Why is My Treadmill Making a Knocking Noise?

One of the biggest issues that can hamper your focus while working out is annoying knocking sounds from your equipment. 

This issue is mainly encountered during walking or running on treadmills. Treadmill knocking noise can be very annoying and can affect your daily progress.

Therefore, solving this issue should take priority at any cost. But how can you solve a problem if you don’t know what causes it? Don’t worry because, in this article, we will break down every situation that can cause a treadmill clicking noise.

Reasons Behind Treadmill Rattling Noise

There are a lot of reasons why your treadmill is making knocking noise. And correctly diagnosing them is the first step of fixing those annoying sounds. 

Conversely, if you diagnose the problem improperly and apply a fix afterward, then the situation can get worse for your treadmill.

That being said, here are the most common reasons treadmills making knocking sounds –

Your Treadmill is Facing Trouble to Run Its Motor

Many older treadmills create knocking noise due to faulty motors. If a nordictrack treadmill making knocking noise, then it’s highly likely that the reason behind it is the motor. 

The motor is the heart of any treadmill. And if it isn’t able to function properly, there will be problems. While treadmill motors are supposed to work fine, this can be an issue if your treadmill is quite old. 

Now, the main reason why the motor gets affected is due to exposure to water and moisture. If the motor compartment hasn’t been cleaned for years, the dust and dirt can clog up the motor fans, leading to motor damage. 

And when the motor is affected, it can generate knocking sounds when you turn on your treadmill. That can happen during running on your treadmill or just turning it on.

If something gets stuck on your treadmill’s motor, you can hear a clicking noise. And if you don’t resolve this issue quickly, there can be permanent damage to your treadmill. So, call the manufacturer or claim your warranty if you are facing this issue.

Knocking Noises Due to Faulty Belt

In most cases, the culprit behind all those annoying sounds is a faulty belt. To be sure that your belt is causing the sound, try to listen if the sound appears when you are not running. If so, then you can be almost sure that the belt is the issue.

Now there are multiple reasons why your belt is acting this way. Maybe there is dust piling up under your belt, or the bolts of the belt have become rusty. 

Sometimes, if the treadmill has been under heavy use, the friction gets loose, which impacts the tension of the belt. All of these issues can cause the treadmill to make a knocking noise when you run on it.

To fix this sort of scenario, the first and the most crucial step is to clean the belt of the treadmill. Make sure not to use water as this might lead to other issues. 

After cleaning, add treadmill lubricant on the belt and the rolling bolts. Ensure that you are using treadmill lubricant and not some hardware store lubricant, as this might mess up the process.

Once you are done with the whole cleaning and lubrication process, move on to check the tension of the belt. If you think that the friction is loose, then proceed to reinforce the tension by strengthening the bolts next to the roller, and you will be good to go.

Most of the time, if it is an issue with the belt, then you will hear it only when you are running on the treadmill. Walking or simply powering on the treadmill doesn’t create that sort of pressure. That being said, there have been quite a few exceptions.

Rattling Sounds from the Roller

If you find that the treadmill is making noise when running, then it might be an issue with the roller. Most of the time, this situation occurs when there are a few screws loose in the Roller. 

So, remove the cover, and see if there are any loose screws. If there are some, then tighten them. That should quite efficiently resolve the problem.

Noise Generated from the Bearings

Now, if you have your fair share of bearing, then you know once they become rusty, they can create a good amount of noise. 

If you are experiencing squeaking noise from your treadmill, then you can be assured that it is a bearing issue. To be sure, open up the front cover of your treadmill, and look at the bearing.

Pour lubricant, and you should be able to get rid of the squeaking noise immediately.

Noise Created by Misaligned and Misplaced Components

If you are asking yourself, “Why is my treadmill so loud when I run” then maybe the most straightforward answer will be that you have misplaced components. This scenario is extremely common when Nordictrack treadmill making loud noise issue appears.

There are a lot of parts in the treadmill that can be responsible for this. But if you take a look at the most common places, you should be able to resolve this issue without heading towards professional help.

The first place that you should look for is the front cover of the treadmill; make sure that all the other bearings are in place and fit properly. Then move on and check the motor. 

There is a spring connected to the side of the motor. And there have been times when this spring came off and ran around, creating knocking noise.

Then move on to the Roller and the belt. If one of the screws has come loose and is running around there, it’s highly possible that it will be making a good amount of noise to unsettle you during your intense workout sessions.

Final Thoughts

These are the most common issues that can be the reason regarding your treadmill making knocking noise. 

Hopefully, this article gave you a decent insight on treadmill knocking noise. So, now that you know the reason behind your treadmill making an irritating sound, it’s time to grab your tools and fix them. Best of luck!