Just heard this noise for the first time last week. To me, it sounds like its coming from under the car, so fuel pump would make sense...

Well, I'm back from a holiday trip and I'll be picking my car up tomorrow. They've replaced the pump and now they're saying they can't hear any noises. I'm still a bit worried, because they've been handling the issue as if I was the only one who could hear it. The rep person confirmed it too initially, but later it was obvious that he's regretting acknowledging it.

Now he just says the tech people who couldn't hear it from the get go, can't hear it any longer and that it must have been the pump. Not very encouraging.

I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes!

Another try :(
 

Hi. As expected, the fuel pump replacement didn't help a bit. The noise is still there.

I didn't even take the car with me. I left it there for another try. This time, the original rep who could hear the noise wasn't available, so I made the check-in with another guy. He said he couldn't hear anything even the first time they've tried it so he cannot confirm it. So I asked him to try again, and again, he couldn't hear it, so I asked if a woman from their office could give it a try. She couldn't hear it either, but when I said it's like a ringing in your ear, she finally recognized it and confirmed that it's very unpleasant. After that, even the guy could hear it! :) I guess they were looking for some other kind of sound.

Nevertheless, now everybody from Nissan reps can hear the noise! I have really sensitive ears, but now that basically anybody can hear this sound, it shows how bad it is. I took my audio spectrum analyzer again and pointed out the sound is coming from under the glove box and the rep made note of everything. I even mentioned the other people on the web complaining about this and how ECU replacement fixed their issue.

I can't believe Nissan is doing NOTHING about this!

Now we wait. I really don't care if the car is stuck there for the next 14 days, because I can't drive it anyway. I won't. Getting a headache from driving a car for an hour is not normal!

Fingers crossed this will be the last attempt. Wish me luck! :)

Nissan will do something about this. The problem is the transistors in the ECU if I remember correctly and only affects 2009 models. Take it to the dealership and get your ECU replaced

Sent from my ADR6400L

I have the noise which im pretty sure is the same as what you guys are talking about... 2010.

Is the noise always persistent or does it only happen intermittently? I'm just wondering because one night I started up the car and heard a high pitched noise (in the 09) but it was pretty faint and easily covered up by the stereo at low volume. After that night I haven't heard it since. Is it something that gets worse over time?

I'm an electrical engineer so I could probably take out the ECU and look for the bad caps or transistors that are causing the squeal, but I don't know if I want to go to that much effort if I can get it replaced under warranty...

From my experience, the dealership will try to replace anything *but* the ECU, if they acknowledge the issue at all.

It's a bad combo: many people can't hear the sound (depending on how bad it is) + the ECU is rather expensive + Nissan doesn't have any official advisory about this + dealerships don't like to replace expensive parts just because of "some" noise.

In total, my car spent 3 weeks in the dealership so far and counting. :(

PS: Yes, the squeal is exactly the sound caps/transistors sometimes make. Audible spectrum FFT analysis shows one single freq @ ~9kHz. The noise starts/stops with engine on/off, simple as that. Sometimes the engine needs to get warm a bit before it starts (~10mins running). Idling/gunned not much difference.

I have the issue and haven't gotten it fixed yet. '09. It happens on startup whenever you apply throttle. You can tap the throttle and get the whine. Eventually when the car warms up it's always there.

Annoying as hell. Hoping they come out with a TSB or something before my full warranty runs out. Really don't want to do the whole song and dance with the dealership to get it fixed.

did u guys even read the G37 THREAD posted in this thread????ITS THE ECU ok everyone
i have this noise too but i really have to listen for it,,,some REALLY cant hear it its a high pitched frequency THANKS

We know it's the ECU. It's the dealerships that don't want to know!

All you guys have to do is just wait like 10 years and then you'll be old enough so that you can't hear the high pitched whine anymore. Problem solved! :ughdance:

I just started hearing this after having disconnected my battery. I wonder if disconnecting it again might stop it?

For what it's worth, I had a TV that used to do this, and I had a tech come out and he identified the transistor that was making the sound, applied a glob of silicone sealant on it and it stopped for good. The transistors can vibrate ultrasonically and that's what caused the noise. Now if I can just locate the transistor at fault, I'm betting we can fix it at home for a few bucks.

This could be the bearing on the timing chain. I had the same problem on my 05' frontier. My dealer told me that sometimes in the vq engines that Nissan sometimes does not put enough grease In The bearing thus making it prematurely wear.

