Whine/Noise/High Pitch Arg!

maniacdave · 05-20-2011, 03:23 AM

Hello, I got my Z about 7-8 months ago, model 2009 (it was a dealership showroom model, had 12 miles when new). So it's purchased with a slight discount, but comes with full warranty.

A week ago, I started to hear a high pitched whine, exactly the kind of noise sub-par capacitors often do. It's now gotten so loud that I can't drive the car anymore. I have very sensitive ears and this noise gives me a real headache, plus I hear its echo half an hour after I get out of the car. It's a BIG problem. I'm going to have to borrow a temporary car until this is fixed.

It started just recently, I have 2300 miles on it. The car finally settled, is a lot more fuel efficient than it was new, the gearbox is precise yet smoother... In short, I was beginning to be really satisfied with it. Now this fresh hell turns up!

Once the car gets warm (15mins after being cold) it starts and doesn't let off. It's present only while the engine is running. Accu on / engine off - no noise. RPMs have no effect on it. I start the engine, the noise welcomes me and drives a spike into my BRAIN.

I'm in the Czech Republic and we have a really long history of bad & unhelpful dealerships. They basically label everything OK, "nothing to fix here", move on. I'm really afraid I'll be stuck with it and will have to sell the car.

Does anybody have any solid facts, hints, technical pearls about this? How should I approach them? How can I prove this issue? I'm sure the dealer will try to deny hearing anything. Does NISSAN have some kind of a list with known issues? Does NISSAN acknowledge this at all?

THANKS!!

ValidusVentus · 06-12-2011, 10:31 PM

Im just going to add that i also have this issue in my 09 370. I mentioned it to a tech when i took it in to get some tires put on and he said he couldnt hear it, i let it drop. I mentioned it again when i took it in because of gears grinding with the clutch fully engaged when going from 6th to 5th. This time I had an app on my phone (droid) called Spectral Pro which is a spectrum analyzer and i was able to show the tech that it did exist...and even show that it was loudest under the glove box and was approximately at 11000Hz, once again they claimed they heard nothing. He insisted that "cars make noise" and basically blew me off. It gives me headaches sometimes on trips, and causes me a good amount of irritation other times. I guess I'm just going to have to be more bullheaded next time.

maniacdave · 06-13-2011, 05:06 AM

Some asshat just recently scratched the paint off my fender, so I took it in together. I told them about the noise. Luckily, the test driver heard the noise, but didn't look much enthusiastic about fixing it. They gave me the same shait they did to you. Basically, "it's not that big of a problem", etc.

I was prepared, just like you, and I bought the same spectral pro app for my android!

Seems like we think alike.

I showed it to him and that the most dB's are near the glovebox. OK, he wrote it down and said he'd let me know. There were two huge spikes as 13kHz and 15kHz. Like very high, 5x higher than ambient engine noise, and that's on a logarithmic scale!

A week later, when the paintjob was finished, he called me and said everything is fine, but none of their techs could hear the noise, not even with some audio equipment. When they asked, Nissan denied there are any issues of this kind and refused warranty ECU exchange. So I said that it's a dealbreaker for me, because I cannot drive the car with this noise, which I really can't, because it drives me crazy and after about 2hrs of driving, my head really hurts. I guess those of us who have better hearing are **** out of luck. Nevertheless, the dealership guy seemed sympathetic to my problem and said he'll try to do some more and ask other people to try to analyze it. But who knows, he may be lying.

Now I'm waiting and hoping they'll fix it. If not, I'm gonna report it two more times and after that, I believe I can request a refund under warranty. It's some kind of a law here that when you report a problem under warranty 3 times and they don't fix it, you're entitled to get your money back. But they have to acknowledge it first! I also have a lawyer who says I may have some ear damage from prolonged exposure to these freq's, so if everything fails, I'm gonna get my ears checked out and if there's the slightest drop in sensitivity in that range, I'll have more ammo.

I wish you luck with your car too! Let's hope we'll both get what we want.

ValidusVentus · 06-13-2011, 12:28 PM

Thanks man, same to yah. Funny that you got that app too, its pretty cool tho. If you get any resolution on this issue let us know.

