Odd engine "whine" & miss 2013 4RTE

[SShink]

I have just over 2700 miles on my 2013 4R TE...This morning, when I started it (18 degrees outside) it started making a low level "whine" sound similar to the sound of a cordless drill motor. I noticed it right away, because it's a new noise and out of the ordinary. The sound continued after work. It does it when idling and driving. The sound goes up and down with engine RPM. When you rev it up to 3000rpm and then let off the gas, the engine goes back to idle and this droning-whine spools on and winds down at a slightly lesser speed...it sounds a lot like an engine with a roots supercharger, but not as loud.

One more observation, when I rev to 3000 (like explained above) and quickly let off the gas, I get a very noticeable engine miss as the tachometer comes down and goes past 2500.

Anybody have a similar problem or any clue what it is?

 

[philsey]

Get thee to your dealer before whatever that is strands you. Sure doesn't sound right to me.

 

[vicpick58]

I have no idea what this is, but obviously it is not normal and should be taken to the dealer and looked at pretty soon.

It could be anything from the power steering pump or alternator to a cam bearing.

Sounds like you have something that needs to be taken care of under warranty.

Sorry this happend to your new vehicle, but it least it is still in warranty.

When you find out what the problem is, let us know.

 

[SShink]

It stopped!

Got in the 4R after it sitting for about 2 hours after I got back from work...the "mystery supercharger sound" is gone. I am still taking it to the dealer ASAP so they can at least document the issue and will post my results afterwards.
Im leaning towards what vicpick58 said, its a power steering pump, AC compressor or something belt driven that is not 100% rpm-synced with the crank.

 

[reds10]

I have just over 2700 miles on my 2013 4R TE...This morning, when I started it (18 degrees outside) it started making a low level "whine" sound similar to the sound of a cordless drill motor. I noticed it right away, because it's a new noise and out of the ordinary. The sound continued after work. It does it when idling and driving. The sound goes up and down with engine RPM. When you rev it up to 3000rpm and then let off the gas, the engine goes back to idle and this droning-whine spools on and winds down at a slightly lesser speed...it sounds a lot like an engine with a roots supercharger, but not as loud.

One more observation, when I rev to 3000 (like explained above) and quickly let off the gas, I get a very noticeable engine miss as the tachometer comes down and goes past 2500.

Anybody have a similar problem or any clue what it is?

mine developed the same "whine" two weeks ago. but mine goes away when accelerating. it's very noticeable though. fwiw, mine has 38,000 miles on my 2011.

 

[SShink]

I have an appointment at the local dealership's service dept. Friday at noon.
In the meantime, this morning, the thing started (no whine noise)...then after maybe 10 seconds, it started. Could be a pump building pressure or a clutch on something. Driving me crazy...feel like my 2750 mile vehicle is flawed!

 

[SShink]

mine developed the same "whine" two weeks ago. but mine goes away when accelerating. it's very noticeable though. fwiw, mine has 38,000 miles on my 2011.

Does it spool on when you let off the gas pedal in neutral?

I'm going to go outside (18 degrees) fire it up, let it warm up and have a buddy rev the engine while I get under the hood with a piece of PVC pipe to see if I can isolate the sound. never hurts to be armed with as much info as possible to aid the geniuses at the Toyota service department.

 

[vicpick58]

SShink, what did you find out about this problem? Did it have anything to do with the fan clutch? Or the fan it's self?

 

[SShink]

Post dealserhip visit...

OK, so I took the 4R to the dealership and an experienced mechanic listened to it (I could tell the guy knew what he was doing).

He immediately heard the "whine" and noticed the "miss" before I did.
He poked around under the hood and said he didn't think it was anything to be worried about (which made me immediately go on the defense). I explained that I was mainly concerned because it just started to make this sound this week and that for the past 2700 miles, it made no noise. He then backed-up his opinion by grabbing the keys to 2 new 2013 4Runners and we proceeded to start them, let the warm-up and then rev the engine;

The 2 other Runners sounded entirely different and both sounded different than mine.
#1 had a noticeable squeal or whine, much higher frequency than mine and quite irritating. His comment was "you're lucky you didn't get this one".
# 2 had the exact same droning whine that mine makes, but made a hideous squeal when we shut it off.

As for the miss, both Runners had a noticeable stumble or dead miss at 2500 rpm when revved to 3k in neutral and then let off the gas pedal. I think this may be cause by reversion as you can detect a little cackle out the tailpipe.

Anyhow, the dealership documented my complaint in-case it gets worse...and that's that. On a side not, my 2009 FJ's engine sound would change every once in awhile too. Bizarre.

 

[vicpick58]

I have never noticed this on my 2012. Seems like something odd is going on here.