It's absolutely the ECU, it's been confirmed in many other threads. People have swapped out parts with no avail, and then new ecu = fixed. I'm just trying to avoid an out-of-warranty expense.

I know it's like electrical tape on a check engine light, but has anyone just dyna-matted the ecu?

Nah. This is a different noise that comes from the glove compartment area that is ultra-high pitched.

I'm coming up on 36k miles and need to get mine replaced. Hopefully the dealership doesn't give me an issue with it... driving with the radio off is just about impossible because it's so annoying.

I took my car in last week to get this looked into. I told them it was a high-pitched whining noise similar to a dog whistle, that this is a known issue on the '09 model (I guess some '10s as well), it is coming from the passenger area, and to talk with a Nissan Rep if they are unsure.

The guy said this was really odd and that he had never heard of this before, but would look into it. When he called me back, he said at first they could not find the noise, but eventually one of the employees was able to hear the noise and confirm it was coming from the ECM and that the parts were ordered to replace it.

I was expecting a much harder fight to get the issue addressed, but I think if you let them know that they should get with a Nissan Rep you will be in good positioning even if they cannot hear the noise.

I would suggest not letting this noise linger much at all. It gets seriously painful if left unaddressed.

I agree. I plan on telling them about where it's coming from along with the suggestion that they may have to call the tech line to get info about it. The dog while description is spot-on. I should have it in this coming week- I'll update on whether or not I have to fight with the dealer.

On another note, I've noticed my car is consuming oil at the rate of about 1 quart per 1250 miles. Yay.

well, dropped the car off today, told them all about the parts, etc, and they can hear the noise, but can't find where it's coming from. service rep said they need to take apart the dash and find where it's coming from "module by module"

durrrr

ill be driving a rental starting monday when i drop the car back off

cant wait for them to find out it's the stupid ecm

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but do you have any update re: your "mystery" noise, and by mystery I mean your ECU?

I just picked up an 09 Z and learned that the warranty ran out 3 weeks sooner than the dealership told me. (I should have done more due diligence and double checked.)

I had a few things fixed under warranty, but this issue eluded me until it was too late.

I took it to a Nissan dealership today and two techs drove it, neither could hear the tone. I'm doing a drive-along with a tech on Thursday and would like to give them as much information as possible.

Any new news on a TSB or other official correspondence from Nissan re: this issue?

Thanks

No TSB that I know of.

Nissan had the car for three weeks and finally determined it was the ECU (they call it the ECM). They ordered the wrong module to replace it with and by then I needed the car back for an event. They said they would call me when they got the correct part in. Haven't heard from them. (big surprise)

The car is eating oil badly so I need to go back to start an oil consumption test. Going to tell them just to replace the ECM while it's there. Probably going to have them install some headers also while the engine is out.

I'm now past the warranty period but since I opened the claim beforehand it still applies, so whatever.

Dang, thanks for the info. I guess I'll try to point it out the best I can when I have the tech in the car w/ me.

This is gonna hit the wallet hard. New exhaust will have to wait a bit.

I've been recently hearing this high frequency sound coming from my trunk area. It's annoying as hell.

If it's coming from behind, it's most likely the fuel pump, not the ecm.

Took my car in about two weeks ago (4 days before warranty expired) and they confirmed it's the ecm. They said they would call me to come back in as soon the new ecm arrives. Haven't heard of them as of today, but planning to call tomorrow. My warranty is now expired, but I think it will still be covered because my claim was opened during warranty period. I hope I'm right.

if the techs cant hear it then have a young woman sit in it. im serious. the younger you are the more ear hairs you have that can detect the high pitch noise. ive read on here the same story you guys are telling. then these dealerships had the receptionist sit in the car and she heard it right away!

That's correct- the job goes by the mileage at the time the claim was created, not the mileage of the car at any other point during or after the claim.

Just to let everyone know, I had a one-on-one drive-around with the head tech at my local Nissan dealership. We drove around for about 30 minutes. At first, he couldn't hear it, but the more I pressed and explained, the more he seemed to understand what the heck I was talking about.

It also seemed to really helpful to have the tech slowly shake his head back and forth. I think the frequency is so high that it almost becomes directional, so as your ear gets a more direct line toward the noise, it sounds louder or more prevalent. Whatever the reason, after he did this (and we both looked like complete idiots) he really keyed in on the noise.

All that being said, he was unsure of the exact problem and said that he would give the Nissan tech line a call.

