New 2015 SR5 Drivetrain Whine

3William56

3William56

New member
I've had my 4Runner for a few months and have just over 5000 km's on it. I noticed a while ago that the drivetrain makes a whining noise that is consistent with engine RPMs, and I hear it most while accelerating. It's not loud, but it's definitely there. Kinda sounds like what you would think an electric car sounds like.
I've searched all over the forum and haven't found anything helpful, just 4runners with legitimate drivetrain problems, but nothing on something brand new.
Anyone else have this noise? I haven't heard it on other 4Runners driving around town.
 
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3William56 said:
I've had my 4Runner for a few months and have just over 5000 km's on it. I noticed a while ago that the drivetrain makes a whining noise that is consistent with engine RPMs, and I hear it most while accelerating. It's not loud, but it's definitely there. Kinda sounds like what you would think an electric car sounds like.
I've searched all over the forum and haven't found anything helpful, just 4runners with legitimate drivetrain problems, but nothing on something brand new.
Anyone else have this noise? I haven't heard it on other 4Runners driving around town.
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Lorde Lorde Lorde Lorde...:D





























It's pretty normal. Mine is loud as hell with the tire noise.
 
3William56 said:
I've had my 4Runner for a few months and have just over 5000 km's on it. I noticed a while ago that the drivetrain makes a whining noise that is consistent with engine RPMs, and I hear it most while accelerating. It's not loud, but it's definitely there. Kinda sounds like what you would think an electric car sounds like.
I've searched all over the forum and haven't found anything helpful, just 4runners with legitimate drivetrain problems, but nothing on something brand new.
Anyone else have this noise? I haven't heard it on other 4Runners driving around town.
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Like a whistle? Sort of like a supercharger whine?
 
The only drivetrain whine I hear around here is "I wish the 4runner had a V8."



Seriously though, I haven't had issues with mine. Have you tried taking it to a reputable mechanic for a diagnosis? It might cost a couple bucks, but I'd trust a mechanic to take a listen before trying to describe the noise to all of us. It'd be quicker too.
 
3William56 said:
I've had my 4Runner for a few months and have just over 5000 km's on it. I noticed a while ago that the drivetrain makes a whining noise that is consistent with engine RPMs, and I hear it most while accelerating. It's not loud, but it's definitely there. Kinda sounds like what you would think an electric car sounds like.
I've searched all over the forum and haven't found anything helpful, just 4runners with legitimate drivetrain problems, but nothing on something brand new.
Anyone else have this noise? I haven't heard it on other 4Runners driving around town.
Click to expand...

I think I know the whine you are talking about. I noticed it on my test drive and commented to the dealer about it but they convinced me it was normal. The more I drove it after I bought it even my wife was getting annoyed with the whine. I added a lot of sound deadener to the floor area to help quiet it down. After I put more miles on the 4runner it got quieter. Now at 12k miles the whine is almost gone. I do not know what caused it but it appears after a break in period mine got better. Mine was also engine rpm dependent and was most annoying going up slight hills around town 20-40 mph with slight gas applied. I could also hear it standing outside when the 4runner was idling. It was embarrassing giving other people a ride in my new 4runner with it sounding like that.
 
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I'm glad to hear that it's not just me. I wanted to see if anyone else had experience with this before going to the dealership. This forum is an amazing tool for information. I hope mine gets better with time too.
 
Camshaft whine. Had it on my 96 Monte Carlo z34. It's normal to hear this on high rpm. I have heard this on the old caprice police car v8s too. It coincides with the torque band.
 
03_4x4Runner said:
Why would anyone want to go to Florida? I would whine to if I had to go there. Maybe that is because my in laws live there though.
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If you saw the compound on the water in Islamorada Key her aunt and uncle own you would know why. Her aunt was married to a big band leader way back when in New York City and they built this winter home in the late 40's. Hes long gone but 3 husbands later she still lives there at 94 years old. We have close relatives in the Keys, Miami, Ft Lauderdale and St Augustine (a very cool place). In early October shes loading up the pooch and heading that way for a month in her new limited. I will fly in for part of it.
 
03_4x4Runner said:
Why would anyone want to go to Florida? I would whine to if I had to go there. Maybe that is because my in laws live there though.
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Florida is overrated. I thought it rained a lot in Seattle :/

OP, the sound is normal. Until you experience loss of power/grinding/failure to shift then just keep doing what you're doing.

Have you towed anything heavy that put a lot of stress on the trans?
 
I have about 800 miles on mine now and I don't hear a whine, but maybe I should listen a little closer.

RAV4s also have a whine, but from the transmission.
 
sooperedd said:
I have about 800 miles on mine now and I don't hear a whine, but maybe I should listen a little closer.

RAV4s also have a whine, but from the transmission.
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If you had the whine the op and I are talking about you would not have to listen closer to hear it. It would have been obvious from the get go.
 
Anyone know what the whine is? Transmission? Transfer case? Rear diff? Engine? I can't hear mine when it's just idling, only while driving. Another way to describe it is that it sounds like a manual transmission in reverse.
I don't think it's a camshaft whine either.
 
I am assuming the engine but not sure. This is basically the same transmission and transfer case I had on my 4th gen V8 and that was one of the quietest smoothest drivetrain I had ever owned. I had tried to pinpoint the noise using a broomstick against my ear and the other end on all accessories etc. but never did pinpoint the noise.
 
I had the 4.0 V6 and 5 speed auto in my '09 Tacoma and I figure that has to be nearly identical. There was no whine there (before I added the supercharger).
Also, earlier this evening I went for a highway drive and I couldn't hear it over the wind and road noise while cruising at about 100 kmh (60 mph). But when accelerating moderately from a dead stop I could clearly hear the whine in the cabin at around 3 - 4000rpm, before every shift. This time it DID sound like my old supercharger in the tacoma, although much quieter than that. Quieter than the supercharger, but loud enough to notice and sound out of place.
 
3William56 said:
I had the 4.0 V6 and 5 speed auto in my '09 Tacoma and I figure that has to be nearly identical. There was no whine there (before I added the supercharger).
Also, earlier this evening I went for a highway drive and I couldn't hear it over the wind and road noise while cruising at about 100 kmh (60 mph). But when accelerating moderately from a dead stop I could clearly hear the whine in the cabin at around 3 - 4000rpm, before every shift. This time it DID sound like my old supercharger in the tacoma, although much quieter than that. Quieter than the supercharger, but loud enough to notice and sound out of place.
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This sounds similar to the whine I had. I used to put it in a gear higher than I normally would in sport mode just to reduce the noise. Highway speeds did drown out the noise. Hopefully your noise goes away like mine did. Every long trip I took it got better.
 
I appreciate the feedback. I always like to hear what other owners experience is, especially when it's something that I had a feeling was normal. My dealership is notoriously bad for diagnosing problems and even just regular maintenance. At least here I know I'm not the first to encounter this issue.
Whatever it is I'm not going to sweat it. And if it turns out to be a problem or a defect, I still have 3 years left on my warranty lol.
 
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