Whining Noise From Engine

[4589runner]

2010 SR5 6 cyl with 140k and whining sound just started. Took it to a mechanic and they replaced sepentine belt but said everything else looks great. Can't stand the sound at low rpms but after reading this thread the I guess you live with it.

Exact same sound:
https://youtu.be/8uFtYM1NFNg

 

[fkheath]

2010 SR5 6 cyl with 140k and whining sound just started. Took it to a mechanic and they replaced sepentine belt but said everything else looks great. Can't stand the sound at low rpms but after reading this thread the I guess you live with it.

Exact same sound:
https://youtu.be/8uFtYM1NFNg

Unlike some other vehicles, Toyota uses a timing chain instead of a timing belt. Timing chains will whine. It is a natural noise and nothing to worry about.

Timing chains normally last a life time, while timing belts must be replaced every 100K miles or so.

 

[Sconnie]

I have a 2021 and she's a whiny little ***** too. Might be the placebo effect but after changing my air filter to an AEM dry filter it seems more pronounced. When I first started noticing it I was concerned. I spent the past nine years driving an Xterra with the VQ40 in it (nice vroom vroom sound) so hearing this raised some flags. But after reading up on it in threads, like this, and just putting some faith in the Toyota brand I've come to be OK with it. Once I understood the what and why (timing chain) that is. Having the answer to give to someone who asks me about it helped a ton.

 

[4589runner]

Update: Welp I finally had enough of that freaking sound and took it to the dealer since the shop I had been going to could not find it (see earlier post). I requested the dealer use a "stethoscope" since no codes were showing. Sure enough he said the whine was coming from the alternator. I've read enough comments on this thread to question that but I said go ahead and change it out. That actually fixed it. Yeah it cost me but man it's better than listening to that constant whine. I'm happy.

 

[catrains]

Update: Welp I finally had enough of that freaking sound and took it to the dealer since the shop I had been going to could not find it (see earlier post). I requested the dealer use a "stethoscope" since no codes were showing. Sure enough he said the whine was coming from the alternator. I've read enough comments on this thread to question that but I said go ahead and change it out. That actually fixed it. Yeah it cost me but man it's better than listening to that constant whine. I'm happy.

your 2010 4runner 140K miles the alternator have a bearing wear .
inspect your belt tension-er ....see if it is binding ..

 

[lukeskywalker]

Hey Guys,

I made a post about this. My sound is weird. It occurs only at 2-3k rpm. And about 30 mph. It only occurs when there's load. On stilts, nothing.

Here was the post, video links below:

Here's an update to anyone lurking. Again 2014 4x4, you may experience something similar down the line.

Clues:
1.) Only happens when coldish, first 10 mins of driving.
2.) Only can hear when radio is off.
3.) Power steering fluid has been low, and a week of low-ish transmission fluid that has been topped off properly.
4.) Mainly occurs in 2nd gear ~ 2000-3000 rpm.
5.) Sound in real life is more like a phaser effect. Kicks in inconsistently and sporadically. It's not "always there".


This one, sound starts at 8secs:
starts at 8secs - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDIi0OIpwfE&ab_channel=SunnyD%27Light

at 4 and 7secs:
starts at 4s and 6s - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf0cal08_ic&ab_channel=SunnyD%27Light

Thanks for anyone with thoughts!!


My hunch now is that it's either the power steering pump or transmission pump. I tried topping off power steering with lucas power steering leak stop to see if it does the trick. Ill post back again with updates.

 

[GrayFox7]

Any updates on this?

 

[caper]

mine just started out of no wheres ,2011 4 runner ,sounds like its super charged now ,, 100 k miles owned since new spending hours researching this and can find any concrete reason , driving me nuts it is , how does this whistling noise just start out of nowhere ???

