By late May, winter starts to settle in for much of Australia, and places like Western Australia can feel it sharply overnight. One common surprise we hear about from Holden owners during this time is a clicking or popping noise when the wheels first roll in the morning. It can be easy to ignore at first, but it’s worth knowing why your Holden wheels might sound different when temperatures drop.
Older Commodore models, especially the VB to VL range, use materials and parts that don’t always play well with sharp shifts in temperature. Heat and cold make metal expand and contract. When cars sit through cold nights, small movement in wheel parts can lead to sounds that catch your attention. Paying attention to how your wheels act and sound can help you catch a problem early.
What Causes Wheels to Click in Cold Weather
Cold weather causes materials to contract. It doesn’t take much, but when metal parts shrink just a little overnight, it can add up where pieces fit together tightly. On Holden wheels, that means nuts, rims, and hubs may lose a bit of tension or shift slightly when the car starts moving again.
As the wheel turns and pressure builds, those points of contact often click back into place. That sound you're hearing might be the rim re-seating against the hub or tension in the lugs releasing slightly under rotation. We see this most on cars that haven’t moved for a few days or sit in areas where temperatures can swing quickly from night to day.
VB to VL Commodores can be sensitive to this kind of thing because of their age. The tolerances between parts might not be as tight as they were decades ago. Loose areas caused by wear or older fasteners might react more obviously to cold than newer fitments, especially if parts haven't been recently checked or swapped.
Common Cold-Weather Wheel Trouble on Holdens
Clicks aren’t the only sign your wheels are reacting to cold. There are a few other things worth listening and feeling for during early winter.
- Clicking or popping specifically during the first minute or two after driving away
- Uneven rotation sounds or what feels like light thumping near the wheel arches
- Small vibrations through the steering wheel when the road surface is smooth
These types of symptoms don’t just pop up for fun. When wheels, brakes, or suspension parts take in moisture overnight and contract with the cold, they don’t behave the same. Alloy wheels might be more prone to faint distortion under temperature changes than steel, though both types have quirks.
Moisture creeping into rims or behind wheel covers can also affect the sound coming off the wheel as it turns. If your Holden sleeps in a damp driveway or near grassy surfaces, it might be dealing with overnight dew or frost that can build up without you realising it. This added moisture can find its way between moving parts and create small sounds that are more obvious in the quiet of a cold morning.
Being in Western Australia doesn’t mean you escape the cold. Some mornings start off close to freezing, especially further from the coast, and that’s all it takes for moisture and metal to interact in new ways. Moving your car just a few metres on those mornings lets those sounds come out and helps you spot issues early.
Checking Wheel Fitment and Hardware During May to June
It never hurts to check the simple stuff first. If your Commodore is clicking more often or louder when the temperature drops, start with the wheel area. A few visual checks in the early part of winter can tell you a lot.
- Look at your wheel nuts and make sure they're all seated and tight to spec
- Glance behind the spokes or hubcaps to see if any spacers or washers look out of place
- Rock the tyre slightly with both hands to feel for excess play that might suggest loose hardware
Some cars show more warning signs than others. A build that’s been parked too long might reveal stretched rubber bushings, worn rotor surfaces, or cracked lug threads, all things that can lead to extra space and noise once cold tightens everything.
Rubber especially likes to shrink in winter. Grommets, pads, and bushings all get harder and less flexible once the chill sets in. That stiffness means less give in the system and more chance for clicks or knocks to sound louder through the cabin.
If you find any parts that look out of place or notice extra play, address them before spending a season listening to new knocks and clicks. Even parts that seem minor can set up bigger issues as the cold lingers.
Holdcom Auto Parts offers winter-ready fastener kits, hub-centric fitments, and hardware replacements to keep wheel assemblies tight across VB to VL Commodores and more recent models experiencing cold-weather drive changes.
Why Indoor Storage Might Not Save You
Just parking the car under cover doesn’t always fix the problem. Plenty of garages across Western Australia aren’t sealed or insulated well, which means the overnight air still gets inside. That cold is enough to mess with metal parts the same way frost does outside.
Stationary wheels are more likely to gather surface rust where the braking surface meets the rim. They can also gum up inside the drum or near the lug studs, making for more noise or drag when the car finally moves again.
Lack of airflow adds to the trouble. A closed-up shed or garage might keep the rain off, but without some fresh breeze now and again, small traces of leftover moisture stay trapped. That kind of slow soak can lead to corrosion around wheel edges and make fitments less reliable over time.
If your vehicle stays inside but isn’t moving much, you might still find clicks don’t go away. Drying out any water before parking for the night helps, but it isn’t always enough.
Preventative Moves Before the Cold Deepens
If your wheels have started making noise already, it’s not too late to act. We always suggest keeping your car in light rotation during early winter. Driving just a short distance once or twice a week helps keep wheels seated and stops parts from freezing into odd positions.
Other wise habits include:
- Keeping wheels dry and clean after each drive or wash
- Making sure lug nuts are torqued correctly when swapping tyres or rotating
- Wiping down hub faces with a dry rag every fortnight if the car stays parked
These small checks, repeated every so often, let you pick up on warning signs. That little click could turn into a grinding sound if you leave rust to build. Surface wear on old Holden wheels might not matter in summer but can crack under cold strain if left unchecked. Once the chill tightens everything up, even soft clicks can be early warnings.
Rubber, metal, and composite parts in classic Holdens have seen years of use. Early winter is a good reminder to give them a quick look before rough sounds turn into bigger repairs.
Helping Your Holden Roll Smooth All Season
Clicks or knocks from your Holden wheels during early winter don’t always mean something’s wrong, but they are reminders that colder weather affects how parts behave. Temperature drops, pressure shifts, and sitting time all combine to change the way your car sounds and feels on the road.
By paying attention to changes in noise and feel, you can stop minor cold issues from becoming bigger headaches. When winter settles in, those sounds give you hints about your wheel hardware, fasteners, and rubber mounts. Reviewing them in late May and early June keeps your Commodore feeling safer and gives you peace of mind every time you reverse out on a cold morning.
Strange clicks on cold mornings or subtle vibrations through your steering can be signs that the hardware behind your wheels needs attention, especially in older Holden Commodore models like the VB to VL range, which often feel the effects of winter temperature changes. To keep your Commodore running smoothly this season, it's worth inspecting your wheel fasteners and fitments. Explore our range of Holden wheels to find parts that fit your build, helping you prevent minor issues from becoming costly repairs. If you’re not sure about the right fit, we’re here at Holdcom to discuss what will work best for your car.
