Front end popping sounds when wheel is turned

[Scott]

I have a 2012 RAV4 4 cyl with only ~3500 miles on it. Within a couple of days of taking delivery I noticed the following.

When taking off from a stop with the wheel turned, I hear a single pop from the front end. It is not what is described here:

Do you have the dreaded steering knock/popping sound?

as I am only hearing a single pop. I notice this on about 80% of the turned accelerations I take from dead stop. I suppose it could be happening when turning while the car is already moving but it is masked by road noise.

I asked the service rep about and of course they could not duplicate it so I will have to take them for a drive and show them <sigh>. Service rep speculated it was some kind of ABS self test but that it should only do it when the vehicle has not been driven for several hours.

Anyone else experiencing this ?

What might this be ?

[Dr. Dyno]

Do you turn the wheel before you start moving forward? That's a common but bad habit. Puts maximum stress on the steering system. If they don't they might not cause the same noise.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Dr. Dyno

Do you turn the wheel before you start moving forward? That's a common but bad habit. Puts maximum stress on the steering system. If they don't they might not cause the same noise.

I read your response yesterday then let myself drive a couple more times and watched what I was doing. Yes, I do turn the wheel before hitting the accelerator. Since it does not do it if taking off straight away, I would assume your assumption is correct (that it won't do it if I don't turn the wheel first). I have driven this way as long as I can remember and never had an undue front end issue before. It seems if I don't turn the wheel first and accelerate THEN turn the wheel the car might get a little squirrely on me, something akin to a minor fishtail. I will try but old habits die hard.