 

[doylee4693]

Doing lots or research on the topic tells me it’s the alternator. Engine Whine | Page 2 | Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

 

[caper]

Update , mine was the alternator, battery light came on a week later , changed out alternator and noise is gone , i would of bet the house that noise was not coming from alternator it blew my mind . Sounded internal from top of engine area

 

[Theloden]

I stumbled on this thread to see if anyone else has had any luck with this. My wife took our 4Runner to the dealer today and they diagnosed it as the idler gear shaft and idler gear pulley that failed. My truck is still under the extended CPO warranty, but out of the standard CPO warranty so they have to check and see if they'll cover it.

 

[Wells1203]

My 14 limited with 160,000 miles on it and sounds just like this and dealer said transmission oil pump, cost $5,000+ to fix; which I do not have and it’s not covered under Toyota as we purchased the vehicle from a local auto dealer. I’m to the point of trading it as I’m sick and tired of hearing this sound and it’s getting worse louder while accelerating from 1st to 4th!


QUOTE=wfo9;2935218]My truck has a major whine under acceleration LOL. Joking, I know what that is.

Back to the OP...

From everything said so far (eliminating everything from the accessory side if the equation). That type of noise can be from a gear rotor pump. That leaves us with the oil pump and the transmission pump. My guess would be the transmission also. I doubt it is really indicative of a short term failure.

I'm still just guessing though based on the information presented here and not hearing it myself.

I doubt Toyota would change it out because of a noise though.

One question. Does the noise change at all with operating temps?[/QUOTE]

 

[Theloden]

I'm getting the idler sprocket replaced under warranty and it's a helluva job. The dealer had to pull the engine to even get to the part and I'm going on day 5 with it in the shop. Thankfully, they gave me a Highlander Hybrid as a loaner, so I can at least get around even if it's not the most exciting vehicle in the world.

 

[mandal101]

Whining noise

I was wondering about the same thing, I have a 2020 4Runner TRD Off Road and I noticed that noise right away, didn't think much of it since it was brand new. Thinking it's normal. The noise is still there now I'm at 20,000 miles.

 

[Team4runna]

[MENTION=130497]LaO_T4R[/MENTION] I actually just did this under warranty for a customer at about 55k. It was a cam gear. Toyota had us replace basically everything behind the timing cover. it was something like $4500 all said and done. Customer left pretty happy.

He came in with the same concern about a whine at about 1500rpm and the noise was still there when we took the belt off to eliminate some things.

Hey, I just bought a new trd pro in May. The clock recently hit 9500 miles and this noise appeared out of nowhere. It is persistent. I put the car in neutral while coasting to a red light and revved the engine a little bit. The noise was profound. Do you know what it was that caused the noise?

 

[ecally]

2023 SR5 with 3200 miles, I also have the noise.


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[waypoint]

Hey, I just bought a new trd pro in May. The clock recently hit 9500 miles and this noise appeared out of nowhere...

It's under warranty, take it to the dealer and let us know what they find & fix.

 

[Team4runna]

Just went to McGrath Toyota in Elmhurst. The master tech Vailious went for a ride with me. He recognized the whining noise was there. But that's about it. No fault codes etc. Basically, the technician doesn't know what's wrong.

 

[ecally]

I just had my 2023 SR5 with 3700 miles at the Dealer this morning. They told me it was the secondary air injection pump. This doesn’t sound plausible as from what I read that pump only runs for a brief amount of time at startup. As I explained to them I have the noise generally 1000 to 2500 RPMs, under acceleration mostly.


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[thatoneguy]

at 10,000 miles my '23 is doing this exact whine if you free-rev it in Park or manu-shift it and let it hold a gear past 3000rpm with light acceleration or let it engine brake that high in RPM.

https://www.reddit.com/r/4Runner/comments/130kf36/how_many_of_your_fifth_gens_sounds_like_this/

The rest of the internet seems to say it's idler pulley, best to ignore it rather than let a dealer tech crack open your timing cover over replacing it under warranty.

If it's harmless... I guess I can live with that. Just makes you care when you spent $47k plus tax to get the "most reliable thing ever". I guess reliable can have noises!