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Engine Whine

26K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  bryan0705.casa 
#1 ·
I bought my 2012 FJ in january and it has made this noise since day 1. The dealer had to replace the alternator less than 30 days after purchase which helped with the whine but it still seems to make a noise I've never had in a car with so few miles. The dealer insists that the sound is a normal transmission sound but... Really? It just seems to be pretty whiny. Im fine with the sound but wanted the opinions of other FJ owners before either accepting the sound or finding another dealer. Thank you in advance for the advice!!!!
 
#4 · (Edited)
This is just a wild guess but if replacing the alternator reduced the whine, chances are pretty good that they tightened up the alternator belt when it was replaced.

Your other belts or tensionsers could also be loose.

You might try pulling on your belts and seeing if there is some undue slack in them, although I normally associate loose belts with more like a "squealing" sound than a whining sound.

Totally subjective in any case.

A water pump that is on the verge of going out will also give something like a whining sound. As a matter of fact that was the only thing that failed on my old SR5 wagon and the way I knew it was by an increasing "whining" sound coming from under the hood.

Hard to believe that it would go out after only 4 years however.

When your power steering pump is going out or the belt is loose that makes the worse sound of all but it tends to only happen when you are turning.

At any rate mine is silent as a church except for exhaust and wind noise. I don't see any reason why your's shouldn't be also.
 
#7 ·
Possibly relevant situation on my end, have been wondering... (2011 NSSE 6MT truck, about 50k miles)

I also get a high pitched whine, but ONLY once I've shifted into 6th and only when I'm under throttle. Almost like a straight-cut gearing transmission whine. Seems to kind of vary in volume, not really depending on the amount of throttle or load, may even dissipate after a while of cruising at 65ish in 6th gear on a flat piece of highway. Anyone else heard this?
 
#21 ·
Mine has a bit of a gear whine in 3rd. It doesn't bother me.
Of course, in low range it's very whiney. Same in the Fortuner (I think it's the same xfer case/center diff as the 6MT FJ though).
 
#8 ·
My whine comes when accelerating. The whine is not present when idling, just during acceleration. I have had the belts pulled by my local dealer and they told me that the noise was a normal transmission gear whine, not related to belts or pulleys; this after y mechanic, whom I have used forever, said that he narrowed down the sound to the timing area but I didn't have him do any further investigating, since I wanted take it to the dealership.

My question is, after looking, I couldn't determine if my whine was similar to the idler pulley whine so many others have had. Is the idler pulley whine occurring during acceleration? Additionally, have others found that the dealership chalks the whine up to a normal gear whine?

Thank again, guys. All the information out here is incredible!
 
#10 ·
The only whine I get is when the wife finds out I want to go camping and wheeling over the weekend...
"But you went last year... you always go wheeling, you know I don't like to do that sort of thing..."

my response:
"I didn't invite you :D "

Whine solved
 
#19 ·
Pretty classic BlindWilly. I have solved similar whining problems in a very similar fashion.

I even have a "No Whining" button on my office door so I don't experience it in my workplace:smile
 
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#11 ·
So here is my video of the FJ whining while driving. As is the case with a lot of these videos I have seen, it is a little tricky to hear from cab of the vehicle but I hope this will help some in discerning where the noise is coming from.



Thanks again guys, for the help!
 
#22 ·
Sounded normal to me too...
Toyota SUV auto trannies can be a little whiney though. Our Fortuner whines a little, especially when it does it's auto downshift sequence as you slow down for lights etc.
 
#17 ·
I have a 2012 and I know the whine you speak of although i could not hear it on the video. It's very difficult to describe and I haven't tried to track it down but it's a very high pitched, noticeable to me, whining sound that doesnt quite seem normal but yet may be "normal". I can't say i hear it all the time or why or where it originates. I want to say it's transmission related. So far I just chalked it up as " maybe it's normal" until something more apparent comes with it.
Now I have another drive me crazy sound issue with the twitter bird sqeaky sound when my a/c is turned on and I'm stopped at a drive thru or atm, i can turn off a/c and it stops after a second or two delay. a/c condenser bearings? Is very annoying to me when i stop and idle but not sure if it does this when driving

I knew when i read your post exactly what you were gonna ask. I have wanted to post about it for a while just didn't know how to describe it.
 
#18 ·
Not sure about your issue... probably pulleys.

I have this issue at times but that's an ongoing issue that I'll just have to live with I think...
 
#23 ·
#20 ·
I have a pretty decent sound system hooked up to my computer and pretty sensitive ears and your FJ sounds fine to me.

I wish I had your leather steering wheel cover but now I'm whining:smile
 
#25 ·
Sounds like my 2011. I've also got an added slight whistle at partial off idle too, but I can't seem to pin it down since the FJ has to be moving for it to happen. Probably one of those stupid OEM belt pulleys.
 
#26 ·
Sorry to revive an old thread but I recently purchased a 2011 FJ A/T with 66k miles and I am hearing a noticeable whine from my transmission I believe. This thread seems the most relevant to the whine sound I am hearing. I have previously owned a 2nd Gen Tacoma and a 3rd Gen Tacoma and know of the pulley whine from my 2nd Gen Tacoma which was easily resolved. When I noticed the whine on my FJ I removed the serpentine belt first then started the engine for a few seconds and still heard the whine. So no pulley issue and it seems to be from the mid area of the truck so I was thinking transmission or transfer case. It happens in park, neutral while revving the engine and during acceleration. It's most noticeable at 1400 RP to 3000 RPM range. Here's a video but you have turn the volume up pretty high to hear it in the vid - in the vehicle it's way more noticeable and my passengers have commented.

https://youtu.be/tG4QXvNdGeY

I have read countless threads about the whine and they are mostly pulley related. I did find similar threads regarding the possible trans whine in the 4Runner forums, 5th Gen I think, but limited insight. My fear is it is the trans fluid pump my hope is it is just incorrect fluid level. I've read it could be considered "normal" by some dealers but I never experienced that on my Tacoma which uses the same A750 trans I believe. Anyway, I'm going to check the trans fluid level this weekend and hope for the best, I've already recently changed the transfer case fluid. Does anyone here have any insight on this problem or had the same problem?
 
#27 ·
I had a very loud whine just like a supercharger. Knew it was my alternator, when I replaced the ALT (upgraded to tacoma 130 amp) it went away, confirming the culprit. But since you removed the serp belt it eliminates that as the issue. Good luck.
 
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