You could always trade if for a Rubicon.
Then you'll have something to whine about

It's frustrating, especially if you're nearing the end of a warranty and faced with the potential of a VERY expensive repair.

Aluminum carries sound well, so it makes it hard to pinpoint on the engine.

Oil pump maybe?

Don't know of an engine failing after hearing this noise, and not sure what else there is in the front of the engine that would make that noise.

Did you read the part about it still making the exact same noise with the belt removed. That eliminates all accessories. from the equation.

Yup. Sounded like normal rotational noise to me, same as I always hear in a part that isn't bad.

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I have one of those too, on 37's. It doesn't have any issues. In fact, its flawless and I have nothing to complain about on it. Not that the Toyota whine is an issue per se, just saying. Yeah I know, chrysler/fiat/daimler junk, but I would still rather drive the Jeep over the yota almost any chance I get -- just not on road trips where I do 600-1000 miles over 3 days.

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My wife has a Jeep.
I'd never rather drive it over a Toyota.

It's her third, the first one had a trans that started hanging shifts WAY out.
Traded it.
The second was traded because she wanted a different color.
It now has 12K miles on it and is starting to shift goofy.

They don't appeal to me very much. I'd never buy one with the intent of keeping it for years.

Gotcha. Some bad experiences there and to each his own I guess. I have grown rather attached to mine. Then again I have a few hundred hours of blood, sweat, tears and a metric ton of money into it.

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While there is only eight thousand kilometres on mine I may hear a little hint of that when it's still in warmup periods on very cold mornings, I liken it to the cam gear / chain and valve train noise of my VFR1200 but the bike sounds that way all the time. Anyway - the comparison I'm making is with respect to how one person mentioned the aluminum and transfer of such mechanical noise may be much more apparent in this design, and is in fact normal for how these parts eventually settle in. On the drive through aspect when I'm between two walls with the windows down, yeah I do wonder if I should be putting diesel fuel into this thing or if there is bent valve.

Anyway - as the one dealer mentioned, motor on - you have your sounds documented. Personally I love them, I knew what I was getting into which is why I didn't want a Lexus. Quiet as a vault is nice but maybe when I get older Joking, I'm almost half a century already.

My 2015 LE started making similar noise suddenly last month. My dealer tech heard it as soon as I pulled in. Bad tensioner pulley and idler pulley. Replaced tensioner assy, pulley sub-assy, plate idler pull and the belt. Noise gone. Everything covered under Toyota Platinum warranty except belt.

Hope this helps.

Sounds like the trans pump to me. Grab some spare vacuum hose and hold one end up to a trans cooler line and the other to your ear. Have someone rev the engine and see if it magnifies.

I replaced a trans for a similar noise after chasing pulleys just earlier this week.


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Noise is still there with the belt removed. Can't be any of the pulleys or alternator since the belt drives all of them. I wish it was as easy as a pulley ot two.


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I recently got back from a trip to Moab. Put 2,500 hard miles on it in strong headwinds and big hills, with a rooftop carrier. I did not notice any difference in the whine during or after the trip. It isn't louder, but it is still certainly there.

My plan is to first change the transmission fluid and pull the pan. If I find shavings in the pan then I can be relatively confident that it's the trans pump going bad. If it isn't that, then someone else mentioned the timing belt tensioner.

I feel like I need to solve it though. Why would I have 60k whine-less miles, only to have it start whining after that? There has to be something that is worn or going out. It's sad that my 2004 SR5 with 140k miles still purrs like a kitten, but my 2011 whines like a bad idler bearing.

Following this to see if anyone finds a definitive fix. I've had the same whine for months now. I can't tell if it's gotten louder or if I'm just getting more pissed off hearing it every day.

My current solution is just turn up the stereo and that's been working fine.

Someone solved this issue on an FJ by swapping to a Toyota oil filter.
They'd been using another brand of filters and the thought was that it was restricting oil flow a bit and causing the noise.

Interesting note, but I've been using the OEM, cartridge style filter.

I just remembered running across that, as I think any Toyota with the 4.0L seems to have this issue occur.
His went away with an oil change using the factory filter.
Many others have not, and it remains a mystery.