I left and about an hour later I received a call from the dealership. They said that Nissan was aware of this issue with the 2009's, but they never entirely nailed down the cause, which is why they didn't issue an official TSB. Regardless, my dealership ordered a new ECM unit and are going to install it in about a week. Best part: either Nissan or my dealership are going to "goodwill" the problem and are going to fix it under my basic warranty even though it expired about 3 weeks ago.

I wouldn't rely on my situation and let your warranty lapse before you get the issue fixed, but all hope is not lost if your warranty is expired. Might as well try and see what happens.

Hope this helps.

Great to hear. It's definitely a noise that changes based on which direction your head is turned. Let us know how it turns out.

Call for help
 

Unlike you, I've been to my dealershit 3 times already regarding this (see my older posts in this thread). They always say Nissan doesn't know anything about, basically joke about it and make fun of me, because "it's nothing".

Just like you, I've managed to make them hear it (including their secretary) by driving around and turning their head, but so far they've changed everything *outside* the card except the ECU under the glove box, where the noise apparently emanates from.

I've lost my will to continue leaving my car in for weeks waiting for replacements of everything possible in the engine area, rear area and whatever, because they will never accept it's an ECU issue. The latest consensus is that it's something *expected*, by design. I'm gonna march in there as soon as I can and let them compare my car with any of their test Z's, to show them how "standard" this is! However, I don't see any resolution coming from that. They are simply not accepting the responsibility, since Nissan EU/Czech Republic doesn't acknowledge this issue at all.

I simply just don't know HOW to proceed. They're the dealership where I bought my car, mind you. This has been dragging over half a year now.

The problem is that I'm EU and most of you are probably USA. They say Nissan EU knows nothing about this issue! Could anyone provide some Nissan contact (even in English, whatever helps) where *they* could get some information about this? Have any of you tried calling Nissan directly (EU/US) and with what results?

Thanks so much,
I've been living in this nightmare for about a year now!!

Dave

Dave print out everything you can find about the noise from this website and hand it over to the dealership. highlight the important info you find.

It was made clear to me from Nissan North America that they do not take what is said on this website into consideration on any claims made to Nissan OR Nissan North America.

it helped me when i needed my CSC replaced under warranty. i didnt pay a penny and it happened at 24k miles.

Mee too. I'm still hoping to make them drive their new model car and then mine to prove that the sound is not normal... :(

like i said, the younger you are the easier it is to hear.

I got the ECM replaced under warranty and most of the noise is gone. There still is a little bit of the whine coming from the same area. But I can finally drive without the radio. I would be a happy camper if it stays that way for as long as I keep the car. They installed the 23710-1EA1B in my '09. At first they played it like they didnt know what it was or what I was talking about. But after 6 shop employees getting in the car and 3 of them confirming hearing it they called tech line. At first they told me tech line had no records of any ECM's making noise and getting replaced on 09 Z and on G37. But hours later nissan tech line came thru and said yes well send you a new one and replace it under warranty. I was really happy being that my car is out of warranty.

I have been noticing a high pitch whine that seems to be coming from the back of the car. It is most noticeable around 70-80mph on the highway when adding throttle. Noise disappears at that speed if I let completely off the gas. Fuel pump issue as opposed to the ECM?

It could be the fuel pump if you hear it coming from behind the passenger seat within the partition.

The ECM comes from the glove box area and is constant at anything usually over 1200approx rpm.

Bump.

I took my car in for this issue and the CSC issue with the clutch sticking/not returning all the way, leaving slack. Waiting to hear back from them. I got them to acknowledge there is a noise coming from the ECU.

Bump. Take your cars in guys. If you have an annoying sound coming from the passenger floor area, it's a bad ECM. To be specific, a bad capacitor is the culprit. Kind of a big deal considering it could throw the computer off and/or catch fire.

Nissan tech line will tell your dealership this is a known issue if you have a 2009.

My car just started developing the ECM whine. I thought I was going insane at first until I searched the Internet and this site and discovered it was not just me.

I have a 2009 Touring, Sport, Nav. I have 32,900 miles but my 36 month warranty ran out in March.

It has gotten worse over the past week to the point where I really cannot drive the car without getting a headache. I tried packing the area around the ECM with noise reduction foam and that made a negligible difference.

Does anybody have any suggestions on how I should approach the dealer for a possible goodwill/split cost fix? Any dealers in the Houston, TX area that I should go to? My car was purchased out of state and I do not have any long-time relationship with any Houston dealer.