Electronic whine at 70+ MPH with throttle (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

L

loarmistead

Joined
Apr 9, 2019
Threads
4
Messages
35
Location
CO
Not sure how to describe this one, but I've noticed my '13 GX emits a high pitched electronic whine when the car is at highway speeds and the throttle is depressed. If you were older you might not even hear it, but I do, and it's pretty annoying. Take foot off throttle, sound goes away and cab is quiet. Depress the throttle even a little bit, and the high pitched whine returns. Sounds like it's coming from the dash or speakers, but turning the sound system off has no impact on the sound.

I'm almost certain it's electronic, not mechanical. Electrical interference caused by the electronic throttle control?

Asking around, some others with '10-'13s are experiencing the same issue, but I've yet to find the cause or a fix on the internet. Any help on this would be appreciated. I love the truck, but the sound is nails-on-chalkboard annoying, and a "just live with it" diagnosis is going to eventually be a death sentence for our relationship.
 
Try turning off the hvac and AC?
 
You can get alternator whine through the speakers even with the system off. It's very common in a lot of factory amplifiers.

Start by checking your battery terminal conditions and body ground.
 
I get this too. I plan to upgrade the engine to chassis gnd wire to see if it'll fix it. Will let you know when I get around to trying that
 
Does it vary with throttle position at all? If so is it possible it could be some sort of aerodynamic whistle in the intake flow stream?
 
giovanni said:
Does it vary with throttle position at all? If so is it possible it could be some sort of aerodynamic whistle in the intake flow stream?
Click to expand...

This is a possibility. It does vary with throttle. Once the velocity is reached where the sound is audible (about 70 MPH+), it whistles at light throttle, and only light throttle - such as the light throttle required to maintain speed on the highway. Let off the throttle completely, sound goes away. Depress throttle further to accelerate, sound goes away. It's only audible at light throttle at highway speeds. I am wondering if it may be a whistle caused by the throttle body being at a certain position (just slightly open).
 
Can this whine be duplicated by just pressing the throttle while in Park or Neutral in your driveway?
Have your also tried 70 mph in 5th gear and still get the noise? Or 4th gear? I know the rpms will be high in 4th but you should be able to do it.
In other words, does it happen at a certain rpm or just at 70 mph?
Testing this may eliminate some possible causes, like wind noise, throttle position, etc.
I hope you can fix this! I know how annoying something like that can be, especially if you're even a little OCD (not saying you are...).
 
r2m said:
Can this whine be duplicated by just pressing the throttle while in Park or Neutral in your driveway?
Have your also tried 70 mph in 5th gear and still get the noise? Or 4th gear? I know the rpms will be high in 4th but you should be able to do it.
In other words, does it happen at a certain rpm or just at 70 mph?
Testing this may eliminate some possible causes, like wind noise, throttle position, etc.
I hope you can fix this! I know how annoying something like that can be, especially if you're even a little OCD (not saying you are...).
Click to expand...

Oh I'm definitely OCD!

The sound is not replicated while in park or neutral, or strictly at a particular RPM. It's really only audible with a very specific set of circumstances:

1) Highway speed (70 MPH+)
2) I assume 6th gear, but I will try to manually shift to 5th to see if it still makes the noise
3) Light throttle, just enough to maintain speed on a flat road. No throttle = no noise. Enough throttle to accelerate = no noise.
 
loarmistead said:
Oh I'm definitely OCD!

The sound is not replicated while in park or neutral, or strictly at a particular RPM. It's really only audible with a very specific set of circumstances:

1) Highway speed (70 MPH+)
2) I assume 6th gear, but I will try to manually shift to 5th to see if it still makes the noise
3) Light throttle, just enough to maintain speed on a flat road. No throttle = no noise. Enough throttle to accelerate = no noise.
Click to expand...
AC pump? :meh:
 
Can confirm that the whine is not affected by which gear the truck is in. On the highway, cruising at 70+ with light throttle to produce the audible whine, I manually shifted from 6th to 5th, which of course increased RPM but had no effect on the whine.

At this point I think I really have to revert to this being a possible grounding issue with the ML audio system.
 
Have you added any other electronics, say maybe a HAM radio, aftermarket amp on inverter??
 
This is unconfirmed but after some research I think I may have narrowed this down via a similar issue with Highlanders.

www.toyotanation.com

Whine at highway speeds while applying accelerator

www.toyotanation.com www.toyotanation.com

Here is the OP's video of the sound, matches mine in symptoms and tone almost perfectly:



It's caused by an improperly honed ring gear in the final drive. The Highlander TSB calls for replacing the transmission and applying some weights to a certain part of the chassis to change the resonant frequency.

There is a TSB for the issue on Highlanders but best I can tell not for 4Runners/GXs. For the Highlanders it is covered by the drivetrain warranty.

The issue does not cause damage and will not get worse with age and wear, it's just more annoying than anything. I've trained myself to have the music on at 70MPH+ so I don't have to hear it.

I'm out of warranty and it's not worth replacing the trans for something that doesn't pose any mechanical risk, so I'll just live with it, but wanted to post this for posterity as I know the internet is lurking with others who have this same issue with their GX and no resolution yet.

If anyone finds any updates, feel free to post here.
 
Some discussion in this CL thread of on & off whine

From thread:
"Picked up a CPO 2016 that when we took delivery did not notice the rear end whine when letting off the accelerator. The car had around 46,000 miles. Originally changed rear end lube, but no change and then took to dealer. They heard the same exact thing I was hearing and removed and replaced the CARRIER-ASSY, DIFFER and the GX is dead quiet."
 
Acrad said:
Some discussion in this CL thread of on & off whine

From thread:
"Picked up a CPO 2016 that when we took delivery did not notice the rear end whine when letting off the accelerator. The car had around 46,000 miles. Originally changed rear end lube, but no change and then took to dealer. They heard the same exact thing I was hearing and removed and replaced the CARRIER-ASSY, DIFFER and the GX is dead quiet."
Click to expand...

I came across that one too. It didn't match my issue, as the problem wasn't a noise when letting off the accelerator so much as it is a resonating whine at light throttle above a certain speed (in my case 70MPH+).
 
Curious.. did you say front & rear diff fluid has been changed along with transfer case? Not that new fluid would fix but curious about abnormal wear. You may want to pull the fuse for the amplifier as well to rule out speakers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

crolison
Raspy / bearing whine at 2000ish rpm
Replies
10
Views
1K
scuzza
S
F
BFG 285/70/17 KO3 TIRES Spare tire Fit? With Oem Hitch
Replies
4
Views
469
r2m
r2m
T
Experience with Perry
Replies
10
Views
430
Washingtontaco
Washingtontaco
O
LCAs with zerks
Replies
11
Views
839
jakemccurdy
jakemccurdy

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom