whistling noise when driving

[niv]

i have a whine too. i just noticed it as well i thought i was hearing things.. it's not reallllly a whine. more like a cross between a high pan flute note and ufo hum (haha much better right? lol). we didn't have the radio on when we heard it.. and it was very subtle. i thought i was hearing things. but my wife heard it as well.

that's the alternator?

 

[1sty]

Easy way to tell. put the car in nuetral and turn it off.
Then you know if its tranny or engine.

In an audio system that is screwy the alternator spiingi can come though the speakers as a whinning noise. Its weird and a royal pain in the ass to get rid of.

 

[niv]

1st, thanks for info.

i'm not sure i understand fully though.
i turn it off yes.. but then what tells me if it's the tranny or engine.
(mine's an auto btw) what am i listening for - the whining going away...how does that relate specifically to turning off and differentiation between tran or eng?

sorry i didn't get it.

 

[1sty]

If you can turn the car off then the engine stops and the tranny does not. So if there is still whinning then its the flywheel or tranyy ect. Can't be the engine or anything on the belts.

 

[mctoone]

The whine or whistling sound happens with the radio/stereo off. I don't think it's coming from the speakers but more from the front of the car - like in the engine somewhere. It's sort of intermittent. Nothing too noticeable but I noticed it right away and then yesterday a passenger noticed it.

 

[1sty]

I will listen on my way home tonight. I have enough straight aways to cut the car off if I hear it to do the test.

 

[niv]

The whine or whistling sound happens with the radio/stereo off. I don't think it's coming from the speakers but more from the front of the car - like in the engine somewhere. It's sort of intermittent. Nothing too noticeable but I noticed it right away and then yesterday a passenger noticed it.

yeah same. no radio. front of car. sometimes there sometimes not.

If you can turn the car off then the engine stops and the tranny does not. So if there is still whinning then its the flywheel or tranyy ect. Can't be the engine or anything on the belts.

AAAAHHHHhhhhh(hand)

 

[b_real45]

I hear a whine sometimes.. it's the air passing thru my driver side mirror.

 

[niv]

this sound is definately from the front... almost front right

 

[mctoone]

Can you turn the car off with an automatic? I guess sticking it in neutral will be OK to turn it off? I also think the whistle changes a very little bit when you put your foot on the accelerator.

 

[wyseguy]

It is definatley not the tranny. I was hearing the same noise and took my car to the dealership. Turns out that my tranny needed to be replaced. I don't want to scare anyone by saying that. I thought replacing the tranny would fix the high pitched noise...not the case.

I figure the noise is normal.
BTW - my car is automatic as well.

 

[WaatDaHell]

It's just the engine. It "whistles" at a certain rpm range. I've noticed it since day one. I had a 1990 Honda Accord and it has that cool "whistling purr." When I noticed my engine whistling at about 75, I took my foot off the gas and it stopped. I accelerated again and it whistled. It's the engine, but it's not a defect or anything.

 

[mctoone]

The whistling is more pronounced when I put my foot on the gas. It eases when I take my foot off the gas. I have an automatic.

 

[kolashaker]

I don't get a whistling, more of a high pitched hum/whine at lower RPMs, I guess similar to what WaatDaHell is describing. I also have an auto. I never noticed it until after I read this thread . Doesn't seem like a big deal in any case.

 

[mctoone]

Yeah, mine is a high pitched hum/whine too. Thing is, I noticed it the second day I got the car. I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't on a lonely country road late at night....Very quiet outside. Just me and the sound of the motor...and then the high whining sound.!!

 

[Mr. Win]

could ve yur sun roof you mightneed a wind deflector

 

[mctoone]

Sun roof was closed and it wasn't coming from above - more from the front like somewhere in the engine area. Or just behind the dash maybe.

 

[Lt. Dan]

High pitched whistle here, coming from the roof area somewhere... 2003 Protege5 with roof rack... I removed the cross bars, but it had no effect... suggestions?

Dan

 

[Mr. Win]

wind deflector

 

[nate0123]

Dumb obvious question, do you keep change in your ashtray?