Why Is My Car Making Noise After Engine Turned Off?

Why is your car making noise after engine is turned off? There could be many things to look out for if you constantly hear an unusual noise when you turn off your car’s engine.

While driving, you could hear several unusual noises when performing certain actions such as braking, accelerating, or swerving. However, if the noise still sounds after turning off your engine, then you need to crosscheck a lot of things.

Well, the noise you’re hearing could be just “normal,” meaning that there’s nothing wrong with your car or your engine. To explain this further, below are the possible things that could cause noise after the engine is turned off.

Why is My Car Making Noise After Engine Is Turned Off?

While not disregarding the fact that certain components, when they get faulty or damaged, can cause the noise you’re hearing, it is also important to say that sometimes, the noise doesn’t mean anything.

Yes, when you drive for a long time, the engine components and other parts of the car are stressed – heated up – and as a result, some of them may expand.

So, when you turn off the engine, these components try to return to their normal state, and that may be the cause of the noise.

The heated metallic parts of your car – when trying to cool down because the engine has been turned off – could bump into each other slightly; thus, making a cracking/ticking noise when the engine is off. In this case, the noise is normal and you shouldn’t be bothered.

Nevertheless, the following reasons could also cause your car to make noise when you turn off the engine.

1. Damaged Head Gasket

A damaged or broken head gasket can cause a lot of unusual occurrences, including noise after the engine is turned off. If your car’s head gasket is blown, it is possible to hear noises while driving or when parked.

Yes, the noise is actually coming from the heated coolant liquid. More so, a bad head gasket can generally affect how your car’s engine performs.

2. Low Oil

Of course, this is a major culprit here. It is oil that makes the engine – and the surrounding components – function as expected.

When there’s enough oil in the engine, the moving parts would be well lubricated; thus, there’d be no chance for friction.

In contrast, when the oil is low, or dirty – due for a change – it may not properly lubricate the engine’s moving part; hence, they’d grind against each other and that would produce noise, both while driving and when the engine is turned off.

This is a subtle warning that you should always check your motor oil level at intervals, and never skip an oil change.

3. Loose Components

Apparently, if you’ve got loose engine parts, they’d shatter or collide with other close engine parts, and of course, when they collide, you’d hear a noise. How do loose components cause the engine to make noise after being turned off?

As far as the car has been driven, apparently, all the engine parts were engaged and continued running all the while when the engine is turned on.

So, when you turn off the engine, the loose components would dangle around as they try to return to their normal position/state, as they dangle, you’d hear the noise.

See Also: Will Water Pump Leak After Engine is Off?

How To Stop Your Car From Making Noise When Turned Off

If you could figure out the cause, then you simply should fix the “cause.” For example, if the oil in your engine is low, top it up, and if the problem is a blown head gasket, replace it.

But, if everything in your car seems fine – and in good shape – then you have nothing to worry about. The noise you heard is due to contracting metals trying to get back to their initial state while getting ready for another driving cycle.

Notwithstanding, if the noise is too loud and consistent, it is advisable to get a mechanic to check your engine. Any issue relating to the engine of a vehicle should be fixed as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s That Crackling Noise When i Turn My Car Engine Off?

The noise may be from the parts of the engine, which are trying to cool off after being engaged for a pretty long time.

When a car is being driven for a very long time, the engine components would typically heat up and expand; and when the engine is turned off, the components start to contract as the engine cools down.

You may hear tickling sounds when the engine components are cooling down; it’s not really a problem to worry about. But if the noise is too loud, you really should check what’s causing the loud noise.

Why Does My Car Make a Noise When Off?

It is important to say that turning off the engine – in most cars – won’t shut down everything (at least not immediately after the engine is turned off). That said, it is possible – and cool – to still hear some noise coming from the engine after it is turned off.

The noise could be from the cooling fans or other systems programmed to keep running even when the engine is off. Yes, in some cars, some systems are designed to run continuously regardless of whether the engine is turned on or off.

Why Does My Car Make Whirring Noise After Engine Off?

Sometimes, this can be caused by the starter; maybe the Starter cut relay contacts are faulty or stuck. On the other hand, the whirring noise could be the electric motor that is trying to wind down after being engaged for a long time. If the latter is the case, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Summary

Why is my car making noise after the engine is turned off? Mainly, it’s the engine components trying to cool down; however, if the noise is too loud and unpleasant, you should have the engine checked for possible cracks on some of the components.