 190,000 miles on it. Had the same problem. Replace your rear differential fluid.

 

It's only "normal" if your rear differential fluid is overdue for a change! Get it changed soon, before it results in some serious damage to your rear differential. It can be a do-it-yourself project, but not so much in winter weather. I seem to recall it costs about $50.00 at a Honda dealer.

This isn't voodoo -- it's real. Based on the age of your Element, it's probably long overdue for a change. Most folks advise having it done around 30,000 miles or so, even though that's more often than Honda suggests.

Far more information is available in the "maintenance" threads, using the search function for "differential fluid". :twisted:

 

Diff Fluid

Use Dual Pump 2. I takes a quart and a 1/2, But 2 qrts

 

Thanks hownow, I tried searching but didn't know how to word it so the search didn't give me much, but now it has.

I will give a local dealer a call on monday and see about having that done and to see what else is recommended. It's also time for an oil change and I need a few other things, hopefully I can get a better deal since I need multiple things. How are the dealers for maintenance like this? What should I expect to pay. $50 bucks doesn't seem that bad if it includes labor and everything.

On another not I just saw a car try to make it up a hill, after he gave up and pulled to the side I went up no problem, man I love this car. I had a small front wheel drive Saturn last year and I was in the same situation.

Thanks again for the info, I'll let you know how the dealer goes.

 

Curts, Try this thread. It's one of the best threads to show you what needs to be done.

Dom

 

growling noise from rear

I recently had a growling noise from the rear of my 2006 Element when I was making hard left or right turns. I asked my technician about it and he said my rear diff fluid had broken down and needed changed. Even though the Element had only 13,000 miles on it, it was the factory installed fluid and it was 3 years old. Once the fluid was changed, it was like new again. I now plan on changing my fluid once a year, regardless of miles -- cheap insurance.
I have a 1999 CR-V with 136,000 miles which had the fluid changed every 30,000 miles, with no problems. But this car was driven a lot of miles per year. Now I also plan on changing its fluid every year. The CR-V has given me no problems at all and I expect the Element to be the same, since it will one day replace the CR-V as the work horse.

 

Changed

Ok, I got the fluid changed a few weeks ago and all is well. I thought I had a grasp on how all wheel drive works... but I am a little confused.

Today I drove into a snow covered corn field with about 2-4 inches of snow. I made it in fine. Parked and turned it off for about 1 to 2 hours while working. When I was ready to leave we loaded up the gear, got about half way out and got stuck:| so two of the guys helped push and they said my rear wheels were not doing anything.

On snow covered hilly roads I can hear/feel the rear wheels engage and I make it up just fine.

How exactly does this the AWD work and what can I do to ensure it engages when I need it?

 

How exactly does this the AWD work

FAQ -- About the Element and Ownership from the EOC forum > Real Time 4WD Explained

what can I do to ensure it engages when I need it?

Nothing. It is completely automatic.

 

From what I understand, there is no way to "make" the AWD engage when you want it to. It has something to do with the wheels slipping. The car senses it, and there is a fluid transfer that engaged a type of "clutch" to get power to the rear wheels. The long and short of it is that the car knows when traction is needed and it will take care of things. That is why its important to keep the rear diff fluid fresh and happy.