05-20-2011, 03:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
maniacdave Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 10 Drives: 10 Nissan 370Z TG M6 Rep Power: 15	Help, need to get this noise fixed!! Hello, I got my Z about 7-8 months ago, model 2009 (it was a dealership showroom model, had 12 miles when new). So it's purchased with a slight discount, but comes with full warranty. A week ago, I started to hear a high pitched whine, exactly the kind of noise sub-par capacitors often do. It's now gotten so loud that I can't drive the car anymore. I have very sensitive ears and this noise gives me a real headache, plus I hear its echo half an hour after I get out of the car. It's a BIG problem. I'm going to have to borrow a temporary car until this is fixed. It started just recently, I have 2300 miles on it. The car finally settled, is a lot more fuel efficient than it was new, the gearbox is precise yet smoother... In short, I was beginning to be really satisfied with it. Now this fresh hell turns up! Once the car gets warm (15mins after being cold) it starts and doesn't let off. It's present only while the engine is running. Accu on / engine off - no noise. RPMs have no effect on it. I start the engine, the noise welcomes me and drives a spike into my BRAIN. I'm in the Czech Republic and we have a really long history of bad & unhelpful dealerships. They basically label everything OK, "nothing to fix here", move on. I'm really afraid I'll be stuck with it and will have to sell the car. Does anybody have any solid facts, hints, technical pearls about this? How should I approach them? How can I prove this issue? I'm sure the dealer will try to deny hearing anything. Does NISSAN have some kind of a list with known issues? Does NISSAN acknowledge this at all? THANKS!! Last edited by maniacdave; 05-20-2011 at 03:27 AM.

06-12-2011, 10:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
ValidusVentus Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington State Posts: 400 Drives: #18 Z34 Rep Power: 23	Im just going to add that i also have this issue in my 09 370. I mentioned it to a tech when i took it in to get some tires put on and he said he couldnt hear it, i let it drop. I mentioned it again when i took it in because of gears grinding with the clutch fully engaged when going from 6th to 5th. This time I had an app on my phone (droid) called Spectral Pro which is a spectrum analyzer and i was able to show the tech that it did exist...and even show that it was loudest under the glove box and was approximately at 11000Hz, once again they claimed they heard nothing. He insisted that "cars make noise" and basically blew me off. It gives me headaches sometimes on trips, and causes me a good amount of irritation other times. I guess I'm just going to have to be more bullheaded next time. Last edited by ValidusVentus; 06-13-2011 at 01:35 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
1st gear noise	rench	Engine & Drivetrain	105	12-21-2012 10:48 PM
370z making a little extran noise in first gear.	AARC51	Nissan 370Z General Discussions	20	02-01-2012 06:56 AM
Fender Coating to reduce noise	Minicobra1	Nissan 370Z General Discussions	44	02-13-2011 08:12 PM
High pitch whine	antennahead	Nissan 370Z General Discussions	31	11-24-2010 04:56 PM
Industry/General Canada to pitch in 20 percent on top of Detroit	370z	The Lounge (Off Topic)	5	12-14-2008 03:59 PM

06-13-2011, 05:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
maniacdave Base Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 10 Drives: 10 Nissan 370Z TG M6 Rep Power: 15	Some asshat just recently scratched the paint off my fender, so I took it in together. I told them about the noise. Luckily, the test driver heard the noise, but didn't look much enthusiastic about fixing it. They gave me the same shait they did to you. Basically, "it's not that big of a problem", etc. I was prepared, just like you, and I bought the same spectral pro app for my android! Seems like we think alike. I showed it to him and that the most dB's are near the glovebox. OK, he wrote it down and said he'd let me know. There were two huge spikes as 13kHz and 15kHz. Like very high, 5x higher than ambient engine noise, and that's on a logarithmic scale! A week later, when the paintjob was finished, he called me and said everything is fine, but none of their techs could hear the noise, not even with some audio equipment. When they asked, Nissan denied there are any issues of this kind and refused warranty ECU exchange. So I said that it's a dealbreaker for me, because I cannot drive the car with this noise, which I really can't, because it drives me crazy and after about 2hrs of driving, my head really hurts. I guess those of us who have better hearing are **** out of luck. Nevertheless, the dealership guy seemed sympathetic to my problem and said he'll try to do some more and ask other people to try to analyze it. But who knows, he may be lying. Now I'm waiting and hoping they'll fix it. If not, I'm gonna report it two more times and after that, I believe I can request a refund under warranty. It's some kind of a law here that when you report a problem under warranty 3 times and they don't fix it, you're entitled to get your money back. But they have to acknowledge it first! I also have a lawyer who says I may have some ear damage from prolonged exposure to these freq's, so if everything fails, I'm gonna get my ears checked out and if there's the slightest drop in sensitivity in that range, I'll have more ammo. I wish you luck with your car too! Let's hope we'll both get what we want.

06-13-2011, 12:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
ValidusVentus Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Washington State Posts: 400 Drives: #18 Z34 Rep Power: 23	Thanks man, same to yah. Funny that you got that app too, its pretty cool tho. If you get any resolution on this issue let us know.