Of course I have not been in any cold weather yet.

 

[SShink]

Of course I have not been in any cold weather yet.

Easy, man. Don't rub it in.
I ask myself all the time why I moved here from L.A.?

They do use a TON of salt on the roads up here...nothing like I've ever seen anywhere else I've lived. Rust is big problem (a co-worker with a 10 year old mini-van cant drive it over bumps because the doors fly open because the rockers are so rusted out). Anyhow, I did notice a fair amount of white dust (salt) on the belt and pulleys. Must've splashed up there. I'm going to try and spray/wipe it off when it gets warmer and see if that has any effect.

 

[reds10]

Does it spool on when you let off the gas pedal in neutral?

I'm going to go outside (18 degrees) fire it up, let it warm up and have a buddy rev the engine while I get under the hood with a piece of PVC pipe to see if I can isolate the sound. never hurts to be armed with as much info as possible to aid the geniuses at the Toyota service department.

it just does it anytime at low revs. slowing down for a red light, pulling in the garage, sitting idle in neutral, etc.

 

[Shamish]

I have a similar situation in my 2012 TE. If my shifer is in R or D, and I am sitting with the brakes applied, I get a whining noise from the transmission. The same thing happens when I am creeping forward - basically, when there's a load on the transmission, I get a whine. In order to verify the location, I crawled under the vehicle when it was in D and R, and it was pretty easy to hone in on the source.

I asked the dealer to look into this when I went back for my headlight replacement, and they said they could not hear the noise, but in their defense, the garage was pretty noisy. I'll ask them to come to a quiet location and verify the noise when I got back for my 5k floormat adjustment.

The good news is that the transmission seems strong as a horse. The transmission in my 2010 SR5 seemed to "not want to hook up" until the engine reved up to about 1000 RPM, it almost felt like the vehicle had a stall converter in it. Of course, Toyota could not verify the problem...

 

[jlewis74]

OK, so I took the 4R to the dealership and an experienced mechanic listened to it (I could tell the guy knew what he was doing).

He immediately heard the "whine" and noticed the "miss" before I did.
He poked around under the hood and said he didn't think it was anything to be worried about (which made me immediately go on the defense). I explained that I was mainly concerned because it just started to make this sound this week and that for the past 2700 miles, it made no noise. He then backed-up his opinion by grabbing the keys to 2 new 2013 4Runners and we proceeded to start them, let the warm-up and then rev the engine;

The 2 other Runners sounded entirely different and both sounded different than mine.
#1 had a noticeable squeal or whine, much higher frequency than mine and quite irritating. His comment was "you're lucky you didn't get this one".
# 2 had the exact same droning whine that mine makes, but made a hideous squeal when we shut it off.

As for the miss, both Runners had a noticeable stumble or dead miss at 2500 rpm when revved to 3k in neutral and then let off the gas pedal. I think this may be cause by reversion as you can detect a little cackle out the tailpipe.

Anyhow, the dealership documented my complaint in-case it gets worse...and that's that. On a side not, my 2009 FJ's engine sound would change every once in awhile too. Bizarre.

This makes me give 2nd thought to getting a 2013 Limited.

 

[TR44RT]

Power Steering Pump

I never owned a Toyota before. So when I thought to complain about the power steering pump sound when I brought my '12 4runner back for undercoating, they gave me a Camry to drive around as a courtesy car. It had the same power steering pump sound! So, I'm thinking that this is normal for a Toyota. 15,000 miles later, it still bothers me.

 

[crunchcity]

I never owned a Toyota before. So when I thought to complain about the power steering pump sound when I brought my '12 4runner back for undercoating, they gave me a Camry to drive around as a courtesy car. It had the same power steering pump sound! So, I'm thinking that this is normal for a Toyota. 15,000 miles later, it still bothers me.

Camry's have electric steering to my knowledge, not like the 4Runners. :yo:

 

[simonj]

My '10 LE and my wife's Venza does it (we're in Canada where 0F is not uncommon).

My Subaru STi did it as well in cold weather. Fact of life when the temperatures dip.

As for a "miss" - I'm pretty sure it would throw a code if you actually had a misfire.

 

[TR44RT]

Engine Whine

Camry's have electric steering to my knowledge, not like the 4Runners. :yo:

I think it might be the aluminum engine block that makes the power steering sound, not the power steering. That would be the same on the Camry. I have always had cast iron blocks before. I still really like driving my 4runner, I just like ultra quiet. If there was a way to tune that out... Another issue is that now that I have a 4runner, I can't really take a snow day. That would be a fail! Now I look forward to going to work because I get to drive my 4runner to get there. The cruddier the weather, the better!

 

[flyrv9]

Is the whine affected any by turning the steering wheel? How about PS fluid level?