[Solved] Suspension Popping/Knocking noise 2020-2025 Rav4
I recently had a concerning suspension metal popping/knocking noise from the front suspension of my 2023 Rav4 Hybrid. Every time I would hit a bump or the weight shifted in the vehicle I would hear a popping noise like metal banging against metal. After a few bad past experiences with my local Toyota dealership, I wanted to exhaust all my options before bringing it in. The cause of the issue?
A rock wedged in the control arm and it's bracket!
Apparently this is a fairly known issue for the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Rav4s.
How to remove the rock:
- Find out which wheel is affected and check to see if there is a rock wedged under the control arm
- (optional) Jack the front of the car up to access underneath the front of a the car.
- If you don't have a jack, turn the steering wheel all the way toward the opposite side of the affected wheel. This opens up the gap between the control arm and its bracket/subframe, giving you much better access and visibility.
- (optional) remove the lower plastic panel to expose the suspension parts.
- If you can't do this it may be a bit more difficult to reach the rock, but still can be done.
- Use a flat head screwdriver or a pry bar to push it out, you can also try wedging a flathead screw driver against the rock and hitting the end of the screwdriver with a hammer!
I don't have a lot of equipment myself, so I went to my local oil change place and gave one of the workers $20 to remove it, which he did within 5 minutes of getting under the car.
Here's a video showing the issue:
https://youtu.be/BRRTAsZwcSE?si=o8iR8ZsBQ9BFEjc1
Here's what it sounded like from inside the car:
https://reddit.com/link/1up9zww/video/el39y1ftaobh1/player
Here are images of where the rock was:
Posted Jul 6, 2026, 8:58 PM UTC